An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .
GENRE:
Adult, Fantasy
PAGES:
368 pages
PART OF A SERIES?:
1st in the Queens of Renthia series
RELEASE DATE:
September 20th, 2016
PUBLISHER:
Harper Voyager
SOURCE:
Owned E-Book
YOU CAN FIND THE BOOK AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE/LIBRARY OR THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure
Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .
But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms.
With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.
MY REVIEW
I took a chance on this book – not that I thought it was going to be bad or anything, it sounded so good – but I never read adult fantasy. I usually find it incredibly boring, even though fantasy is my favorite genre. I’d just rather read YA. But this one caught my attention when I was at Last Bookstore once because I loved the cover so much and it kept popping up on my radar. One day, I was perusing BookBub, seeing what was on sale and this popped up and I thought, okay its time. I’m stuck, I’m not reading anything. Its time. I’m so glad I did because it ended up as one of my favorite books of the year.
The world that was built in this novel is GORGEOUS. Everything from the characters to the queendom to the magic system to the world itself was just gorgeous and completely jumped off the page. I was sold immediately into this world because I truly could picture it all. The spirits and the magic was so interesting and so unique from anything I’ve really read before – it was an interesting take on almost elemental magic. I liked that Sarah built everything so well but I didn’t feel like I normally feel when I read adult fantasy – get to the point. Everything in her world made sense without her having to go on for pages and pages about how everything worked and I seriously appreciated that.
I also really enjoyed the characters. I loved that we got two very different characters, different generations but it really gave a window into what the world was. A world-weary champion and a bright, if not totally talented, young student – its an interesting pair and I liked the way they worked together, I thought it was a brilliant partnership and I can’t wait to see how that unfolds in the next book.
I also just love where this book headed. I honestly am trying really really hard to keep it spoiler free. Honestly, it felt sort of…like it would have not made sense if Daleina was queen easily because she struggles with the magic and control over the spirits the entire novel and she definitely gets better but I don’t know, I needed more. And I got it. The end BLEW my mind, totally threw me for a loop and was absolutely devastating. I honestly did NOT see that coming at all and I was in shock. Then I saw the title for the second book and it made a lot more sense but still. It threw me and I really appreciated that as well. That doesn’t happen often anymore.
Honestly, this book was one of the BEST books I read in 2019. Its beautiful and rich, the magic system is incredibly interesting, I liked the two main characters…a LOT, and I’m incredibly interested in seeing where on earth this goes next because that ending…that ending was just so unexpected. Sarah has really opened my eyes to the possibilities in adult fantasy and I think I’m a little more open to trying again!
RATING:
5 out of 5 Stars
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