Magic has been banished in the land of Syhl Shallow for as long as best friends Jax and Callyn can remember. They once loved the stories of the powerful magesmiths and mythical scravers who could conjure fire or control ice, but now they’ve learned that magic only leads to danger: magic is what killed Callyn’s parents, leaving her alone to raise her younger sister. Magic never helped Jax, whose leg was crushed in an accident that his father has been punishing him for ever since. Magic won’t save either of them when the tax collector comes calling, threatening to take their homes if they can't pay what they owe.
Meanwhile, Jax and Callyn are astonished to learn magic has returned to Syhl Shallow -- in the form of a magesmith who's now married to their queen. Now, the people of Syhl Shallow are expected to allow dangerous magic in their midst, and no one is happy about it.
When a stranger rides into town offering Jax and Callyn silver in exchange for holding secret messages for an anti-magic faction, the choice is obvious -- even if it means they may be aiding in a plot to destroy their new king. It’s a risk they’re both willing to take. That is, until another visitor arrives: handsome Lord Tycho, the King’s Courier, the man who’s been tasked with discovering who’s conspiring against the throne.
Suddenly, Jax and Callyn find themselves embroiled in a world of shifting alliances, dangerous flirtations, and ancient magic . . . where even the deepest loyalties will be tested.
I'm torn about which cover I like best! This trilogy has eschewed the shiny silver covers of the Cursebreakers for a far more subdued, moody look. It's quite a mood whiplash.
Speaking of Cursebreakers; reread first, or find a summary somewhere to remind yourself. This features a lot of characters from that series, and although it's a few years later, they're still dealing with events that happened then as well. I think the important things are recapped well enough here, but it's hard for me to judge as I have read the earlier books.
There's a lot of things happening here, and loyalties are shifting all over the place. Even with that, I settled very early on on who was going to be the bad guys and who were the good guys, and I wasn't surprised. I can see how, in universe, some characters were fooled, but from our point of view it's obvious who's who.
And it's a tribute to Brigid that knowing that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story at all. I've literally just put it down and I'm already desperate for the next one. I can't wait to see what new situations will arise for our characters over the rest of the trilogy, and what a certain promise might lead to...
(And I can kind of see the Truthbringer's point! Not that I agree with their actions, mind you. But I can see their point.)
Forging Silver into Stars publishes on the 7th June 2022 in both the US (top image) and UK (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment