Title: Sun of Blood and Ruin
Author: Mariely Lares
Series: Sun of Blood and Ruin #1
Genre: Historical Mythology/ ReTelling/ Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Edition: 384 pages, Kindle Edition
Source: NetGalley
Synopsis:
Rumor has it on the streets of sixteenth-century New Spain, there’s a new vigilante in town serving justice. This reimagining of Zorro—featuring a heroic warrior sorceress—weaves Mesoamerican mythology and Mexican history two decades after the Spanish conquest into a swashbuckling, historical debut fantasy with magic, intrigue, treachery, and romance.
A new legend begins…
In sixteenth-century New Spain, witchcraft is punishable by death, indigenous temples have been destroyed, and tales of mythical creatures that once roamed the land have become whispers in the night. Hidden behind a mask, Pantera uses her magic and legendary swordplay skills to fight the tyranny of Spanish rule.
To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin never leaves the palace and is promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable, law-abiding Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would rather be caught dead than meddle in court affairs.
No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are the same person. Leonora’s charade is tragically good, and with magic running through her veins, she is nearly invincible. Nearly. Despite her mastery, she is destined to die young in battle, as predicted by a seer.
When an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens to come true, Leonora—and therefore Pantera—is forced to decide: surrender the mask or fight to the end. Knowing she is doomed to a short life, she is tempted to take the former option. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her.
A new legend begins…
In sixteenth-century New Spain, witchcraft is punishable by death, indigenous temples have been destroyed, and tales of mythical creatures that once roamed the land have become whispers in the night. Hidden behind a mask, Pantera uses her magic and legendary swordplay skills to fight the tyranny of Spanish rule.
To all who know her, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin never leaves the palace and is promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. The respectable, law-abiding Lady Leonora faints at the sight of blood and would rather be caught dead than meddle in court affairs.
No one suspects that Leonora and Pantera are the same person. Leonora’s charade is tragically good, and with magic running through her veins, she is nearly invincible. Nearly. Despite her mastery, she is destined to die young in battle, as predicted by a seer.
When an ancient prophecy of destruction threatens to come true, Leonora—and therefore Pantera—is forced to decide: surrender the mask or fight to the end. Knowing she is doomed to a short life, she is tempted to take the former option. But the legendary Pantera is destined for more than an early grave, and once she discovers the truth of her origins, not even death will stop her.
******************
Admittedly, I've had a rough time with some of the Historical
Fantasy I've picked up this year. But this one was so much fun to read.
Leonora
was a great character, early on I wasn't entirely sure of some of her
motivations. We're thrown into so much action very early on, two
separate large events, then a lot of downtime where Leonora is
recovering and it doesn't feel like a lot is happening because of how
much action started the book. The "downtime" is filled in with what is
best described as political intrigue. Leonora is not very good at it
though, and just keeps making more problems for herself because she's a
little bull-headed. She's better at physical fighting than she is at
politics. It doesn't help that because of her mixed heritage nobody at
court seems to trust her.
The romance, while
it's only in the last maybe 30% of the book, lacked the chemistry for me
to find it believable. I like them separately as characters, but as a
pairing, it felt as if it came out of nowhere. I think Leonora needed
friends and allies more than she needed a romantic partner. Everything
else about their relationship could stay the same, just remove all
romantic connotations and it would still work. As I say and will keep
saying platonic affection is real and shouldn't be ignored.
There
is a mid-way point to this book where the magic starts to take up more
of the plot, and while I didn't hate it, the book also felt like it
stopped being about preventing the Spanish invaders from taking more
land, and about preventing or subverting this mysterious prophecy. And
for me, that kind of started to lose me a little with the plot. I still
enjoyed every minute of it because I love reading all kinds of
mythology. And learning about the culture through these characters was
very engaging and interesting, the plot got muddled for me. Even the
defeat of the Spanish antagonists felt a little underwhelming because of
this.
I am very interested in reading what's
next for this series, I'm not sure how many books it's going to be, but I
look forward to reading them regardless.
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