During the time of the Massacre the Dark King reigned, declaring himself a god and securing his leadership with fear and blood-magic. Overthrown in a bloody revolt and the knowledge of the forbidden arts lost in the book burnings of the ensuing chaos, Gelendan has risen above its gruesome history. Now, hundreds of years later, its dark past forgotten, Layna is a simple maid. But as mysterious events begin to unfold, she comes to realize that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.She finds herself caught up in a whirlwind of deception, romance, espionage, and secret societies that soon has her life spiraling wildly out of control. Whilst fleeing the fury of her mistress - whose rage is fueled by Layna's budding relationship with the woman's former consort - and attempting to evade detection by the priests who want to control her new-found magical talent, Layna's problems are further compounded when she discovers a strange marking on her neck. A mark that is growing darker by the day. Who or what has marked her, and for what purpose she doesn't know. But it soon becomes apparent that whatever it is, it's after her......and it's gaining.(109,272 words)
Laura is very excited to have finally released her books into the wild! Her first trilogy, BloodRunes, hit the market November and December 2011 after much rehabilitation in the confines of her Vermont home. It is with great optimism that she turns them loose upon the ebooks readers, in hopes that she has properly prepared them for survival in the harsh world of publishing. The follow-on trilogy, The Forgotten, will be coming out in 2012 and will, among other things, explore Katya’s mysterious past…
Born and raised in Vermont, Laura completed her education with an Animal Science degree, but her true teachers were authors like Mercedes Lackey, Piers Anthony, and Sharon Green who taught her the joy of a good story. It is her wish to provide her readers with the same.
This book was interesting and full of action. The plot was not guessable and I really enjoyed reading it. I did get the feeling that some things talked about in the book were a little unbelievable and not time or place appropriate.
Laura Cole has quickly became one of my favorite authors. Since getting the kindle app, I have found so many great authors. She is definitely one of them. I sincerely thank Amazon for recommending this book to me lol! Laura has a great writing style. She creates scenes that are easy to picture in your minds eye, which I find some writers really struggle with. Also, she changes the point of view every chpt. You actually feel like you know even the most minor character. But, at the same time, you can never predict their next move. I found myself stumped, which is rare, as to the conclusion of each book. I'll be honest...normally I have no problem picking out the "bad guys" or how the story will end. I absolutely love these books! I highly recommend all of them! Also, Laura just released "Her Favor" which is book 2 of "The Empire" trilogy, the third set of books following this story.
When I started reading this book I put it down MULTIPLE times which is unlike me. Once I get into a book I immerse myself into their world fully. It was not until I was three quarters into the book that it finally peaked my total interest. I have to say that it definately surprised me and turned out to be an okay book. It leaves you wanted to find out what happens to the characters in the book.
his is the first book in the Blood Runes Trilogy. It was imaginative and kept me wondering. I did have to get the other two books in the trilogy to find out what happens to Layna. She is the center of everything. This was a free E-Book. I probably wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been free, but am glad I did.
Pretty decent read for a free e-book. Some grammatical errors, and at certain points more of a "juvenile" tone, but in terms of the story/action/world-building I enjoyed it.
This book is very interesting..I absolutely loved the characters and the storyline.It keeps you going till the end..I can not wait to read the remaining books in this series