Retrieval: Goddess of Fate

Goddess of Fate #1

by Brenda Cothern, Nathan Archer (Illustrator)

Zarkina had always known she was the bastard daughter of the Queen and was perfectly content to have never met her mother. Perfectly content guiding merchants and travelers through the Broken Arrow Mountain range.

However, that contentment is shattered when she is ripped from the life she knew, abducted, and forced on a journey that she wants no part of taking.

Genres: Fantasy

158 pages, Hardcover

First published April 19, 2015

About the author

Brenda is an Amazon and ARe best-selling author and resides in Tampa, FL with her husband, six cats, a dog, a turtle named Tammy, and a rabbit named Alice. She is active in the Tampa Bay GLBT, kink, & leather communities, and the owner of Florida Leather & Fetish Pride Weekend event which includes a Mr. & Ms. title contest.
When not putting the voices in her head on paper, Brenda is attending book and fantasy/Sci-fi conventions to meet fans. She also attends leather/kink events as Ms. Florida Leather & Fetish Pride 2016 and teaches about the leather and kink lifestyle.

She would love to hear from you! Visit her on the following:

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(Where you can find several FREE reads!)
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For signed digital autograph, please send her a request through Authorgraph! A personalized autographed PDF for the book will be signed and sent to you!
If you enjoy her books, please show your support by giving them stars and/or writing reviews on the various online sites where they can be purchased.

Reviews

[Angela Goodrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

What? Huh? No. Dang it! That was my reaction when I got to the last page of Retrieval. I was so into the story that I didn’t realize that I was nearing the end of the book and I was NOT ready for it to stop. I am a big fan of Cothern’s M/M romances and paranormal romance series, Shadows. So when the opportunity arose to review Retrieval I automatically said yes because I wanted to see how the author’s talents lent to the fantasy genre. Obviously based upon my reaction when I hit the last page, I was not disappointed by the world the author has created.

With Retrieval being a novella and the first installment of the Goddess of Fate series, Cothern wastes no time in dropping Zarkina and the reader straight into the action. While I didn’t immediately know WHAT was going on or WHO I was with when the book began, Kina’s sense of urgency to flee while avoiding detection by her pursuers had me on the edge of my seat as I connected with the unknown (to me at the time) traveler and hoped that she would find her way to safety. The world in which the book takes place is reminiscent of the medieval ages with monarchs, knights, and inns. It becomes apparent rather quickly that Kina is not the typical young woman of the time – or in other words, my favorite kind of heroine in this type of book – as evidenced by her stealth, weapons skills, and level of alertness and awareness that come into play to insure her escape. Despite her success in avoiding capture by her initial attackers, the morning brings a new set of people intent on escorting her – with or without her permission. But when the group’s leader lets her know they were sent at her mother’s behest, all attempts to escape (funny scene) and be difficult cease. But her compliance is only one of the many obstacles Indearn must overcome if he hopes to see his charge safely to the Queen.

I loved Retrieval and my only disappointment lay in the fact that the end came too soon and the next installment isn’t out yet. Cothern has created a world that feels familiar yet is its own. I enjoyed the use of Veselko, the Enitane (think minstrel), to use his story telling skills to relay the legend regarding the Goddess-Touched as it allowed the reader to be introduced to the information in an entertaining way that didn’t feel like a cold recitation of facts. While there is an attraction between Kina and Indearn, there is nothing more heated than a few kisses exchanged, but the lack of sex was not a negative as it wasn’t appropriate for this part of Kina’s journey. And the manner in which the book ends, the tale that Veselko shares, and the presence of other players revealed within this installment point to many more books in the series and I cannot wait to read them. One hundred pages, tons of action, a goddess legend, and the potential for romance and I am hooked.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

[BookLover62 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy story off to a rolling great start.
She's been allowed to live her life away from Royal Politics, Fate and the Hand of the Goddess, until one fateful trip to guide merchants across the mountains......
What will happen to the *bastard* daughter of the Queen when she is summoned to the castle? What of Tall, Dark and Handsome who brought her to the castle? What mischief is the Guild Assassin going to cause? What plans does the Godess have for her?

Luckily for us, book 2 in the series is already out so we can continue the tale.

**** A copy of this novella was gifted to my by the author for an unbiased review **** The opinions in this review are my own, and are in no way influenced by the receipt of the gift. ****

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. I am glad I can start right up with the next book in the series. I thought it was well written and quite enjoyable. I am looking forward to reading the next one.