The Sylvan and the Sand (The Book of All Things, #2) by Sarah M. Cradit on May 10, 2022
Marry your enemy. Dare to survive.
From the USA Today Bestselling Author of Kingdom of the White Sea comes a new series of standalone fantasy romance tales set in the same vibrant world: The Book of All Things. Disappear into this scintillating tale of mortal enemies forced into a perilous, passionate marriage.
Yesenia Warwick artfully dodges her father’s talks of marriage, set on proving she is just as capable as her brothers. Her three loves—kin, homeland, and independence—are all she needs.
Corin Quinlanden suffers under the cruel contempt of his ruthless father and brother as they scheme and plot from their castle in the trees. He’s given up wishing for happiness. A strategic marriage, far from home, is as high as he dare dream.
But the king of this realm has his own plan.
Everything the gilded Quinlandens have “earned” was stolen from the Warwicks. So when all the leaders of the realm are summoned to a celebration with the king, both houses approach this fete balancing on a sharp blade’s edge.
But the king’s celebration quickly turns to horror. The lords and ladies can only watch, helpless, as the devious king masterminds a series of marriages between their children, spinning the kingdom into chaos.
Brash, fearless Yesenia Warwick is now the unwilling bride of tender-hearted Corin Quinlanden. Neither her silver-tongued wit, nor her unmatched skill with daggers, can erase what has been done.
The choice ahead of her is simple, but impossible.
Embrace her dangerous new life in the den of her enemy, or send the kingdom to war.
The Sylvan and the Sand is the second book in the ya/na fantasy series called the book of all things by Sarah m. Cradit. This is a new series set in the kingdom of the White Sea world, which is the same world another series of hers. You don’t need to read that series first in order to enjoy this one but it is helpful to have some background information on the world and some of the families within it. I loved this book even more than the first book in the series. This story just kept getting better and better. Sarah is such a fantastic writer that her books always come to life!
In The Sylvan and the Sand we meet our two main characters, Corin Quinlanden of the Eaterlands and Yesenia Warwick of the Southerlands. This story is something that is referenced in the first series, where the king decides to weave the kingdoms together with various arranged (and surprise) marriages. He invites all the royal families from the various lands to come to a celebration and at that celebration be announces and performs 6 surprise marriages with 12 young nobles. Corin and Yesenia’s lands are bitter rivals and the two of them could not be more different as individuals. Corin is king and soft hearted. Yesenia is brash and fierce and does not back down no matter what. At first, I thought Corin was was too soft for her, but his inner strength really grew on me throughout the book. I loved them together so much and their story is satisfying.
It was cool to get to travel back in time and watch these marriage pairings take place and see some of the Lords and Lady’s from the Kingdom of the White Sea trilogy as teenagers. As always, Sarah does a fantastic job with world building and fans of big worlds and epic fantasies really need to check out her books. This one has tons of betrayal, romance, enemies to lovers, and is slow burn perfection.
I also love the idea of how this story is going to fit into the larger overall world. This story, and series, is set in in the Kingdom of the White Sea, which is the same world her Kingdom of the White Sea series. The Book of all Things series is a series of interconnected standalone fantasy romance stories. If you are a fan of epic fantasy and even more epic world building, you NEED to read Sarah’s books. She is one of the best world building authors I have ever read! Sarah M. Cradit is one of my favorite authors ever.
Leave a Reply