Blades Of Magic: Crown Service #1

Terah Edun

Mar 2014 · Crown Service Series Book 1 · Terah Edun

About this ebook

This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn’t become the year she dies in an adventure fantasy for the ages.

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It is not a peaceful time in the Algardis Empire. War is raging between the mages and seventeen-year-old Sara Fairchild will be right in the middle of it.

She just doesn't know it yet.

Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, executed for desertion. Sara is also the best duelist and hand-to-hand combatant in Sandrin. She lives quietly with her family’s shame but when challenged about her family’s honor, her opponent inevitably loses.

On the night she finds out her father’s true last actions, she takes the Mercenary Guilds’ vows to serve in the emperor’s army. Using her quick wits and fierce fighting skills, she earns a spot in the first division.

There she discovers secrets the mages on both sides would prefer stay hidden. Dark enemies hunt her and soon it's not just Sara questioning the motivation behind this war.

While fighting mages, blackmailing merchants and discovering new friends, Sara comes across something she’s never had before - passion. The question is - can she fight for her empress against a mage who might unwittingly claim her heart?

This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn't become the year she dies.

Ratings and reviews

Unfortunately, though I see the good intentions of presenting a young, capable, female lead--someone that "young adult" readers can relate to and look up to--this story suffers from giving the main character and the story everything right away. The best part of a narrative is understanding the flaws, or the mistakes, that have to be corrected by the end. That is how the story holds meaning; it helps us understand how to take on challenges and solve our own problems. But a 17 year old who is already the greatest swordsman, the greatest street tough, innately gifted with magic, loves her amazing mother, loves her (late) amazing father--this girl has no problems. In fact, she's too capable to believe and too capable to make for interesting story. It's a childish attitude towards reality.

Lots of tangents, I can forgive some misspellings though. Sara herself is almost unrelatable seeing as she has everything figured out with all the tools at her disposal, yet is just unlikable. and most of writing is just her talking about herself not much story advancement. I'll finish the series for the price alone.

She seems to be a very promising author. Overall the tale was gripping and the main character was very relatable. She would benefit from an editor to help catch minor grammatical errors and tighten up the paragraphs, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

About the author

ignorante accipit dolorem

Terah Edun is the young adult fantasy author of the Courtlight, Crown Service, and Deathrights series, set in the eponymous Algardis Universe. Her books boast exhilarating adventures, courtship, and incredible fantasy for readers of all ages.