The Hadari will treat you better than the Council.” He still had so much to learn, and she no more time in which to teach him. “When enemies are your only recourse, choose the one with the least to gain. Promise me.” He’d every reason to be so. Even without the armour, without the entourage of weary wayfarers – without her wounds – Akadra would have been more than her match. He stood a full head taller than she – half a head taller than any man she’d known. Thank you so much to Angela Man from Orbit for the opportunity to read an e-ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. Following suit of other books released of late, Legacy of Ash is told from multiple points of view. This is a technique that tends to be hit or miss with readers. In this case, it allows Ward to provide perspective about individual characters allowing the reader to glean the best insight about each character. The further into the book you read, you see how different characters are interconnected through their pasts and the changing perspective really helps the connection breadcrumbs come to the surface.

Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. Social Media The church spire passed away to his left. Desperate townsfolk crowded its lychpath, seeking sanctuary behind stone walls. People filled the streets beyond. Some wore council blue, most the sea-grey of Eskavord’s guard, and too many the garb of ordinary folk caught in between. The Tyrant Queen’s reign is done, but vigilance remains. For just as the shadows are strongest on the brightest of days, we are never more imperiled than when we think ourselves safe.”

Akadra’s hand, so lately extended in conciliation, wrenched the sluggish blade from her grasp. He let his own fall alongside. Tugged off balance, Katya fell to her hands and knees. Defenceless. Helpless. While Tressia struggles to mend old wounds, the insidious Parliament of Crows schemes in the shadows, while to the east the Hadari Emperor gathers his armies. Legacy of Ash opens and introduces the reader to groups of characters chapter by chapter. There is almost no world building in these chapters, instead, the reader is thrown directly into the action. Ward does an incredible job at giving the reader just enough information to piece together the plot and become part of the adventure. The Tressian Republic is a complicated place and we discover just how much unrest there is in this world. There is not a singular plot in this story, but as the book progresses each character adds to the overall plot and the small subplots throughout the book, spinning a complex web of intrigue. Soon we learn that old alliances need to be mended and new alliances created in an attempt to protect their freedom and save their world. Our introductions focus on the warring families of Tressia and the heroes that will be the main focus of this epic tale.

Time slowed, marked out by the pounding of hooves and the beat of a fearful heart. Steel glinted. Horses whinnied as wayfarers hauled on their reins. Viktor Akadra is the Republic’s champion and conqueror of the rebellious south. A warrior without equal, he also hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic. Matthew Ward has frequently been accused of living in worlds of his own imagination, though really he lives near Nottingham with his extremely patient wife and several attention- seeking cats. Katya knew what that meant. The humiliation of a show trial, arraigned as warning to any who’d follow in her footsteps and dare seek freedom for the Southshires. Then they’d parade her through the streets, her last dignity stripped away long before the gallows took her final breath. She’d lost a husband to that form of justice. She’d not suffer it herself.Feel free to invite some friends to join our Round Table community!http://www.goodreads.com/group/invite_members/26989-goodreads-authors-readers

The greys of the rain-sodden town lost their focus. Katya tightened her grip on the reins. She flexed the fingers of her left hand. They felt distant, as if belonging to someone else. Her shoulder ached, fit company for the dull roar in her side – a memento of the sword-thrust she’d taken on the ridge at Zanya. Weariness crowded in, the faces of the dead close behind. We’re just a few weeks out from the release of Legacy of Steel and I know some of you are thinking ‘I loved Legacy of Ash, but there was a lot going on. How do I get caught up in time? What is the story so far? I can’t ride.” Katya dropped awkwardly from her saddle and stooped to reclaim her sword. The feel of the grips beneath her fingers awoke new determination. “Leave me.” Pain stemmed Katya’s denial. A glance revealed rainwater running red across her left hand. She also felt a wound high on her shoulder. The last wayfarer’s parting gift, lost in the desperation of the moment.Katya caught one last glimpse of Calenne’s pale, dispassionate face. Then they were gone, and the horseman upon her. No, not that. Katya was free of that delusion. It had cost too many lives, but she was free of it. She was not the Phoenix whose fires would cleanse the Southshires. She’d believed – Lumestra, how she’d believed – but belief alone did not change the world. Only deeds did that, and hers had fallen short. Katya caught a glint of something darker beneath the smile. It lingered in Elda’s eyes. A hardness. Another friendship soured by folly? Perhaps. It no longer mattered. “Until my last breath. Calenne?” Ruling families plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives, heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire.