Tempering the Rose — Dionne Lister

A dark epic fantasy series, where one woman's thirst for revenge and struggle with her inner demons will put the entire world in jeopardy. The only thing twenty-one year old Adrastine wants is revenge against her depraved father-but when she tries to kill him, she is caught and thrown into a holy war for a god she doesn't believe in. But disaster is coming, and all Adrastine's problems will seem minor by comparison. Someone, or something, is draining the planet's lifeblood, killing the land and everything on it at an alarming rate. Jacob is a shelon, a man who can wield magic, and a spy dispatched by Queen Valtice to find The Rose of Nerine - the only one who can stop the rape of the land and save the people. But when Jacob finds Adrastine, he can't convince her that she is The Rose, let alone to leave her home and journey with him across the tempestuous sea to Nerine. Adrastine is drawn to Jacob, despite their differences. But that is a dangerous path, as he is an unwelcome distraction to her quest for revenge. And if she learns his secrets, it will cement her hatred of men forever, weakening powers she is only just learning she has, powers needed to save their world.