A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, … friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.
The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.
But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.
Even if it means wielding death itself.
Fans of romantic high fantasy like Sarah J. Maas and Miranda Honfleur will devour this tale of dark magic, passionate romance, vengeance, and redemption.
(Note: This book contains adult material.)
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I am dearly in love with this book. Tisaanah is one of the most incredible main characters I’ve read in a long time–I immediately fell in love with her drive, sparkle and humor! And seeing how Max evolved along with her…just amazing. Can’t wait for the rest of the series.
This book gave me such a book hangover! The story, world building and characters are excellent and draw you in. Literally gagging for the rest of the series and have an elaborate plan to befriend the author and get my grubby hands on early copies. (Carissa if you see this – Hey girl! Wanna be buddies? lol!)
This is the first book I have read by this author but it definitely will not be my last as I have been blown away by this fantasy romance, packed with action and magic, so much so that I could not put the book down even though it is quite a long read. This book reminds me of the stories written by SM Gaiter, another favourite author of mine who writes about kick ass heroines, out to bring about redemption and seek vengeance for all the wrongs they have suffered. Tisaanah had seen her family and village destroyed before her eyes and been sold into slavery at a very young age. She had suffered all kinds of abuse at her master’s hands till the day she sought to buy her freedom. Her mother had told her she would be whatever she needed to be and that she had faith in her and Tisaanah meant to prove her right. Her mother and her friend, another slave Serel, had risked their own lives to help her seek a better future but she would not let their sacrifices be in vain. She would return with a vengeance to seek retribution but first she had to travel to Ara, join the order of Midnight, train to become a magic wielder with a mentor who did not want to train her and prove herself worthy to the order. She was the daughter of no worlds and the daughter of all worlds and she became a powerful weapon of destruction. But would the weapon destruct her first or would she prove strong enough to take control? I love the non-stop dark adventure and the beautiful romance and I hope to be able to read the next book in the series soon as I cannot wait to see how this exciting story unfolds.
I first picked up this book because I was told if I liked the Court of Thorns and Roses that I would love the Daughter of No Worlds and—5 Big. Fat. Stars!
The writing was phenomenal, the character development Sarah Maas level perfection: Max was so funny in a brooding sarcastic way, and you felt Tahaana’s pain with her. Their friendships, betrayals, and relationships were real. It transported me away. Truly a masterpiece from the cover art to the story inside. And yes, I judged the book by its cover, and was hella glad I did.
I found Max and Tahaana’s partnership to be perfectly balanced. An immovable boulder can only be carved away by a stream of water with time and patience. He sees the world as black and white. He is a brute force with an immovable mind which was his downfall in his tragic backstory. He is compared to the earth element as he draws conclusions without questioning the reason behind an act. He looks only at the outcome, but Tahaana questions everything and is compared to the water element. She wants to know why. She looks at the world with an open mind, assessing everything because the reason why is important and she understands that.
They compliment each other perfectly, I feel. Both helping the other understand and grow as individuals.
This book was the first thing I did upon waking in the morning, reluctantly put down to go to work, and the last thing I did before sleeping. I loved it enough to preorder the second book and the prequel novellas, which is a first for me. Recommend with all my heart and soul!
You know you see those indie books with the beautiful covers but the insides are a little less polished and it makes you side-eye every pretty cover ever? Well my friends, this book is not one of those. Judge that book by it’s cover, people. Judge it. Then purchase it, read it, and be left salivating for more. I almost couldn’t believe this was an indie release; it is that well crafted. I am a tricky reader to please, but this one checked all those YA/NA fantasy boxes with flavour notes of Trudi Canavan, Maria V. Snyder and Sarah J. Maas.
It’s the story of Tisaanah, a girl who forced into slavery after her people are conquered by the nation of Threll. She’s lucky though; being what is known as “Fragmented” – having a sort of mottled albinism that indicates certain magical abilities – she’s sold to a lord rather than the mines. She grows up entertaining high ranking men and doing her lord’s bidding. But she has a dream of buying her freedom and joining the Orders, the group of magicians in far away Ara who can teach her to Wield her magic. Events turn sour and she’s forced to flee, leaving her slave friends behind with a promise she will return for them. When she reaches the Orders, they’re reluctant to help her cause. To even be considered she must train with the disinterested Maxantarius, war hero turned grouchy recluse, and pass their tests. But their motives for helping her, even after putting hurdles in her way, may not be all that altruistic. War is brewing in Ara, and they’ll need all the help they can get. Deadly help that only Tisaanah may be able to provide.
First off: oh my goodness, this story has some seriously great progression. Everything is paced so well, from the world building to the character relationships to the romance. It’s also not just a plain old rehash of other similar stories even if you can draw comparisons (Black Magician Trilogy, the Poison Study series). Tropes and cliches don’t feel like the same-old-same-old, and that is a thing of beauty in such a crowded fantasy market. You think you know where it’s going, but then swerves off in a new and slightly creepy direction in the second half of the story when a new character appears.
You want world building that’s fresh? Check out the magic system here – effectively there are two kinds: one more physical-based conducted by the Solaris, the other more mental-based ruled over by the Valturi. It’s a little vague so far, and there seems to be a lot of overlap between the two, but it’s really quite a cool take. There’s the political situation too; so much intrigue brewing beneath the surface that our heroes are only on the edge of during this book. I hope both get delved a little deeper into as the series progresses because there’s plenty of scope.
Tisaanah is such an interesting character, caught between two lives as much as she is between the two spheres of magic. She’s driven and determined, talented but no Mary Sue. I loved her voice, her grit, even her “accent” (for the first time in a book when a character learns a new language, it’s her with the othered-speak, not those around her). Max is that slightly cocky, handsome foil to her, forever with a witty quip to hand that she counters with relish. Their conversations feel real rather than forced for our amusement.
I shipped the mild enemies to lovers romance so hard because it was so perfect. No insta-love/lust, just those little behavioural tells and not always subtle noticing-them-noticing-me hints (and can we get applause for the fact that they don’t start sniffing each other straight off the bat to indicate attraction?) Warning: there are scenes of sexy tiemz that are more graphic than most YA, but not as… anatomical as some (looking at SJM). Even without that, the character friendships and enemy-ships are on point. I could totally see Ti’s familial love for Seren and her pain when her friends are hurt. And when a certain new character turns up? Oh my stars, It’s Complicated barely covers it. It’s is dark and strange and I can’t wait to see where that one goes.
My only pet peeves were with certain writing ticks. Nowhere near as eye-twitch inducing as some (sorry again SJM) but still just a little repetitive. You will not be able to unsee how many times a character has a “wrinkle of thought/confusing/amusement” between their eyes. They’re going to need some serious moisturiser! Also, this may bother some more than others, but swearing. Max drops the f-word very often, and while I’m not usually bothered by real-world swearing in fantasy it did seem a bit excessive and unnecessary in places.
As a book one, it wraps up neatly but with the ending open. No nasty cut-offs here; this is a cliffhanger done by a pro.
I hate it. Because I need the rest of the story now.
So TL;DR: You like teen epic fantasy full of magic, realistic quips, cleverly paced romance, revenge, betrayal, unexpected twists, and fire (lots of fire), read this.
No, seriously, read it.
Then join me in pining for book two. It’s that good.
Our heroine is an escaped slave who left friends behind that she is determined to free. To accomplish this, she must take on an imposing task: train with a man that despises the people that sent her to him.
This is the start of a high fantasy series. The story is very well written and quite engaging, drawing the reader in from the first chapter. Both the setting and the characters are well detailed and complex, with many layers to them which get pealed away slowly as the story progresses. The plot also contains many twists, turns and revelations along the way which keep you guessing about what comes next and wondering how our heroine will proceed. All together, I found it to be an excellent read and I definitely am looking forward to the next chapter in the saga.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes