Counterpoint (Song of the Fallen, #1) by Rachel Haimowitz

         It has been awhile people :) I was busy with finals and moving back home for the summer, but now I am back and I have a really good book for all of you guys. May I present: Counterpoint!

         It is the twilight of mankind. Depleted by generations of war with a dark race, the human kingdoms and their ancient alliance stand on the brink of extinction. The outlands are soaked with the blood of the fallen. The midlands are rotting with decadence and despair.

         Elfkind, estranged by past crimes, watches and waits for nature to run its course.

And then the two collide.

         Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he must for his sister's sake swallow his pride and endure slavery in the service of a human prince, Freyrik Farr.

         Freyrik's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Can his life of service to his people leave room for this attraction? Dancing on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.

         Between prejudice, politics, pride, and survival, Ayden and Freyrik must carve a new path, no matter how daunting. For nothing less than the fate of both their peoples rests on the power of their perseverance and their love.

Click to view on Amazon: Counterpoint

         I really liked this book, I was looking for something to read on the plane on the way back home from Boston and just picked this one off of a list on good reads. I like m/m romance, and this one seemed really unique and it turned out that it was really amazing.

         One of the big things that I liked about this book was the whole concept of the song, and how everything has its own song and I liked how the elves were able to tune into it to understand the world. I think it was really beautiful when Ayden started readings Freyrik's song. I think it really added to their relationship.

         I think it is safe to say that they fall in love, I don't really think that I am giving anything away, but I think it was a really beautiful love story. Ayden was so proud, but the more time he spent with Freyrik the more he realized that his pride was getting in the way of his possible happiness. I also loved how once he started liking Freyrik he viewed him as the only good human and that enabled him to put aside his pride in order to ebrace his growing love for Freyrik. There are so many good points in this book. I think Ayden was definitely my favorite character. I liked Freyrik, but sometimes he seemed too good and kind. Ayden had more flaws and was hilarious with his sarcasm and hatred of authority. But you could tell that he really was a very caring person, of course never towards humans, but towards animals and elves.

         I think some of the worst (parts that made my heart drop... so good parts?) parts of the book were when people discriminated against Ayden. Like when Kora was constantly ordering him to be beaten and how the people always wanted him whipped or imprisoned and Freyrik couldn't really do anything to stop it. And how as the book went on Ayden grew as a person and realized the limits of Freyriks power (and his own) and was at peace with his situation in a way he hadn't thought he would be able to be before.

         I felt that their love was very believable and because it too so long to blossom it seemed really genuine. Freyrik obviously fell in lust with Ayden at first sight, but he didn't get to love who Ayden  was until later. And it really sweet to see them start to slowly open up to each other and trust each other enough to have a relationship, but once they got to that point their bond was so strong it was really beautiful. It made me want to jump into the book and actually see them.

I give this book a 5 out of 5. You should really go read it.

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