#Review - A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy #Romance

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: August 29, 2023
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Romance

In this gothic fantasy retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with a bloody twist, the author of The Poison Season gives us a dual-POV story set in a plague-ravaged world about a commoner posing as a princess, a destitute gentleman posing as a prince, and the web of lies they must navigate to defeat the monsters coming for them both.

The bloody plague is over, and the survivors are finally safe…or so they think.

Princess Imogen is living a protected life at the castle on borrowed time. The illusion of order is fading, and she must escape before the fast-dwindling rations run out and all hell is unleashed.

Now-destitute Nico Mott wouldn’t have survived the aftermath of the plague if not for the generosity of Lord Crane. But does owing Lord Crane his life mean he owes him his silence?

When Lord Crane sends Nico to search for more plague survivors in the castle, Nico collides with a princess who has her own reasons for wanting to break out—into a world where fresh horrors lie in wait. 

Mara Rutherford's A Multitude of Dreams is a gothic fantasy retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with a bloody twist. The story alternates first person narratives between Seraphina Blum and Nicodemus Mott. The characters in this post-pandemic world of Goslind must navigate a land that’s been changed forever after a bloody plague, grapple with what’s been left behind, and consider how they can move forward. 

Seraphina has been sequestered in Eldridge Hall for the past 4 years posing as Princess Imogen youngest daughter of a Mad King. She is afraid to reveal her true identity because of lifelong persecution she’s suffered due to her heritage and social class but one of her sisters is the reason she is here, and among her people. As a Jew in this world, her people were blamed for the plague that created Immaculate's, Immune's, and people who die, and came back to life. 

You may call them vampires since that's what the publisher and author are pretty much making them out to be instead of zombies. Before the Mori Roya plague, Nicodemus Mott used to live a good life before the plague took everything and everyone from him. Thanks to Lord Crane, Nico, who wanted to become a doctor, is not relegated to doing anything from being a gravedigger, to a valet, to a horse groomer. 

Nico and his friend Colin Chambers begin to question everything around them when a visitor who is looking for her brother at Eldridge Hall, goes missing and her horse wanders back to Crane manor. Nico suspects that things are even more twisted than he realized. Soon thereafter, he and Colin are order to Eldridge Hall to see if there are any survivors. Nico poses as the Prince from Pilmond who is supposed to be engaged to Prince Imogen.  

Princess Imogen is living on borrowed time. The illusion of order is fading, and she must escape before the fast-dwindling rations run out and all hell is unleashed. Her one ally Lord Greymont has true feelings for her, and may be her hope to get out of Eldridge and see the rest of the world. When Nico runs into Imogen (Seraphina) and learns she wants to leave, he has to stall to keep them alive and away from the horrors that lie outside of the castle walls.

*Thoughts* Rutherford takes the sad historical fact of Jews being accused of causing and spreading plagues during the Middle Ages and harshly scapegoated for it whenever there was an outbreak, and uses it to create a world ravaged by the Bloody Plague, a terrible disease that has exterminated a great chunk of the population. There is still antisemitism in the world today, especially by certain members of Congress who I shall not name. 

Anyway, this was more "inspired by" instead of a retelling. The story leaves a bit to be desired like the dark rooms in the original story. Even the author herself stated she was drawn to the story including the macabre ending, and yet she changes her own ending for reasons that elude me. The book takes place in a fantasy world that was very similar to Europe during the Black Plague which makes sense. I don't hate either character. I think Seraphina was more drawn out than Nico, but Nico actually spend 4 years surviving while Sera was being pampered and living with a shuttered castle.  

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#Review - The Poison Season by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy 

One choice could change everything.

Leelo has spent her whole life on Endla, coexisting with the bloodthirsty forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. But as much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles with the knowledge that her brother will be exiled and forced to live with the outsiders unless he gains enchantment powers before his next birthday.

Then comes the day that Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake. She knows she is supposed to leave him to his fate, but, instead, she betrays her family, her best friend, and her whole community by helping nurse the young man, Jaren, back to health, understanding that discovery could lead to unthinkable consequences for both of them.

As they grow closer, Leelo and Jaren discover that not all danger comes from beyond the lake—and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself. 

The Grace Year meets The Devouring Gray in Mara Rutherford’s atmospheric new fantasy The Poison Season, which follows a girl named Leelo Hart who unintentionally draws a stranger to her island with her magic, leaving her with a choice—rescue him from the lake, or risk betraying her insulated community’s safety and customs. Is everything the elders taught her of outsiders true, or is there something more sinister surrounding their island than its poisonous waters?

