The Scarecrow Queen

Please note that this review may contain spoilers for earlier novels in the series. You can read my reviews of these books [here] and [here].

My exam is over and I passed – yay! Let’s celebrate by looking at something new and exciting.

The Scarecrow Queen was written by Melinda Salisbury and first published in 2017. It is the final instalment of The Sin Eater’s Daughter trilogy and is preceded by The Sin Eater’s Daughter (2015) and The Sleeping Prince (2016). The novel carries on exactly where the previous book left off, so please note that you really need to read them in sequence to have the faintest idea of what’s going on.

From his seat in Lormere, Prince Aurek has absolute control. The people are too afraid of his golem army to rise against him and, with Errin and Silas taken captive, all hopes of deconstructing the Opus Magnum seem to have been lost. With only Hope, Nia and Kirin left for support, Twylla flees across the land in search of a safe haven but there is none to be found. One by one, all of the kingdoms are falling to the Sleeping Prince.

It’s not long before Twylla realises what needs to be done. Aurek can’t be allowed to remain in power. It’s up to her to rally the support of the oppressed peasants, gathering them together and training them to fight. Although Aurek’s army is vast, they only follow him because they are afraid. Using the things that she learned as Daunen Embodied, Twylla knows that she can restore the thing that he has taken from them: their hope.

In Lormere Castle, Errin must face a struggle of her own. Not only is she the prisoner of Aurek, but she is bound by magic to obey his whims. She knows that if she slips up he can easily order her to kill herself or, worse still, take out his anger on Silas. Yet she also has hope. Behind Aurek’s back, she plots with Merek – planning an escape for both them and their friends. Yet their alliance is wrought with danger. One mistake would reveal to Aurek that the former King of Lormere hides right under his nose, and would result in a painful death for them both…

YA Shot 2016 Tour – featuring Melinda Salisbury

Hello everyone! Today’s post is something a little different. I’m here today to talk about YA Shot.

YA Shot is a one-day festival that brings together UK Young Adult and Middle Grade authors. It’s a celebration of writing for young readers that aims to promote the joy of reading and inspire a passion for writing.

Although YA Shot works year around to help pair schools with local libraries for author events, the event itself takes place on 22nd October 2016. It involves around 70 authors and takes the form of a programme of workshops, panels and book singing sessions at Uxbridge Civic, Centre, Waterstone’s Uxbridge and Uxbridge Library. If you’re interested in attending, you should definitely check out their website – https://yashot.wordpress.com/ 

In honour of this special event, I’m pleased to have a special guest for this post. Melinda Salisbury is one of the fantastic authors involved in YA Shot. She’s the author of two fantastic fantasy novels – The Sin Eater’s Daughter and The Sleeping Prince – both of which you can find reviewed on this blog. The third book in the series, provisionally titled The Scarecrow Queen, is due for release in early 2017.

To read our interview and have a chance to win a copy of The Sin Eater’s Daughter, read on:

The Sin Eater’s Daughter

Today’s entry is a particularly special one as it marks the 100^th review posted on this site. Thank-you very much to you all for your continued support, book recommendations and feedback and I hope that you continue to enjoy reading our next hundred reviews!

I don’t often get a chance to review brand new novels (unless they are kindly donated to me) as I simply can’t afford to buy them but as this post is special, I thought I would make an exception and take a look at a book that has only just been released. The Sin Eater’s Daughter is Melinda Salisbury’s debut novel and was published on the 5^th February 2015. It is a high fantasy story about girl of low birth who has been groomed to become the next Queen of a struggling nation. The novel is intended to be the first part of a trilogy, but at the time of writing no details about future instalments have been released.

Seventeen year old Twylla lives a life that most girls would dream of. Although she was the lowly daughter of the local Sin Eater, she was invited to live in the castle when the Queen recognised her red hair as a sign that she was the Daunen Embodied – a reincarnation of the daughter of Night and Day. Leaving her life of poverty behind, Twylla accepted a place in the Queen’s court as the future bride of Prince Merek and in return the Queen agreed to ensure that her sister was well provided for.

However, Twylla quickly learned that her position had a dark secret. To prove that she had the favour of the Gods, she had to undertake a monthly ritual in which she ingested a vial of a deadly poison and survived. The side effect was that the poison infused her skin, offering a swift and bloody death to anyone who ever touched her. To show respect to her “mother”, the Goddess of Night, the Queen ordered that Twylla use this ability to execute traitors to the realm.

The weight of her position slowly sapped Twylla’s spirit, leaving her withdrawn and isolated from her peers. It is not until the Queen assigns her a new guard – a young and outspoken man named Lief – that she begins to slowly realise the extent of her dissatisfaction, yet does not know what she can do to escape her situation. However, the Queen grows crueller with each passing day and Twylla knows that if she does not flee soon she will be wedded to Merek and bound to the royal family forever.