Rating: 4 out of 5.

4.5 stars

Teleo is a retired soldier descended from Mages, who were cast out of power generations ago. After years of war and sorrow, he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life on his farm and work his stonemason’s craft.

His wife and daughter had been murdered during a war raid several years earlier and his young son stolen by the enemy side. He spent years unsuccessfully searching for his son and returned home broken-hearted. At the local castle, he comes upon a war orphan stolen by his side from the enemy and rescues him from abuse, adopting him as his foster son.

Teleo is working as a mason at the castle when he finds himself in the middle of a coup. This launches a journey to protect his new family, uncover the secrets of the ancient ways, and reclaim the magic of the Mages.

WOW. This book was fantastic and I was blown away. It clocks in at 784 pages, but it’s such an approachable, entertaining, engrossing read that the pages fly by without you realizing it. Do not let the size of the book scare you away. If you love epic fantasies with well-developed world-building, multi-layered characters, sword-fights, court intrigue, magic, & plenty of good guys to love & bad guys to hate, you need to READ THIS NOW!!

The book was broken into 3 sections, each focusing on a different kingdom in the land. The book was unpredictable and I had no idea what was in store for the characters and story as I read it. I loved it. Lately it seems like I’ve been reading the “same” book over and over again, but here the storytelling is refreshingly original and it was a pleasure to read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Love Book Tours and Mythology Press. All opinions are my own.