A Word So Fitly Spoken

The Severed Realms, Book 1

One stunning bride. One wedding. One night with the king. One execution come morning. Rinse and repeat.

When the fae king of Naenden returns home to his palace only to find that his human queen has committed treason by conspiring to assassinate him, he has the queen executed and decrees that once every mooncycle, he’ll marry a human woman from the kingdom, only to execute her the following morning.

Unless one woman offers herself as a sacrificial bride for the rest.

Asha isn’t worried about being chosen, of course. The decree was quite clear about beauty being among the top criteria for being selected as one of the king’s unfortunate brides. Asha is no beauty thanks to the illegal magic that inhabits her body, leaving her scarred and missing an eye. The same magic that occasionally possesses her voice so it can amuse itself by telling a never-ending story with a string of horrible cliffhangers.

The problem is Asha might not be a beauty, but her sister Dinah is. When Asha realizes Dinah is in danger of being selected as the king’s sacrificial bride, Asha decides she can’t live with that risk. So she offers herself instead.

Except on the night of their wedding the king grants Asha a final request. Naturally, she asks to tell her sister one last bedtime story. Naturally, the king eavesdrops.

The question is, will the story save her life or ruin it?

A tale of love and betrayal, vengeance and sacrifice, magic and romance, this imaginative retelling of 1,001 Nights will keep you guessing with each word.

©2023 T.A. Lawrence (P)2023 Podium Audio

Reclaiming Fantasy

Finally, a fantasy fiction written for the storytelling instead of the libido. If you want sex scenes, pick up 50 Shades and leave fantasy alone! Please! If you want a beautifully written, expertly performed, well rounded story with all the romantic tension and none of the scenes you'd rather skip, this is your story. Too often, the plot and story suffer just for the shock value. I'm so glad to have found this author and these books. I can feel a new spot on my bookshelf already clearing the way for these. If you are an avid fantasy fiction reader, who's here for the story, look no further!

Engaging

I was hooked from the first few sentences. This story kept me guessing which is always a pleasant surprise.

The last half is better than the first

The book could have started in the middle and it would still make sense with an added chapter of all the key points. With that being said, it is wonderfully written and the villain in the end was certainly a surprise. I enjoyed the narrators, though I wish the FVA was a little less American due to the unique setting. I love the body positivity, which is a rare thing in literature

Fantastic Narration

I enjoyed this book.. it’s a different take on fae. Absolutely love the narration. Al-Kaisi and Massoud really bring their characters to life. This author is new to me but I will be finishing this series.

I saw a TikTok about the book by the author and had to listen

An ugly, poor, merchant girl sacrifices herself to marry the cruel king to save her sister. He vows to marry and kill a human girl every moon cycle until he stops morning the loss of his first wife (that he killed).