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Bloodstone
After being forced into an arranged marriage by her Queen mother, Zora Winnser, the last princess of Samaria, finds herself traveling from her home country of snow-capped mountains to the southern swamplands of Cara. Accompanied by none other than her soon to be husband, the vain and selfish Prince Spencer DeVore; the mysterious Misou mercenary, Dakota; and two black-veiled Carian slaves, Zora has no choice but to accept her fate as a future Carian noblewoman. But once in Cara, Zora quickly learns that the South is a more brutal place than she’d ever imagined, and the key to her survival might mean more than just adapting to a new set of circumstances. When Zora learns that Chancellor Leonardo Santini, the one person who can reinstate her royal title in Samaria, is coming to Cara, Zora decides that a political alliance with the Chancellor might just be to her advantage. Soon Zora is caught in the middle of a battle of wills, corrupt political negotiations, and a centuries-old conflict that may just break the entire reality of the Realm as she knows it.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2018
20 people want to read
About the author
Megan Nagle
5 books428 followers-Book Lover
-Author
-Middle School Teacher
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You can check out my booktube channel here, where I read, review, and recommend books! https://www.youtube.com/@megansreadin...
-I gave my heart and soul to Jesus when I was eight years old. Best decision I ever made.
John 3:16
*If you love fantasy, be sure to check out my books!*
http://www.amazon.com/Azurite-Daughte...
-Author
-Middle School Teacher
-Booktuber
You can check out my booktube channel here, where I read, review, and recommend books! https://www.youtube.com/@megansreadin...
-I gave my heart and soul to Jesus when I was eight years old. Best decision I ever made.
John 3:16
*If you love fantasy, be sure to check out my books!*
http://www.amazon.com/Azurite-Daughte...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 11, 2018
In Bloodstone, book two of the Daughter of the Mountain series, we join Zora Winnser mid-saga. Betrothed to a prince for political reasons, the seventeen-year-old must leave behind her mountainous homeland and settle in a hot, seaside country called Cara which enjoys a thriving economy built upon the enslavement of an indigenous people. Foreign-born Zora suffers from a loveless marriage and prejudice, a circumstance that inspires sympathies and alliances between Zora and her subordinates. Meanwhile, Zora finds herself to be a pawn in international schemes. The instability of Carian society reaches an inflection point at which calamity and medieval violence ensue. In addition to these many storylines, there are also tangential bits about zombie-like creatures and shape-shifters.
Vaguely orbiting the entire book at is the element of “sorcery,” which is not divination, the Biblical meaning. Rather, it’s the magical manipulation of light. There are fair reasons why this fantastic power rarely surfaces, but it inexplicably does not get employed at times when a small dose of it could brew interesting outcomes.
There is a lot to absorb in Bloodstone—job titles, locations, personalities, nationalities, and ever-emerging issues—which rightly reflects that it is a work meant to play out in multiple volumes (and is not a criticism). The overall weakness of the text, however, is the frequent use of American idioms, slang, and modern patterns of speech appearing in a setting that is much like the European Middle Ages. Such expressions threw me out of the story virtually every time, but it accommodates (and likely inspires!) a younger audience. Writing style aside, the story is complex, dramatic, and propels readers to book three successfully.
Vaguely orbiting the entire book at is the element of “sorcery,” which is not divination, the Biblical meaning. Rather, it’s the magical manipulation of light. There are fair reasons why this fantastic power rarely surfaces, but it inexplicably does not get employed at times when a small dose of it could brew interesting outcomes.
There is a lot to absorb in Bloodstone—job titles, locations, personalities, nationalities, and ever-emerging issues—which rightly reflects that it is a work meant to play out in multiple volumes (and is not a criticism). The overall weakness of the text, however, is the frequent use of American idioms, slang, and modern patterns of speech appearing in a setting that is much like the European Middle Ages. Such expressions threw me out of the story virtually every time, but it accommodates (and likely inspires!) a younger audience. Writing style aside, the story is complex, dramatic, and propels readers to book three successfully.
May 7, 2018
Poor Zora. When this books starts her life has taken a nasty turn. As we soon learn the husband she is traveling to marry is a proper brute. Though her mercenary on the other hand... She didn't simply roll over and accept her fate. Though so much was out of her control. That made her an easy heroine to cheer for. I do enjoy political dramas and that was really what this felt like to me. Sort of a medieval soap opera. I dug that aspect, because I love things like Tudors and Reign. It's quite a saga and the pace is deliberate before things start to get intense.
It was a part two, and I didn't have any issues following along with who was who from that regard. There was a strange narrative tendency that kept throwing me out of the story. All of the characters including the two we spend the most time with, Zora and Dakota were referred to by descriptions that belong on unnamed characters such as 'the mercenary' or 'the princess.' Occasionally even vaguer titles such as 'the woman.' I've never seen that before and can't think of a good reason for the distraction. It happened a lot, often more than once per page. Once I got used to it, about halfway through the book, I stopped rereading to make sure a new unnamed character hadn't sneaked in and things flowed much better for me.
Over all it was enjoyable and fans of high drama in a fantasy setting should enjoy this tale.
It was a part two, and I didn't have any issues following along with who was who from that regard. There was a strange narrative tendency that kept throwing me out of the story. All of the characters including the two we spend the most time with, Zora and Dakota were referred to by descriptions that belong on unnamed characters such as 'the mercenary' or 'the princess.' Occasionally even vaguer titles such as 'the woman.' I've never seen that before and can't think of a good reason for the distraction. It happened a lot, often more than once per page. Once I got used to it, about halfway through the book, I stopped rereading to make sure a new unnamed character hadn't sneaked in and things flowed much better for me.
Over all it was enjoyable and fans of high drama in a fantasy setting should enjoy this tale.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews