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Tour! 37. The River Kings' Road by Liane Merciel...

March 25, 2010
I am very pleased today to have Liane Merciel's debut novel, The River Kings' Road, on tour at drey's library! This is the first book in Liane's fantasy world of Ithelas.

Title: The River Kings' Road
Author: Liane Merciel
ISBN-13: 9781439159118
Hardcover:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

FTC Disclosure: My copy of The River Kings' Road was provided by Pocket Books for this blog tour. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

the river kings' roadAbout the book:
The wounded maidservant thrust the knotted blankets at him; instinctively, Brys stepped forward and caught the bundle before it fell. Then he glimpsed what lay inside and nearly dropped it himself.

There was a baby in the blankets. A baby with a tear-swollen face red and round as a midsummer plum. A baby he knew, even without seeing the lacquered medallion tucked into the swaddling—a medallion far too heavy, on a chain far too cold for an infant who had not yet seen a year.


A fragile period of peace between the eternally warring kingdoms of Oakharn and Langmyr is shattered when a surprise massacre fueled by bloodmagic ravages the Langmyrne border village of Willowfield, killing its inhabitants—including a visiting Oakharne lord and his family—and leaving behind a scene so grisly that even the carrion eaters avoid its desecrated earth. But the dead lord’s infant heir has survived the carnage—a discovery that entwines the destinies of Brys Tarnell, a mercenary who rescues the helpless and ailing babe, and who enlists a Langmyr peasant, a young mother herself, to nourish and nurture the child of her enemies as they travel a dark, perilous road... Odosse, the peasant woman whose only weapons are wit, courage, and her fierce maternal love—and who risks everything she holds dear to protect her new charge . . . Sir Kelland, a divinely blessed Knight of the Sun, called upon to unmask the architects behind the slaughter and avert war between ancestral enemies... Bitharn, Kelland’s companion on his journey, who conceals her lifelong love for the Knight behind her flawless archery skills—and whose feelings may ultimately be Kelland’s undoing... and Leferic, an Oakharne Lord’s bitter youngest son, whose dark ambitions fuel the most horrific acts of violence. As one infant’s life hangs in the balance, so too does the fate of thousands, while deep in the forest, a Maimed Witch practices an evil bloodmagic that could doom them all...

liane mercielAbout the author:
As a so-called “Army brat,” Liane grew up in Germany, South Korea, and several different parts of the United States. She now lives in Philadelphia, where she practices law. She is an alumnus of Yale University and the College of William & Mary Law School. She is of Korean and European heritage. She could not bear to write her own “About” page or even, in all likelihood, to read it. Find Liane online at her website, lianemerciel.com.

drey's thoughts:
Liane Merciel's debut is a very easy read, with clear-cut characters. The good are very very good (although tempted by the forbidden), the bad are very very bad. Odosse is a bit different from other main characters in that she's explicitly called out as ugly. You don't find too many ugly people on the "good" side of the line (not in books, anyway), but I thought that it received a titch more attention than it warranted. After all, I don't read a book for its characters' appearances... Sir Kelland's, however, is almost barely remarked upon, although that remark did mention that he did not look like everyone else in Langmyr and Oakharn. Anyway, enough about appearances.

The River Kings' Road is not a complicated story. Nor is it a truly compelling story. I didn't get involved in any of the characters, and I didn't care whether the hero lived, or the villain died. But it did keep me entertained, which is a very good thing indeed. Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

drey's rating: 3/5 Good

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Tour stops:
Pam’s Private Reflections
Book Junkie
Cheryl’s Book Nook
Steph the Bookworm
Readaholic
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
I Heart Book Gossip
Jeanne's Ramblings
My Book Addiction and More
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Thoughts In Progress
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
Books And Things
She Reads
Blog Business World
Carol’s Notebook
Crazy Books & Reviews
Books Gardens & Dogs
Just One More Paragraph
Rundpinne
drey’s library
My Life In Not So Many Words
Geek Girl Reviews
Starting Fresh
Poisoned Rationality
Temple Library Reviews
The Wayfaring Writer
Booksie’s Blog
See Michelle Read
Genre Reviews
My Book Views
Wendy’s Minding Spot
Book Tumbling
Literarily Speaking
Books R Us
Brenda Loves Books
Lucky Rosie’s
You Wanna Know What I Think?

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