She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much
by S. R. Cronin
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
BLURB:
Olivine, the fourth of seven sisters, has been hiding a secret as she travels to K’ba to meet her artist friends. Others assume she has fallen in love with another artist, and it’s not a match Mother would consider suitable. But it’s much worse that. For on the way to K’ba is the dirt poor nichna of Scrud, a place scorned by all other Ilarians. And in Scrud is the one man who understands her.
However, Bohdan is also is a realist, and a man who recognizes the dangers posed by an impending Mongol invasion. When he learns of Olivine’s unusual visual powers, he convinces her to pick up her bow and arrow and start practicing.
She does, though she’s more concerned with producing enough art to raise the funds to run away from home and live in K’ba, where she can paint all day and see Bohdan as often as she wants. If only her sister Ryalgar hadn’t learned of what she can do and decided Olivine and her fellow long-eyes held one of the keys to defending the realm.
Then, as if life wasn’t complicated enough, Olivine learns the artist community she yearns to be part of has developed a different take on the invasion. They feel certain the only way to survive is to capitulate completely to the Mongols demands. Artists who feel otherwise are no longer welcome.
Where does her future lie? The supposed invasion is coming soon and Olivine doesn’t have much time to decide.
Excerpt:
“What’s your name?”
The softness in his face told me he meant to be polite, nothing more, but such a direct question from a Scrudite made me nervous. Yes, I needed his help, but I’d been taught to use caution when dealing with these people.
“Must you know my name in order to tend to my injured horse?” I asked. I stood tall, willing my slight frame into all the bulkiness I could.
He laughed, but his shoulders slumped as he turned away from me.
“No, I’ll help you no matter how disagreeable you are.”
Bold words from one such as him. “I’m not disagreeable.”
“Perhaps not,” he said. “Maybe you’re frightened. I have trouble telling the difference.”
His words froze the response on my lips. I was scared of him and his people. Most Vinxites, especially those from families like mine, had never spoken to a Scrudite.
I turned my artist’s eye upon him. Despite his weathered skin he was young, like me. Unlike me, he had muscles from a life of strenuous work. His hair, lightened by the sun, shown with glints and his clothes were the usual mishmash of tattered rags worn by Scrudites.
“It’s just a sprain,” he said as felt around my horse’s front right ankle. The mare stood still, unusually cooperative around a stranger. He massaged her leg gently.
“I’ll get a poultice on it. Let her rest overnight; she’ll be able to walk on it tomorrow and carry your things, though you shouldn’t ride her yet. Not for a few days.”
“She can’t possibly rest here for the night. I’ve no place to stay.”
I had to pass through a small piece of Scrud to get from my parents' farm to the art studios in K’ba where my friends lived. I knew our poorest nichna lacked the inns found throughout the rest of the realm, but I hadn’t worried. My journey was short, and I didn’t intend to stop. Who knew what a stranded traveler did here.
“No Scrudite would expect a stranger to sleep alone in the desolation.” He seemed offended at the thought as he pointed out toward the dusty openness. “Our wolves are far too bold. You’ll sleep with me.”
“I’ll do no such thing!”
Another laugh, this one more amused.
“That’s not what I meant. The people of Scrud do not force themselves on each other, much less on those passing through. One of my sisters will be glad to share my hut to put you at ease. I’ve room for three. I’d prefer to send you to her hut, but your horse needs to remain still, and I suspect she’ll only do so if you stay nearby.”
This man, this Scrudite, was doing his best with me. It wasn’t his fault my horse had managed to step into a hole only paces from where he made his pitiful life. Despite his situation, he’d offered me as much courtesy as any gentleman in Pilk would have. Perhaps more.
“Thank you. If your sister is as kind as you, I look forward to meeting her.”
I looked around. He and his family had to be part of the clan of Scrudites who lived in tiny huts hugging the forest’s scraggly edge, making their meager living carving the beautiful hard woods growing at the margins of their nichna. Our entire realm valued the products they produced, and some thought his clan accessed ancient magic to infuse into their creations.
I’d always considered that last bit to be wishful thinking. Some Ilarians imagined they saw the old magic everywhere they looked.
As he turned to fetch his sister, I reached out for his arm to stop him. He seemed startled at my touch.
“Olivine,” I said. “My name is Olivine.”
“Odd name. Mine’s Bohdan.”
“Thank you for helping a traveler, Bohdan.”
My Review:
She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much is Olivine, the fourth of seven sisters story and told from her point of view. Olivine has found her true love but the thing is is that her family or more like her mother will not approve of him. If her mother ever found out about him she would probably do what she said she would do and that is lock Olivine up. So the only thing for Olivine to do is keep the love of her life a secret from everyone.
With the invasion of the Mongol on the horizon, everyone must prepare for its impending doom. When Olivine’s sister Ryalgar learns of her unusual visual powers she believes that Olivine and her new beau, Bohdan holds one of the keys to stop the war with the Mongol.
I have enjoyed reading about each and every sister in War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters and can’t wait to read all of the other sister’s stories as well. She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much is just as enthralling and engaging as the first three books in the series.
It is full of surprises with twists and turns around almost every corner. Once you pick up one of the books in this series you will not be able to lay it down until the last page is read.
The world-building is brilliantly well done and the characters are all amazing. She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much is written in such a way that makes you feel as if you are right there with all the characters as the war rages on.
Once I was drawn into its depths the world around me disappeared for a few hours. I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series, She's the One Who Can't Keep Quiet is due to be released on January 14, 2022.
War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters is so amazing that I doubly recommend it to all historical, science fiction, fantasy fans. One-click your copy of She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much today for another epic adventure in the War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters series. But I do recommend reading them in order.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.
She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is.
All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads
Amazon BookBub ~ Author Blog ~ Book Series Blog
4 comments:
This looks like an entertaining read for sure.
I really like the cover and the excerpt.
Thanks for all the comments and for having me here today. I appreciate the review!
The book sounds fascinating. It's a beautiful cover.
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