Review: Cross Purposes (Chronicles of Ylandre #5) by Eressë

With love, the line between happiness and heartache is all too easy to cross.

One of Ylandre’s most prominent nobles, Keosqe Deilen may have had it all in terms of wealth, power and social rank. But in matters of the heart, he was impoverished. Such was the consequence of falling in unrequited love. Though he hides that love and his sorrow well, a few inevitably see through his masquerade.

Young Tristen Marante is quick to discern Keosqe’s pain. His blunt sympathy is a balm to Keosqe’s wounded heart as much as his beauty is an effective distraction from the noble’s hopeless yearning. But Tristen is a skittish would-be lover, whose reluctance to express his affection is as much an impediment as the lack of reciprocation from Keosqe’s first love had been. Whereas Keosqe seeks intimacy, Tristen shies from it, suspicious of the motives behind his pursuit and unwilling to yield his heart so easily or soon.

With such different perspectives toward lust and love, is it any wonder their path to a common goal is strewn with stumbling blocks and paved with false impressions?

 

Why aren't more people reading this series? Well? Get to it!

Chronicles of Ylandre is my favorite fantasy series and Cross Purposes is probably my favorite in the whole series (save for the first, Sacred Fate).

There is a lot of fantasy to love. A lot. But, no worries, there's a handy dandy glossary of terms that I sometimes still have to reference, even after five books.  Regardless of the super high fantasy and the politics, at it's heart this is a romance. And a great one, at that.

Keosqe and Tristen have known each other for years. Keosqe is best friends with Tristen's brother and has always held a torch for him, even if it wasn't reciprocated. While Tristen is going to the University his brother asks Keosqe to care for him, so he takes Tristen into his home. Heh. Let the fun times begin!

Keosqe's sudden realization that he loved Tristen was priceless. Priceless, I tell you! It's like one minute he's laughing merrily and then 'BAM! holy shimoly, I fell in love with this boy that lives in my house!' And he didn't even try to hide it. Oh no, he came right out with it and it was glorious. Tristen was adorable. Innocent and adorable about the whole thing. He wasn't of age yet, so he had to wait. He had to endure the innuendos and tension until his begetting day. The waiting was excruciating.

But theirs was not a simple romance. Once Tristen was of age, it wasn't as easy as you love me and I love you so... let's get together. They had their troubles and their heartbreak. Right along with my heartbreak! I'm pretty sure they were trying to kill me. The entire series is pretty angsty and Cross Purposes definitely pulled a few tears from me.

There wasn't what I would call a 'big misunderstanding' but a lot of their pain could have been avoided if they were just a bit more honest and talked though a couple things. Ah well. What happened was true to their character even if they could have taken an easier road. Tristen was very young and his age was apparent through his actions. Keosqe had his heart broken one too many times, so his possessiveness was understandable. Even if I didn't like what they did, it made their characters real.

There is a whole fantasy plot I could go through but, for me, it's all about the romance. And, let's be honest, there's so much world building you've really got to get into it to understand everything. There's no way I could do it justice.

Chronicles of Ylandre just does it for me. It has fantastic fantasy without it being the focus, without it bogging down what I really want to read, which is a great love story.