Review: Sunshield

Sunshield by Emily B. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sunshield is the first novel in an epic fantasy duology, Outlaw Road with three central POV characters, Prince Veran, an Eastern ambassador from the Silverwood, Tamsin, a woman who has been kidnapped, brutalized, and held prisoner under horrible conditions, and Lark, the famed Sunshield bandit. The story alternates between these three figures and the link between them evolves over the course of this first novel. As the story opens, Veran and his friend Princess Eloise are at the court of Alcoro, to meet with Prince Iano, soon to be crowned king. Veran, Eloise, and we thought Iano, were meeting to discuss the abolition of trafficking children and young adults as slave labor in the Eastern kingdoms. After more than a year of correspondence about the issue, it now seems as if court intrigue has disrupted that plan completely. Veran, an inexperienced young man with little diplomatic skill, but a good heart still hopes to broker change. Surprisingly, he and Iano manage to connect on the idea of finding Lark, to search for a missing member of Iano's court. Lark, an interesting character, was at one time a victim of trafficking herself but she managed to escape. Her life is now a hard scrapple existence as she tries to protect children she has rescued from trafficking rings, earning her reputation as a fierce bandit. Lark doesn't just steal money and goods, she rescues children who have been stolen from their families, including some so young, they don't even know family surname or where their families were from. Finally, Tamsin, as we learn over the course of the novel, seems to have been kidnapped to silence her voice and influence.

One of the things I loved about this world is the presence of characters with disability issues. Lark's chosen sister Rose is an amputee who tells Lark off for regarding her as somehow less able to do her job. And Veran suffers from epilepsy but forges ahead with his brave plans. Thanks to Rose, Lark looks at Veran in a different light when they are thrown together. I also appreciated the role that color and culture play in Alcoro's court. So many hidden meanings and alliances are conveyed by the color of clothes in Alcoro's court. 
And the shout out for ecology and the effect of harming the bird populations was a delight as well. Martin has created a fascinating world.

The audiobook, narrated by Chelsea Stephens, Lauren Ezzo, and Matthew Frow, is an excellent production that gives a distinct voice and manner to each of the central characters.

I look forward to the final book in Outlaw Road duology, Floodpath: A Novel.

I received a digital and paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.



~ ~ ~

Want to buy a copy of Sunshield from your local independent bookstore? Click HERE.

Want to buy the audiobook copy of Sunshield and have a portion of the sale benefit your local independent bookstore? Click HERE.

Want your eBook purchase of Sunshield to benefit independent bookstores Click HERE.

Follow Marzie's Reads on Bloglovin'.


© Marzie's Reads 2017-2020, All Rights Reserved.

Comments

Popular Posts