War has come to Neharem.
Despite surviving betrayal, capture, and a deadly challenge to reclaim her position as high chieftain, Elaysia faces a nation torn apart by her actions. The looming threat of invasion from Az Zar further divides the tribes of Neharem, fracturing their faltering loyalty and deepening the vengeance shadowing her reign. The stormbirds, having not yet come into their powers, remain as much a vulnerability as they are a symbol of hope.
To strengthen her forces, Elaysia agrees to an arranged union with a noble from Orillon, forging a precarious alliance. Meanwhile, unrest brews in Cadar, where the oppressed rise against the All-Sovereign’s iron-fisted rule, igniting a rebellion that threatens to engulf Az Zar. Zavik, striving for a sustainable use of weaponized nevethium, uncovers the devastating costs of progress. In the north, Jakki learns the true nature of her magic parchment and the people it originated from. Lumira steps up to lead war efforts in Agaas, reawakening painful memories of her past. And Konar’s fate hangs in the balance.
As past transgressions and suppressed truths resurface, Elaysia and her companions find themselves haunted by their histories, their darkest secrets threatening to unravel their delicate unity. Beneath Quinaria’s surface, an ancient power stirs, ready to shatter the world’s fragile peace. For the land they’ve called home is no longer the place they thought it was.
Maybe it never had been.
-Goodreads
Book Information
- Title: Of Love and Loss
- Series: The Heart of Quinaria #2
- Author: B.S.H. Garcia
- Page Count: 861
- Genre: Fantasy
- Rating: 4.75/5.0
- Date Read: September 26th, 2024
Opening Thoughts
I’ve done my best to keep up with the works from B.S.H. Garcia since initially reading Of Thieves and Shadows in July of 2023 when it was an entry in the SPFBO-9 competition. Since then she also released two novellas to add further depth to this world and series with From the Ashes and From the Depths. Of Love and Loss was certainly one of my most anticipated releases for 2024. I’m happy to say it was well worth the wait. I didn’t even notice how quiet I had been on social media and lack of other reviews until a day or two after finishing this one. I suppose I was just dug in and hyper focused on this read.
Pacing
The pacing of OLAL is very much epic fantasy. I don’t want to necessarily describe the pacing as slow because a lot of readers may take that as a knock. However this is a read on the thicker side looking at page count. The author was also very descriptive through the book. I may share a couple of quotes I highlighted later on with a spoiler warning just to show some examples. This read took me a solid three weeks from start to finish. Granted I was really focused on this and took my time with it. No speed reading through this story for this reader. I’ve been very lucky of late and again had no issues with names of locations or characters here. And there is a lot of both present in book two.
World Building
The world building was amazing in my own opinion. I’ve already mention the amount of descriptive storytelling and Garcia just nailed it with this one. I constantly lost myself in the world whether I felt I was stuck in a small cell built with the seaside cliffs, I was in the thick of bloody and messy battles or feeling the character anxiety returning to locations of my past. There is so much going on in this book and series from magic and religion, to gritty action, and characters so complex I couldn’t help but wonder what could happen next.
Another favorite aspect of the world building is the diversity of fantastical races and creatures. found in this world.
Character Development
That brings us to the character development which might just be the icing on the cake and I have a feeling we are still just getting started! Many reads offer up a character or two that I would consider complex. What I mean by this is a character not only with a good arc and growth but has many layers to them. So many characters in this book and series have changed so much due to the circumstances they have been through. Then you throw in the mix a couple of characters with unnaturally long lives and how their views of the world may or may not have changed over all those years and it really puts the depth of the story into a different perspective as a reader.
At this point I need to read book three simply to see who will be our next betrayer or hero! I don’t want to say this book ended with a cliffhanger, but I’m excited to see what happens next in this story!
Roundup & Recommendation
If you enjoy fantasy tales with a strong epic feeling, a good mix of world building and character development you need to check out The Heart of Quinaria. If you’ve already dipped your toe into the series perhaps with book one or one of the novellas, you owe it to yourself to take a plunge off the great tree right into Of Love and Loss!
Scoring
World Building 5/5
Pacing 4.5/5
Character Development 5/5
As mentioned earlier, I’d like to share a couple of quotes from book two. There are possible spoilers below so venture at your own risk!
“Unless there was a nest hidden somewhere in the rot, a favorite place of the females. He reached his hand back inside the log and tore away a chunk of bark as long as his forearm. All manner of insects spilled out into the night, wriggling on the carpet of decay. Ants, grubs, beetles. A shudder seized Konar as he peered closer. There, tucked in the shadows of the log an guarding a sizable next, was a widow-maker, much larger than the one that had bitten him. It raised is barbed front legs as if taunting him.”
Perhaps this draws upon my dislike for spiders and creepy crawling things in general but this scene was terrifying for me to read. Also a good sense of the dread throughout this story.
“The cloaked figure didn’t flinch as she approached. Not so much as a twitch of the hand or a shift of the leg. Whomever it was stood a good head taller than her six-and-a-half-foot frame, far taller than the average human or nyrian. She hurled her spear. It hit the sword-wielder in the heart. And sailed right through.”
Still descriptive but also a good example of different races and a sampling for one of the many strong female characters found in this tale.
If you want more, you’re going to need to pick up a copy and read it for yourself!
No Comment! Be the first one.