Splinters of Scarlet

By: Emily Bain Murphy

Narrated by: Kat Rose-Martin

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

For Marit Olsen, magic is all about strategy: It flows freely through her blood, but every use leaves behind a deadly ice-like build-up within her veins called the Firn. Marit knows how dangerous it is to let too much Firn build up - after all, it killed her sister - and she has vowed never to use her thread magic.

But when Eve, a fellow orphan whom Marit views like a little sister, is adopted by the wealthy Helene Vestergaard, Marit will do anything to stay by Eve’s side. She decides to risk the Firn and uses magic to secure a job as a seamstress in the Vestergaard household.

But Marit has a second, hidden, agenda: Her father died while working in the Vestergaards’ jewel mines - and it might not have been an accident. The closer Marit gets to the truth about the Vestergaard family, the more she realizes she and everyone she’s come to love are in danger. When she finds herself in the middle of a treacherous deception that goes all the way up to the king of Denmark, magic may be the only thing that can save her - if it doesn’t kill her first.

©2020 Emily Bain Murphy (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

New favorite!!!

*Note: I listened to this on audio, therefore I haven't the least clue how to spell a few characters names. Please excuse any misspellings.

This book popped up on my radar once or twice as I saw people talking about it on Instagram, but I didn't think anything about it until multiple friends recommended it. Even then, I went into it having no idea if I would like it or not since I hadn't read much like it. (Nadine Brandes's Fawkes might be the closest comparison I've read that I can think of and they're still very different from each other.) But having finished it, I'm happy to report that I really enjoyed it!

The thing that pulled me in immediately was Marit and Eve's friendship. It was so beautiful and pure the way they cared about each other and how Marit watched over Eve, and I LOVED LOVED LOVED that their friendship didn't get pushed to the background at any point, especially when Marit began to fall in love. Marit was allowed to have more to herself and her story than just romance and WE NEED MORE BOOKS THAT KEEP THIS BALANCE. (I also really liked that Marit's love interest was a little nerdy instead of the typical YA hunk.) In a similar vein, the way Eve's adopted mother immediately loved and integrated her into the family was very nice to see. And the other servants Marit met were fun. I really enjoyed reading about them and the way they cared for, supported, and protected each other.

The way that the author wove magic into the alternate historical setting was really interesting and fun, too. I liked that there was a physical consequence for using magic so it wasn't a bunch of overpowered people running around doing whatever they wanted. They had to be careful how much they did or it could kill them. (Related to this, having now read the book, I appreciate the cover art so much more now. Not that I didn't think it was nice before, but I didn't realize just how many references to the story it featured. So cool!)

AND THAT MYSTERY! I looooove some mystery elements in my stories and wow, I was not expecting all the twists and turns. It really kept me engrossed and the truth that came out in the end surprised me. I hadn't guessed at it at all. And the author did a good job of making the villain not completely evil. You don't agree with the harmful things they're doing but you do understand the reasoning that got them to the point of thinking that it was excusable.

To be honest, there isn't anything that springs to mind as something I didn't like. The climax was a bit intense and violent, but I felt like the author did well in not taking the descriptions too far. I did have the audio going a little fast at that point because of the intensity and wanting to know that the characters would be okay in the end, but I never had to completely skip anything. (This is coming from someone who can be sensitive to particularly bloody, violent descriptions. A couple slightly nasty things did happen in the climax, but they weren't lingered upon, and that can make a big difference for me.)

Overall, I'm really, really glad I took a chance on this and enjoyed it. (I wouldn't even mind tracking down a physical copy for future rereads, and I only do that when I liked an audiobook A LOT.) I'll be keeping an eye on this author's future works.