Is forgiveness too high a cost to save a kingdom?Violet is hidden away by her father, a provincial lord, for having a deformed foot. She is tired of being ignored and longs to help her people, who have been abused and suppressed by the court for generations. Their ancient magic is almost forgotten.When she is caught up in a deadly rebellion, Violet is taken hostage by the king and dragged to the … and dragged to the capital. A prisoner deprived of friends and family, she is thrown into a dangerous world of politics and strange magic, where men and beasts are bonded together. Violet realises she must quickly learn the rules of the castle in order to be a voice for her forgotten province.
But the bonds that tie people are fragile, and true evil lurks in the shadows of the castle. As war and assassination threaten to break the kingdom apart, Violet realises that to save it, she must learn to forgive her captor.
And maybe even allow herself to be loved.
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I’ve read a few things written by this author. They have all been utterly fantastic and almost impossible to put down. Violet is a strong main character that no one pays much attention to. After all, not only does she not have an Art, but she is disabled.
Finally getting the chance to travel from her home, she learns much about her people, the other tribes under the current king, and herself.
And I know I say this a lot, but I need more! This ends cleanly with no cliffhangers whatsoever, but it’s hard for me to give up Violet after only a single book. She must have some more adventures up her sleeves, right?
I love this book so much! It’s one of my top YA fantasy recommendations! I love Ivinya’s MC with the club foot. She is a brilliant author who weaves fantastical stories and I absolutely adore her focus on making disabilities more visible and miraculously magical.
It was very good read, i love fantasy and very well written.
Anyone familiar with my blog knows I only gush when I truly love something, I can give something 5 stars (1 to 5 scale) but not gush because it was great the first time but I will likely never reread. Well, guess what this is a gusher. I loved this book. To start with the cover completely caught me. Most covers today are bright, flashy, very in your face. This was simple but not plain. The girl was not your typical type of pretty but more interesting and pretty in a presence sort of way. The dog was also intriguing. So I read the blurb and was like okay time to read. I got the book and started it…then finished it the same day.
Violet was a wonderful character that I can truly say does not remind me of any other character I have ever read about. She is, as the title indicates, flawed. She has red hair and freckles while all the people around her have brown or in some cases blond hair. Then there is her club foot. A sign of weakness and a mark against her she is stifled, oppressed, and then her entire world changes.
Going from never leaving her house to the palace where everyone despises her because of her foot or family she has to navigate a world of politics and hidden magic. Traitor ideas and changes of heart she never thought possible. And when the opportunity to make what she wants come true in a way she never thought possible will she choose that or love? RIght or wrong? And what is right and wrong? Which side is right? It’s an epic fantasy tale of her changing as shes thrust from one world to the next and fights her way through finding herself and trying not to lose herself all at the same time.
The other characters were great too. Edward often amused me or annoyed me and I loved watching him grow as well. Jared often had my facepalming or fist-bumping him (in my mind only obviously). Bane was so sweet I wanted to hug him. And not all the characters are as they seem which added another dimension to the book.
An ever-changing world, one traitor at a time, and magic that can save or destroy. And a question of loyalty. To your family, your country, and your heart. I would so read this again. In fact if this became a series even if nothing else went wrong I would read the whole thing just to know how the future of all these wonderful characters go.