About the Book:
The cost of magic has never been clearer.
Larissa's inability to kill is a disgrace to her absent mother, Sword Matriarch of the Fair Lady's order, a sisterhood whose purpose is to hunt down sorcerers corrupted by the Evercry and slay them. But Larissa hides an even more sinful secret: she is drawn toward magic, and it grows stronger in her every day.
Larissa keeps a stranglehold on her gift until the day of her graduation test, when her misuse of magic leads her to failure. Prepared to be cast out of the sisterhood, she is instead brought into the scorned caste of the darkkins, those who study and wield magic in the fight against the Evercry. In their halls she discovers that her proclivity for magic makes her powerful, and a little dangerous.
Gone for years, her mother suddenly sends word that she needs help to defeat a formidable sorcerer, help only Larissa can give. Larissa will do anything to save her mother, even travel with the girl who bullied her all through school. But as they battle monsters and mercenaries, Larissa must grapple with dark truths about the sisterhood and her heritage, and decide who she can really trust with her mother's fate…and her own.
My thoughts:
Wow, this is an epic fantasy. An action filled adventure of high stakes with a full cast of female characters.
I loved every minute of this story.
The worldbuilding is glorious. This novel is such a unique and wholly new concept. The knights of the Fair Lady birth daughters to continue the fight to serve the Fair Lady in the endless battle against the Evercry. These girls train relentlessly and violently to become knights worthy of the Fair Lady. And what they are destined to fight is the darkness created by the use of magic. For magic leads to the Evercry. Generations of knights have fought their Evercry until one lives and one dies. Larissa is destined to become a knight. But she is also drawn to knowledge and magic. But magic, even a little of it, can corrupt. On the day of her graduation Larissa's destiny comes crashing down. A new destiny is decided. One that Larissa finds she is far more suited to. Then her missing mother sends word that she needs Larissa's help.
Determined to help her mother, Larissa must travel with the bully who nearly killed her to battle monsters, mercenaries and hidden betrayers to discover the truth about her family. And that truth might very well destroy her.
The history, the intricate worldbuilding, the magic, and the monsters are so well designed and described in this story by E.J. Dawson. This story feels epic and enormous and yet it flows effortlessly. It is thoroughly engaging. Larissa and her friends, her enemies and her teachers are so well drawn and layered with detail they feel wholly real. The depth of these characters lies in the subtle dripping of betrayals, lies, truths, secrets, love, honour, loyalty, strength, trust, hate, anger and desire as the characters learn and grow and change. What do you fight for? What will you kill for? This is a brilliant novel. Fans of high fantasy crossed with epic military fantasy will love this tale. I sure hope there is more to come.
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