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Sands of Theia #3
No Light from the Fires
What was once thought impossible has come to pass. A God-King is dead. In the wake of Tieran’s failed ascension, Tirzah, Green, and the rest of their companions are ready to put the nightmare of Kahral behind them. As the new co-leader of the Aru Si, Tirzah sets a path for the caravan to cross the deserts of Theia once again. This time, the thaumaturge has something she’s never had credible information that could lead to a long-awaited reunion with her eldest sister, Naomi.
But the dangers of the waste are plentiful. Even if the Aru Si can survive the tribulations of the desert, Urizen–where Naomi was last seen–is a challenge unto itself. Word has escaped the city of God-King Bala-Rahzel’s erratic behavior, pitting the nobles against one another for her amusement. The Shadow Collective also lurks in the dark recesses of Urizen, carrying out their own agenda.
Despite all of this, the secrets of Theia’s forgotten past, locked within the God-King’s volatile city, may prove the greatest trial of them all.
Content This work contains brief reference to torture, depictions of violence, blood, death and dying, drug use (both consensual and non), kidnapping, PTSD, and panic attacks. Please take care of yourself when reading.
But the dangers of the waste are plentiful. Even if the Aru Si can survive the tribulations of the desert, Urizen–where Naomi was last seen–is a challenge unto itself. Word has escaped the city of God-King Bala-Rahzel’s erratic behavior, pitting the nobles against one another for her amusement. The Shadow Collective also lurks in the dark recesses of Urizen, carrying out their own agenda.
Despite all of this, the secrets of Theia’s forgotten past, locked within the God-King’s volatile city, may prove the greatest trial of them all.
Content This work contains brief reference to torture, depictions of violence, blood, death and dying, drug use (both consensual and non), kidnapping, PTSD, and panic attacks. Please take care of yourself when reading.
294 pages, Paperback
Published April 10, 2023
4 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Bross
7 books45 followersA.E. Bross has also published under Adrienne Bross.
Born an April baby in New York, New York, Adrienne "A.E." Bross enjoyed everything from soccer to flute lessons to horror stories while she was growing up, but her real passion was writing. Soon, fantasy began to overtake horror in her repertoire, and with thoughts of dragons and magicians, she went to college and gained her BA in English Literature.
Regardless of how whimsical and amazing fictional fantasies are, they do not always pay the bills! However, an MS in Library and Information Sciences, and a steady job as Librarian, Keeper of the Secrets and Knowledge of the ages , would.
Now she wears many titles: spouse, friend, parent, writer, enby, reader, moviegoer, mother sibling, poet, offspring, gamer, pan-fabulous, video gamer, artist, photographer, blogger, enemy, friend, librarian, and probably a million others that (for the sake of brevity) shall not be named.
It's been a busy few years.
Born an April baby in New York, New York, Adrienne "A.E." Bross enjoyed everything from soccer to flute lessons to horror stories while she was growing up, but her real passion was writing. Soon, fantasy began to overtake horror in her repertoire, and with thoughts of dragons and magicians, she went to college and gained her BA in English Literature.
Regardless of how whimsical and amazing fictional fantasies are, they do not always pay the bills! However, an MS in Library and Information Sciences, and a steady job as Librarian, Keeper of the Secrets and Knowledge of the ages , would.
Now she wears many titles: spouse, friend, parent, writer, enby, reader, moviegoer, mother sibling, poet, offspring, gamer, pan-fabulous, video gamer, artist, photographer, blogger, enemy, friend, librarian, and probably a million others that (for the sake of brevity) shall not be named.
It's been a busy few years.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 18, 2023
What a ride! The third book in the Sands of Theia series brings plenty of adventure and excitement. The world building continues to draw me into the story as the complexity grows. The atmosphere provides the searing heat of the desert, too.
What keeps me coming back for more are the characters: this found family led by Tirzah. I love watching Tirzah grow and change on her journey. For anyone looking to delve into a fantasy series with twists, turns, a beautiful mix of queer characters, and plenty of heart, check out the Sands of Theia. It’s never too late to start at the beginning so you can catch up to book 3 for the April release.
Disclosure: I received an eARC. This is my honest review.
What keeps me coming back for more are the characters: this found family led by Tirzah. I love watching Tirzah grow and change on her journey. For anyone looking to delve into a fantasy series with twists, turns, a beautiful mix of queer characters, and plenty of heart, check out the Sands of Theia. It’s never too late to start at the beginning so you can catch up to book 3 for the April release.
Disclosure: I received an eARC. This is my honest review.
April 12, 2023
Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Another great book in the Sands of Theia series! A more quiet and sensitive story which manages to still pack a lot of adventure and excitement. It was so good to return to our faves after we left them setting off towards the city of Urizen in the wake of a new information about Tirzah's sister. The book takes us through the sandy wastes again towards that goal in the beginning, painting the picture of this cruel world again expertly, while we are also being shown the fallout of everything that happened in Kahral in the last book. Not surprisingly Tirzah is quite traumatized and it was heartbreaking to see her deal with that and the awful echoes of all she went through in her childhood. I loved her subtle character development during all this...she's a smart, strong, flawed but good person who is slowly, hopefully, learning to be in peace with herself with the help of her found family. I love love love her friendship with Green, too, what a platonic power couple! :) And there's also a little romance in the works for her again which I found just...so cute. And speaking about Green, it was so interesting to see his take on everything. I really like his character and how he learns about the world and tries to find his place in it. I feel like there will be a lot in store for him...
