The Silversmith

By: LJ Claren

Narrated by: Savannah Thomas, Aiden Snow

She was born to save this world. But falling in love will destroy it.

Still reeling from the mysterious deaths of her father and brother, Ary Gold survives only by sheer will in the icy wilds of the North. But when strangers arrive with stories of long-lost magic, Ary is thrust into a fate far larger than her sorrow. The realm of Nyrida is under threat. An ancient shadow wielder has risen, determined to plunge the world into corrupted darkness. And Ary is the only one who can stop him.

They say she has royal blood. That magic runs in her veins. That she is already promised in marriage—to a powerful commander whose army is her only hope of winning the coming war. But her fiercest challenge will not be on the battlefield . . .

Assigned to shape her into a warrior is a man cloaked in violence and secrets. Cold, arrogant, and maddeningly unreadable, he isn't her betrothed—but he may be her undoing . . .

Ary is powerless to resist the impossible attraction building between them. Will she follow her destiny? Or risk everything for a love as wild and dangerous as the power that's awakening inside her?

Shadows are closing in. Love is the greatest threat of all. And the fate of the world rests in the hands of a grieving girl who never asked to be chosen.

Contains mature themes.

©2025 LJ Claren

Loved!

This was an anticipated read for me and I loved it. The only issue I had was the audiobook must have been reading the original version because in the newly published version, there were a lot of sentences left out and quite a few errors. Other than that, loved the story and can’t wait for book 2!

Amazing!

I absolutely loved this book! 100% my credit. I can't wait till the next book comes out!

Great Preformance from Savannah Thomas

Great Preformance from Savannah Thomas!!!! loved her voice and the way she preformed each character! great story!

One of my favorite reads!

Loved this book so much. The narrator did an amazing job with the voices—I was completely immersed in the story.

The author created such a rich world and really brought the characters to life. I especially liked how certain things were hinted at from the beginning—it made parts of the story feel less… creepy? lol

I’m absolutely smitten with the main characters. The slow burn was achingly perfect, and the banter? So good. The MMC is dark—not a good guy, not a bad guy… he’s her guy. Total “burn the world for her” energy, and I am 100% here for it.

The FMC had so much growth throughout the story, and it was really fun getting to go on that journey with her.

And the ending—thank goodness it wasn’t a brutal cliffhanger. It sets up the next book really well, but still gives you a solid stopping point where you can breathe a little and not feel like your sanity is about to snap while waiting.

10/10 recommend. This book was fantastic and definitely one of my new top favorites!

Great read

4.5 - It was mostly predictable but has a great ending. I will be continuing the series!