The Befallen

The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #1

by Cambria Williams

Sloane, sheltered, yet persistent, believes she's capable, and longs for everyone to see past her disabled leg. Selling at Market Day unaccompanied is the chance to prove herself. But when she returns home to her village, she's shattered to discover the Befallen has killed everyone. Having nothing but her faith in the goddesses of the moon, she's forced to test her strength in the outside world. Sloane realizes the kingdom is dangerous even without the full of thieves, thugs, and, worse, heretics.
Sloane is further shocked no one seems to know the entire legend, which promises a hero will defeat the Befallen. When she learns an order of knights have vowed to fulfill the legend, she's determined to help them as she alone was taught that a weapon will be gifted from the seldom-seen goddess of the Azure Moon.
Sir Tolvar, a banished, famed knight, wrestling with the demons of his past, is skeptical. He's reluctant to let Sloane join their cause until she convinces him that faith carries its own power.
As the two uncover the mysteries surrounding the Befallen-growing steadily stronger-an impossible task is thrust upon Sloane that makes her question everything...

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Book Club, Fantasy Romance, Young Adult

442 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2023

About the author

Cambria Williams believes that storytelling is limitless, timeless, and transformative. Cambria writes fantasy fiction and contemporary young adult fiction that emphasize the magic of hope and the strength of love. She is the award-winning author of The Befallen, Book 1 of The Unsung and the Wolf Duology, which won the 2024 Bronze Quill Award and the 2024 Fantasy Finalist Award for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Cambria loves traveling, reading, and taking walks with her husband and dog. She has an MFA in Writing and lives in Utah. Visit Cambria online at cambriawilliams.com.

Reviews

[Cambria Williams]

I am the author of this dark fantasy novel.

When I started writing this story, two main ideas drove its plot. Anyone can be a hero. Anyone can find redemption. This story is for the reluctant hero inside all of us and for that part of everyone who simply wants to be seen by others.

Thank you to all my beta, ARC, and enthusiastic readers who have cheered on this novel!

I hope you love reading Sloane and Tolvar's story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

www.cambriawilliams.com

[Julie Quintero · Rating 5 out of 5]

She didn’t want to be special, she just wanted to be seen. Same Sloane, same.

I was lucky enough to be given an advance copy of The Befallen and it was fantastic. The characters are relatable, well written and real. Sloane is the reluctant yet resilient heroine, Tolvar is the grumpy drunk knight who just wants to forget but ultimately is looking for redemption and acceptance of his own. And Alvie who just wants a snack. Again same. The attention given to world building and scene setting is great. I laughed, I cried, I cursed the authors name. It was a beautiful journey I was happy to be a part of.

[Korri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky to be able to get an advanced copy of this book. The author is a great story teller. Everything flows and I can picture it all in my mind. I loved the building of the characters and their relationships with one another. I really felt close to all of them. I was sucked into the story early on and couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen!

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a book. I received an advance copy of this book and I was enthralled from start to finish.

The author crafted a unique world in this book. I loved how it was centered around Moons and I wanted to know more about it.

The characters were very well defined and well written and my heart soared and fell during their ups and downs.

The story was just as engaging and I couldn’t put it down once I started.

The last act tugged at my heartstrings and it even went in ways I didn’t expect.

I loved the central themes of heroism and faith. It inspired me and was left feeling something that I didn’t expect.

Cambria Williams is a dynamic author and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the disability representation, the FMC, Sloane, who is patient and expresses her religion unapologetically. However, she must leave her hometown due to a curse (WOW) and thieves? Meets a young knight (Tolvar) who is Hatmitch + Inigo Montoya. They must team up to save her hometown and the world; as well as prove he is not a completely failure.

I received this ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily, all thoughts/opinions above are my own.

[Tuvareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank Cambria Williams for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

In The Befallen we follow Sloane, a girl with a crippled leg from a small village in Deogol. The land of Deogol is plagued by a curse, The Befallen, and one day when Sloane is away from her home, her whole village gets killed by this curse. She is now forced to leave on a journey, all alone.

Sloane is such a tough, persistent and overall good person and it is impossible not to love her from the start. She overcomes so many challenges, life really serves her some big ass lemons, but still she has her faith, and a hope that the curse can be broken.

