MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.5/5
Format: Kindle eBook
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Prince Adrian has a secret.
He has been meeting with Myrra, the princess of Dakhra. They love each other, but their fathers are mortal enemies, and Dakhra is not a part of the Domain.
The rulers of the Domain nations have been granted hundreds of years by the blessings of the Seraph, and their borders are kept safe by the Church’s elite griffin riders. But the enemies of the Domain are gathering.
A foreign threat may be the chance Adrian and Myrra need to bring their nations closer…… if they can convince their fathers to work together.
Will new enemies be enough for rivals to overcome old grievances, or will they bring them closer to war?
A Prelude to Ashes is a prequel novella that takes place one hundred years before the events of A Touch of Light, the first book in the Ashes of Avarin series.
MY REVIEW
Since A Prelude to Ashes is set 100 years prior to the events in A Touch of Light, it can be read either before or after. I decided that I should read this first since it gives a backstory into what leads to the events of the world in the main story. If you would like to read it for free, all you have to do is go to tabdalla.com and sign up for his newsletter. From there, you’ll receive an email with the steps to download it to your kindle.
“war is failure. It is brash incompetence disguised as a solution. There are no perfect strategies. It is an officer’s job to hide it, but there is always a weak link.”
This was a captivating story that was very well written. It gives a great introduction into Thiago’s world of Avarin that is on the brink of war, where family loyalties are divided, betrayal is on the doorstep and death means you are unworthy. The story gave enough fighting, court intrigue and dialogue between characters that made me excited to jump into A Touch of Light. The battle scenes were done very well and gave a lot of descriptions so that you could see it vividly in your mind.
What I thought was going to be a story about star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet was much, much more than that. Adrian & Myrra, are the two main characters that we follow throughout and are actually nothing like Romeo & Juliet. What I loved most about Adrian is his relationship with his brother Jovu because it reminded me of my own relationship with my older brother. Myrra might be my favorite just because of her attitude towards life and the fact that she’s not some weak girl that needs to be helped. Also, there’s freaking sentinels flying on Griffins! Need I say more on that?
Wolfmantula.com 