Author: Morgan Cole
Series: Chrysathamere Trilogy #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy/War
Publisher: Amazon Kindle
Publication Date: February 28th, 2020
Edition: Kindle Edition, 482 pages
Source: BookSirens Review copy
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble
Synopsis:
Born the bastard daughter of a painted lady, Marilia was told she would live out her days within the walls of her mother’s brothel, a companion for the rich men of Tyrace. But after a terrible betrayal, Marilia’s world turns upside down. With the help of her twin brother, Annuweth, she flees the only home she’s ever known in search of the one man who can offer her a chance at a better life–the Emperor of Navessea’s greatest general, a friend of her deceased father.
What follows is a journey spanning years, from the streets of the desert city of Tyracium to the splendor of the emperor’s keep and the wind-swept, wild island of Svartennos. Along the way, Marilia discovers, for the first time, the gift she has for strategy and warfare—a world that is forbidden to girls like her
When the empire is threatened by a foreign invasion, the defense of Navessea is left in the hands of a cruel and arrogant general no match for the empire's enemy. With the fate of her new home and her family hanging in the balance, Marilia swears to use all her courage and cunning to do whatever she can to help repel the invasion—if she can convince anyone to follow her.
The struggle that follows will test her to her core and lead her back to the past she thought she had escaped. Facing treachery within her own ranks as well as a devious enemy commander, Marilia will need all the help she can get, even if it means doing something her brother may never forgive—making a deal with the man who murdered her father.
I wasn't sure what to expect going in. The title and the synopsis are what caught my attention, but I had no expectations for what kind of story this was going to be. The book has a prologue that takes place 8 years before the start of the first chapter, and it's a very different place than where the MC starts. I had no idea how she was going to end up there, but I was excited to find out.
Marilia is a fantastic character as far as I'm concerned. There is a unique complexity to her that I don't see in a lot of female characters. Her main flaw is her pride coupled with insecurities of being a woman with a military mind in a world ruled by men. Her pride gets a lot of people hurt, it drives a wedge between people she's close to. There are many thing that are set against her, but she also lets her pride get in the way and it makes her impulsive.
There isn't a lot of time spent getting to know her twin brother though. This book is told third person but only focuses on Marilia, I hope in book two we get to see what goes through Annuweth's head. I'd like to get to know his character a little better. I feel like he also suffers from being prideful, but more in relation to not being as 'smart' as his sister.
The pacing was very good in this book, things unfolded in a way that delivered a lot of information but not in a way that felt like it was being dumped. Jumping back and forth in time of Marilia's life helped with that. And once the time like caught up with it self, everything had a much faster pace. The latter half of this book was very intense. And some if some of the things that Marilia kept a secret to advance herself, will come to light, and if there will be any consequences for it.
This is headed towards being a new favorite series.
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