My Rating ~ Five stars

5-gold-stars

RELEASE DATE: 25 August 2017

Publisher: Talem Press

Format: E-ARC

Pages: 398

Source: Received from the author

Blurb

In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power.

Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital. But the king isn’t the only one interested in Bleak’s powers.

The leader of an infamous society of warriors, the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated.

Review

Thank you so much to Helen Scheuerer for providing me with a copy of Heart of Mist in exchange for an honest review.

Bleak is an alcoholic, living rough, trying to drown out her grief and the whispers she hears in other people’s minds. A secret she needs to guard with her life, because people with strange powers, with magic, have been outlawed by the king. When Bleak is taken by soldiers, by summons of the king, she knows nothing good can come of it. On the journey to the king, she is taken by a band of infamous women warriors, but only time will tell if she has actually been rescued.

I connected so well to all the characters in this book. I loved the way their back stories were woven into the narrative and revealed slowly. Even several of the side characters ended up feeling important and really adding to the story. A lot of the characters were also morally grey, which makes for a truly interesting read.

Heart of Mist was a fast paced, tense and engrossing read that shone a light on issues such as social injustice (for the ground dwellers in the Valia Kindred community, Dash the stable boy and the disabled princess), feminism, grief, alcoholism and how far you’d abandon your morals to keep your own secrets. The women were badass, but multifaceted, personalities and the fighting scenes were thrilling.

I adored the world building in this book – whether it was Bleak’s home town, the forest, the Valia Kindred’s Keep or the palace grounds being described, I felt like I was right there. Each place had it’s own challenges, social structures and politics. The magic system is so intriguing and we get just enough information about it in this book to make me anxious to read the next!

If you haven’t picked this one up yet, I’d highly recommend it!