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The Halvarian Ruin Books #1
Noble Falling
Duchess Aleana Melora of Eniva, future queen of Halvaria, is resigned to the gilded cage of her life, facing a loveless marriage to Tallak, the prospective king, and struggling under the pressure to carry on the family name despite her wish to find a woman to love.
When her convoy is attacked on the journey to Tallak's palace, Aleana is saved by her guard, Ori, only to discover her people have turned against her and joined forces with the kingdom of Dakmor, Halvaria's greatest enemy. Her only hope is to reach Tallak, but she and Ori don’t make it far before another attack and an unlikely rescue by Kahira, a Dakmoran woman banished from her kingdom for reasons she is hesitant to share.
Though Kahira is marked as a criminal, Aleana’s heart makes itself known. Aleana is facing danger and betrayal at every turn, and she fears giving in to her desires will mean she will enter her marriage knowing exactly the kind of passion she will never have as the Halvarian Queen—if she survives long enough to be crowned.
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2012
7 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 4, 2017
This is officially the earliest I've dropped a book, at 6% progress. Mostly due to personal taste in writing, but it just all stacked up for an unbearable experience.
The first strike was that it's written in first person. That doesn't automatically mean a book is gonna be bad, but it needs some pretty good writing to make up for it, which this book doesn't have.
The typical writing rule of "show, don't tell" is immediately thrown out the window when the narrator details her entire life in the first chapter. To make this worse, all of these fantasy-sounding names are thrown at you so quickly that it's near impossible to remember what's what, and the author's demonstrated fear of paragraph breaks is the nail in the coffin. Walls of text just aren't good for getting a story across.
The first strike was that it's written in first person. That doesn't automatically mean a book is gonna be bad, but it needs some pretty good writing to make up for it, which this book doesn't have.
The typical writing rule of "show, don't tell" is immediately thrown out the window when the narrator details her entire life in the first chapter. To make this worse, all of these fantasy-sounding names are thrown at you so quickly that it's near impossible to remember what's what, and the author's demonstrated fear of paragraph breaks is the nail in the coffin. Walls of text just aren't good for getting a story across.
November 18, 2013
The ending was abrupt, looking forward to seeing what comes next.
May 11, 2019
Story follows a duchess who is on her way to be married. Before his death, her father arranged a political alliance with a neighboring kingdom. Unfortunately, her carriage is attacked on the way, and she must go into hiding. She wins some allies during her quest to save her land.
The writing is fine, and this is a quick read. But the story offers nothing new. It's formulaic. The plot twists are easily predicted. I didn't feel connected to or invested in the characters because they were pretty flat. There's no tension. It wraps up too easily. Overall, just okay.
The writing is fine, and this is a quick read. But the story offers nothing new. It's formulaic. The plot twists are easily predicted. I didn't feel connected to or invested in the characters because they were pretty flat. There's no tension. It wraps up too easily. Overall, just okay.
June 20, 2019
Harmony Press - never fails to deliver something truly awful lol!
October 11, 2020
I think Noble Falling is perfect for any readers who want to try reading fantasy but don't want anything complicated. It's an easy read with a dash of romance.
It's by no means a literary masterpiece of fantasy fiction, but it's a decent story with a f/f ship, some twists and that fantasy feeling of adventure. I had a fun time reading it when I felt like I lacked the capacity for huge worlds of fantasy political intrigue.
The only downside for me is that it ends rather abruptly and kind of on a cliffhanger so if you want the whole story you will probably have to pick up the sequel as well. Which, if you end up liking the first book, it's probably not actually a bad thing having to read more of the story.
It's by no means a literary masterpiece of fantasy fiction, but it's a decent story with a f/f ship, some twists and that fantasy feeling of adventure. I had a fun time reading it when I felt like I lacked the capacity for huge worlds of fantasy political intrigue.
The only downside for me is that it ends rather abruptly and kind of on a cliffhanger so if you want the whole story you will probably have to pick up the sequel as well. Which, if you end up liking the first book, it's probably not actually a bad thing having to read more of the story.
December 23, 2012
I won Noble Falling as part of a competition run by FYeahQueerTeenLit, and I read it all in one sitting – it made my five-hour train journey whoosh by! The short chapters make it pacy and the story is compelling and fast-moving. It’s even perhaps a little shorter than it needs to be – I would have liked a bit more time to get to know the characters, and a little more depth of characterisation. Having said that, the main character was interesting and sympathetic, and I loved the central relationship between Aleana and the mysterious Kahira! Plus the ending begs for a sequel.
September 9, 2015
What stood out for me with this book is how uniquely small-scale and intimate the author makes the action feel. There are hints of war, and yet the reader only ever sees hints of that through the three main characters. Throughout the course of the novel, they rarely interact with anyone named and this gives the book a very unique feel.
Two main characters are queer, but slight warning for one having a tragic queer backstory. Note that every character has a tragic backstory so it doesn't come across as specifically problematic, but it's worth mentioning.
Two main characters are queer, but slight warning for one having a tragic queer backstory. Note that every character has a tragic backstory so it doesn't come across as specifically problematic, but it's worth mentioning.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews