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The Tale of Visions and Vengeance
Inspired by Shakespeare's As You Like It
Most people in Mozov probably think that Princess Katya is hidden away because her parents are waiting to present her to society at the upcoming Spring Ball, but really it's because they're afraid of her--or at least her mother is.
Yes, Katya has visions of the future.
Yes, she tried to warn her father what would happen before he came home from the mountains with half his leg missing.
But, instead of listening to her, everything becomes her fault. Which is probably why Katya has given up trying to tell people what she sees and instead chooses to write her visions down in diary, which up until now has been kept secret.
The day she discovers that her vision diary has had several entires ripped from it's pages, she thinks nothing could be worse than someone knowing her secrets, until it becomes obvious that the thief is going out of their way to make her visions a reality. Now, she fears for her life, wondering if her best and worst vision of all will be the next to come true. In it, she saw a beautiful boy with green eyes confess his love for her, but the vision tragically ended with her own brutal death.
When she finally meets the boy from her vision, she has an instant connection with him, but decides to go ahead with her plans to run away after the Ball before the worst can happen. However, the diary thief has different ideas. Using one of her old visions, he stages a coup at the Ball which leads to a massacre of the Royal family in which only Katya and her brother Sasha barely escape with their lives.
Now, on the run, Katya disguises herself as a boy so they can hide out with a band of mountain rebels who just might be the army they need to take back the throne from the thief who has crowned himself the new Tsar. That is, until the green-eyed boy shows up in camp, thinking Katya is nothing more than a clumsy squire, forcing her to hide her burgeoning feelings for him even though she knows that earning his love will end in her death.
Can she keep up the charade long enough to help reclaim her family's throne, or will revealing her heart lead to her own unhappily ever after?
Most people in Mozov probably think that Princess Katya is hidden away because her parents are waiting to present her to society at the upcoming Spring Ball, but really it's because they're afraid of her--or at least her mother is.
Yes, Katya has visions of the future.
Yes, she tried to warn her father what would happen before he came home from the mountains with half his leg missing.
But, instead of listening to her, everything becomes her fault. Which is probably why Katya has given up trying to tell people what she sees and instead chooses to write her visions down in diary, which up until now has been kept secret.
The day she discovers that her vision diary has had several entires ripped from it's pages, she thinks nothing could be worse than someone knowing her secrets, until it becomes obvious that the thief is going out of their way to make her visions a reality. Now, she fears for her life, wondering if her best and worst vision of all will be the next to come true. In it, she saw a beautiful boy with green eyes confess his love for her, but the vision tragically ended with her own brutal death.
When she finally meets the boy from her vision, she has an instant connection with him, but decides to go ahead with her plans to run away after the Ball before the worst can happen. However, the diary thief has different ideas. Using one of her old visions, he stages a coup at the Ball which leads to a massacre of the Royal family in which only Katya and her brother Sasha barely escape with their lives.
Now, on the run, Katya disguises herself as a boy so they can hide out with a band of mountain rebels who just might be the army they need to take back the throne from the thief who has crowned himself the new Tsar. That is, until the green-eyed boy shows up in camp, thinking Katya is nothing more than a clumsy squire, forcing her to hide her burgeoning feelings for him even though she knows that earning his love will end in her death.
Can she keep up the charade long enough to help reclaim her family's throne, or will revealing her heart lead to her own unhappily ever after?
479 pages, Paperback
Published March 27, 2024
30 people want to read
About the author
S.A. Cantrell
6 books15 followersI am a YA author from America who currently lives in the UK with my husband and two children. Together, we enjoy exploring ancient ruins, castles, small-town coffee shops and used bookstores.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2024
What an emotional rollercoaster
This book has a few twists and turns that makes you feel like your soul is being ripped out along with your heart as right from the get go, the author creates a connection between you and the main characters, some you'll love, some you'll hate, but the book remains exciting and engaging all the way through, you will not want to put this book down once you start reading it. The character progression is amazing and the book had me in tears several times (full on sobbing). There were a lot of highs and lows for the characters but the author successfully manages to transport you whole heartedly along for the ride. I cannot recommend this book enough. I will definitely be reading this one more than once.
This book has a few twists and turns that makes you feel like your soul is being ripped out along with your heart as right from the get go, the author creates a connection between you and the main characters, some you'll love, some you'll hate, but the book remains exciting and engaging all the way through, you will not want to put this book down once you start reading it. The character progression is amazing and the book had me in tears several times (full on sobbing). There were a lot of highs and lows for the characters but the author successfully manages to transport you whole heartedly along for the ride. I cannot recommend this book enough. I will definitely be reading this one more than once.
May 29, 2024
4.5 rounded up!
Katya has visions of the future since she was a young child, and the scary thing is...they all come true. Her mother hates her for it and blames her for everything that happens. Her mother thinks she's sick and cursed. Since no one has listened, Katya begins to journal her visions until one day, she notices several entries missing.
Katya has a new vision of a beautiful boy with green eyes confessing his love for her, but the vision tragically ends with her own brutal death.
Katya is forced to find a way to stop these visions from coming true.
4.5⭐️
I really wasn't sure what this book was about before diving into it, but wow, was I pleasantly surprised. It is a YA story, and as much as do like spice, sometimes and good YA just hits.
I'm not really sure what would have made this 5 stars for me (maybe a fade to black moment 🙈). At times when I was reading, it reminded me of Anastasia. I hope this book starts to get more attention because I think it's worth it. I really enjoyed it. Also, it's a standalone.
I did receive a copy of this from the author, but my review is 100% my own.
Katya has visions of the future since she was a young child, and the scary thing is...they all come true. Her mother hates her for it and blames her for everything that happens. Her mother thinks she's sick and cursed. Since no one has listened, Katya begins to journal her visions until one day, she notices several entries missing.
Katya has a new vision of a beautiful boy with green eyes confessing his love for her, but the vision tragically ends with her own brutal death.
Katya is forced to find a way to stop these visions from coming true.
4.5⭐️
I really wasn't sure what this book was about before diving into it, but wow, was I pleasantly surprised. It is a YA story, and as much as do like spice, sometimes and good YA just hits.
I'm not really sure what would have made this 5 stars for me (maybe a fade to black moment 🙈). At times when I was reading, it reminded me of Anastasia. I hope this book starts to get more attention because I think it's worth it. I really enjoyed it. Also, it's a standalone.
I did receive a copy of this from the author, but my review is 100% my own.
June 19, 2024
I received an advance copy for free provided by the author, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This story was pulling on my heartstrings! I love a good YA story! If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend you do!
The banter in this book is just giving! You read how much family values means to the main character. Our main FMC, Katya has been experiencing visions for some time now. She writes her visions down and hides them away as journal entries. Imagine not being trusted by your family members. I enjoy that this has romance and fantasy elements. It actually also reminds me of a few stories, old and new, and so I want to say retelling!
Sarah does great with the character development throughout her book. We see how each of the characters flows throughout the story. In the story, Katya’s visions end up becoming a reality. We also meet her mother, who, I guess, for a better, nicer word to choose, would be evil. I want to say she’s not really important, but when you read the story, she plays a role. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the story, and so you’ll have to chime along to find out more about what happens. There is a romance that brews, and of course, you can bet that there’s a looming MMC in the story involved with Katya.
This narrative is about having to make a choice and seeing where it leads you. In this case, Katya knew was fully aware of what her future entailed. She had to make a choice about the direction of where she wanted her life to lead. This is a very enjoyable book. The spicy level on this is a closed door. I’m not big on open-door scenes, even though I read books with them. This book was definitely up my alley, and I’m very comfortable with the type of romance this book has to offer. Sarah’s writing is beautiful, and she portrays all her characters beautifully. The characters who experienced all sorts of emotions will definitely make you feel a specific way about each one of them. This is truly a book that I would reread again! It is also a book that I would purchase as a gift. Overall, it's a good book!
This story was pulling on my heartstrings! I love a good YA story! If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend you do!
The banter in this book is just giving! You read how much family values means to the main character. Our main FMC, Katya has been experiencing visions for some time now. She writes her visions down and hides them away as journal entries. Imagine not being trusted by your family members. I enjoy that this has romance and fantasy elements. It actually also reminds me of a few stories, old and new, and so I want to say retelling!
Sarah does great with the character development throughout her book. We see how each of the characters flows throughout the story. In the story, Katya’s visions end up becoming a reality. We also meet her mother, who, I guess, for a better, nicer word to choose, would be evil. I want to say she’s not really important, but when you read the story, she plays a role. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the story, and so you’ll have to chime along to find out more about what happens. There is a romance that brews, and of course, you can bet that there’s a looming MMC in the story involved with Katya.
This narrative is about having to make a choice and seeing where it leads you. In this case, Katya knew was fully aware of what her future entailed. She had to make a choice about the direction of where she wanted her life to lead. This is a very enjoyable book. The spicy level on this is a closed door. I’m not big on open-door scenes, even though I read books with them. This book was definitely up my alley, and I’m very comfortable with the type of romance this book has to offer. Sarah’s writing is beautiful, and she portrays all her characters beautifully. The characters who experienced all sorts of emotions will definitely make you feel a specific way about each one of them. This is truly a book that I would reread again! It is also a book that I would purchase as a gift. Overall, it's a good book!
