“Whitney McRether is a Deronian, a fierce warrior of the north mountains where pain and death are viewed as something to be embraced. But when a stranger is dragged into the village by her brother, Whitney sees no other choice but to defy tradition and stand in the way of the stranger and death. The longer he stays, the more trouble lands on their doorstep…and the harder it is to let him go.
Serve the Queen at all costs.
As a bounty hunter to the Queen, that’s exactly what Knox Schilling did. Until his hunt for two traitors lands him in Deron and the gaping jaws of death. He's viewed the uncivilized warriors as barbarians, until a young woman risks everything to rescue him from his plight. For the first time in years, someone stands up for him and he finds himself drawn to the welcoming soul.
Enemies of the past and present begin close in, loyalties are tested, and lies and dark truths are drawn to the surface. Can they weather the storms together or will it ultimately break their growing bond of friendship?”
Series: Book #13 in the multi-author series, “Cornerstone”. It does not seem to be connected to any other books, however. A stand-alone novel. Click on the books to be taken to that review: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, and Book #12!
Spiritual Content- A few Prayers; God is called “the Maker” and “Give of Life”; Whitney notes that taking in people who need help is what the Maker commanded, but she “understood that not all were Believers”; Whitney believes in the Maker commanding life and death, while Knox does not after his father “believed in the unseen” and lost his life due to the Queen; Mentions of God (also called the Maker); A few mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food;
*Note: A man tells Knox that he’ll see him in hell; The phrase “speak of the devil” is said once; Knox has blades that are called his “Demon Blades”; Whitney recalls her grandmother saying that “violence against the innocent was a crime; but, against the evil, it was a mercy”; Whitney silently begs someone to listen to her, but because “she was not psychic” the person doesn’t hear her; There is a rumor that the Snow Queen is able to turn people in ice statues by looking at them.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sucked’, two ‘gosh’s, two forms of ‘shut up’, two ‘wimp’s, three forms of ‘idiot’, and four ‘stupid’; A mention of a woman being called a ‘witch’ because it fits in more ways than one (not implied in a spells/potions way); A mention of a curse (said, not written); Name calling such as ‘bonehead’, ‘bozo’, ‘buzzard’, ‘double sided iceberg’, ‘jerk’, ‘loony’, and ‘nincompoop’; Insults like “freeze in a lake” and “go sit in a lake” are said; Eye rolling; Whitney’s aunt is a harsh and brutal woman & Whitney is sent to live with her for a bit (Whitney also calls her a psychopath); Lots of fighting, injuring and harming others in fights, knocking others out, being tortured (almost drowning and being burned), being held at knife-point, being captured and tied-up, being hit and attacked, pain, injuries, blood/bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Falling through a frozen lake (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Knox is captured, tied-up, and tortured by Whitney’s brother (almost drowning and being burned & thinks he may die, semi-detailed; Whitney catches this and stops it from going further); Whitney’s brother attacks and raids traders passing through their area to get supplies for their village (one attack is on-page and while they aren’t supposed to shoot anyone, he orders for her to shoot a man and she does when the man attacks her); Whitney feels a twinge of guilt for leaving an injured man when the wolves will probably get him; Knox uses a powder to blind a room & Whitney’s brother has a “tear gas” concoction; Knox lies to Whitney to protect himself; The Snow Queen has an underground ice pit where she keeps the frozen bodies of people who disappointed her; Many mentions of torture (including a different bounty Hunter being rumored to have stabbed a pregnant woman in her abdomen), people being shot, injuries, pain, blood/bleeding, & passing out (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of killing, willing to kill others, & planning to kill (including comments about slitting throats and Whitney’s brother killing guards of the Queen’s, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths; Mentions of people being captured, injured, & threatened; Mentions of frostbite & people and animals dying or possibly dying in the harsh weather conditions (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of crimes & criminals; Mention of stealing & stolen items; Mentions of some breaking into a house; Mentions of someone almost being tarred and feathered; Mentions of tear gas & a blinding powder that causes pain; Mentions of a tavern; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of tattoos (which those under the Snow Queen’s rule have); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of possible murders; A couple mentions of the possibility of a wife killing her husband (she did not); A couple mentions of whippings/beatings; A couple mentions of a person being stolen (but actually ran away); A couple mentions of nightmares; A mention of an execution; A mention of drugging another; A mention of manure;
*Note: Whitney recalls hearing about women in other places being “cowards” by staying at home sewing and tending gardens & she almost wonders if she is a descendant of “one of those weaklings”; Whitney’s brother taunts/threatens her pet weasel with roasting him over a fire; Knox thinks that his mother would rise from her grave and smack him if he didn’t help someone.
Sexual Content- Holding hands, a shiver, & a blush (all once); Knox calls Whitney pretty and she blushes; Know believes that true love is a myth and “one only married to further a legacy”; Mentions of a couple being in love; A few mentions of men in her village being interested in Whitney (but her brother threatening all of them);
*Note: A mention of sore buttocks.
-Whitney McRether
-Knox Schilling
P.O.V. switches between them
136 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
This was very different than I was expecting! I’m pretty sure this is one of the shortest of this multi-authored series and while I would have liked more about Whitney and Knox’s friendship-leading-to-more that’s quickly thrown in at the very end, it was a fast paced plot.
Whitney's family and village are called barbarians, but some of them (particularly Whitney’s brother) reminded me of the Vikings with their eagerness to ruin other people’s lives. Her brother was really rough and even tortures someone, which was unpleasant to read about. That was what didn’t really make sense to me because Whitney followed the Maker (God) and her mom mentioned Him as well, and though she noted that not every believed in the Maker, but her brother was off trapping traders and stealing their stuff. You could argue they needed it for their village/people to survive, but then he starts torturing someone that is connected to the Queen. It didn’t quite add up for me.
I did like the setting, despite it being set in the freezing cold and I’m not a cold weather person. The author did well creating a new culture and while it wasn’t really my cup of tea, those who like cold weather (freezing, really) settings and Viking-like barbarians may enjoy it more than me.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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