Tagged: kari edgren
A Grave Inheritance by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London’s most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born.
But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start?
With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid’s fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
After having read Goddess Born, the first book in Kari Edgren’s trilogy, I was very, very excited to get my hands on A Grave Inheritance. The first book had been so great that it would be hard to top, but I had faith that she would be up to the challenge. And of course she was.
Selah is a much different character now. She’s more sure of herself and of Henry, but there are still little doubts lingering beneath the surface. Those doubts aren’t helped when Henry seems to all but ignore her for a while and chastises her for using her gift when he knows she can’t help it. Will they be able to overcome their differences? Or will the pressure from pretty much everyone in King George’s court undo the love they found back in the colonies? Especially when Julian, another descendant of Brigid starts showing an interest in Selah.
Yes, some people will probably get frustrated with Selah doubting Henry all of the time, but you have to remember that although they’re in love, they haven’t exactly known each other for a long time. It’s natural that Selah fears Henry will leave her once he goes back to his life as the King’s favourite courtier. And Henry doesn’t exactly alleviate those doubts early on. Both of them grow so much as characters throughout this book that you can hardly recognize them from how they were at the beginning of Goddess Born. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do have to say that they both change for the better.
I kind of saw some of the plot twists coming, but there were others that completely blindsided me. Especially the revelation about Selah’s family and the fact that Brigid wasn’t the only deity to have mortal descendants with powerful gifts. For a largely character-driven novel, the plot is fairly fast-paced so I really can’t complain about that. The only real criticism I have is that I wish a little more had happened in the middle of the book; it wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t exactly super interesting at times. Since that’s really my only complaint (and it’s pretty minor), I’d have to say that the plot was pretty darn good overall.
One of the things that made me fall in love with Goddess Born, aside from the characters, was Kari Edgren’s writing. It’s just as good, if not better, in the sequel. She has this beautiful way of describing things that makes you feel like you really are there with the characters; that’s rare enough in authors. What makes her writing great as opposed to good, however, is the fact that she can give a very authentic historical atmosphere. Edgren makes you really feel like you’re in England in the 1700s. I know almost nothing about the period but she puts in these little details of everyday life that it makes the story ring true. It’s quite amazing, really.
It’s not often that second books are just as good if not better than the first book. Yet here we have A Grave Inheritance, a wonderful tale of love, magic, intrigue, gods and goddesses. It’s an emotional roller coaster at times and Kari Edgren really makes you feel all of her characters’ hardships. You can’t help but get emotionally invested in her characters and that’s part of the reason why I’m so anxious for the third book. Selah’s story is far from over.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Goddess Born by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Pennsylvania, 1730
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it’s Selah’s sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there’s no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope–that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel’s death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice–forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
From the blurb, I had pretty high expectations about Goddess Born. Not only that, it came highly recommended to me from a friend/colleague! So you could say Kari Edgren’s book had a lot to live up to. As it turns out, Goddess Born would far exceed my high expectations. The characters were excellent, the world-building was fantastic and Kari Edgren brought the early Colonies to life.
First off, the characters were excellent. Selah in reality, had a horrible decision to make when she learned of her cousin’s death. Her father is dead so there’s no man to protect her from the law and Nathan’s wrath. Her only hope is to marry her cousin, who’s dead. But nobody in Hopewell knows that, do they? So she embarks on a long, arduous and sometimes funny journey when she marries Henry, an indentured servant set to play the role of her cousin. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that yes, of course Henry and Selah are going to develop feelings for each other, but I also have to say that those feelings were far from Insta-Love. In fact, it was almost Insta-Hate for a while there.
Both Selah and Henry stand out for me as characters. They both have complicated histories behind the circumstances that found them married and neither one is really keen to divulge their past to the other. At the same time, it’s obvious that both of them feel for the other’s plight. Selah doesn’t like forcing Henry into a marriage just to save her own skin and Henry doesn’t like the fact that he’s the only one standing between Selah and Nathan’s considerable wrath. He feels for Selah and she for him, but of course things are always more complicated than that.
As for the magic of Selah’s line, I think it was pretty well thought out. It comes from the Celtic goddess Brigid and puts a lot of strain on its possessors. They have the power of life and death over medical matters, so you really have to appreciate the fact that Selah is a good person who would never hurt anyone, even her own worst enemy. Power like that can become heady and change people, but Selah is the sweet and level-headed young woman that she always has been. What I really liked about the fact of Selah’s power is that she does run out and she does have to do a complicated ritual to renew it by going to the Otherworld. Maintaining her power is not easy and adds another layer of conflict, rather than like in most stories where the power is never-ending and/or naturally replenishes itself.
I have to say that I also loved both the descriptions of the time as well as the pacing of the plot. Kari Edgren really made me feel like I was in Pennsylvania in 1730, even though obviously I haven’t and I’ve never even studied that period of history. I can’t vouch for authenticity in her descriptions but I do know that her writing really makes you feel like you’re in the period. Sometimes that’s almost better than being accurate and boring. The pacing, however, doesn’t allow for boredom. It starts out a little slow at first, but quickly we have Selah’s life spiraling out of control as Nathan makes his ultimatum, her father dies, she learns her cousin dies and she marries an indentured servant to pose as him. There is no such thing as a boring moment in Goddess Born.
So, at the end of all this, I don’t have anything but praise for this book. It came highly recommended and exceeded my expectations. It was fast-paced, felt historically authentic and the characters were amazing. I can’t recommend it enough and even if you’re not necessarily a big reader of historical fiction, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.