Tome Thursday: The Broken Sands

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome to what's probably going to make my top 5 list of books for 2024, because, SERIOUSLY.

 

I mean, I know BookSirens is a hub for amazing authors and whatnot, and I've definitely stumbled across more than one fantastic read since joining, but every once in a while I also latch onto positive GEMS of books, tonight's choice being one of them.

 

There's only so many ways to tell the story of people in the desert, but Iren Adams managed to do so.

 

To think, I sat on the book for ages because I didn't have the time to read it.

 

HA.

 

Well, I made time very recently, and I think I gobbled it up in one or two sittings. There's just no way to put it down once you begin and realize that it's going to be absolutely stunning.

 

So without further ado, let's stop with my babbling and get right to it, shall we? The desert sun waits for no one, especially not in The Broken Sands.

 

Since this is the first in a series there won't be any links down below BUT I do plan on making sure I read the sequel once it releases - oh and by the way, happy release day to the book! Today's D-day people, so make sure to grab your copies.

 

Back to the show.

 

Neylan is one of the many, many daughters of the Emperor of Usmad, a desert empire that rose out of the rubble which formed after a massive Cataclysm that ruined the world, turning it into the wasteland it is today. As per history, there were thirteen Originals, people who could wield some sort of magic (they call them binders in this universe), who tried to heal it and bring it back to its former glory, but they were hunted down and killed by one of the old kings, and so now the world suffers.

 

Are there other realms and kingdoms, you ask? Oh yes. There's at least two more that border Usmad but, we don't get to meet them this time.

 

Anyway, Neylan's an adventurer who'd much rather be running around exploring than paying attention to what's happening, so she totally misses that her daddy-o just sold her to the most powerful governor in the empire whom she's supposed to marry. For some reason, also, her mother hates her guts and treats her like dirt on the sole of her slipper but, we don't get to understand why just yet.

 

Speaking of said mother, she's the SECOND wife of the Emperor. What happened to number one, and is SHE actually Neylan's mom, so this one's just nominally in the role?

 

Neylan's sold off to her husband right after meeting one of her father's personal guards, Rev, who has some sort of particular skillset that makes him valuable which we, as yet, don't get to quite understand either, and his job is to complete the "mission", aka, get Neylan to her husband's home.

 

Only, the train they're riding through the desert on (this is a sort of steampunk-y setting in which they have limited technology like trains, steam engines, revolvers, etc.) is attacked by the rebels that are fighting her father's regime, and after being wounded, she ends up in their care.

 

Originally, she begins as their captive, specifically of Valdus and his mother, but through time she comes to realize that captive isn't quite the right word to use for herself: because she feels safer and freer here with the rebels than she's ever done in the palace her whole life.

 

Plus, she gets to meet the others who are "fighting for a better dawn" as the saying goes among the rebellion, like Numair, Lara, etc, and all of them welcome her with relatively open arms (okay, so she and Numair have some beef between them but, even they manage to even it out eventually, by the time SHE becomes a rebel, too).

 

The most important part here though is Valdus, and I can't even begin to describe the slow-burn romance that takes place between him and Neylan, because I won't be doing it justice. AT ALL. Let's just say that his quiet intensity radiates off the page, and Neylan's burgeoning emotions are like water slowly trickling upwards through the desert sands to fill an oasis that's suddenly sprung up in the middle of nowhere. 

 

Against that backdrop, Neylan also suddenly realizes she has magical powers herself: she's a life binder, who can use her energy, and that of those around her, to create wonderful things - although the first problem she faces is actually Valdus getting shot and nearly dying, so her power, and the fact she binds his life force, is the only thing that saves him.

 

Much to his chagrin since, ya know, she nearly kills herself in the process, and a guy in love can honestly only handle so much of THAT.

 

But they find a use for her power in attempting to create a garden in the desert so they can grow their own food - until the Emperor sends soldiers to burn it down, on the hunt for the Lost Jewel, aka Neylan (who may be one of the numerous daughters but, only one of the few who share his green eyes, at that). He's also sent Rev to track her down, and Rev just so happens to now be prisoner of the rebellion, come to think of it, hell-bent on "saving" Neylan and getting her back where she belongs, to the husband that will GLEEFULLY abuse her for any perceived wrongdoing.

 

So you can see how she ain't so keen on going anywhere, although she's definitely ready to give herself up once Lara's shot and killed during an altercation ... but the worst part is that Valdus' mother is taken captive, as is a priest who had been nothing but kind to Neylan, so that Lara can have a proper burial.

 

From there springs a desperate plan: break into the imperial palace and get them out.

 

At which point, a shock: as Valdus is caught and Neylan brought before her father once again, the Emperor explains NUMAIR has been his spy all along, in exchange for his father's life (not that THAT means anything since the dad is taken off the board before Neylan boards the train), and oh, by the way, the Emperor and Neylan are the only ones who can heal this broken world, being life binders.

 

He shows her a garden he's grown throughout the years of his reign, and she's just stupidly curious enough to WANT this, despite the fact her dad's a tyrant and she's seen the regime that's crushing the desert under its boot.

 

But at least she's got a clear goal: rescuing the King of Rebels (Valdus, if that isn't immediately obvious) from her father's dungeons, and getting the hell out of there ... eventually. I mean, I'm sure she WANTS to get out, but I'm not as convinced about it as I am about her saving Valdus, because I DO know she loves the man to pieces.

 

Our own Leia and Han, people.

 

And OHMYGOSH.

Can I give a book 10 stars?
 

I was SO not expecting it to be this good, but DANG IT the author can WRITE.

The MCs: Valdus is *chef's kiss*, but Nel takes a bit of warming up to, and somehow she's written in a very contrarian fashion in that, she promises to do something, then does something else entirely (namely: 'please don't look someone in the eye'; her two seconds later, insulted: I AM LOOKING THEM IN THE EYE HOW DARE THEY).

But I feel like this is part of her adapting process to the real world from being a sheltered princess, so I can live with it.

The SCs: you definitely fall in love with them, or you love to hate them (looking at you, Rev). I can't wait to read more about them!

The magic: This is a bit trickier and needs some added explanation, I think, but I'm sure we're getting more of it in the second installment of the series. Binding elements seems to be something that's straight out of good ole YA books, but it's intriguing enough that I'm here for it.

The world: IS STUNNING OKAY. The Cataclysm turned it all into a desert, so now we just need to survive in the hot sand. This seems to be a trend, and I am loving it.

Overall: the idea of a princess who gets kidnapped by the rebellion against her father is a tale as old as time, but I feel that the author really develops the slow burn between our MCs (after introducing a dozen of male characters, making you wonder just WHO the heck the love interest even is - it took me until half the book to figure it out LOL). Set against the backdrop of an empire that rules with an iron fist, and people struggling to survive in the harsh clime of the desert, it's just perfection really.

And with the cliffhanger ending we got? HOO BOY. Book two can't come soon enough, although I will say, and I will cap it: NEL YOU'RE AN IDIOT, DON'T BELIEVE A WORD OUT OF YOUR DAD'S MOUTH, and also, WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THAT STUPID GARDEN OF HIS, RUN AWAY RIGHT NOW.

Ahem.

Honestly, I fell in love with the Empire of Usmad and I hope you will too. Please pick this book up so it can get some traction!

1000/10 recommend!

 

xx

*image not mine