Author – Amaya Ash
Publisher – Self-published
Genre – YA, Fantasy, Romance
Pages – 340
Year of publication – 2020
Rating – 4/5 stars
“This was the power of small things. The incomparable magic of the tiny and the overlooked. A knife that could begin a kingdom. A leaf that could pull someone away from death. The miniscule weight of smoke and flames, of a breeze, of a smile.”
Centuries ago, Arilloa was built, a mere territory ruled by the Tordian Empire into a kingdom by an ordinary shepherd boy. Herman was born with a hint of magic. It’s really surprising to see what difference a small mutation in the genes can have. His gift was a proof that he was born for royalty and riches. In years to come his bloodline became stronger. He embroidered his entire dynasty string by string. He took in anyone who was born with any hint of magic and married off to the royal family.
“That’s because the true power of magic is not to send random objects careening off across the room. The true power of magic is to make ordinary people bow.”
The book is written from the point of view of Leontia, princess and the second child of King Herman the Eleventh. Her mother, just like her father had magical abilities, more so than her father. But she wasn’t so lucky. She was gifted with minimum to no magic ability.
She was neglected by her father and her mother died giving birth to her younger brother, Isidor. Leontia raises him as her own child. Isidor was born with extraordinary or rather horrifying magical abilities. He could create monsters. The king was disturbed by this and often treated him badly which made him believe that he was unwanted. Eventually he fled from the palace. He was nowhere to be found.
But one day a monster appears in the royal palace and creates havoc, killing the king. Leontia immediately knew it was one of Isidor’s creations and believed that he was being forced to create monsters by the Castions. She sets out on an adventurous journey with only a knifecloak by her side, as she knew only she could stop him.
“It was a death lottery, a matter of holding your breath and waiting for the screams to come, wondering who was going to be killed this time, and praying it wouldn’t be you.”
Thus began the journey of a princess and a common knifecloak filled with monsters, near death experiences, dark secrets and forbidden love.
Contrary to the title of the book, the story is full of magic and mystery along with romance and drama. This book has successfully exceeded my expectations from it and I cannot wait to read the next instalment of the series.
Happy Reading
Arunima x
Comments