 

The story actually revolves around two characters: Leelo Hart, and Jaren, a boy who lives on the other side of the poisoned lake that seems to be immune to the singing coming from Endla. Leelo has spent her whole life on Endla, isolated from outsiders and protected by the poisonous lake and magical forest that surrounds it, with her mother Fiona, her aunt Ketty, and her cousin Sage, coexisting with the bloodthirsty forest and respecting the poisonous lake that protects her island from outsiders who seek to destroy it. As a Watcher in training, she must spend one year protecting her home from outsiders.

 

The Endlans are an isolated people who are cared for by the forest and care for it in turn - offering it blood sacrifices by singing magical songs that lure animals to them. In this world, nothing happens until it does. Outsiders caught on Endla are given the choice of the Forest or the Lake. Neither choice is a good one. As much as Leelo cares for her community, she struggles with the knowledge that her brother Tate, who has no magic of his own, will be exiled and forced to live with the outsiders unless he gains enchantment powers before his birthday.  

 

Most people on the island have the gift of enchanted singing, but those who don’t gain this gift by their twelfth birthday are exiled from the island. Then comes the day that Leelo sees a young outsider on the verge of drowning in the lake after being chased there by a rather large wolf. She knows she is supposed to leave him to his fate, but, instead, she betrays her family, her best friend, and her whole community by helping nurse Jaren back to health, understanding that discovery could lead to unthinkable consequences for both of them. 

 

As they grow closer, Leelo and Jaren discover that not all danger comes from beyond the lake—and they can only survive if Leelo is willing to question the very fabric of her society, her people, and herself. This accessible fantasy world is filled with magic, evil forests, and haunting revelations. It will perfectly satisfy your spooky cottage-core dreams. This story is a standalone. The story wraps up nicely so that a sequel should not be necessary. 

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#Review - Luminous by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy

Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural

From the author of Crown of Coral and Pearl comes an immersive new fantasy about a witch who must learn to harness her power—or risk losing her loved ones forever.

Liora has spent her life in hiding, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to.

To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos—and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him.

From the author of Crown of Coral and Pearl comes an immersive new fantasy about a witch who must learn to harness her power—or risk losing her loved ones forever. Thanks to her glow, Liora Duval has spent her life in hiding in the village of Sylvan, part of the Kingdom of Antalla, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power and may also control the King and Queen. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister Mina return to the capital with him.

To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to. To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared while also investigating what powers her mother had before she disappeared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos—and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him. Liora learns about others who have magic and are, of course, on Darius's radar.  

After she begins working for Evran's mother the weaver, she discovers that those closest to her have been keeping more secrets than she could have imagined, including her father who once worked as the King's treasurer. Is she strong enough to set to rights what Lord Darius has set in motion without destroying her only chance of happiness with the boy who holds her heart? Liora has been sheltered from the world by her father for a long time, so she is a bit naive at times, but you can't fault her bravery. 

She frequently disregards her own safety in order to protect her loved ones. Whether it's her best friend Evran or her sister Mina, she puts herself in harms way in life or death situations in order to try to save them. However, because of being sheltered, she often seems a tad reckless in her actions. She has absolutely no knowledge of what she is capable of magically because she thinks she is a danger to other people and doesn't try to learn. There are a variety of special abilities by those who have magic such as teleportation, "weaving" things into creation, fire starting, and the ability to see in the darkness.  

The author throws in a sort of devilish twist at the end of the story and since this is allegedly a standalone, readers might not ever know what happens next for Mina, or Evran. Will Mina find the truth about her mother? Will she find happiness in a far off country that is a safe space for magic users? Will she ever forgive her father for keeping a lie that's been hidden from Mina since the day she was almost killed by a fallen star? In all fairness, I can understand Darius and even though he is the villain of the story, he could have easily been the hero had he chosen a different path, or found Mina's abilities sooner. 

 

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#Review - Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford #YA #Fantasy

Series: Crown of Coral and Pearl (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Epic Fantasy

The highly anticipated sequel to Mara Rutherford’s stunning YA fantasy debut, Crown of Coral and Pearl, in which a young woman from a village on the sea must impersonate her twin on land to save everyone she loves from a tyrannical prince. Perfect for fans of Roshani Chokshi, Laura Sebastian, and Sarah Tolcser.

Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister’s place, she’s wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon.

As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor’s twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they’ll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them…

 

Mara Rutherford's Kingdom of Sea and Stone is the sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl. The story picks up right after the aftermath of the events of Kingdom of Coral and Pearl. Nor has escaped Ilara leaving her love Prince Talin behind to escape to Varenia with her twin sister Zadie. But things aren't exactly smooth. Nor believes she killed Ceren, Samiel is still missing, but presumed to alive, Varenians aren't exactly happy about Nor's return which leads to bad trouble, and Nor can't see a way forward to whatever happens next which is where the story really begins.

