My dear bookish friends,
What do you imagine the world to look like over 2000 years in the future? Well, Gathering of the Four brings us one possible version of it! Please read on to find out more about the book, as well as to see what I thought of it!
Also, would you please look at the gorgeous cover?! I love the colours! And I loved working with them on the blog tour banner!!
A huge thank you to TheWriteReads and the author for my ecopy of the book, as well as my spot on the blog tour (none of which influenced my review in any way).
About the Book
“In the Realm, every citizen knows their place.”
Leora of Mae is a young woman orphaned at birth and raised on a remote farm. As a wielder of Xanthcraft, her abilities set her apart from her adoptive family and the other villagers.
Shortly before her twentieth birthday, she learns of her family’s plot to sell her into servitude. Fearing for her life, she flees from the only home she’s ever known—defying societal conventions and breaking the edicts of the Realm.
As she runs, Leora meets Roland Shallowbrook, a traveler on the Thieves’ Road; Lady Aurora Verte, daughter of a powerful member of the gentry; and the White Rider Leopold, a soldier with a secret.
Together, this found family will have to band together to survive.
Set in the distant future during the return of the Hale-Bopp comet, Gathering of the Four is the first book in The Serrulata Saga.
My Review
In 1997 apparently there was this comet with two tails – I had no idea this was a thing until reading this book and I can only excuse my ignorance with the fact that I was very very young that year lol. So for people who remember this clearly big point in history well this must be a much more exciting premise, because this book offers one option of what would happen if this comet came back to the orbit two thousand years from now.
I was expecting the year four thousand something to be much more technologically advanced, with AI having taken over, robots and flying cars and hoverboards and the like everywhere, but I was not expecting to find myself in this almost medieval world, where it almost felt like we have taken a big step back rather than forward.
The story itself is very intriguing and the premise is interesting, but I felt like it was a bit slow at times and it took me a while to get into. I think to really appreciate this book and the writing you have to take your time, and not try to rush through it. With a book of its length, I think that is also kind of a given (for me it always takes a little longer to read Sci-fi / dystopias anyway, as I need a bit of time to fully immerse myself in the world).
So, our main character Leora has special powers – she is able to wield / control fire. But when she finds out that her adoptive family plans to sell her into enforced servitute she flees. Together with a group of friends – all very unique, much like herself – Leora has to find her way through this strange world of the so-called Realm (basically a part of our future Earth).
What a unique concept! I really liked the premise, the unique cast of characters, and this strange new world that the author created. I would have liked a bit more of a proper introduction to this ‘Realm’ and felt the story was a bit slow at times, but I was still thoroughly entertained. I recommend this book to all fans of fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopias!
4 stars from me!
Thank you all so much for reading!
xoxo
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Perfect for fans of sci-fi dystopias!
