To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.
When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father’s capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.
Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince's first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.
When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart’s twisted world, Zara’s path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara’s hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father’s evil nature, or they will take him out.
But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels’ command and where the prince’s heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she’s truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart.
*My Thoughts*
Fireblood is the first novel in a new series by Trisha Wolfe. Wolfe creates an interesting world that is apparently caught somewhere between Camelot and a dystopian society. Fireblood is set in the Kingdom of Karm which was created to protect people from the Outside. The Outside is a vast wasteland thanks to the nuclear fallout of the Final War that started in 2016. Karm is ruled by an egotistical madman who truly believes that the people should take up the mantle of Camelot including talking the dialect (Nay, I won't do it!) and wearing the eras clothing (long gowns for women). Anyone who speaks out about his rule, may find themselves on the Outside, in the Oubliette, or worse.
King Hart uses his Knights of the Force to keep the citizens in line and taking care of anyone who steps out of line including Rebels who want a change in the way things are done in Karm. Even though residents of Karm are protected by a force field, they understand that they are carriers of the Virus that was created during the Final War by a government scientist and that at any time, they can end up Taken away and left to die.
When 19 year old Prince Sebastian goes in search of his betrothed, 17 year old Zara Dane has absolutely no clue that she will be chosen. The fact is that she has no use for the royals, and never wanted to step a foot inside the castle is beyond her control. She likes spending time with her father Rorick cloning animals and her bestie Hadley. When she is named as Sebastian's betrothed in a surprising announcement, and her father is taken away by the Force, Zara finds herself stepping into a situation and world where she has to make her own choices and decisions as to which way her life will go. One wrong move, and it might be her last. She has to ask herself why was she chosen over those more wealthy and deserving? How long had Sebastian been planning on naming her his future Queen? And, who can she trust, the heir to the crown, or Sir Devlan Capra, Sebastian's former best friend now turned First Knight who becomes her protector.
I will say that I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting Fireblood turned out. It mixes a Camelot setting with a dystopian twist in that there still is some modern conveniences. Zara is a character who has to quickly learn who to trust and make her own decisions about her future before someone else does it for her. She has to choose between being the new Queen of Karm, being with Sebastian, and trusting the Rebel faction that wants to put an end to the Hart rule, and go in an entirely different direction in which the citizens have a voice and a choice in their own lives and they're not being used as chew toys for the monsters outside the walls of Karm.
I will also say that I was happy, yes, HAPPY, that the twisted 3 way love triangle between Zara, Sebastian, and Devlan did not make it through the story without being beat down, and stomped to death. I had hoped that Zara would make the early choice between the two, and it was the correct choice in my opinion. My personal feelings were that Sebastian wasn't to be trusted and that he was somehow using Zara for his own gains. I saw Devlan differently in that here was someone with a similar past to Zara's and they should have some common ground to fall back on.
Although this is part of a series, Wolfe could have ended it right where she does in Fireblood. There may or may not be other stories with Zara and Devlan involved. Will it follow a new couple? Where this series goes from here, is anyone's guess and only Wolfe knows for sure. I will definitely stay tuned for more information!
Author - Trisha Wolfe
Title - Fireblood (Fireblood # 1)
Publisher - Spencer Hill Press
Published - December 17, 2013
Genre - Fantasy, Dystopian
Received from Spencer Hill Press via Netgalley
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