Dark Shores: Volume 1

Danielle L. Jensen

May 2019 · Dark Shores Book 1 · Sold by Tor Teen

About this ebook

"Richly-woven, evocative, and absolutely impossible to put down — I was hooked from the first lines! Dark Shores has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: fresh, unique settings, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and an unflinching boldness with the nuanced world-building. I loved every word." — Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Throne of Glass

The Celendor Empire has set its sights on conquering the far side of the world. And the secret to transporting its legions across the treacherous seas is held by seventeen-year-old Teriana.

Teriana has always been taught that east must never meet west, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, she breaks the rule. A decision Teriana comes to regret when her crew are imprisoned and she lands face-to-face with the Empire’s most ruthless—and secretive—commander, Marcus. To save her people, Teriana chooses to guide Marcus and his legions into a world of meddlesome gods and magic. But with dark forces rising on both sides of the seas, the consequences of her alliance with the enemy may be greater than she imagined . . . especially for her heart.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

First of all, while the cover and synopsis might give the idea that this book is about pirates and adventure, it is not really that. I mean, sure, one of the main characters belongs to a race of seafaring pirates, there is no actual piracy happening in the book, and okay, yeah there is adventure, but not the joyous quest you would expect. No, what this book is actually about is political machinations and conquests. In fact, this is about the events before an invasion, and it goes into quite a lot of detail about how they go about it, how they conquer - it is not just a simple process of sending over soldiers, but an insidious assimilation. So, the world-building is very important to the plot of the story, because that is where the root of the problems is - there are two continents - one in the East and one in the West and they don't know about the existence of the other because of a vast ocean, and due to the efforts of Terianna's people. They guard this secret with their lives AND afterlives, and since they belong to a religion on the Eastern continent, they take this duty very seriously. The Western continent has mostly been conquered by Celdaria, a Roman-inspired Empire, with legions of soldiers made from second sons given to the empire. Celdaria has a new Senator grasping at power, and he has turned his sights on the mythical Dark Shores, the Eastern continent. Marcus is blackmailed into going to the Eastern continent, but he is also doing it to get away from the reach of the Senator. Meanwhile, Ter has been coerced to lead his legion through the dangerous sea voyage, with her crew members/family's life in the balance. At the start and through much of the book, these two are enemies to each other, with cross purposes - she wants to prevent them reaching there because she doesn't want any other country falling under Celdarian rule; Marcus never wants to go back so he is very intent on making this new continent his new home. He also has had a hideous past, infamous for leading the invasion into Chersome which resulted in the genocide of its people. The plot doesn't try to justify his actions, or hers, as they both have to do things that would put the Eastern continents at risk to fall under Celdarian rule. Their relationship is also fraught with tension, considering their purposes, but also their obvious attraction to each other. Last of all, I want to comment on the world-building that this book excelled in. Usually in fantasy, conquests and invasions are a matter of battle and war and such, and while this book does have that, it also explores the various other ways such things can be achieved, like through political manipulations, cleverly made alliances, and sly utilization of existing conflicts. It was chilling how efficient Celdaria was in doing so, and while, like Ter, I had assumed the existence of divine magic in the East would give them an advantage, by the end of the book I, too, was convinced it looks more evenly matched now. Speaking of divine magic, the mythology is interesting but I am also interested in the motives of the gods - it is clear there is more than meets the eye when it comes to them. The book does leave a lot of questions unanswered - I could make a list - but I am guessing those are being kept as threads to continue into the next book, so I hope the mystery of those will be solved in that. Overall, it is a masterfully constructed fantasy, with a different approach to war and conquest, though it does confuse at times. Also, this book definitely deserved a map!

Interesting world

About the author

DANIELLE L. JENSEN was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. She graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance, then went back to school to complete an English literature degree at Mount Royal University. She is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, and Warrior Witch (Angry Robot).