I’ve got a confession to make. I’m not as excited as everyone else to read ONYX AND IVORY by Mindee Arnett. Why you may ask? Because I’m MORE excited than everyone else. And, well, I’ll already read it.
Last year I received an early manuscript copy of the book, still in the unpolished form, for the purpose of reading and writing a blurb for the book. I. Was. Floored. Me? Blurbing a book? What is life? What is air?
I was so nervous but so honored that I got to do this. Mindee is one of my Ohio faves so of course I was going to do my very best for her. And y’all? This was my favorite Mindee I’ve ever read.
Check out the book description for this marvelous fantasy:
They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king years ago. Now Kate lives as an outcast, clinging to the fringes of society as a member of the Relay, the imperial courier service. Only those most skilled in riding and bow hunting ride for the Relay; and only the fastest survive, for when dark falls, the nightdrakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: she is a wilder, born with magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals. But it’s this magic that she needs to keep hidden, as being a wilder is forbidden, punishable by death or exile. And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by nightdrakes in broad daylight—the only survivor her childhood friend, her first love, the boy she swore to forget, the boy who broke her heart.
The high king’s second son, Corwin Tormane, never asked to lead. Even as he waits for the uror—the once-in-a-generation ritual to decide which of the king’s children will succeed him—he knows it’s always been his brother who will assume the throne. And that’s fine by him. He’d rather spend his days away from the palace, away from the sight of his father, broken with sickness from the attempt on his life. But the peacekeeping tour Corwin is on has given him too much time to reflect upon the night he saved his father’s life—the night he condemned the would-be killer to death and lost the girl he loved. Which is why he takes it on himself to investigate rumors of unrest in one of the remote city-states, only for his caravan to be attacked—and for him to be saved by Kate.
With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin have to put the past behind them. The threat of drakes who attack in the daylight is only the beginning of a darker menace stirring in the kingdom—one whose origins have dire implications for Kate’s father’s attack upon the king and will thrust them into the middle of a brewing civil war in the kingdom of Rime
So here it is, my precious blurb for the wonderful ONYX AND IVORY
Fantasy fans, this is for you.
Horse lovers? This is your book.
Mindee fans. Preorder. Now.
I think everyone is going to be so pleased with this book. Its different, its addicting, and you WON’T want to stop.
I’ll be writing up a review after rereading the much more edited version but suffice you say I love what I’ve seen so far.
Mindee will be on the blog in April for the yearly OAAA event so make sure you come by then and see what she has to say about what this last year has been like for her.
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