There was a baby in the blankets. A baby with a tear-swollen face red and round as a midsummer plum. A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year.From the book: The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself.
A fragile period of peace between the eternally warring kingdoms of Oakharn and Langmyr is shattered when a surprise massacre fueled by bloodmagic ravages the Langmyrne border village of Willowfield, killing its inhabitants—including a visiting Oakharne lord and his family—and leaving behind a scene so grisly that even the carrion eaters avoid its desecrated earth. But the dead lord’s infant heir has survived the carnage—a discovery that entwines the destinies of Brys Tarnell, a mercenary who rescues the helpless and ailing babe, and who enlists a Langmyr peasant, a young mother herself, to nourish and nurture the child of her enemies as they travel a dark, perilous road . . . Odosse, the peasant woman whose only weapons are wit, courage, and her fierce maternal love—and who risks everything she holds dear to protect her new charge . . . Sir Kelland, a divinely blessed Knight of the Sun, called upon to unmask the architects behind the slaughter and avert war between ancestral enemies . . . Bitharn, Kelland’s companion on his journey, who conceals her lifelong love for the Knight behind her flawless archery skills—and whose feelings may ultimately be Kelland’s undoing . . . and Leferic, an Oakharne Lord’s bitter youngest son, whose dark ambitions fuel the most horrific acts of violence. As one infant’s life hangs in the balance, so too does the fate of thousands, while deep in the forest, a Maimed Witch practices an evil bloodmagic that could doom them all...This book really sounded promising. Magic, adventure, and a mystery to be solved. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as I thought I would. The author jumps from several points of view. This might have been fine if you knew the characters and the places well. Unfortunately, this served to draw me out of the story until I could place who what and where. I think if she followed two major players in this book, it would have flowed much better. My submissions for this would be Odosse, the peasant woman and Sir Kelland, the burnt knight of the major religion in the area. Those two (and the characters that surround them) were the most interesting and I would have liked to known more about their adventures. Kelland and his companion Bitharn were extremely interesting but although they played a central role in this story they were hardly seen. This was very disappointing. I think if the author rewrote this book with those characters as the focal point, I'd quickly snatch up this book to see what happened.
Unfortunately, I gave this book 2 stars. I didn't give it 1 because it does have it's very interesting parts, but it does fail in the end. The book leaves it for another story, but I doubt I'll pick it up.
This review is part of a book tour. Go check out the other's reviews as well.
Sorry you didn't like the book so much - the snippet you have in the beginning did sound promising. I have the same problem when authors hop around to multiple POVs - it can definitely get confusing ;)
ReplyDeleteHuh. Usually I like books with multiple POV's makes it more interesting, but if done poorly can be confusing and you sort of loose the pacing of the story.
ReplyDeleteA combination of multiple POVs and lots of ancient Celtic or Beowulf-sounding names are what trip me up. But then I don't usually read high fantasy.
ReplyDeleteOuch, I'm sorry the book didn't live up to your hopes. That sucks! Great review anyway :)
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