La Biblio-Fille

_{Author: Teshelle Combs and Leigh Ferguson}

_{Spice: 🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐}

_{Length: 433 pages}

_{Format: Digital, Via Kindle}

_{Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery}

_{Started: 03/21/2024}

_{Finished: 03/27/2024}

Tropes: Redemption Arc, Broken Magic, Repairing Broken Family, Human x Fae Relationships, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers

We’re not in Kansas City anymore….or are we?

For transparency’s sake, I received Sever & Split (SAS) as an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) and my review is honest and unpaid/unsponsored.

PLEASE NOTE: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

Sever & Split is the first book in the Legend of Cheia series cowritten by Teshelle Combs and Leigh Ferguson. This fae portal fantasy with romance and some mystery. It’s almost like a murder mystery, but the victim is the fae’s magic source. The plot is phenomenal, but the characters really push the narrative. This is dual POV between Bri and Era, two sisters on each side of the portals.

Oteros and Erastas are my favorite characters, undoubtedly. They’re so well written together and separately (I mean, all the characters are, but these two hit different). They are just precious together – I love them in the Office, I love them in the Library, and I love how supportive they are of each other at all times. They’re almost too focused on the other person, though, and I think they need to work on that because they themselves are important.

Bristol and Aellus are strangely good together. I started out hating Ae’s guts, but how he softens throughout the story for Bri’s benefit melted me a little. I’m still not 100% on board with him, but he did have a redemption arc that I can’t deny him. The cemetery is such a sweet scene and it’s primarily what softened my heart towards him.

I love Leo! He’s a mysterious character and I think there’s more to his story, so I hope we get more from hope we get more about him in future books! I have questions and suspicions.

Luke and Daniella are great parents. I love how Luke cares for Era as his own daughter and how fiercely Daniella loves her family. I will say that Danielle crossed the line with how she blew up at Bri about Dylan in the library, but I understand that her heart was in the right place. I think a softer delivery (and not just letting Bri run every time she gets uncomfortable) so they could have a civil conversation about it may have been better….and not at the Library. Luke with his disdain for “plant sandwiches” was so goofy I couldn’t help but laugh.

Exos is….a trip. At first he bothered me almost as much as Ae did, but he grew on me immediately once he realized his wife (Era’s stepmother) wasn’t treating Era well. We also learned that he traveled so long and frequently to keep Era safely in the fae lands and in his custody. He did his best with the circumstances that were presented to him and I respect him greatly for him. I’m also curious to know about his backstory.

Pawpaw is quiet chaos and I love him. His unapologetic blunt comments SEND me, He also always knows what the people around him need, which is a special gift that a lot of grandparents have; it’s comforting.

There’s also a mysterious janitor fae we meet initially in Episode 29 who I LOVE. He gives no hecks as long as he can do his job and is so supportive. “When Development comes, I’ll tell them it was a wild snow leopard that broke the chamber. Or a fat racoon.”

Some of my favorite little plot points include:

• Frequently becoming distracted by forgetting 
• the Skittles 😂
• “Ants!” (ep44)

On a more serious note, this story also emphazises mistakes. There’s often a negative stigma around making mistakes, but it’s important to really understand that without mistakes learning cannot happen. Mistakes are a good thing, and it’s okay to make some.

I NEED to know what happens next! If you read SAS, let me know in the comments what you think!

XOXO