Birthright

Ascension, Book 1

By: L. Fergus

Narrated by: Mary L Phillips

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Every god has an origin.

Kita's constantly on the run from her parents trying to build a life for herself. She's an undefeated sword duelist and risen to underboss in the Shadow Guild, but her family keeps dragging her back to her life as a duke's daughter—and no one will explain why.

What Kita doesn't know is her future was written before she was born.

When the commander of the Legion of Yorq arrives to recruit a member of the noble family, Kita's mother informs Kita of her destiny: A powerful role in Arcone, a place Kita's never heard of. This is the opportunity Kita longs for—it will take her far from home and give her protection from her father.

But nothing's free.

To claim her birthright, Kita must win the harrowing Proving Ritual but the deadly challenge may be more than Kita can handle. She would rather die than live with failure. But to win, she may be forced to reveal her darkest secret.

©2019 Chelsea Feeny (P)2022 Chelsea Feeny

Critic reviews

Best Overall, The Pearl Awards

1st Place, Science FIction, The Lilac Awards

1st Place, Science Fiction, LGBT+ Wattys

1st Place, Science Fiction, The Blue Rose Awards

1st Place, Science Fiction, Eminence Awards

A Bad Girl You'll Love

I've read the series and enjoyed Mary Phillips performance. Birthright is a great setup to the Ascension series. Not only is Birthright fun but everything comes together in the next book when the series begins to cook . Kita is a fun bad girl that I fell in love with. Her dedication, loyalty, and care for her friends is enjoyable and a nice counter to her dark side.

fairly good, could be improved

Overall, I did enjoy the story quite a bit. The setting is very unique and the skill set of the MC is also intriguing.


Pet-peeves ahead:

Though I do wish there was more of an explanation as to why the world uses swords and armor while the Legion has firearms (besides the reason of: oh it's always been here and we still don't know everything about it.) I also felt a bit annoyed often hearing the MCs weapons being named. We get it. They are called Dawn and Dusk, stop reminding me multiple times in a single chapter.

Narration-wise, I think a bit more clean up and rechecking would be wise. Chapter 1 ends with a sigh and the sound of a page turning. There were also a couple instances where a character's dialogue had mixed accents or words cut short.

Kita is an empowered female

…And yet, too cruel and brutal for my own enjoyment.

But that’s a personal opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Destiny and secrets collide!

L. Fergus's "Birthright," narrated by Mary L. Phillips, crafts a captivating fantasy world where destiny and secrets collide. Fergus's writing is immersive, and Phillips's narration adds depth to Kita's journey. In this gripping tale, Kita's pursuit of her birthright unfolds with suspense and revelation, making "Birthright" a must-read in the fantasy genre.

Excellent story: medieval MC meets alien AI

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request, in exchange for an honest review.

“Birthright, Ascension Series Book 1” exceeded my expectations! I anticipated a story about a daughter having to prove herself in a man’s world; a world of nobles and swords. Yes, it was that, but as the story progressed we learn that the Legionnaires, charged with keeping peace and assisting the King as needed, use ancient alien technology!

I like that Kita, our valiant MC, is determined to win her battles rather than die with honor, as instructed by the men in her orbit. I also like that she is also deeply flawed, crying as she comes down from her berserker rages, and struggling to understand herself. Yet, as flawed as she is, she is very admirable. She is determined to obtain great power in defiance of men who are determined that she learn her place in a man’s world.

I keeping with the Kita vs. men theme, she is a lesbian. In “Birthright” there are references to past lovers, but even the phrase “fade to black” doesn’t convey the complete and utter lack of descriptive sexual scenes. I don’t know whether future books will be explicit as Kita finds new lovers, but I hope so! I don’t know whether author L. Fergus is male or female; some successful male writers of lesfic shy away from explicit scenes.

Glancing through the author’s Patreon, I’ve discovered that “Birthright” is not just book one in the “Ascension” series, but is part of the “Kitaverse”! Other books and series interweave with each other in ways I’ve yet to learn.

This is my first exposure to the narrator, in addition to the Kitaverse, and I’m very happy with the narration.

5* for Birthright, and I very much look forward to the sequel and other audiobooks by the author!

The book that started it all.

Having followed this series since its conception, i can confidently say that the first book will have you hooked from the start. The foundation set by this book will leave you wanting to see just what crazy thing is going to happen next to kita. 10/10 i would recommend this book to anyone.

Girls trip

Thrilling adventure of our young heroin coming into her own legacy doing everything she can to be the best she can be World building and more some of the best I've read and heard truly this is the adventure I've been waiting for

Full of fun and adventure

Kita is destined to marry and raise a family if her father has anything to say about it. Unbeknownst to him she has learned to fight in the way of the assassin and quickly goes from becoming the new legion commanders trainee to the new legion commander herself. Lots of action and adventure unfolds in a short ammount of time and she is forced to grow up even faster than maybe she would have liked. I really enjoyed this first book, although the I'm curious to see how the upgrades she receives near the books end will unfold and either help or hinder her in the future. So I'll definitely have to listen to/read the next book in the series.
I recieved a free audible book of this title for a fair an honest review. Definitely recommend this series and looking forward to book 2 in Keta's story.

Well done

Birthright is the beginning of the story of Kita the fallen angel. This Ascension series explains Kita's origins and the reason for her bloodlust. She has a berserking ability that makes her a fierce assassin and warrior. It also affects her emotions until she eventually learns to control it. This series is set in a medieval-style world with lords and ladies, knights etc. The next series, Game of the Gods, takes place after Kita has become immortal and has grown into her "fallen angel" nickname. It takes place in a larger universe and alien characters are added to the mix.
Kita is not the most likeable character but she is certainly one of the most complex. Despite her evil qualities, there are lines even she won't cross and she is incredibly loyal to those who stand by her. I would recommend all Kita books to anyone who enjoys plenty of action and sci-fi. They're reminiscent of some of the best anime series. You don't have to be LGBTQ+ to really enjoy these books (and while this book doesn't delve as much into Kita's relationships, the next books will).
For the voice performance specifically: I loved it! The voice actress did an excellent job and even did the Scottish accent of the Arconians. Well done.

WOW!

This book series falls into a genre I love. It brings in si-fi, mid-evil, and assigns!!! The character build-up is great. Fergus starts at the bedrock taking to account that you know nothing about this world and the story is built up in a fun way that helps you understand the world you are attempting to envision. The main character is a total badass! She has power, a crazy awesome attitude, and will slaughter just about anything if push comes to shove.

I have been waiting for a new series that treads in the vein of The Lies of Locke Lamora, this hits it on the head... HARD! The storyline is great, the characters are dynamic and the flow of the book is easy to track. I will be plowing through this series!

For the Audiobook, the reader is on point! MAry L. Phillips always does an awesome job!