Shortly after arriving home, Prince Talin arrives with Grig and Osius. He is wanted for conspiracy against Ceren with his mother Talia who is preparing her army to go to war to take back the throne for her daughter. In this world, the rightful ruler always comes from the female line. To make matters worse, Ceren is very much alive, and is now King thanks to what happen between him and Nor which gives them a connection which they can use to read each other’s memories. He has no intention of allowing Nor to escape his desire for revenge which puts Nor's people directly in the crossfire. 

Ceren ends up chasing Nor, Zadie, Talin and his loyal guards already into Galteth. Galteth means a new world to create, and new characters to meet including Roan and Adriel who will become one of the best sources for Nor to learn about her healing abilities. Nor and allies try to get the Galethians to ally with them against Ceren by joining with Talia who is conscripting anyone old enough to pick up a weapon. Nor is given a horse named Titania. The horse has a mind of its own and really takes to Nor quickly even though she's from the sea where no horses exist. Titania is an amazing creature as well as being smart and loyal.

Nor and Zaida’s relationship was so strong and empowering most of the time. The extent they would sacrifice for the other was beautiful. There were times when Zaida knew exactly what she wanted while Nor was struggling to choose what she was going to do next. I also appreciated that it appears her parents were more accepting of the daughter this time around. They basically decided she wasn't worth when she permanently scared her face when she was a child. I have to say that the author made Ceren seem sympathetic after revealing what happened to him under Talia. 

Throughout this book, Nor works way too hard to be accepted by those around her which gives Adriel an opening to teach her to accept who she is, what she is capable of, and not giving a damn about what others believe. I am surprised by the ending, but I guess I shouldn't be since this was supposed to be aimed at young women and what they, not others, decide to do with their lives. With means that Nor's adventures end on an open note. I've attempted to research whether this is a duology or a trilogy. It seems that the author has two books she's working on that have nothing to do with this series.

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#Review - Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford #YALIT #Fantasy

Series: Crown of Coral and Pearl #1
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

Ash Princess meets Song of the Current in Mara Rutherford’s debut YA fantasy Crown of Coral and Pearl, which follows a young woman from a village on the sea who must impersonate her twin on land to save everyone she loves from a tyrannical prince.

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen…and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

Mara Rutherford's Crown of Coral and Pearl explores the close bonds of sisterhood, the truth that beauty is only skin deep, and forbidden romance in an evocatively described fantasy setting that is sure to have broad appeal. The gorgeous landscapes that Mara Rutherford has crafted—a village on the sea and a dark mountain kingdom—will entrance fantasy readers everywhere. This book is apparently the authors debut novel. The story is narrated from Nor’s point of view, a fierce and lovable character

Twin sisters Nor and Zadie are coral and pearl. They were raised on an ocean village called Varena where pearl diving is the main source of income for the villages and beautiful girls are a way for the village to gain great honor. This year, the Crown Prince of Ilara will choose a bride. Zadie is beautiful and has been groomed by her overzealous bitter mother to be the one chosen. Nor was permanently scarred after an accident when she 10 years old for pearls thus thought of as worthless by the same mother.

"Because you are the twin of my soul. You know me better than anyone ever has or ever will. Because I trust you more than I trust Sami. And because you are the strongest person I have ever known. Only you can help me".  

But, Zadie is in love with someone else, and doesn't want to abandon her home. Sami has Zadie's heart, while Nor has her soul. It's hard to separate either for the sake of a marriage that isn't guaranteed to end in happiness. 20 years ago, one of their own was chosen but was never heard from again. Zadie decides to choose her own fate with or without her sisters help. When all is said and done, Nor is reluctantly chosen to take Zadie's place and pretend to be her for the sake of everyone in the village.

One of the best things about this story is the bond between twins Nor and Zadie that was unbreakable and more than once, Nor showed how much she was willing to sacrifice for the benefit of her sister. But, when Nor arrives in Ilara, she comes face to face with the man who she is supposed to marry, and he's anything but Prince Charming waiting for his Cinderella. In fact, Ceren is a psychopath while is half brother Talin was much more surprising and likable.

The first half of this book takes place in Varenia, while the second half takes place in Ilara where it is dark, gloomy, restricted, and filled with surprises as well as a bit of romantic inclinations between Nor and Talin. I am interesting in what happens next to Nor, Zadie, Sami and Talin. Things  could get very interesting. 

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