This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Caitlin Lyle Farley for Readers' Favorite
The Drowned Tower is destroyed, sunken into the Zexin Sea. While many of the surviving magic practitioners who called the institute home linger near the ruins, Sylvie Sirx and Jack Dace search for the hidden entrance to the Red Veld institute. Here, they must play politics before setting off for a treacherous mine where the pair finds another clue about the nature of Elementalists and the entity trapped inside the Heartstone. Political manoeuvres by various players are shifting towards final outcomes that will ripple across Ferus Terria as Jack and Sylvie stumble across an ancient journal that hints at a horrifying secret.
The Red Veld by Nicholas Rinth continues the Heartstone series shortly after the events of book one, The Drowned Tower. This novel starts slowly with the story switching between multiple characters but the gradual pace of events proves to be well worth enduring as Rinth ramps up the tension and action towards the middle. The ending made me ache for the next Heartstone book. Jack and Sylvie have a dynamic relationship that's a lot of fun to read, and their slow-burn romantic tension will leave readers happily dissatisfied as Rinth includes just enough tenderness between these two strong-willed practitioners to leave you wanting more.
A thriving black market slave trade adds a darker edge to this epic fantasy and introduces interesting thematic questions. Despite the slow beginning, The Red Veld is a solid follow up to The Drowned Tower, with an abundance of tension and intrigue to carry through to the next instalment of the Heartstone series.
