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Alaia Chronicles #3.2
Sword and Lute
When a cursed sword slashed the god Taso, his immortality gushed into the grass along with his blood. He escaped death—barely—by transforming into stone. Centuries later, the aspiring musician Amara stumbles across the stone and inadvertently morphs Taso back into his dying body. To save him, she must sacrifice her precious lute and her life-long dream. But in return, she might find her heart's desire…
Sword and Lute is a 16,000-word novelette about the immortal twin founders of verdant Teganne and desert Kad, two rival realms divided by magic—yet bound by blood, mistrust, and love.
The Alaia Chronicles series begins with the historical fantasy short story SWORDS AND SCIMITARS and continues in the fantasy romance novels THE SOURCE OF MAGIC and KISMET'S KISS. Cate Rowan's stories have won more than thirty awards.
Sword and Lute is a 16,000-word novelette about the immortal twin founders of verdant Teganne and desert Kad, two rival realms divided by magic—yet bound by blood, mistrust, and love.
The Alaia Chronicles series begins with the historical fantasy short story SWORDS AND SCIMITARS and continues in the fantasy romance novels THE SOURCE OF MAGIC and KISMET'S KISS. Cate Rowan's stories have won more than thirty awards.
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First published November 1, 2012
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About the author
Cate Rowan
16 books570 followersUSA Today bestseller Cate Rowan writes novels of magic and royal romance set in fantasy kingdoms (and queendoms!) near and far.
She has washed laundry in a crocodile-infested African lake, parasailed over a Mexican beach, and had Costa Rican monkeys poop in her hair, but her favorite adventures are story worlds. Her creative, out-of-the-box tales of heroic odysseys and true love have won more than thirty awards.
These days she lives in the wild Rocky Mountains with her husband, their rescued feline fur-children, and a horse suitably nicknamed Stinkerbelle.
She has washed laundry in a crocodile-infested African lake, parasailed over a Mexican beach, and had Costa Rican monkeys poop in her hair, but her favorite adventures are story worlds. Her creative, out-of-the-box tales of heroic odysseys and true love have won more than thirty awards.
These days she lives in the wild Rocky Mountains with her husband, their rescued feline fur-children, and a horse suitably nicknamed Stinkerbelle.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 26, 2012
Book Two in Cate Rowan’s the Alaia Chronicles entitled “Sword and Lute” has a time-warp vibe fusing elements of Antiquity with the Middle Ages and fantasy. A dream-weaver of paranormal fiction, Cate Rowan brings the supernatural and the mortal kind together on the temporal plane showing the two share feelings, desires, and ambitions as well as possessing what the other needs to find happiness.
The story continues where Taso left off in Book One, “Swords and Scimitars” after his mother, the Goddess Queen, put an enchantment on him that keeps him preserved in stone. It is his father’s doing, the God of the sky, who puts Amara, an inspiring court musician in Taso’s path. The maiden is on her way to Velle for an audition in the morning. With her lute in her hand, she remains singularly focused until she stumbles over a large rock which magically transforms into a man who pleads for her help. She tends to his wounds but then stays with him preparing an evening meal for them each.
Feeling forsaken by his family and left petrified in the forest, Taso does not want Amara to leave him. He attempts to charm her, but she is impervious to his tactics of seduction. Amara, herself has personal issues which she struggles with, and being seduced by an immortal is not on her agenda of goals to accomplish. Rowan creates two engaging protagonists, and strangely the only opposing forces they encounter are their own insecurities. These inner conflicts provide Amara and Taso with relatable attributes to the reader, and make them susceptible to the influences around them.
“Sword and Lute” is emotionally enlightening and sensually uplifting. The characters journey into their own souls to find what will give them solace, inspiring the reader to do the same. There are meaningful moments on each page opening the reader’s mind. The single pattern Rowan’s characters seem to prescribe to is the process they follow to find the path to happiness, which becomes clear after long hours of meditation.
The story continues where Taso left off in Book One, “Swords and Scimitars” after his mother, the Goddess Queen, put an enchantment on him that keeps him preserved in stone. It is his father’s doing, the God of the sky, who puts Amara, an inspiring court musician in Taso’s path. The maiden is on her way to Velle for an audition in the morning. With her lute in her hand, she remains singularly focused until she stumbles over a large rock which magically transforms into a man who pleads for her help. She tends to his wounds but then stays with him preparing an evening meal for them each.
Feeling forsaken by his family and left petrified in the forest, Taso does not want Amara to leave him. He attempts to charm her, but she is impervious to his tactics of seduction. Amara, herself has personal issues which she struggles with, and being seduced by an immortal is not on her agenda of goals to accomplish. Rowan creates two engaging protagonists, and strangely the only opposing forces they encounter are their own insecurities. These inner conflicts provide Amara and Taso with relatable attributes to the reader, and make them susceptible to the influences around them.
“Sword and Lute” is emotionally enlightening and sensually uplifting. The characters journey into their own souls to find what will give them solace, inspiring the reader to do the same. There are meaningful moments on each page opening the reader’s mind. The single pattern Rowan’s characters seem to prescribe to is the process they follow to find the path to happiness, which becomes clear after long hours of meditation.
May 18, 2015
Good read
I really liked this story. It was a n excellent continuation of the first book and a far better read. The love story is beautiful although it does progress quickly.
I really liked this story. It was a n excellent continuation of the first book and a far better read. The love story is beautiful although it does progress quickly.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews