The Grays—they’re monsters. I don’t know if we can stop them. But we have to try.Monsters can’t be left alone.Nearly a year has passed since Tavi Malin split the earth and healed it, escaping from the Grays. She’s settled back into small-town life.
But the Grays have been quietly growing stronger, and when they attack someone close to Tavi, grief threatens to destroy her.
Tavi and the Golds … when they attack someone close to Tavi, grief threatens to destroy her.
Tavi and the Golds resume their battle against gray magic. The Grays, however, are still pursuing Tavi—and that means anyone with her is in danger. She’s determined to protect her friends by fighting alone.
Battered by sorrow and fear, Tavi grows reckless, risking her friendships and her life.
As the Grays produce weapons and plot to crown one of their own as king, Tavi considers what was once unthinkable: she may need to embrace gray magic in order to defeat it.
Continue the thrilling, magical story that began in Facing the Sun. Pick up Facing the Gray now!
Here’s what early readers of the series are saying:
- “This fast-paced second book of the Sun-Blessed Trilogy is really hard to put down. I loved seeing how Tavi’s gifts evolve!” -Kim Decker
- “The magic system is beautiful and completely original!”-Stephanie, Goodreads reviewer
- “The Sun-Blessed Trilogy was one of the most exciting, breathtaking, and heart-stopping series I’ve ever read! Readers of all ages will enjoy this wonderful series.” -Madysun Waldrop
- “Face it! You won’t be able to put these books down.” -Brenda Elliott
Author Interview:
What makes this new world unique?
In the Sun-Blessed Trilogy, the magical system is tied to childbirth. I love the miracle of birth, and tying magic to such an incredible event felt natural and appropriate. Some of the heroes in this series are midwives, who pass magic on to sun-blessed children and later train these same children to use their gifts.
What audiences is the series appropriate for?
This trilogy is clean fantasy. There is no cursing, explicit sexual content, or gory violence. It’s appropriate for teen and adult audiences. (The series contains childbirth scenes, details of puberty, non-gory murder scenes, and non-explicit references to adultery). I wanted to write a series my own kids could read, and I’m happy to provide an exciting, quality story that a wide variety of ages will enjoy.
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Tavi has seen her sister Misty murdered right before her very eyes, and her magic failed her when she needed it most. She lost her powers as of that moment, and in her grieving she lost faith in all her friends, especially in Tullen, who had held her back so she would not be captured. She blamed herself for failing her sister but she also blamed Tullen because she kept insisting she could have saved Misty. Tavi isolated herself from everyone and just brooded until the time came when she was forced to see that they needed to stop the Grays before they became any stronger. The group of friends called themselves the Golds, and were hell bent on stopping the Grays’ evil doings. The Grays could do magic without succumbing to resistance which made them very powerful but very dangerous but Tavi wondered how they who could not wield their magic when faced with resistance could ever defeat their enemy, and at one point Tavi even considered turning to the Gray magic even though she knew in her heart that this would make her a murderer. Eritt who had befriended her once the group arrived in the city put the idea into her head and it grew till she realised this would make her as bad as those she was there to stop. This 2nd book is very riveting, their is still great loyalty towards Tavi even when she was being rather obnoxious, but there is also betrayal of the worst kind. Someone she had grown to trust and almost love betrayed her and risked throwing her back into the depressed mood she had been in since Misty’s death. However she grew more adamant when she found out, and the battle was on but the enemy is strong and cunning and refused to be stopped even though they had to change some of their plans. Can this Gray evil be stopped before more people are killed? And more importantly will Tavi and Tullen ever get their love for one another back to what it had been before tragedy struck? I just have to start reading book 3 of this very exciting series asap!
Facing the Gray takes Tavi and her friends on a new adventure, but suddenly much more is at stake than ever before. When Tavi’s sister is murdered by the Grays and Tavi learns that her friends have all made a pact to sacrifice themselves to protect her, she questions her own value and willingness to allow them to make such a sacrifice. Tavi also realizes her friends are in greater danger when they are in close proximity to her, and so she pushes them away and grieves on her own. The group also receives new information about the Grays’ plans, and so they head out to try to prevent them. In the process, Tavi begins to seriously consider whether she will need to gain Gray magic in order to stop the Grays.
In many ways, this book was much slower than the previous one. But that is also what makes it a solid middle part of the story. It slowed down enough for us to watch some character development. Tavi had time to be super bratty to the majority of her friends (understandably so, but it didn’t make her less annoying). Her ethical dilemma was interesting because it was so understandable, but clearly wrong despite the best rationale. The logic goes like this. In order to gain Gray magic, you must kill a person. Some people deserve death. Therefore, there are ways of getting Gray magic that are not wrong. Still, no. But I get it. I appreciated seeing Tullen’s struggles from a different vantage point. I also loved that he never took the easy way out. This book also introduced more of the secondary Grays and demonstrated that they weren’t all clearly evil either. Some believed in the cause; some wanted power; some were just in too deep and couldn’t get out.
The ending was not a cliffhanger, but it was definitely mid-story, so readers will need to have book three available immediately following their completion of book two. I am looking forward to finishing the story.
I received a free audiobook copy of Facing the Gray from the author and have reviewed it willingly.
And the adventure continues. Tavi, Sullen and their friends are plotting how to confront and defeat the Gray magicians. They relocate to the big city, having to hide out or venture out in disguise all the time while developing their plan. Then it turns out that the fellow helping them is himself a Gray magician, although possibly not in league with the rest of the Grays – IF he can be believed. Nobody is convinced of that.
Will these Gold magicians, little more than children, be able to defeat a group of dedicated, experienced adults dead set on taking over the entire nation? It sounds rather daunting, when it’s put like that. Of course, some dissension in the Gray ranks doesn’t hurt. But can they? Or will they be conscripted into the Gray ranks? Or killed outright?
Intriguing questions, aren’t they?