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The Scholar's Scars
Sixth brings the Scholar, seeker of wisdom, whose gifts allow truth to chime.
Having spent her life constantly compared to her sister, Sophia Gonzalez’s confidence has never had a chance to take root, let alone blossom. Doing everything in her power to do right by her family, she still feels she’s more a burden than a gift. Timid, shy, and more likely to steer to a book than a boy, she’s reminded on a daily basis of her shortcomings. Despite her intellect, ability to learn languages, and retain the smallest bits of knowledge, she is known only for her mistakes.
Meanwhile, the otherworldly protectors trying to equip her for her task as a fabled Human-Born are an enigma to Sophia. While she likes them, and does enjoy spending time with them, she’s unsure how to respond to their gentleness toward her, or their small affirmations and soft smiles.
Over the last year, her nights have been filled with vivid dreams, becoming increasingly more lifelike, but also distracting her from her family’s demands. Though she desires desperately to be a good daughter and earn her parents’ acceptance, she cannot deny that her destiny pulls at her.
When trouble finds her, and the appearance of enemy fighters flying overhead thrusts Sophia’s secret into the light of day, her entire life is flipped upside down, leaving her wondering if perhaps all her mistakes would doom her to be unlovable.
Will she be able to find the value within herself, and take on a mantle she thinks is too big for her? Or will her world crumbling around her leave her unsuited for the task ahead?
Having spent her life constantly compared to her sister, Sophia Gonzalez’s confidence has never had a chance to take root, let alone blossom. Doing everything in her power to do right by her family, she still feels she’s more a burden than a gift. Timid, shy, and more likely to steer to a book than a boy, she’s reminded on a daily basis of her shortcomings. Despite her intellect, ability to learn languages, and retain the smallest bits of knowledge, she is known only for her mistakes.
Meanwhile, the otherworldly protectors trying to equip her for her task as a fabled Human-Born are an enigma to Sophia. While she likes them, and does enjoy spending time with them, she’s unsure how to respond to their gentleness toward her, or their small affirmations and soft smiles.
Over the last year, her nights have been filled with vivid dreams, becoming increasingly more lifelike, but also distracting her from her family’s demands. Though she desires desperately to be a good daughter and earn her parents’ acceptance, she cannot deny that her destiny pulls at her.
When trouble finds her, and the appearance of enemy fighters flying overhead thrusts Sophia’s secret into the light of day, her entire life is flipped upside down, leaving her wondering if perhaps all her mistakes would doom her to be unlovable.
Will she be able to find the value within herself, and take on a mantle she thinks is too big for her? Or will her world crumbling around her leave her unsuited for the task ahead?
153 pages, Paperback
Published November 20, 2023
About the author
Susan L. Markloff
12 books43 followersSusan Markloff spent a majority of her childhood pretending to live in other worlds. Coupled with her admiration for fantastical stories, she crafted one of her own. Studying writing at Houghton College, she learned how to hone her skills as an author, writing first drafts of five books during her college career. The Rise of the Raidin is her debut novel and the first in the Human-Born Era series. To date, she has published 4 novels and 6 novellas.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 24, 2025
As much as we often “complain” when an author breaks our heart, we have to admit our broken heart is a sign of phenomenal writing. I went into this book knowing I would cry, and when I finished it, I was sobbing.
To comfort myself, I dove straight into the next HBC and binged until I was too tired to continue.
To comfort myself, I dove straight into the next HBC and binged until I was too tired to continue.
September 24, 2026
Wow… what a fantastic story! Beautiful and sad. This was my favorite of the Human Born Chronicles novellas. I liked Sophia from the beginning, but by the end I just wanted to give her the biggest hug. This story made me think of taking care of my own kids. Of all the human borns, I’m the most invested in Sophia's story. I am nervous and excited to continue on with her story in the main series!
November 19, 2023
4.5/5 Stars - emotionally destructive
The Scholar’s Scars by Susan L. Markloff is book FIVE (I’m not getting that wrong twice) in The Human-Born Chronicles series (a spin-off of her main series, The Human-Born Era).
Scholar follows Sophia Gonzalez who is the definition of an “Aw, Baby,” character. That means you can’t make it three pages without thinking the words “Aw, Baby,” and wanting to give her a hug because her life is so sad.
This book was an emotional assault, because, having read The Ties That Bind, I knew that something bad was going to happen in Scholar (don’t worry, I’m not going to say what the bad thing is). However, in The Ties That Bind, I had just met the affected characters so I didn’t really care about the *bad thing*. That is no longer the case.
It only took one chapter for me to get attached and know that the ending of this book was going to be ROUGH. As sad as it was to read the *bad thing* it was much worse to read the scenes preceding the *bad thing* because the characters are happy and you want to support them and be happy with them but you know that it is not going to end well.
As destructive as this book was, I must say it was well done. I felt for Sophia as she struggled with her loveless family and searched for a place to belong. It was easy to get attached to Sophia and her Zaheri (protectors) and the found family they created.
All-in-all, this was a great book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants their heart to be broken (just read Ties first).
The Scholar’s Scars by Susan L. Markloff is book FIVE (I’m not getting that wrong twice) in The Human-Born Chronicles series (a spin-off of her main series, The Human-Born Era).
Scholar follows Sophia Gonzalez who is the definition of an “Aw, Baby,” character. That means you can’t make it three pages without thinking the words “Aw, Baby,” and wanting to give her a hug because her life is so sad.
This book was an emotional assault, because, having read The Ties That Bind, I knew that something bad was going to happen in Scholar (don’t worry, I’m not going to say what the bad thing is). However, in The Ties That Bind, I had just met the affected characters so I didn’t really care about the *bad thing*. That is no longer the case.
It only took one chapter for me to get attached and know that the ending of this book was going to be ROUGH. As sad as it was to read the *bad thing* it was much worse to read the scenes preceding the *bad thing* because the characters are happy and you want to support them and be happy with them but you know that it is not going to end well.
As destructive as this book was, I must say it was well done. I felt for Sophia as she struggled with her loveless family and searched for a place to belong. It was easy to get attached to Sophia and her Zaheri (protectors) and the found family they created.
All-in-all, this was a great book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants their heart to be broken (just read Ties first).
April 12, 2024
This books wrecked me! I knew it would, because I already read The Ties that Bind. I want to give Sophia a big hug, she is such a sweetie. But AHH, all the foreshadowing in this book! I cannot wait to uncover all the secrets of this series.
June 20, 2025
First off, let me start this review by informing the author that my nonexistent lawyers will be after her because she ripped my heart to shreds 😭😭
But seriously, this was probably my favorite HBC yet, despite the heartbreak, and I am excited to move onto Requisite next!
My favorite part of it all was FOR SURE the found family and it was so rewarding to see Sophia be treated the way she should be finally after seventeen years of dealing with her parents and sister! I love all the different backgrounds the Human-Borns come from and the recognition to readers that an imperfect life doesn't mean you're worth any less than anyone else living a "better" life than you. ❤️
But seriously, this was probably my favorite HBC yet, despite the heartbreak, and I am excited to move onto Requisite next!
My favorite part of it all was FOR SURE the found family and it was so rewarding to see Sophia be treated the way she should be finally after seventeen years of dealing with her parents and sister! I love all the different backgrounds the Human-Borns come from and the recognition to readers that an imperfect life doesn't mean you're worth any less than anyone else living a "better" life than you. ❤️
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews