Review: Heart of Mist

Wow. That’s what I have to say about this adventurous YA Fantasy. I received an eARC of Heart of Mist directly from Helen a few months ago in exchange for an honest review. After reading the first page I knew it would be a book that I would enjoy. I not only enjoyed it but this book seriously blew me away. The cover is stunning and the story is so fantastically unique!

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Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer

In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power.

Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital.

But the king isn’t the only one interested in Bleak’s powers.

The leader of an infamous society of warriors, the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated.

Heart of Mist is the gripping first book in The Oremere Chronicles, a fantasy series of epic proportions.

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The Details

Title: Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles)

Author: Helen Scheuerer

Publication Date: August 31, 2017

Publisher: Talem Press

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My Review

The branches of the canopy were like springs beneath her feet, making her lighter than air as she leaped from one to another, towards her freedom.

This story takes hold of you from the very beginning. It’s a YA fantasy that features the most unlikely of main characters. Bleak is a drunk who is known to be one of the town’s most renowned gutter rats. She’s taken one day to be presented to the king, or to her death if you were to ask her, but on the way she encounters a group of warrior women known as the legendary Kindred. Only then is her world turned upside down and she becomes aware of how different she really is.

Bleak was a fun character to read because she really doesn’t care about anything. She drinks to drown out the voices in her head, to get away from reality, and mostly because she just feels like it. Scheuerer did a fantastic job with Bleak’s development, especially the development of her power as the story progressed. You start to really believe in Bleak and what she may be capable of. Bleak’s life is a mystery throughout most of the book but you start to form ideas of what, or who, she may possibly be and I really enjoyed her character ARC because of that.

I found the Kindred to be almost amazonian. They are a society of women who live among the trees who train all day both physically, mentally, and magically. They have a caste system which I found very interesting and the rules around their society were well developed.

Romance. There really isn’t any romance in this book and I actually enjoyed that. There is definitely opportunities for it, and possibilities around something that may develop later in the series.

Only a few of the many secrets this book may contain have been revealed and I think that is a testament to how well Scheuerer’s writing is. The events throughout the book were not predictable and the ending leaves you wanting more. I’m so excited to see what Scheuerer has in store for us next!

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What books from self-published authors have you read and loved? Will you be adding this to your TBR?