Veiled

by Amanda K. Dudley-Penn

They were supposed to save their people… Elaina, The Child of Light, is always viewed as the protector of the people. Her gift lights the way and her responsibility to the people is always heavy on her shoulders. Brannaugh, The Child of Darkness, is always feared for her gift full of shadows and night even and though she protects the people the same as her sister, she is always viewed as evil. When Ionad’s enemies threaten the village these two sisters bonded by blood and spirit are forced to fight but will they be able to balance their gifts or will they be consumed by the raw power of the light and the darkness?

87 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2018

About the author

Amanda K. Dudley-Penn was born in June of 1977 in Tullahoma,Tennessee. She has loved writing from a young age and spent her time writing stories and poetry for those close to her. It became her dream to become a published writer. With the support of her three children and husband, she began writing her first novel, The Hidden in 2008 and finished it in June of 2012. She is currently the author of four series, The Alexandra Denton Chronicles, The Brazil Werewolf Series, The Preston Vampire Series and The Roses and Blood Series and she is working on the release of three more series, The Angel Essence Series, Night in Eden Series and The Prophecy of Darkness and Light Series. She currently lives in Grand Prairie, Texas with her husband, David and her two youngest children, Isabella and Joshua.

Reviews

[Julia Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what this book was going to be about, as I tend to try and go into a new book completely unbiased and with no expectations. The story is a short but compelling tale of an ancient time when myths were real and magic controlled lives.

The plot follows the early lives of two sisters, Elaina and Brannagh, one a child of darkness and one her antithesis - the child of darkness. But it's not a straightforward tale of good and evil, far from it, it's a great deal more complicated than that. Yes, Elaina is the child of light but her sister is not her opposite in terms of being evil, rather she is as the night is to the day, merely a natural state of being. But these are violent times the girls live in and the threat to them, their family and their community all too real.

I really enjoyed this book, firstly it's set in the murky times of pre-Christian history in Britain and Ireland and I'm always a sucker for that, secondly it has some wonderfully touching moments, not just between the sisters but also with their other siblings and the men they choose to share their lives, and there's a real warmth in the way the author portrays these interfamilial relationships. It is one of the books greatest strengths and lifts the characters off the page and into your heart, in that you grow to really care for them.

The author writes well, in a clear and precise style that is lightly sprinkled with some beautifully descriptive passages which really convey the feel of the age and environment the characters are living in.

There are some quite violent moments though and the author handles those well, especially the distressing scenes of sexual abuse - always tricky to tackle in novels, but the author carries it off with tact and discretion.

Left on a slight cliffhanger, this is forgiven because the next book in the series is already out and I look forward to reading more of the sister's journey.