Plains of Sand and Steel by Alisha Klapheke Pages: 325
Published by Createspace Independent Pub on June 16, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic
Source: eARC from Author
A ruler’s young bride with a body to conceal, a mercenary bent on revenge, and the Fire magic that will alter their story forever.
The Wrath and the Dawn meets Truthwitch in the second standalone, full length novel of the Uncommon World series.
When her new royal husband dies at the beginning of an invasion, Seren must hide his body and use the visions the Holy Fire gives her to save the Empire from itself and its enemies. But if the high-ranking general who hates her discovers her secret, he’ll have her put to death.
When invaders slaughter Ona’s family and shatter her artist life, she joins Lucca, an experienced mercenary and her exact opposite, and heads into war. She just knows the “chanting” she can do—imposing one’s will on the world and watching it come to life—will break the invaders and give her sweet vengeance.
Both want to save the Empire but with tangled histories and new passions swirling around them, their divided motivations turn a possible victory into a deadly storm.
Join the battle today!
*clean and appropriate for ages 13+*spicy and slightly suggestive but nothing overt
Plains of Sand and Steel is the second book in the Uncommon World series by Alisha Klapheke, but the novel is a companion novel, and not a direct sequel so the book can be read without having read the first book in the series, Waters of Salt and Sin first. I really, really enjoyed Plains of Sand and Steel, but I have not read book one yet, which I now need to rectify immediately! This book was so, so much fun! And I really love the covers for the series. Aren’t they super pretty?
Plains of Sand and Steel is everything I love about young adult fantasy books. First off, it is described as ” The Wrath and the Dawn meets Truthwitch in the second standalone, full length novel of the Uncommon World series.” Umm, yes please!!! It has an awesome world, awesome characters and plenty of politics to keep me turning the pages just as fast as my eyes would read them. I was honestly super bummed that I didn’t read the first book first. Not because I was lost, because I wasn’t. Plains of Sand and Steel really can be read as a standalone. But because I loved this book so much that I wanted to read them all in order. I cannot wait to devour every single book that Alisha Klapheke has written because I can tell that her writing style matches my reading style to a tee.
Plains of Sand and Steel has Seren as the main character. I loved Seren. She really needs to step up almost immediately and made some hard choices. But she never backed down, which is what I loved about her the most. I also loved Ona and Lucca, and a bunch of the other characters. They all felt so real to me. Everything about this novel felt real to me. The scenes jumped from the pages and played out right before my very eyes, which is not an easy feat. But Alisha made it seem effortless.
Bottom line: fans of YA fantasy need to add this book to your TBR list. It is so so great and so worth the read. the books can be read in any order, but do yourself a favor and pick up all of them so you don’t miss out on any of the great action. I love the world that Alisha has created in the Uncommon World series, and if you are anything like me you are going to want to read all of the books in this series. Plains of Sand and Steel is excellent. Period. The end.
PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL by @AlishaKlapheke is an excellent read! See why @BookBriefs thinks so. #Giveaway #Review Click To Tweet
Other Books in the Uncommon World Series:
Click on the covers for more information
To enter, fill out the rafflecopter below to win
1 winner will receive signed paperbacks of WATERS OF SALT AND SIN, FEVER, and PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL & Swag (Stickers & A Signed Map), AND Paperbacks of AIR AWAKENS by Elise Kova & FIRST YEAR by Rachel E. Carter, US Only.
3 winners will receive eBooks of WATERS OF SALT AND SIN, FEVER, and PLAINS OF SAND AND STEEL, International.
Note: Book Briefs Contest Policy applies. All of the prizes, terms and conditions of the giveaway should be contained in the rafflecopter below. No Purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law.
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Tour Schedule:
Week One:
6/5/2017- MNBernard Books– Interview
6/5/2017- Pooled Ink– Review
6/6/2017- The Autumn Bookshelf– Review
6/6/2017- Rachel’s Book Reviews– Review
6/7/2017- Novel Novice– Excerpt
6/7/2017- Hooked To Books– Review
6/8/2017- Taking It One Book at a Time– Review
6/8/2017- Bibliobibuli YA– Review
6/9/2017- Wandering Bark Books– Excerpt
6/9/2017- PC Book Reviews– Guest Post
Week Two:
6/12/2017- Fiction Fare– Guest Post
6/12/2017- What the Cat Read– Review
6/13/2017- Two Chicks on Books– Interview
6/13/2017- Why I Read– Review
6/14/2017- Booklove– Review
6/14/2017- Just Another Bookaholic– Spotlight
6/15/2017- Crystal’s Chaotic Confessions– Excerpt
6/15/2017- BookHounds YA– Review
6/16/2017- BookBriefs– Review
6/16/2017- Page Turners Blog– Review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Margaret Appel
I love the beautiful covers for this series! The blurb for Plains of Sand and Steel sounds really good and something I would very much enjoy reading! Adding to my list of must reads. 🙂
Victoria
This isn’t my normal type of book but this sounds awesome and I love the cover. Thanks for sharing 🙂