An Heir Comes to Rise: 1

Description

In a clash of steel, a mortal body may fall. But in a clash of dreams, a powerful heir may rise. A SWORD… In the impoverished outer town of a kingdom where fae outrank humans, Faythe, an orphan with a talent for swordplay, knows the importance of keeping her head down around the fae patrol. She and best friend Jakon long for a better life, and her desire to swing her sword in combat may bring the purpose and coin she’s yearned for. A DREAM… When she draws the attention of royal guard Nik, she soon learns that her mortal nature isn’t the only reason to remain out of sight. Nik is a Nightwalker, a silent assassin of the mind with the power to enter others’ dreams, and whether she trusts him or not, he’s about to awaken abilities in Faythe that shouldn’t exist in a human. Nightmarish abilities. Deadly abilities. Abilities that will teach Faythe blood really does run thicker than water…and if she doesn’t trust in higher powers soon, blood will run indeed. AN HEIR… For this is no battle Faythe can fight with steel. Within the city walls, suspicions are arising, and here in the outer town she has deeper bonds to protect. It seems everyone will die with a dark secret to tell, but what if one unlikely human girl was born harboring the darkest secret of all…? Fans of THRONE OF GLASS and RED QUEEN will enjoy this first instalment in a gripping new fantasy series that portrays the unbreakable strength of friendship, the struggle for honor, and the ache of sacrifice. "A lush, and vibrant tale full of magic and lurking danger that will keep readers entranced."––Beck Michaels, bestselling author of Divine Blood. Review: Oh My Gosh!! What!!! - *SPOILERS* Chloe Penaranda takes you on such a ride with her debut YA novel. Granted, it took me a few chapters to really get into the swing of the story but once I was in it, I was hooked. I fully enjoyed reading Faythe's and Nik’s journey from strangers - close friends - trusted allies and then lovers. Faythe is written so well, I could imagine everything she was feeling and going through, from the pain of losing her mother to not knowing who she truly was. Her anguish in her feelings for Nik and the constant inner argument she had with herself, we’re spot on. Faythe’s relationship with her best friend Jakon really made me smile, I could relate to this personally and it was nice to read a relationship between a female and male without any hints of ‘lust’ being thrown in your face. Marlowe, I would love to read more about her, how she started in her trade and when she received her first vision. Nik, well what can I say. He is written so perfectly, I generally believed was a simple guard. And I didn’t see that twist coming and Penaranda had me in tears with that scene in the throne room. I was even shouting at my book while my partner looked at me as if I had gone mad. He is such a well-thought-out character, I enjoyed his POV chapters and wished we could have read more, I hope we do in book 2. He appeared so gentle, concerned, cheeky, and a bit dangerous. I loved it! Faythe and his banter together really made me smile as it not only showed they had some form of attraction towards each other, but they could also mess around and laugh at one another. The story is a well-rounded adventure, with so many twists and turns. Marlowe at the ruins/temple was also a shock, I didn’t believe she was truly there until Faythe did. The world-building is great, I could picture every scene in detail, the bonfires, the clothing, the training, and the square, and don’t even get me started on The Cave! Wow! What an amazing bunch of fight scenes. The villains, the Captain and the King, YES YES YES!! I loved how Faythe has come into her own and is growing more confident with her powers but still has that element of weakness, she appears very humble and not at all a typical YA/NA heroine who is ‘I am the best at everything’ attitude or doesn’t cry/whine at everything that is going wrong. She gets back up, brushes herself off, and continues to fight to protect her friends. I am looking forward to continuing this journey of Faythe, Nik, and her friends. Review: One of the best High Fantasy series - Potential spoilers ahead. An Heir Comes to Rise is a wonderful introduction to this world. From the get go I was blown away by the incredible world-building and lore. It is so detailed and well thought out. The magic system and abilities are unique and go so well together. I can’t even decide which power I would want to have but I would want to live in this world. I adore Chloe’s writing so much. The mental picture that her words paint adds to this epic movie reel playing in my head. This is why prose is so important to me. She is also great at foreshadowing and leaving behind little crumbs of clues. Blink and you’ll miss them kind of clues. And while she tackles very common and somewhat cliche tropes in YA/NA Fantasy, I love her take on them. The plot took a while to form because she was more focused on dropping clues for the future stories. And her characters are realistic and realistically flawed, which I appreciate so much. While Faythe isn’t my favorite character in the series, I appreciate her so much. She can be annoyingly naive at times but she is consistent about it and I respect that. She is believable because she is depicted as someone who sees the best in people and even to a fault. She has the tendency to push people away in the desire to protect them which isn’t great for building friendships and relationships. Regardless, she is a very relatable MC and maybe that’s why she isn’t my favorite because I am a lot like her. Ha. Chloe also adds great twists and turns to her stories that even if they may be predictable if you’ve read enough YA Fantasy, the way she chooses to reveal them is thrilling. If you’ve followed me long enough, you might know that I’m not particularly fond of the chosen one trope, but this is one of the rare occasions when I don’t mind the chosen one trope at all and might even be anticipating it. I won’t reveal the why, you just have to read that for yourself. Nik and Marlowe were instant faves in the first book. But Tauria, in the brief moments that she was in this book, stole my heart. She is witty, emphatic, and sweet but not in a naive way. I knew to keep an eye out for her but let’s get into that in book 2. Nik and Faythe were cute at times I guess but I wasn’t invested. It was a teenage love I wasn’t 100% sold on the main ship but maybe because I already had an inkling that they weren’t end game and it felt like teenage love. From the start, I wanted them to be just friends. At this point I’ve read all three books but even if AHCTR isn’t my favorite in the series, I think it was a wonderful first book and a great foundation to this world. I would rather have simple first books as opposed to overly ambitious, unrealistic plot and character development. I probably will never stop talking about this book and this series anytime soon.