Georgia Kostopoulou

 

This was such an enjoyable read! It had it all! Life, death, a king, a prince, a healer, an assassin, a whole sect with a High Priest, a queen with her own agenda. If you are looking for a fantasy book with a young woman devoted to her people, to the ones she loves, blessed by two gods, with the powers to heal and to kill, then this is the book for you!

Kasira Severen is a special person, but only a very few people know what she is capable of. She is a blessed Daughter of Silba. She can hear the song of life, understands the parts of the body that need healing and helps them recover with the proper medicines and herbs. She is curing for the Lowtown of Sundsvall, the people that are left to their own fate, while the trained Daughters of Silba live and train in their tower on the Keep, treating the royal family and the nobles. When she is not trying to keep the Lowtown people alive and well, she is Sundsvall assassin. This however, is not widely knows as Sundsvall assassin works in the dark of night, and if you come across her path, then your time has come.

Veridian Erris is the Crown Prince of Livadha. His father is a relentless king. His sister is on a wheelchair and his mother is not well in her mind. With the soldiers up on the northern borders dropping dead like flies, and noblemen being found dead in the docks, he knows his name has been drawn as well. He needs to stay safe, to stay alive and find a way to make peace with the exiled but powerful Queen. The Queen has a large and strong army, but their own coffers are almost empty and they cannot fund a war and win it. He and his friends have been dealing with mostly whisky, but now he needs to find a way to save his kingdom. If he survives the attempts on his life, that is.

I really liked the fantasy background of the Songs of Life and Death, fueled by the respective Gods and how they people with the ability to hear those songs where treated. I liked the prophecy of the one child of both Gods that was there, but never out in the open, as if it had nothing to do with why everything was happening. I really enjoyed Kasira’s part with the anatomy parts on the beginning of each chapter, that were relevant to what was going to follow in the story. I also liked very much how she described every procedure she was doing, giving the impression that she knew very well what she was doing, like a modern time surgeon. How Silba’s song was calling her, guiding through the patient’s body. And on the very opposite, how the song of Death was calling for her to take life. It was marvelous!

Amazing worldbuilding, wonderful character development and a heartbreaking ending, this book was had me hooked! The narration of the audiobook was also captivating immersing the reader into the story!

Thank you to NetGalley & Bolinda Audio for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.