June 13, 2024
!! I recieved a free copy of this book from the author in reuturn for a honest review.
My Rating - 4/5 stars
Recommended for ages 12+
S.A. Cantrell is a princess of rollercoasters, I say that because she’ll take you up high slowly until you start relaxing and let your guard down, and then WHAM! She’ll drop you like an item that’s no longer on sale and you’ll be there, just sitting at the bottom, clutching your heart for dear life and wondering what the heck just happened. The brother-sister relationship is beautifully done but Sarah, please, we never tell each other ‘I love you’, it would be the end of the world 😭. The writing was a bit cheesy at times especially when it came to Nairn (I couldn’t stop laughing when I read ‘he stomped’. I could only picture a bear 😂) but hey, I’ll let it slide because the overall story was elegantly done. True to her word, Sarah has written this book for the softer side of YA. With a haunted FMC and a charmingly adorable MMC, The Tale of Visions and Vengeance is perfect for anyone who loves Brave (the vibes match so well!) and a classic damsel-in-distress heroine.
Read this if you like:
✨ Soft Heroines
✨ Sibling banter
✨ Fast-paced books with quick worldbuilding
✨A dark haired but morally white MMC
✨ Mother Gothel (getting her deserved end)
My Rating - 4/5 stars
Recommended for ages 12+
S.A. Cantrell is a princess of rollercoasters, I say that because she’ll take you up high slowly until you start relaxing and let your guard down, and then WHAM! She’ll drop you like an item that’s no longer on sale and you’ll be there, just sitting at the bottom, clutching your heart for dear life and wondering what the heck just happened. The brother-sister relationship is beautifully done but Sarah, please, we never tell each other ‘I love you’, it would be the end of the world 😭. The writing was a bit cheesy at times especially when it came to Nairn (I couldn’t stop laughing when I read ‘he stomped’. I could only picture a bear 😂) but hey, I’ll let it slide because the overall story was elegantly done. True to her word, Sarah has written this book for the softer side of YA. With a haunted FMC and a charmingly adorable MMC, The Tale of Visions and Vengeance is perfect for anyone who loves Brave (the vibes match so well!) and a classic damsel-in-distress heroine.
Read this if you like:
✨ Soft Heroines
✨ Sibling banter
✨ Fast-paced books with quick worldbuilding
✨A dark haired but morally white MMC
✨ Mother Gothel (getting her deserved end)
June 13, 2024
I truly enjoyed this book! I am a sucker for historical fiction/romance/retellings/fantasy, and this one gave me all that. Although romance was present for Katya and Sacha, it did not take focus from the story, which I liked. Everything going - forward might contain spoilers, so read at your discretion.
You get used to family members - especially - siblings killing and plotting against each other (in history, books, and movies). But when you read about the mother being the one killing her kids in cold blood - she was so awful, evil, and manipulative. She truly deserved the worst ending possible. Katya deserved so much better, and she got it in the end. Although she suffered so much, she maintained a good heart and broke free from all the hurt and self-doubt inflicted by the ones closest to her.
I would love to read a sequel depicting Sacha's role as the tsar, exploring more of Katya's relationship, and maybe more connections with other places in the realms.
You get used to family members - especially - siblings killing and plotting against each other (in history, books, and movies). But when you read about the mother being the one killing her kids in cold blood - she was so awful, evil, and manipulative. She truly deserved the worst ending possible. Katya deserved so much better, and she got it in the end. Although she suffered so much, she maintained a good heart and broke free from all the hurt and self-doubt inflicted by the ones closest to her.
I would love to read a sequel depicting Sacha's role as the tsar, exploring more of Katya's relationship, and maybe more connections with other places in the realms.
June 15, 2024
ARC REVIEW
I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK. Everything just works: the plot, characters and writing, all amazing. I loved the relationship the main character had with her family, it was sweet, relatable and sad which made the book heartbreaking at times. The relationship between the main couple was delightful as the relationship felt innocent and cute. The plot was entertaining as you never know what to expect next. The writing is just so easy to get lost in as it just takes you on a journey you don't want to end. The story gives Merlin x Bridgerton vibes.
I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK. Everything just works: the plot, characters and writing, all amazing. I loved the relationship the main character had with her family, it was sweet, relatable and sad which made the book heartbreaking at times. The relationship between the main couple was delightful as the relationship felt innocent and cute. The plot was entertaining as you never know what to expect next. The writing is just so easy to get lost in as it just takes you on a journey you don't want to end. The story gives Merlin x Bridgerton vibes.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews