Book Review: Treason
Treason by SM Boyce
Book Summary:
Ourea has always been a deadly place. The lichgates tying the hidden world to Earth keep its creatures at bay—for now.
Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned.
Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who—and what—he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood.
To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate.
Syi's Summary: Kara Magori, the main character have been into a war. She have been into Ourea, a dangerous place to be. The Lichgates have been up to something that keep Earth from keeping the creatures. Though Karahave been willing to protect the person that she have left. Once she went to the dangerous place Ourea, she had found a powerful artifact, Grimoire. Ever since she have that artifact, she have ben giving up things she believe in but things didn't goes as they were. Until she mets the prince, a murder, Braeden Drakonin. These too have something in common that they need to know. Can both of them survive being evil or grown out of it?
Book Rate: 8
Expert:
Kara pushed herself to her feet.
“We should probably make our way back to the mansion, Braeden.
“Nope,” he
said.
“What do you
mean, ‘no’?”
“You wanted
to learn to fight. We haven’t trained today. We need to spar.”
She groaned.
They’d been sparring. She’d healed
dozens of bruises and even a broken finger, all evidence to the fact she was
barely able to react in time to a sword coming at her face, much less a magical
technique. She just wasn’t a very good fighter.
“But—”
He laughed.
“You’ll never get better if you don’t practice. Come on.”
He drew his
sword.
Her stomach
twisted. “Right here? Seriously? On a ledge? Those are rapids!”
“Yes. Today,
it’s all about controlling your opponent’s movement and fighting in difficult
terrain. Since you aren’t strong in this environment, drive me back up the
stairs and to the forest, where you have more room to move. Also, you should
never be without a sword.”
“But I don’t
have one!”
“That was my
point.”
“Shouldn’t I
practice one lesson at a time?”
In answer,
he swung his sword at her arm. She pressed her back against the cave wall,
ducking the blow seconds before the blade cut the air. Goose bumps crawled up
her neck.
Braeden
laughed. “The best way to learn is baptism by fire. Let’s go!”
Kara ducked
another swing and looked around, but she had no tactical advantage. Braeden
blocked her way to the stairs. She couldn’t run past him or—she glanced over
the ledge at the tumbling river below. Nope, she was not jumping into that. Her only escape was a nearby hole in a ledge
that ran above her like a catwalk. If she could—
Braeden
shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, apparently ready to lunge and
end this whole bout before it began.
No time to think. Just go.
Kara
sprinted away, toward the gap. Braeden followed, and Kara jumped for the ledge
seconds before he lunged. She grabbed the walkway, the splinters of rock
digging into her arms as her momentum lifted her legs out of Braeden’s passing
reach.
His fingers
brushed her ankle, sending a shiver up her leg. She resisted the impulse to
smile at the tingling sensation his touch left behind. It made her think of his
hand on her back, of their kiss—
“Clever!” he
said.
Focus, Kara.
She pulled
herself onto the ledge and wished she had a witty response, but she’d learned that lesson the hard way during an
earlier match. She had distracted herself
by talking, instead of distracting him like she’d hoped. Braeden had tripped
her and knocked her clean onto her back. Dialogue was yet another weapon, one
that required practice. Let the better fighters banter. Lesser fighters focus.
Kara got to
her feet and raced along the upper pathway toward the waterfall, her satchel
bouncing against her back while she ran as fast as she could. Braeden would be
faster, but she had to try.
The ledge
curved around a bend in the cave. Her feet pounded against the rock, sending
shards of cave wall sprinkling to the ground below. The walkway likely hadn’t
seen action like this in its lifetime. She hoped it wouldn’t crumble.
Braeden’s
steps echoed from under her as the edge of the catwalk came into view. It would
end about ten feet before the stairs, so she picked up her pace. She couldn’t
slow down, or Braeden would catch her.
Five feet
away, now.
Two feet—
Jump!
Kara kept
her eyes where she wanted to go, just as Braeden had taught her the last time
they’d sparred. She’d tried to jump from a tree and wound up in a bramble bush.
Instinct and
a dozen failed attempts in prior matches told her to tuck her head, to curl
onto her shoulder and let the momentum propel her forward.
Rocks dug
into her neck and shoulder before pushing against her back, but nothing stung.
She rolled back onto her feet and took off again, not daring to look back for
Braeden. She would probably trip if she did.
She grinned,
adrenaline numbing her fingertips as she ran. She had no earthly idea how she
would do it again, but to hell with it. She’d finally rolled!
Kara
followed the path as it curved and disappeared behind the waterfall. The water
misted along her neck, blocking all light as she passed behind it. She let her
feet find the stairs as she bolted up two at a time. Braeden’s light breaths
came from somewhere in the darkness behind her.
Green
sunlight illuminated the top of the stairs, the light blocked by a thick canopy
of trees. Brown blurs came into view—bark. There would be a root right when she
rounded the last stair, so she had to be careful not to—
Kara’s foot
hooked on the root anyway.
She shot
forward and skidded along the dirt path. Sticks left gouges in her arms. Her
cheek stung. She wiped her hand over her face, but that just made the stinging
worse. Blood stained her fingers when she pulled away.
A sword
glinted in Kara’s peripheral vision. She sprung to her feet. Braeden stood a
short way off, without a scratch on him. He grinned.
“Falling was
an interesting choice,” he said.
“Cute.” Kara
rolled her eyes and brushed dust off her clothes.
This is a expert of the story, Chapter One.
If you want a copy of the book you can buy it at:
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About the Author
Bio: SM Boyce
Author of Lichgates and Treason.S.M. Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction novelist who also dabbles in contemporary fiction and comedy. Her B.A. in Creative Writing also qualifies her to serve you french fries. She updates her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.
S. M. Boyce writes fantasy and paranormal fiction. Boyce is a sarcastic twit, but she still has friends because some people seem to like that. She’s currently working on the YA epic fantasy series the Grimoire Trilogy. Lichgates, the first in the series, is already available. Treason (book 2) releases October 27. Feel free to connect with her online or check out her blog.
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Happy Reading to all readers!
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