West of Want

Written by Laura Kaye

Narrated by Laura Jennings

Reeling from sudden losses, Ella finds herself lost at sea. When Zeph, God of the West Wind and Spring, finds her, will they be able to develop a love that heals them both?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781666556735

Laura Kaye

Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in contemporary romance and romantic suspense, including the Hard Ink, Raven Riders, and Blasphemy series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Laura also writes historical fiction as the New York Times bestseller, Laura Kamoie. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and monster puppy, Schuyler, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Reviews for West of Want

[Adriana Rappa · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Main characters were devoid of any personality. The entirety of their relationship revolves around their trust issues and there is a painful lack of chemistry. I love Laura Kaye but this one was a let down.

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ella lost her parents when she was twenty, and when we meet her, she’s still grieving the recent loss of her twin brother, Marcus. Her marriage is over because her husband cheated on her with Ella’s best friend. Ella is infertile, and to add insult to injury, her husband impregnated her best friend. In short, Ella has hit her rock bottom. To honor her brother’s wishes, she sets sail to lay him to rest at sea, but it nearly becomes her final resting place when a violet storm suddenly erupts and she’s thrown overboard. Wracked with guilt over letting his emotions and magic get out of hand and nearly killing a human, Zephyros vows to make things right by the beautiful woman he fishes out of the sea. One look at her is all it takes, and he can’t seem to stay away. So, he doesn’t, and that also brings an unfortunate consequence with it. His estranged brother, Eurus, takes notice of the fragile human. Eurus blames Zephyros for stealing the woman he once loved, and now it looks like he’s found Zeph’s Achilles’ heel. Can Zeph shake his fears long enough to keep Ella safe and alive, or will his past be the thing that takes her away from him?

I am reading these books out of order, but the stories are so well-written and conceptualized that each one can stand on their own without the reader getting confused or lost. In fact, I would be surprised if a reader didn’t itch to get their hands on the rest of them regardless of where they jumped in.

Now that I have read all three, I think this story is my favorite so far, for a few reasons. First, whether Ms. Kaye is describing the weather, the Realms of the Gods, or the human dwellings on earth, she always describes every detail with great clarity and nuances that make you feel like you are actually there. Second, both Zephyrus and Ella have been through a lot of similar emotional turmoil. I loved that they both had “real people problems”, and by that, I mean Zeph’s status as a God hasn’t exempted him from experiencing the same emotions as us humans: Love, betrayal, deception, grief, and paranoia. Third, the men in these stories have a huge responsibility and a very long life span to see things come and go. They love and they fight, but underneath it all, they are all still missing a piece to make them whole. They’re empathetic and just want to be loved for who they are. More than any of the other books, this one spoke to me the loudest.

My heart went out to Zeph and Ella from page one. Connecting with either one of them wasn’t hard at all, or falling in love with them was effortless. Zeph finds himself uncommonly attracted to the human woman he nearly got killed and ultimately rescued. At first it appears to be just superficial. He hangs around to watch her recovery and passes his strange behavior off on his guilt. He wants to “fix” her. When he gets the chance to heal her, he’s ready to remove himself from her presence, but then she asks him if he’s okay. That right there is when you really get a sense of how vulnerable he really is. He is so stunned that someone actually cares enough to ask about his well-being. How sad is that? The tenderness and caring that flowed back and forth from that point on was so very touching. The more time they spend together, the more attracted and attached they become. One of the biggest gripes I usually have in stories is the “more sex, less talk” approach to build a connection. Praise the gods, the opposite was the case here. It’s nice to actually see the bond forming and strengthen outside of the bedroom as well as in. When the climax hits, you feel like you got kicked in the gut. Ms. Kaye didn’t toy around with pansy stuff either; she went all in. I white-knuckled my Kindle and had to wipe tear drops off the screen. There was great character development, a few interesting surprises and observations, the pace never slowed down, there were no unnecessary “fillers”, and no cliffhanger. A stellar read from start to finish. I will be re-reading this series for years to come.
Like other great authors before her, Ms. Kaye is a wonderful storyteller with engaging characters and exciting plots. Her Supreme Gods may be able to control the elements and the seasons, shift into animal or elemental forms and whisk clothes on and off, but it is the compassion and their “humanity” that grabs you hook, line and sinker. If you love Showalter, Cole, Ione, Adrian and Ward, and others alike, you will undoubtedly be adding Kaye to that list as well.
He pressed in beside her and rinsed off. When he looked up, eyes full of relief and accomplishment and need, Ella couldn’t resist. She grabbed Zeph’s shoulders and launched herself at him. Zephyros clenched his eyes and absorbed her words into his heart, his soul. By the gods, this woman appealed to parts of him he thought long gone, long buried away, or broken to pieces by ancient betrayals.
It is one of the greatest book that I have ever come to enjoy spending my weekend and it is very good.

[Nneamaka M. Payne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WEST OF WANT was very different from the first in the series because it goes a lot deeper into the mythology of the Anemoi and the Gods of weather but I liked that we took a deeper dive in the paranormal aspects. I really liked Ella as our heroine, she's strong, sweet, and thoroughly embraces the things she loves. She also has an endless amount of compassion which is exactly what Zephyros Martius, the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, needs.
Zeph has spent his entire life looking for love and being betrayed or heartbroken at every turn. I felt so much for Zeph's pain and his backstory was really heart wrenching. When Zeph first rescues Ella it's pretty much love at first sight but trust doesn't come as easily especially with Zeph's evil brother, the East Winds Eurus, lurking around trying to cause pain. Because trust is so hard for Zeph he makes some major mistakes and the last 30% of the book are pretty rough emotionally as Ella and Zeph work through their trust issues.
Ella’s twin brother has recently died and she is still grieving; forced kiss and assault against Ella by the villain; Ella is infertile and this is frequently brought up as an issue with her past marriage and her desire to have kids. BIG NOTE for magical healing of her infertility. (less)