Thornfruit

The Gardener's Hand, Volume 1

By: Felicia Davin

Narrated by: Felicia Davin

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

There were two secrets in Varenx House, and Alizhan was one of them.

Alizhan can’t see faces, but she can read minds. Her mysterious ability leaves her unable to touch or be touched without excruciating pain. Rescued from abandonment and raised by the wealthy and beautiful Iriyat ha-Varensi, Alizhan has grown up in isolation, using her gift to steal secrets from Iriyat’s rivals, the ruling class of Laalvur. But Iriyat keeps secrets of her own.

When Alizhan discovers she isn’t the only one of her kind and that a deadly plot threatens everyone like her, there’s only one person she can trust.

Ev liked having a secret. None of the other girls in the village had a thief friend.

Evreyet Umarsad - “Ev” to her parents and her one friend - longs to be the kind of hero she reads about in books. But the rest of the world feels impossibly far away from her life on a farm outside Laalvur. Ev will never lay eyes on the underground city of Adappyr, the stars of the Nightward Coast, or the venomous medusas that glow in the dark depths of the sea.

At least on her weekly trip to the market, Ev gets to see her thief - the strange young woman who slips by her cart and playfully steals a handful of thornfruit. When the thief needs help, Ev doesn’t hesitate. Together, they uncover a conspiracy that draws them all over Laalvur and beyond.

Thornfruit is audiobook one of the Gardener's Hand series.

©2018 Felicia Davin (P)2018 Felicia Davin

It really sucks you in.

The only reason I gave it a 4 for story is because the story switches perspective without warning and it was very confusing at times. plus the names are very long and strange and it was hard at points to pay attention because i was just being drowned in other worldish names. This said, over all the world is so interesting and the characters were very distinct. I did not expect Allision (i hope thats how you spell her name) to be so cute and curious as the book went on. can't wait to start the next book.

YA fantasy

I was conflicted on how to rate this book. The author is a really good writer and tells a good story, but... this book had some parts which were simply boring. This is definitely a YA story, but it just did not move along quick enough. Narration was really good!

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

I generally shy away from books ready the author

…And I really should have here. The storyline had a lot of potential but the lack of differentiation between characters meant I kept getting lost in the plot.