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| Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer Talem Press Purchase here: amazon |
Synopsis:
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. Heart of Mist is the gripping first book in The Oremere Chronicles, a fantasy series of epic proportions.
- Taken from Goodread
I just want to start off by saying; I did not expect to lovethis book as much as I did. My friend Jen from @abookishpeach told me about this book last year, and I never picked it up. I finally did when I joined the blog tour for the second book Reign of Mist and OMG guys! I should have picked it up sooner! Thank you to Helen Scheuerer for including me in her Blog tour.
Our main character Bleak has always been invisible. More likely learned to be invisible, she hides from herself and everyone around her. Bleak lost everything important to her, and now she’s left with her berating thoughts and her addiction to alcohol. After losing everyone and everything she has loved, she has no one to confine her secrets in. Especially the one big secret that can get her caught by the king, or even worse killed. Bleak grew up in a world where people like her feared for their selves. They were hated by everyone and were put to death. They were thrown into this dangerous Mist that has surrounded most of the land. We follow Bleak as she is sentenced to present herself to the king, for being a criminal.
Just to say it again, I loved this book. It differed from so many young adult fantasies. It dealt with alcohol abuse, which you don’t see at all lately. I felt like it was handled well in this particular book, especially knowing why Bleak was so addicted to it. Another reason was there is no actual love interest with the main character. There are some hits for potential lovers, but none that can be actually confirmed. Finally, I love this magical world Helen has created. That fact that there’s a deadly Mist that can kill any living person is pretty crazy.
I really loved the characters in this book. I loved Bleak because even if she was an alcoholic and hated everything and herself sometimes, she still managed to grow so much. She still cared for everyone around her as well. Even if she did not want to show how much, deep down she empathized with everyone. We are introduced and also follow a few other characters such as, Swinton and Henri. I love Henri, I think I love her so much more than I love Bleak. She’s that bad ass female characters you wish you were. In the scene when her and the other females from her kindred I felt so excited and giddy. They remind me so much of The Valkyries for some reason. They remind of how badass the Valkeries are and how much they want to protect and care for each other. If you do no know who the Valkyries are, this is for you.
A valkyrie (pronounced “VAL-ker-ee”; Old Norse valkyrja, plural valkyrjur, “choosers of the fallen”) is a female helping spirit of the god Odin. The modern image of the valkyries as elegant, noble maidens bearing dead heroes to Valhalla is largely accurate for what it is, but a highly selective portrayal that exaggerates their pleasant qualities. To some extent, this tendency toward sanitization is present even in the later Old Norse sources, which focus on their love affairs with human men and their assisting Odin in transporting his favorites among those slain in battle to Valhalla, where they will fight by his side during Ragnarok.
Overall, I loved this book. Helen did such an amazing job at writing out this world. I felt like I was gripped into this world as soon as I started reading. It was fast paced, full of witty banter and also really heart breaking scenes. If you enjoyed Fallen Kingdoms Series or The Remnant Chronicles I feel like you’ll really enjoy this book.
Favorite Quotes
“We have to play to the strengths we were given.”
“It was both liberating and crushingly desolate.”
“No one deserved to feel unsafe in their own skin for someone else’s pleasure.”
“The past has a way of showing us the right path. Inevitably, the same mistakes were made once before, and to know this is great power.”
About the Author
Born
Sydney, Australia
Website
Twitter
Genre
Helen Scheuerer is a YA fantasy author from Sydney, Australia. Heart of Mist is the first book in her high fantasy trilogy, The Oremere Chronicles. It explores themes of identity, belonging, loyalty, addiction, loss, and responsibility.
Helen is also the Founding Editor of Writer’s Edit (www.writersedit.com), an online literary magazine and learning platform for emerging writers. It’s now one of the largest writers’ platforms in the world.
Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney.
Helen is now a full-time author living by the beach.
Helen is also the Founding Editor of Writer’s Edit (www.writersedit.com), an online literary magazine and learning platform for emerging writers. It’s now one of the largest writers’ platforms in the world.
Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney.
Helen is now a full-time author living by the beach.
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