Paperback, 416 pagesExpected publication: April 8th 2014 by HarperCollins
ARC Provided by Publisher for Honest Review
In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
First thing that grabbed my eye about this book was the fascinating cover. A dark forest with some type of red leaves encircling it creating a strange looking creature...possibly a winged animal...So mysterious...LOVE it!!
I have never read any of Kelley Armstrong's books but have definitely heard of her and have been told several times that I need to!! So when I started reading so many positive reviews on this book then I knew I had to try it!!
The prologue of the book really grabbed me and caught my attention....
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong takes an exciting new direction with this big, breathtaking trilogy that blends fantasy, romance, horror, and pulse-pounding action, perfect for fans of Graceling and Game of Thrones."
I then continued to read it and it got kinda slow for me but I just had a feeling that I needed to keep reading and that the best was yet to come!! and I was exactly right! Around the middle of the book I absolutely COULD NOT put it down.
The main characters are twin sisters, Moria and Ashyn. They were marked and birth to be Seeker and Keeper of Edgewood. Their destiny is to lead a group into the Forest of the Dead each year to pay respect to the spirits who have passed and to help them to the next world. They are trained in fighting and secret rites of spirits which helps them to complete their mission.
I am not even sure where to start on describing this book and all of its awesomeness...It has a little bit of everything in it. It has romance, drama, action, and some serious horror and that is probably my favorite part. The forest is so creepy and mysterious and the obstacles that Moria and Ashyn face are at some points horrific. I found myself cringing and flipping pages so fast just to see what happened next. It seemed that their worst fears were all coming true and they were being tested at each turn.
"The face of something from a nightmare, gray skin stretched over bone, jutting chin and nose and cheekbones. No lips, just a slash of a mouth. And teeth. Fangs. So big his mouth could close. He let out another of those terrible cries, his jaw stretching open until all she could see were the fangs."
Moria and Ashyn also have guards that assist them through this journey and of course I loved both of them. Strong, angry Ronan and quiet, mysterious Gavril were incredible characters that added immensely to the storyline.
The twins also have their loyal "beasts" that are always at their sides and are born to protect them and stand by them till the day they die. I truly love this aspect of the story. I love when an author includes animals in the story and especially when they perform a specific function in the story line such as this. The animals are so important and cause many emotions throughout the story. Ashyn has Tova, a hound dog and Moira has Daigo, a wildcat.
"Tova was a Hound of the Immortals, almost as much a creature of legend as those in her sister's tales. Raised in a secret location and given only to Seekers, a Hound of the Immortals lived as long as a human and was said to be the reincarnation of a great warrior from the First Age."
Again, I cannot express how much I loved this book!! Yes it was slow at first but hang in there because it was REALLY GOOD!!! I cannot wait until the second one comes out and I will read it immediately!! and now I want to go and read all of Kelley Armstrong's books because I love how much emotion she put into this book and I am positive her other books are just as good as this one!!
***I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to HarperCollins for allowing me to review this phenomenal book!!! and also to Melissa Murray for recommending it!! As always she was spot on that I would love it!!***
I have never read any of her books either but I own many of them due to how much everyone hypes about her and her books. It seems this is the year for books that have a slower start but finish strong.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you really enjoyed this one. Thanks for the great review!