As the second and last entry of this week's Saturday Pages I have one of my most awaited debuts of this year, and one that luckily didn't disappoint!
As a debut book it counts towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge and since it's also a 2015 release, it counts towards my 105 Challenge in that category!
The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
From the first moment that I saw that cover and read the summary for this book, I knew I needed to read it and so it was preordered and then I started reading it as soon as the book arrived in the mail!
The world of The Sin Eater's Daughter is what I'd call more historical fantasy. Full of rich detail about the kingdom of Lormere and its legends and religion's myths, so much to the point that the King and Queen are the Gods incarnate, and as such they are obeyed and worshipped. Twylla lives at court as the daughter of the Gods incarnate and her touch is deadly. There's magic at play, but there's such a strong medieval feel all over the book: monarchy, theocracy, guards, castles, court...
Twylla was a really interesting character and her growth is phenomenal. She starts as a girl with a terrifying power that she weilds, but she feels like she doesn't have any power at all. She left for the palace because she wanted to avoid her family's destiny, as she was the Sin Eater's Daughter and she again feels like a prisoner of her destiny as the Goddess incarnate. She feels the responsability of the lives she's taken and she wonders if she's doing the right thing, and she feels very accutely the lack of human contact.
She was a challenging character to connect with sometimes, because she continues to feel like she has no choice and whenever she makes one, she keeps backing out of it. She's so unsure of herself, so scared! And it does take her a while to realize that no one can make her choices perfect, that no matter what she chooses it'll be hard, and she might need to do what she fears but what will be better for her.
I was very surprised about one of the plot twists and also slightly disappointed, not disappointed because the twist wasn't good or it didn't make sense, because it actually made the book so much more interesting, but... dammit, too spoilery to discuss it here! But after a few hints here and there, I'm looking forward about what will happen in book 2!
Twylla is engaged with the prince because as the Goddess incarnate she was the only suitable match for him, given that the Royal family only married within the family (and they wonder why the babies are frail and die younger every generation, inbreeding much?) but they have barely interacted with each other. The romance is a bit complicated because Twylla feels a sense of duty towards the prince because of the crazy situation that they have, but she wants to follow her heart for once. And her heart points towards a guard that's a foreigner and that makes her ask questions and doubt the truths she's always been fed, and so she continues to be torn between heart and duty.
You might call it a love triangle, but give how they bother me and how little this one bothered me... I dunno, I guess I could understand how trapped Twylla felt in a web of lies, deceit and political manouvers! Having your world shaken and given choices that you didn't think you have can be paralizing, and given how controlled her life had been... I understand how scared she was to make her own choices. If you free a caged bird, they don't always know how to fly free.
The Queen was one fantastic villain, twisted and powerful, and that was very good at keeping control over those that she ruled by any means available, be it worship, kindness or cruelty! Mad with power and not as easily defeated as her own son would think!
I couldn't stop turning the pages because I wanted to learn more about the world and see how Twylla would get herself extricated out of the treacherous spiderweb of the court and the Queen! And the epilogue had to be my favourite part of the book! Twylla finally made her own choices, took her life into her control and decided to make her own destiny! But that knock on the door!
Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars to this brilliant debut! I cannot wait for the next book!
View all my reviews
As a debut book it counts towards my 2015 Debut Author Challenge and since it's also a 2015 release, it counts towards my 105 Challenge in that category!
The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda SalisburyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
From the first moment that I saw that cover and read the summary for this book, I knew I needed to read it and so it was preordered and then I started reading it as soon as the book arrived in the mail!
The world of The Sin Eater's Daughter is what I'd call more historical fantasy. Full of rich detail about the kingdom of Lormere and its legends and religion's myths, so much to the point that the King and Queen are the Gods incarnate, and as such they are obeyed and worshipped. Twylla lives at court as the daughter of the Gods incarnate and her touch is deadly. There's magic at play, but there's such a strong medieval feel all over the book: monarchy, theocracy, guards, castles, court...
Twylla was a really interesting character and her growth is phenomenal. She starts as a girl with a terrifying power that she weilds, but she feels like she doesn't have any power at all. She left for the palace because she wanted to avoid her family's destiny, as she was the Sin Eater's Daughter and she again feels like a prisoner of her destiny as the Goddess incarnate. She feels the responsability of the lives she's taken and she wonders if she's doing the right thing, and she feels very accutely the lack of human contact.
She was a challenging character to connect with sometimes, because she continues to feel like she has no choice and whenever she makes one, she keeps backing out of it. She's so unsure of herself, so scared! And it does take her a while to realize that no one can make her choices perfect, that no matter what she chooses it'll be hard, and she might need to do what she fears but what will be better for her.
I was very surprised about one of the plot twists and also slightly disappointed, not disappointed because the twist wasn't good or it didn't make sense, because it actually made the book so much more interesting, but... dammit, too spoilery to discuss it here! But after a few hints here and there, I'm looking forward about what will happen in book 2!
Twylla is engaged with the prince because as the Goddess incarnate she was the only suitable match for him, given that the Royal family only married within the family (and they wonder why the babies are frail and die younger every generation, inbreeding much?) but they have barely interacted with each other. The romance is a bit complicated because Twylla feels a sense of duty towards the prince because of the crazy situation that they have, but she wants to follow her heart for once. And her heart points towards a guard that's a foreigner and that makes her ask questions and doubt the truths she's always been fed, and so she continues to be torn between heart and duty.
You might call it a love triangle, but give how they bother me and how little this one bothered me... I dunno, I guess I could understand how trapped Twylla felt in a web of lies, deceit and political manouvers! Having your world shaken and given choices that you didn't think you have can be paralizing, and given how controlled her life had been... I understand how scared she was to make her own choices. If you free a caged bird, they don't always know how to fly free.
The Queen was one fantastic villain, twisted and powerful, and that was very good at keeping control over those that she ruled by any means available, be it worship, kindness or cruelty! Mad with power and not as easily defeated as her own son would think!
I couldn't stop turning the pages because I wanted to learn more about the world and see how Twylla would get herself extricated out of the treacherous spiderweb of the court and the Queen! And the epilogue had to be my favourite part of the book! Twylla finally made her own choices, took her life into her control and decided to make her own destiny! But that knock on the door!
Very well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars to this brilliant debut! I cannot wait for the next book!
View all my reviews