Introducing Sir Tolvar, a grumpy, drunken knight. He's having a hard time with some of his past, and is working on redeeming himself. However, it isn't going that well because he has a habit of seeking the nearest inn and drowning himself in ale. But when he meets Sloane he finds the courage to face his demons. Together they team up to find a way to stop The Befallen.

The characters we meet are all very well written, I especially enjoyed Alvie and Hux, and I loved the found family aspect we get in this book. The Sunshine/Grumpy trope was also *chefs kiss*.

The magic is subtle, the world feels real, and the story surprised me more than once. The ending made me feel all the feels, and I just want to jump right in there and give the characters a hug.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I don’t usually read books, I am an audiobook person so when I tell you I was picking this up every chance I could- I really enjoyed it.
In this DEBUT dark fantasy we meet Sloane, who just wanted to prove she is capable, as she has a crippled leg. She strengthens her faith and summons her courage after losing everything and everyone she loves to the Befallen- a dark force that destroys every creature in its path. Whole towns have been lost to it, including hers. As the Befallen continues it’s wave of destruction Sloane is desperate to do something to stop it.
Sir Tolvar and his order of knights are in search of the Unsung, a hero who in their ancient lore is foretold to bring an end to the Befallen. No one seems to know the full story behind this legend except Sloane, who offers up her help. The two of them fight the battles within themselves and against others who try to stop them from defeating the Befallen.
I thought I could see where this book was going but I was so wrong and I loved it!

Kudos to Cambria for an enjoyable read!
Edited 6.16.25 - Can we please have an audio version?!!

[Kara Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s amazing that I personally know someone who took the time to craft such a fun fantasy/adventure story. I receive her monthly newsletter and enjoyed hearing about the different moons as she had relayed them to us during her writing process. There are some good action scenes and I like the fact that there are relatable characters for many different personalities and interests. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was beautiful. In a land that has mostly abandoned their belief in the moon goddesses, Sloane clings to her faith as a compass. I loved that Sloane found her inner strength, and then became so confident that no one could deny that she was a powerhouse. The best part about Sloane though? Her self-doubt. Bravery is not the absence of fear, and confidence is not the absence of insecurity. It's all about pushing through and rising above, no matter what darkness befalls us.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge thank you goes to Cambria Williams, for letting me read an e-ARC of her debut dark fantasy, The Befallen! This ominous tale of spreading evil, forgotten lore & a grieving heroine is one you are absolutely going to *love*. I know I certainly did!

Cambria has created a novel of fairytale-like mythology, with hints of Avalon & a darkness akin to Brothers Grimm or the Ravenloft multi-author series. There’s a titanic clash between faith & evil within The Befallen, & Sloane navigates deadly (and creepy) locales like the bog with pure courage.

Featuring my favourite trope of found family, the goodness doesn't end there! We also get an epic quest, a brooding hero, & an unlikely heroine...

*** You can read my FULL review on my blog via this link: https://www.immersedinbooks.com/the-b... ***

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book and I’m so glad I did. This book was so good! The heroine, Sloane, is crippled and when her entire town is taken by the Befallen she believes the only thing she can do to help is to tell the important people that they have to find the Unsung to save the world. When they don’t take her seriously and don’t listen she feels she needs to get things moving on her own.

This is considered in the fantasy genre. The magic is faith-based with the faith following the various moon cycles. It is clean and family-friendly. I don’t think it’s considered YA but teens could enjoy this as well as adults.

I loved Sloane and her friends. Their dynamic worked very well. The story flowed smoothly and was fun to read. I hope Cambria Williams writes more. I can’t wait to read something else from her!

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Befallen is an extremely enchanting story about finding meaning and value in ourselves and within the world. The characters are all very endearing. I found myself becoming emotionally attached to most of the characters, not just the protagonist like I would traditionally be. The characters, particularly Sloane and Tolvar, learn and grow and completely steal your heart. This is a beautiful tale of the fight between good and evil that we find all around us, and depicts the inner solution we can all find to fight that evil. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and look forward to future sequels to continue the story.

[Emilie Kingsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. I loved the world building and characters. The author was great at making you feel with the characters. I enjoyed the fighting scenes and felt she did a great job of getting you involved. I think this is going to be one of my new favorite fantasy authors. I hope there will be a sequel, but this could be a stand-alone novel as well. I would recommend ages 14+. Excellent new book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the really fun opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

This fantasy debut novel follows Sloane, a small-town girl who has only ever been notable in her community for her disability: a crippled leg. Sloane’s homeland has been recently under attack by both a curse that leaves whole towns dead in its wake and a gang of thieves. But when Sloane is left with no other option than to leave her home and set off into the world, she faces both forces with fortitude. Sloane’s faith, sincerity, and guileless nature set her apart, particularly in the eyes of a famed young knight who is all but debilitated by the shadows of his past. Together, they must work to stop both forces ravaging her island home before it is too late for them and the whole world.

What really stands out to me in this book are the characters. In today’s world of gritty, tough, morally gray protagonists, Sloane is refreshingly, unambiguously good-hearted. She expresses religious faith without being preachy. She is not tough or sassy; she is patient and strong-willed, showing a different kind of strong female character.

Meanwhile, the young knight, Tolvar, is Inigo Montoya meets Geralt from the Witcher: gruff but good-hearted, an expert swordsman and a drunk, lost in the devastation of his past. He is working to redeem himself from his failures when he meets Sloane, who inspires him to be better and brings out his protective nature. If you love a delicate sunshine character x overly-protective storm cloud character pairing, this is a good book for you.

The novel certainly has many of the hallmark flaws of a debut (difficulties with pacing, clunky phrasing, etc.), but I try to be generous with debuts. I felt the story was worth reading in spite of its flaws. The themes of everyday heroes, courage, faith, honor, selflessness and sacrifice are entwined into the narrative in a way that is quite moving. Content includes a fair amount of death and violence (nothing too graphic) but otherwise it’s squeaky clean.

I received a free e-copy of The Befallen ARC to read and review. This review, as with all my reviews, is only my own honest thoughts.

[Janna Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading The Befallen by my new favorite fantasy author Cambria Williams. As I was reading, I was reminded of all the good things about fantasy novels: the quirky characters you start to care about, the history of a place that is entirely fictional but seems so real, and the struggles that, although they take place in a fantastic made-up world, are so similar to mine.

As the main character Sloane fights and overcomes her physical and emotional weaknesses, she learns a lot about herself and just exactly how strong she is; just like I have.

As Tolvar struggles with his past regrets and throws one bad decision after another, he finally finds something and someone to care about and makes hard personal changes; just like I have.

As the people of Deogol are fighting evil, working through corrupt politicians, and starting to lose hope, they learn that faith, perseverance, relying on each other, and sacrificing ourselves for the greater good is still the right way to survive and thrive; just like we are trying to do.

That's how I know I am reading a fantasy novel of quality. The story, although fictitious, isn't only wildly entertaining and perfectly executed, it resonated with me personally and I could see its value for myself, my family, my friends, and everyone, really. The lessons learned transcended the story and found their way into my heart. That's what happened to me when I read this wonderful novel, The Befallen.

[Carlos Montilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Befallen is a very entertaining book, I like the story has a lot of suspense and mystery moments that keep you reading till figure out where the story is going. I give it five ⭐️, 2 👍, and looking forward to Sloane’s and Tolvar’s next chapter.

[Dani Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this didn't feel like a chore (rare). The characters were diverse and loveable (and hateable). The romance didn't make me want to throw up and then die. I really liked this book! Looking forward to reading more from this author

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the book I didn’t realize I needed until I finished it. It hit all the check marks for me. Adventure, friendship, hope and of course love. I loved all of the characters in this book and was invested in what happened to all of them! It was easy for me to get sucked into this fantasy world and never got bored reading this book. The only bad part was when I was finished because I wanted more! I can’t wait for the next installment from this up and coming author!

[Tabitha Heileman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the book is slow going at first. It turns out to be an amazing book! I will definitely reread it!

[GABBY LUCAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when there is a strong female lead that overcomes the world. Sloane is definitely that girl, and I love how she is portrayed. I love how the author has made this world feel real and relatable. I'm excited for book 2 and any other books by this author

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars - I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a debut dark fantasy novel by Cambria Williams. Though the writing could be better, it was a gripping tale of perseverance and sacrifice. Cambria appears to be a promising new author, and I look forward to reading her future books.

[Lindsay Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Befallen is everything I want in a story—strong female protagonist who must save the world, a smattering of romance, all set in a dark fantasy. I couldn’t put this book down, and I cried when it ended.

[Meghan Lorenc-Shafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. A lot. It stands out in a bookish world that relies too heavily (in my opinion) on tropes and stereotypes. So much about it was refreshing to me, and not just because of the multiple main characters with disabilities (though as a disabled person, I was very excited about that).

What I loved most:

- It’s a spin on the traditional “chosen one” story that highlights strength of character, overcoming stigmas, and a willingness to step up when a hero is needed

- It’s adventurous, with interesting world building and great storytelling

- I found the main character to be an extremely empowering and deeply nuanced take on the “strong female lead”

- This book is FULL of love. Romantic, yes, but it also focuses nearly as much attention on familial love and love between friends and allies

- Doesn’t commit the cardinal disability rep sin of: “they don’t let their disability slow them down!” That idea is not only unrealistic, but also pretty ableist. This book shows you how the disabled characters adapt and struggle and suffer to do what others do painlessly, but because of that it allows their resilience and determination to shine. Showing their weaknesses actually shows you how strong they are.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Befallen is a poignant story and is Cambria Williams charming debut dark fantasy tale. It is a unique and engaging tale that is cleverly crafted together.
It is a story with all the feels, a story of faith and longing. Where ones worth and place in the world is what our MC’s are longing to find. One a reluctant drunk and moody/grumpy Knight Sir Tolvar needs redemption from past. The other a young woman Sloane has had to overcome so much in her life. She has a disability and just wants to be seen as something more than a cripple, to mean something.
When Sir grumpy meets Sloane, he is inspired to become a better man and decides to help her on finding a cure for the curse that has stolen her whole world from her.
These wonderful characters are well written and will make your heart melt and I was rooting for them against their fight to stop the Befallen before it destroys more. Other characters were just as good.
I look forward to more from Cambria.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane is on her own for selling at Market Day to return home and find the Befallen has killed her small town, including her family. Sloane gathers the courage to travel on her own, only to find life is harder and cruelty has a large place in the world. Along the way she meets Sir Tolvar, a knight with a drunken exterior and a past he has a hard time facing. With a few friends picked up along the way, Sloane finds herself surrounded by unlikely allies who are wanting to take down the Befallen.

This was a very unique story. You are pulled in right away and you think the story is going one way to only take you on a different path. Full of surprises, I really enjoyed this one very different then the books of the genres I have read.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Befallen by Cambria Williams is the first book I’ve read by this author. What an experience. (In a good way!) My emotion’s definitely went on a rollercoaster. I read this book in a day, cover to cover. I don’t think I lowered my kindle once. One thing I can’t lament enough is how real the characters were written… Everything was so incredibly relatable. The worldbuilding was fantastic, I was able to imagine everything that I was reading! The plot/pace had me so intrigued all the way until the final sentence of the book. Also what a unique story. I loved the themes of adventure and hope that was woven throughout the story. I highly recommend that you check out this book!

Final review:
4 out of 5 stars

[Bracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was full of adventure and hope, and included unexpected twists that left me intrigued to read more.

The overall theme of the Befallen coveys the importance of faith and hope and the power it gives to move forward and do something good when things are bad, not because you particularly want or are the best for the job, but because somebody needs to.

The complex characters in the book complement each other nicely to make their interactions interesting, multi-layered, and complicated as they unravel the mystery of the Befallen.

[Jenna🦇 · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was an interesting read. A debut dark fantasy story about a young girl wanting to find her place in the world but ends up having to save it instead. has great disability rep in it. i found the pacing to be abit weird at times and the writing didn’t flow well in others, otherwise the story was intriguing.

i was sent the arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible! The world that Cambria has created is so detailed and rich with its own history and lore. Sloane's world feeds into her faith and beliefs in a way that is unique and relevant to our time. Sloane was by far my favorite character and I loved getting lost In her world.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Some of the things I liked were the world building and the map! I liked the incorporation of the moon and stars, it really added to my enjoyment and interest. I thought the story and adventure were great. Probably my favorite aspect of this book was the characters. I was very impressed with the authors ability to make so many characters lovable, interesting, and someone you wanted to know more about. My favorites were probably Alvie, Tolvar, Ghlee and the Unsung.