This is book one in the Hardstorm Saga and was originally titled "The Third Scroll"
Overview:
To escape punishment, Tera, a maiden healer sold to barbarians must hide the truth: she has not yet come into her healing powers. Born into a much gentler world, she struggles to survive in a land of savage warlords and their cruel concubines. When ancient prophecies begin to come to pass, can the healer-slave save the realm and awaken the High Lord’s heart?
My Review:
3.5 Stars
This was a nice, fun fantasy book and I will definitely be reading the second book, which just came out mid-March. I personally like the the older title of this book. I don't know why really, I just do. Maybe because the title reluctant concubine is just a mouthful and doesn't really flow for me. But hey, enough about the title, let's move onto the actual book.
The characters are well thought out and you definitely learn to love them. I say "learn" because there are some definite annoying flaws. While it's definitely intriguing to see Tera come into her own morals and watch her grow throughout the book, she's kinda innocent to the point of stupid. Which really grates on my nerves as a lead character as well as any other character. The High Lord's character is a strong but stagnant one, which I guess you need some unchanging variables in a book but I don't think it should be one of the main characters. Even with these personal roadblocks, I still liked the characters and the way they flowed together with the plot.
The world is a really cool idea and pretty well built. The only flaw (which happens to be a pretty major one), was the description of the gates and the actual use and travel of them. I actually had to go back through and look for information on them when they came up later on the book because I was pretty confused.
The author has a very pleasing writing style, in my opinion. Easy to follow, light and enjoyable to read. While this book wasn't exactly what I would expect of or even call "high fantasy", it was still a good read and I am interested enough to read the second book.
Overview:
To escape punishment, Tera, a maiden healer sold to barbarians must hide the truth: she has not yet come into her healing powers. Born into a much gentler world, she struggles to survive in a land of savage warlords and their cruel concubines. When ancient prophecies begin to come to pass, can the healer-slave save the realm and awaken the High Lord’s heart?
My Review:
3.5 Stars
This was a nice, fun fantasy book and I will definitely be reading the second book, which just came out mid-March. I personally like the the older title of this book. I don't know why really, I just do. Maybe because the title reluctant concubine is just a mouthful and doesn't really flow for me. But hey, enough about the title, let's move onto the actual book.
The characters are well thought out and you definitely learn to love them. I say "learn" because there are some definite annoying flaws. While it's definitely intriguing to see Tera come into her own morals and watch her grow throughout the book, she's kinda innocent to the point of stupid. Which really grates on my nerves as a lead character as well as any other character. The High Lord's character is a strong but stagnant one, which I guess you need some unchanging variables in a book but I don't think it should be one of the main characters. Even with these personal roadblocks, I still liked the characters and the way they flowed together with the plot.
The world is a really cool idea and pretty well built. The only flaw (which happens to be a pretty major one), was the description of the gates and the actual use and travel of them. I actually had to go back through and look for information on them when they came up later on the book because I was pretty confused.
The author has a very pleasing writing style, in my opinion. Easy to follow, light and enjoyable to read. While this book wasn't exactly what I would expect of or even call "high fantasy", it was still a good read and I am interested enough to read the second book.