A Healing Hope is a retelling of the fairytale Rapunzel mixed with Greek Myths. Of course I know of Greek Myths and even read something about Daedalus and Icarus in school, but it was a long time ago and I am far from well versed in this specific topic, so I probably didn’t recognize most elements of the mixed in parts.

As for the fairytale Rapunzel - A Healing Hope definitely reminded me of it, even if there were elements missing or changed and it was fun finding the details sprinkled through the story.

So A Healing Hope is its own unique story with unexpected twists and turns and I enjoyed reading it a lot especially because I didn’t know how the story would play out.

It was easy to empathize with Raíza who suffered so much at a young age - physically, emotionally, mentally - as did Thadeus who came to rescue her and they both start to heal in different ways. Even though the story was like the title suggests about healing, I felt the element of freedom was even more present. Raíza was held captive and wants to flee, she is still suffering from emotional trauma and both she and Thadeus aren’t free to live as they wish due to family duties and politics.

These politics were the thing that confused me a bit about the story. There were quite a few hints and remarks about the different kinds of people of this world, their unique characteristics and strengths and how different kingdoms believed in different things and had different rules to follow but I never completely understood how it was all supposed to work. It felt a bit like this was a prequel to a longer series so we get to know the world, the rules, the people, but the full explanation would follow in a first novel. (Which I would definitely read!) But I wasn’t able to find out if this is the case or not, so like I said, these elements were a bit confusing to me and sometimes even hindered my reading process.

But I really enjoyed the story, the connection that developed between Raíza and Thadeus, the danger and mystery surrounding Taromin and the labyrinth. It was a captivating read and I loved how protective Thadeus was of Raíza, how brave both of them were, how they tried to heal and free themselves from different bonds. Their love story was a very sweet one and their love and care for each other was stronger than the trauma they endured or the rules and people (if you consider shape shifting dragon “people”) who held them captive.

* Thank you to the author for letting me read an advanced copy of this book. I leave this review voluntarily and the expressed opinions are my own. ( )