Readers of Ann Aguirre, Sarah Maas, Veronica Roth and Kass Morgan will love this tale.
Royal blood is the key. And Zera’s is on the line.
Disposable in the eyes of her father, Zera must undertake a mission to unlock a tower on the other side of their poisoned kingdom and collect two urgently needed energy cells.
Zera’s only value is that of a biological “key.” Until her father gives her a life … that of a biological “key.” Until her father gives her a life or death deadline. She must return before her twenty-first birthday, or he’ll shut down life support to the lower levels of the city, threatening thousands, including friends she can’t bear to lose.
Master Nikolai doesn’t relish teaching Zera self-defense, but her bodyguard, Wills, and best friend, Clara, treat her like she’s made of glass. Unlike them, Nik will be relentless because he has skin in this game and plans of his own.
A disastrous start to the mission and the appearance of Nik and Clara leave Zera wondering who she can trust.
When her hatred for the man who abused her on the training floor turns to passion, Zera must blaze new trails through the dangerous world beyond the Red Forest, a land fraught with love, friendship and betrayal.
Note, as the first in an epic series, this book ends with a cliff-hanger.
Get your copy of “Beyond the Red Forest,” first in the epic fantasy series, The Firebird’s Gift, and enter a paradoxical world where the boundaries between science and mysticism no longer exist.
“Absolutely Magnificent! Mainly fantasy, with a bit of sci-fi/dystopia mixed in, ‘Beyond the Red Forest’ was amazing from start to finish. Hayes does a perfect job creating a new world and developing the characters to a point where you can’t help but feel like you know them. At times, the attitudes of Zera and Clara annoyed me, but that helped me become even more absorbed into the storyline. The flow the author created made it easier for me to fall right in. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves books about fantastical adventures set in the somewhat distant future.” Goodreads reviewer
“Wow a fantastic read. This is an epic read. This is a fast paced action packed read that kept me on the edge of my seat. And the Scenes are written epically, it’s right up there with the 100. This read is definitely a must read.” Goodreads reviewer
“The author admirably choreographed the complex relationship between [Zera and Nik] and merged the many facets of this lively and fascinating tale into one cohesive whole; moving seamlessly between apocalyptic scenes and romantic interludes. I hope Alex Hayes plans to keep writing because I’m hooked.” Goodreads reviewer
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This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Beyond the Red Forest
Author: Alex Hayes
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 18
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
Of the 18 readers:
18 would read another book by this author.
16 thought the cover was good or excellent.
18 felt it was easy to follow.
18 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 7 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
18 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
18 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“Zera is by far the best character in the story. You just sort of want her to succeed.” Female reader, aged 14
“I love the premise of the hero having to cross the kingdom to get a power cell to keep the city going. It’s simple but clever too. The author also cleverly puts in a ‘clock’s ticking’ plot device: she has to do it soon or the king will shut down life support to the lower levels of the city. Yes, this author knows what she’s doing. I’m now reading the second book, Before the Black Tower. It’s good too!” Male reader, aged 15
“Exciting, fast-paced with a cast of interesting characters. There’s lots of danger, cool plot twists and a very evil father. Amazing novel. I want to read all of them.” Female reader, age 15
To Sum It Up:
‘A compelling YA adventure packed full of twists and turns. A FINALIST and highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Alex Hayes
Beyond the Red Forest (The Firebird’s Gift Book 1)
Alex Hayes takes us in a different direction in this series.
This book is a fast paced action adventure with a difficult, if not impossible mission. (Ends on a cliffhanger).
I almost didn’t read due to the fact it ends on a cliff hanger those are not my favorite. Having said that I’m very glad that I did I loved everything thing about the storyline and am looking forward to reading more in this series.
I received a copy and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
I started reading this book, not really fully understanding the direction it was going to take, but as I read I quickly fell in love with it. This book is an interesting twist of apocalyptic and fantasy that makes this a one of a kind read. The writing is so well done, the author really does a good job getting into the characters and showing how they all feel towards one another. I love how this has multiple points of view, from characters who aren’t even the big main characters. Zera is a strong female lead, who has been pushed down by her own family so much, but others outside her family see her true strength. I love how she grows in this and truly becomes the best version of herself. There’s so much build up in this story and I can’t wait to see where this author takes us next in Zera’s journey.
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I wasn’t disappointed. The book was well written and the story and characters were well developed. I loved the individual personalities and the relationship dynamics between them. The story was action packed and original. It had plenty of twists and turns, suspense, emotion and intrigue. I’d highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more books from this author!!
NB: This book ends on a cliffhanger.
I received an arc for a voluntary review.
I really enjoyed this cliffhanger ending book. Zera is tasked with an impossible (or seems to be) mission. Zera feels her father, the king, thinks she’s dispensable and doesn’t care about her. Her task takes her on a journey/adventure she never thought she’d be on. She sees so much newness as well as she opens her heart. Betrayal and twists are part of this well written wonderful characters. Although sometimes they do get on your nerves just makes them feel more realistic is a fantasy world.
I received this as an ARC and this is my honest and voluntary review.
This book is the start of a series that takes Alex Hayes in an interesting new direction. This book is set a couple hundred years after a major disaster has caused an entire kingdom to seek refuge in a sealed dome city to escape the poison that has filled their land. The city runs on a special power cell that is running out of power, and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, the only replacement power cells are located in a tower at the other end of the kingdom. An epic quest ensues.
The book is fast paced and full of action as it follows the main characters on their quest to reach the power cells and save the city. Each chapter follows a specific character, so you get to know individual characters more and more as the tale progresses. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and look forward to reading the rest of the series as it becomes available.