In Urizen, we get into all kinds of trouble, happily and less happily meet certain people, and the series of weird events that somehow is connected to the god-kings, their power, ancient, buried magics, and the titular sands of the world continue. That looming mystery unravels very slowly, but I'm so intrigued by it. However, power struggles and fights always take the backseat compared to the characters' inner journeys and relationships and that's one of the things I love this series for. This felt like a slower book than the previous, or maybe the rhythm of events was a bit different. No worries, though, there is always excitement and world-rending or -questioning scenes, but it's all trickling in carefully weaved together with Tirzah, Green, Xan, Natané, and the others' personal stories. And we meet new characters too, and every one of them was really worth the attention (I'm watchin' u Landis).
And the finale brings in more new factors too! The tension was high here, and the revelations that happened were very unexpected and will certainly rattle the story in the following. Things are coming together, and I'm not sure what to expect, but I will be here for them.
(also, please I just want to have a convo with Xan, please :D)
Another great book in the Sands of Theia series! A more quiet and sensitive story which manages to still pack a lot of adventure and excitement. It was so good to return to our faves after we left them setting off towards the city of Urizen in the wake of a new information about Tirzah's sister. The book takes us through the sandy wastes again towards that goal in the beginning, painting the picture of this cruel world again expertly, while we are also being shown the fallout of everything that happened in Kahral in the last book. Not surprisingly Tirzah is quite traumatized and it was heartbreaking to see her deal with that and the awful echoes of all she went through in her childhood. I loved her subtle character development during all this...she's a smart, strong, flawed but good person who is slowly, hopefully, learning to be in peace with herself with the help of her found family. I love love love her friendship with Green, too, what a platonic power couple! :) And there's also a little romance in the works for her again which I found just...so cute. And speaking about Green, it was so interesting to see his take on everything. I really like his character and how he learns about the world and tries to find his place in it. I feel like there will be a lot in store for him...
In Urizen, we get into all kinds of trouble, happily and less happily meet certain people, and the series of weird events that somehow is connected to the god-kings, their power, ancient, buried magics, and the titular sands of the world continue. That looming mystery unravels very slowly, but I'm so intrigued by it. However, power struggles and fights always take the backseat compared to the characters' inner journeys and relationships and that's one of the things I love this series for. This felt like a slower book than the previous, or maybe the rhythm of events was a bit different. No worries, though, there is always excitement and world-rending or -questioning scenes, but it's all trickling in carefully weaved together with Tirzah, Green, Xan, Natané, and the others' personal stories. And we meet new characters too, and every one of them was really worth the attention (I'm watchin' u Landis).
And the finale brings in more new factors too! The tension was high here, and the revelations that happened were very unexpected and will certainly rattle the story in the following. Things are coming together, and I'm not sure what to expect, but I will be here for them.
(also, please I just want to have a convo with Xan, please :D)
June 6, 2023
(4.5/5) I continue to be a devoted fan of this series. Tirzah is still my favorite, though Green has also won my heart. Bross does a fantastic job with character development while continuing to immerse us in a perilous world. Tirzah's caravan faces new dangers - both environmental and magical - and she struggles not only with leadership, but painful memories of her past. While I did find myself wanting the plot to move a bit faster in this book, I was still surprised at the end - and can't wait for the next installment!
May 16, 2023
This was an exciting return to the world of Theia and its characters.
I continue to really love Tirzah. She's powerful and brave and stubborn, but also struggling in the aftermath of the horrors of the previous books, and Bross portrays this PTSD with haunting realness.
There's also a great cast of secondary characters, too, amongst both the Aru Si caravan and the citizens of Urizen. A personal favourite continues to be Green, the former Gladiator trying to navigate the world and protect his friends (he's a fighter, but also a marshmallow.)
I adored seeing
I should possibly have re-read the previous 2 books before starting this to remind myself of all the 'who, what where, why?', as there were a few parts where I was a little confused.
I also found the bits with Kibir, Tirzah's familiar, a little strange. Like the vibe is that something is going on there, but we never really get an explanation of what, which was a shame as I really liked their dynamic in the earlier books.
Overall though, a great continuation of Tirzah's story and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
I continue to really love Tirzah. She's powerful and brave and stubborn, but also struggling in the aftermath of the horrors of the previous books, and Bross portrays this PTSD with haunting realness.
There's also a great cast of secondary characters, too, amongst both the Aru Si caravan and the citizens of Urizen. A personal favourite continues to be Green, the former Gladiator trying to navigate the world and protect his friends (he's a fighter, but also a marshmallow.)
I adored seeing
I should possibly have re-read the previous 2 books before starting this to remind myself of all the 'who, what where, why?', as there were a few parts where I was a little confused.
I also found the bits with Kibir, Tirzah's familiar, a little strange. Like the vibe is that something is going on there, but we never really get an explanation of what, which was a shame as I really liked their dynamic in the earlier books.
Overall though, a great continuation of Tirzah's story and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
July 3, 2023
I got into this book not long after finishing the second in the Sands of Theia series: Under Stone and Shadow. The author continues weaving their world through the eyes of their characters, centering around their protagonist Tirzah. Part three brings the overall story forward, keeping the reader in suspense and anticipation throughout the book. Without giving anything away, it’s a satisfying continuation, and it left me wanting the fourth installment, which is coming soon(ish).
So, I’m giving this five stars and recommending all the books of this series to any fan of fantasy novels, queer voices, or anyone looking to spend some time with some danger and whimsy.
So, I’m giving this five stars and recommending all the books of this series to any fan of fantasy novels, queer voices, or anyone looking to spend some time with some danger and whimsy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews