A Word So Fitly Spoken

The Severed Realms, Book 1

By: T.A. Lawrence

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Nikki Massoud

One stunning bride. One wedding. One night with the king. One execution come morning. Rinse and repeat.

When the fae king of Naenden returns home to his palace only to find that his human queen has committed treason by conspiring to assassinate him, he has the queen executed and decrees that once every mooncycle, he’ll marry a human woman from the kingdom, only to execute her the following morning.

Unless one woman offers herself as a sacrificial bride for the rest.

Asha isn’t worried about being chosen, of course. The decree was quite clear about beauty being among the top criteria for being selected as one of the king’s unfortunate brides. Asha is no beauty thanks to the illegal magic that inhabits her body, leaving her scarred and missing an eye. The same magic that occasionally possesses her voice so it can amuse itself by telling a never-ending story with a string of horrible cliffhangers.

The problem is Asha might not be a beauty, but her sister Dinah is. When Asha realizes Dinah is in danger of being selected as the king’s sacrificial bride, Asha decides she can’t live with that risk. So she offers herself instead.

Except on the night of their wedding the king grants Asha a final request. Naturally, she asks to tell her sister one last bedtime story. Naturally, the king eavesdrops.

The question is, will the story save her life or ruin it?

A tale of love and betrayal, vengeance and sacrifice, magic and romance, this imaginative retelling of 1,001 Nights will keep you guessing with each word.

©2023 T.A. Lawrence (P)2023 Podium Audio

Not what BookTok sold it as

This book is fine, but IG and TikTok sold it as a spicy fantasy romance and that’s not really what it is. They kiss… and that’s it. Nothing else is even implied, but maybe that’s part of the sequel?

The last 2-3 hours have a plot/climax that to me, really kind of came out of nowhere and to solve this the author just said earlier characters lied, rather than acknowledge that some of the stuff didn’t make sense with the story she’d already been plotting out.

Like I said, the book was fine, but not what it was marketed as and I wish I had saved my credit for something else.

I saw a TikTok about the book by the author and had to listen

An ugly, poor, merchant girl sacrifices herself to marry the cruel king to save her sister. He vows to marry and kill a human girl every moon cycle until he stops morning the loss of his first wife (that he killed).

It was a great story!

It had me hooked really fast. The ending made me pretty sad though. I loved all of it except I didn’t care for the male narrator. A beautiful tale and I’m excited for the next book.

Beautiful Storytelling

I was fully immersed in the story at all times. It had me grinning wide and heavy hearted in equal measure. Absolutely loved it and I’m eager for more of the story.

surprise

I wasnt sure about continueing another Fae genre. But the twists and turns in the book really surprised me. The plot was great. The narrators we good. I noticed a few misteps but not enough to ruin anything.

No Smut, All Story!

I appreciated the carefully crafted world in which the characters loved their lives. It was familiar enough to understand, but just different enough that if felt like a fantasy world. It was easy to follow the rules of this fantasy world. I appreciated the nod to several Arabian tales woven within the story as well. Showing the effects of an evil parent on a child and the effects as an adult as well was handled with understanding. The main character was interesting.

My only gripe with the entire story is that the young sister for whom all the sacrifices are made, is so sweet and soft and gentle that if borders on mental incompetence. The author manges to correct this toward the end of the story, but the meat of the book makes Dina seem wholly incapable. I don't think it is necessary for one sibling to be inept simply to highlight the capability or the willingness to sacrifice by the FMC.

that was my only issue and it is a small one. I will definitely look for other titles from this writer.

meh...

this was a book I thought I'd try from tiktok. not my cup of tea. soooo slow. I fell asleep to it 2. gave up on it to be honest but someone else might really like it?

Great story

This was a captivating book. I had times where I was getting teary eyed listening to this book. I do wish there was a little more spice though.

lovely read

I really enjoyed this story. interested in reading the rest of this series. I love retelling so this is going to be an exciting read...especially during autumn 🍂 and winter seasons. 😍

Reclaiming Fantasy

Finally, a fantasy fiction written for the storytelling instead of the libido. If you want sex scenes, pick up 50 Shades and leave fantasy alone! Please! If you want a beautifully written, expertly performed, well rounded story with all the romantic tension and none of the scenes you'd rather skip, this is your story. Too often, the plot and story suffer just for the shock value. I'm so glad to have found this author and these books. I can feel a new spot on my bookshelf already clearing the way for these. If you are an avid fantasy fiction reader, who's here for the story, look no further!