The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon Published by 47North on August 20, 2019
Pages: 391
Genres: Fantasy
Amazon
From the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.
Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.
Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.
Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.
What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.
I know I keep telling myself that I’m not a fantasy fan, but once again Amy Harmon has won me over with a fantasy book. By the way, if you haven’t read The Bird and the Sword you should exercise that one-click finger right now!
The First Girl Child is an intricate, mesmerizing, and unique tale that completely sucked me in. I loved getting wrapped up in the land of Saylok, filled with clans, runes, temples, spells, secrets, and vendettas. It’s true that I found some parts of the story to be predictable but that didn’t deter my enjoyment at all. Despite the mythical setting, Bayr, Dagmar, Ghost, and Alba are identifiable characters that grew close to my heart.
The story may be on the longish side, yet I found it to be well-paced. There is a small slow burn romance aspect that is a nice cherry on top, if not 100% fulfilling. I’m also a greedy reader who enjoys meatier, more detailed epilogues. I fully intend to read more of Amy Harmon’s fantasies.
Recommended for fans of:
Fantasies
Spells
Evil kings
Star crossed lovers
About Amy Harmon
Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in seventeen different languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.
Amy Harmon has written fifteen novels – the Washington Post bestseller What the Wind Knows, the USA Today bestsellers The Bird and The Sword, The Smallest Part, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as the #1 Amazon bestselling historical From Sand and Ash, The First Girl Child, The Queen and The Cure, The Law of Moses, The Song of David, Infinity + One, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times bestseller, A Different Blue. Her latest novel, Where the Lost Wander, a historical romance, will be released April 28, 2020 by Lake Union Publishing.
I still haven’t read this one. I am not normally a fantasy fan, but Amy Harmon is one I’m willing to read.