{ about the book }
untitled duology, book 1
Publishes May 15, 2018 by Balzer + Bray
e-ARC received from edelweiss
e-ARC received from edelweiss
They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.
The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.
With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
It has been a long time since I’ve read a book by Mindee Arnett. I read and really enjoyed her debut, The Nightmare Affair and found her sci-fi take to be interesting. But between those books and her new fantasy, it’s easy to say which one is my favourite. Onyx & Ivory is a fantastic book and wow, I definitely wish I could go back to this all over again.
It’s hard for me to explain just why I really like this novel. I mean, there’s a lot to it, but at the same time, it’s like… I have a hard time explaining just why everything is so fantastic to me.
Part of it is definitely the characters. O&I is told from two points of view, third person: Kate, the daughter of a traitor, and Corwin, the son of the king whose father was almost killed by Kate’s dad. Complicated? Yes, absolutely. Does it also create for tension?
Why, I’m so glad you asked, because: yes, absolutely.
Anywaaaay. I loved Kate. Oh my gosh, did I love Kate. She’s fierce and loyal and capable and adores horses and hot damn, her arc is nothing short of fabulous. I have an immense respect for Kate Brighton and her parts in the book were some of my absolute favourites. I thought Arnett did a fantastic job with Kate, especially at the end. I was rooting for her the entire novel, but wow, that ending just solidified everything for me.
I really liked Corwin! He comes from a line where all of their names rhyme, which is a weird thing to pass down, but hey, I’m not royalty (yet) so what do I know? In any case, that bit is unrelated. MOVING ON. As the second son, you’d expect him not to care about having to rule the land, but in their kingdom, both Corwin and his brother have an equal chance at ruling because of a set of trials. I found that bit interesting! It’s an interesting arc for Corwin and I liked how it gave him the chance to grow. I also really loved his friendship with Dal! I don’t see many good friendships between guys, so I liked that they were in each other’s lives and tried to help out the other when they could.
Onyx & Ivory is a bit long… which, I think, is my first complaint. I mean, I read through it without really noticing the length, because I just adored the book, but sometimes it can sneak up on you. But, despite that, I found the pacing to be great. Nothing went by too slowly and nothing rushed past. It also means that a lot of things happen and a lot of twists occur. Paired with those things, it just added all the more for me.
Part of me wishes that there was a strong friendship between Signe and Kate. Not a lot is known of Signe and I was hoping for more scenes between the two of them, and their other friend, in the book. I wanted more of a close knit thing with them but after they move to the capital of the kingdom, there aren’t many scenes where they were together. It’s a minor thing, but with the friendship between Dal and Corwin, I was hoping that Kate have something like that too, y’know?
There is a romance here, as you might have guessed! I liked it and even more so because it was, a) a well done second chance/reunited type of thing, and b) it wasn’t the focal point of the book at all. I always think of it as a backburner thing, so while it’s there and there are some scenes to push their relationship, it’s never the most important part.
Closing out here because wow this is already super long, sorry lol. So! Overall, I adoredddd Onyx & Ivory! I’m so excited for book 2 and what it brings for Kate and Corwin!
It’s hard for me to explain just why I really like this novel. I mean, there’s a lot to it, but at the same time, it’s like… I have a hard time explaining just why everything is so fantastic to me.
Part of it is definitely the characters. O&I is told from two points of view, third person: Kate, the daughter of a traitor, and Corwin, the son of the king whose father was almost killed by Kate’s dad. Complicated? Yes, absolutely. Does it also create for tension?
Why, I’m so glad you asked, because: yes, absolutely.
Anywaaaay. I loved Kate. Oh my gosh, did I love Kate. She’s fierce and loyal and capable and adores horses and hot damn, her arc is nothing short of fabulous. I have an immense respect for Kate Brighton and her parts in the book were some of my absolute favourites. I thought Arnett did a fantastic job with Kate, especially at the end. I was rooting for her the entire novel, but wow, that ending just solidified everything for me.
I really liked Corwin! He comes from a line where all of their names rhyme, which is a weird thing to pass down, but hey, I’m not royalty (yet) so what do I know? In any case, that bit is unrelated. MOVING ON. As the second son, you’d expect him not to care about having to rule the land, but in their kingdom, both Corwin and his brother have an equal chance at ruling because of a set of trials. I found that bit interesting! It’s an interesting arc for Corwin and I liked how it gave him the chance to grow. I also really loved his friendship with Dal! I don’t see many good friendships between guys, so I liked that they were in each other’s lives and tried to help out the other when they could.
Onyx & Ivory is a bit long… which, I think, is my first complaint. I mean, I read through it without really noticing the length, because I just adored the book, but sometimes it can sneak up on you. But, despite that, I found the pacing to be great. Nothing went by too slowly and nothing rushed past. It also means that a lot of things happen and a lot of twists occur. Paired with those things, it just added all the more for me.
Part of me wishes that there was a strong friendship between Signe and Kate. Not a lot is known of Signe and I was hoping for more scenes between the two of them, and their other friend, in the book. I wanted more of a close knit thing with them but after they move to the capital of the kingdom, there aren’t many scenes where they were together. It’s a minor thing, but with the friendship between Dal and Corwin, I was hoping that Kate have something like that too, y’know?
There is a romance here, as you might have guessed! I liked it and even more so because it was, a) a well done second chance/reunited type of thing, and b) it wasn’t the focal point of the book at all. I always think of it as a backburner thing, so while it’s there and there are some scenes to push their relationship, it’s never the most important part.
Closing out here because wow this is already super long, sorry lol. So! Overall, I adoredddd Onyx & Ivory! I’m so excited for book 2 and what it brings for Kate and Corwin!
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