In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…
When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.
This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept seeing that silver-haired, elusive man, why she imagined his voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies—through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny…
Thoughts:
The Awakening is book one of the Dragon Heart Legacy series. Breen Kelly is an unsure young woman doing her best to pay for her student debt while working a job she does not enjoy. She has personal struggles and manages cases of anxiety. Breen is doing the best she can with her life. Then, she discovers her mother has hidden a secret from her. One that would have changed her life, a secret that does change her life. Breen then embarks on a journey to discover her true passion. I love how we meet Breen in a moment where she is doing her best with what she has known. When she discovers her mother’s secret, she has to have the courage to take the next step. The key to her choice to make changes in her life is courage. Courage that sends her on an unforgettable journey. I loved the world-building. The series is at the start, and hopefully, it will get even more amazing.
1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…
Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.
Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…
Thoughts
I love a good mystery romance, and this one has a great start. Sonya faces heartbreak at the start, and she does her best to bounce back from it. Then, an intriguing past knocks on her door in the form of a lawyer.
Sonya discovers she has an uncle she has never met, Collin Poole, and he has left her the most interesting legacy: a majestic Victorian house in Maine. The house has a lengthy history, and Sonya begins discovering every bit of it. I always enjoyed how well Roberts spins a tale. This is the first book in a series and is heavy with setup and catchup. I love how Sonya manages her expectations and fights to move on from a situation that should have broken her at the start.
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.
Thoughts:
A story about a girl who is immune to Belladonna, hence the title. This book has a delicious gothic mood to it, down to a gothic manor filled with eccentric family members, and Signa, the main character, who is discovering the mystery of her existence. I enjoyed the impact of the opening scene. It was a great opening for the most unlikely character in this story, Death. Signa and Death have a strong connection that only grows from the opening scene, all the way to their unlikely relationship. This is certainly a unique story. Mostly, I loved how gothic it felt, from the eighteen-hundred setting, the parties, and the use of Belladonna itself.
Thirteen clans rule the land, and the Rat Clan is the weakest. Ruiying, the princess of the Rat Clan, is summoned to the land of the dominating Dragon Clan along with princesses from the other clans. The Dragon King seeks a bride, and they are all candidates! Yet instead of vying for the Dragon King’s favor, Ruiying takes refuge in the palace’s enormous library–a place she can read to her heart’s content. It’s there that the Dragon King discovers her by chance, sparking an immediate connection that will change Ruiying’s life forever!
Thoughts:
The artwork is so beautifully done, I love it. I enjoyed the world-building in this volume. And Princess Ruiying is a great protagonist. This reads like a cute, fast romance story, that is not asking too much from the reader. The series is a fast read, I loved how easy going I felt reading it.
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
Thoughts:
Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a story inspired by the Legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess. Xingyin is the daughter of the moon goddess. She lives a peaceful life at the start, but a moment of curiosity changes her life forever. She soon discovers her mother’s life is in dire straits, and her existence as the daughter of the Moon Goddess is even more dangerous. Her mother urges her to flee to save her life. Xingyin makes it to relative safety and discovers a new world in the Celestial Kingdom. She trains along a celestial kingdom prince and does her best to become stronger. Her goal is to save her mother.
I love that this story is so plot driven, taking you from Xingyin’s cozy life with her mom when she knows no strife. Then, she flees and must struggle to survive, to fighting to grow her strength, and in the end, discovering a path she can follow to save her mother. It’s a rollercoaster fantasy quest and I was there for every minute of it.
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Book Review
Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.
Laia, An Ember in the Ashes
An Ember in the Ashes is the first book in a series of four books. It starts with Laia who lives with her grandparents and her older brother Darin. They are scholars living in a world ruled by martials. Scholars are classified as slaves in the martial world. Laia learns the healing arts from her grandfather, and her family has chosen to live without standing out in a world that views them as slaves. They are happy until Darin, Laia’s big brother, chooses to stand out and a mask, the cruelest of the martial soldiers, comes to their house to arrest Darin. Laia’s quiet world changes and she is thrown into a new path. One where she needs to survive and find a way to get her brother released from prison. Laia is not privileged, and she is not free. Her greatest wish in this book is to find a way to save her brother Darin from a cruel prison ran by the martials.
Elias is the son of the powerful ruthless commander who rules the martial military academy called Blackcliff. He is the best of his class, a prince of the silver masks training at Blackliff. Problem is, Elias does not subscribe to the cruelty and ruthless nature beat and drummed into him at the academy. He wants out and can’t wait to escape the military life he hates. He just needs to escape without anyone knowing, otherwise deserters face death by his own mother’s hand. Elias is privileged but he is not free. His biggest wish is to live a life of his own choosing, away from Blackcliff.
When these two characters meet, Laia must get over the fact that Elias is a mask. His people oppress hers and one of the masks killed her grandparents and imprisoned Darin. Elias must deal with the fact that Laia looks at him and sees a martial who oppresses her people. She only sees the nature of a mask: cruelty, ruthlessness, murderer. Even if Elias secretly rejects all these things and wishes to do right by the innocent.
An Ember in the Ashes is about these two characters finding each other at Blackcliff Military Academy. Laia ends up serving The Commandant in a strange twist of fate and survives her brutality. In a way, Elias fights to hold on to his soul despite his mother, The Commandant, and survives her too.
I loved the contrast of these two characters most. Their realities are different, but their thoughts align. They both want freedom, even though it is not obvious to them, which makes the atrocities they endure apart quite profound. Blackcliff comes close to what I imagine hell to look like, Elias goes through brutal training. It is made even more rough because the head task master is his mother, The Commandant. She is frightening and cruel. Laia gets to see and endure the Commandant’s cruelty, which gives her a strong resolve to survive, to fight and find a way to get her brother Darin out of prison. Laia’s daring resolve brings this novel to a stunning ending that makes you want to get to the next book.
An Ember in the Ashes has a host of unforgettable characters. Of note is Helene who takes on a role of righteous martial. She believes in the martials orders and the rule of law laid down by the martials. She is the character Elias is fighting not to become and the character Laia is fighting against. Their world from Helene’s perspective is quite severe, there is no room for the gray parts, only black and white and no changes or deviations allowed. She is the product of the current system, and comparing her to Elias, I was excited to see him break away from the expected mold.
The world in An Ember in the Ashes is harsh and full of characters on the cusp of a revolution. Slaves (Scholars) fighting back against the Martials. The Martials meting out their version of justice in the most harsh and cruelest of ways. In the midst of the chaos, Laia never stops trying to free her brother, Darin from prison. At the same time Elias seeks a way out of the madhouse he calls home even when he knows the path is not easy. As Cain tells Elias, “You’re an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.” Book One is a great introduction of these amazing characters who are all thought to be An Ember in the Ashes. Sabaa Tahir is a a brilliant kehanni.
Stories and Book Talk 