The Scholar's Heart - Antonia Aquilante Book – The Scholar's Heart (Chronicles of Tournai #3)
Author – Antonia Aquilante
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 294

Cover – Stunning!
POV – 3rd person, past tense, multiple POV (Predominantly Etan and Tristan, which small instances of Philip and Amory)
Would I read it again – Yes.

Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **


This has to be the best in the series so far. Though I absolutely loved the light, sweetness of Amory and Philip, and the tension between Cathal and Flavian, the story of Etan and Tristan had me nearly in tears the whole way through. Not only was it heartbreaking, with a few light moments, but I've waited so long to read it and how it ends up is just so unfair, after all they've been through.

~

Well, as I expected, I absolutely LOVED this story. I've been waiting so long to read about Etan and Tristan and I wasn't disappointed. But, due to not wanting to give away spoilers and being emotionally drained after finishing it, I don't really want to say too much.

I was crying by 3%, because Tristan was still perfect, I still loved Etan and now Bria was included. It was just too much for my heart to take. Then there was that conversation between Amory and Tristan. Amory, as usual, rushing to Tristan's side in his time of need, doing everything possible to make his best friend happy and take care of him.

I hated Tristan's mother right from the start and, as the story progressed, that didn't change. I didn't much like Selene either.

Seeing both sides was so much more effective in this story, because the relationship is so much more uncertain and unsettled than the previous stories. For the first time, all I wanted to do was grab them, shake them and scream at both of them about how obvious they were, misinterpreting what they thought they knew.

The brotherly talks – Etan and Cathal, Amory and Tristan, now Maxen and Tristan too – seriously killed me. They were the absolutely heart-breaking moments for me.

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Overall, the story was so much sadder than the others. I must have spent about 80% of it near to tears, with the rest evenly split between smiling and crying. I've always loved Tristan and Etan, since they were first introduced in this series, and that hasn't changes. But sometimes they can be such idiots!

~

Favourite Quote


“Tristan blinked bright blue eyes once, then again, at his harshly spoken question. Etan had loved those eyes, loved how bright everything about Tristan seemed to be. Now, looking at them just hurt.”

““I don't want you hurt, Etan.”
“I know. So this morning needs to be the end of it with Tristan.”
“The end of everything?””

““You can, you know,” he said quietly, trying to convey all his feelings, all that he would do for Tristan in just his voice as he spoke the words. “You can break if you need to, here, with me. I'll be here, and I'll hold on to you, and I'll help you put the pieces back together.””

Daughter of Mystery is set in the fictional European country of Alpennia, sometime in the early 19th century. Chapters alternate between Barbara’s perspective and Margerit’s. Barbara knows she’s of noble birth but has no idea who her parents are. Her father lost everything due to his gambling debts and sold her to Baron Seveze when she was only a baby. She is now the baron’s armin (formal bodyguard/duelist).

Margerit Sovitre is the baron’s goddaughter, although he generally hasn’t been in her life much. Margerit is an orphan who was taken in by her aunt and uncle. She has no interest in attending balls or getting married, but that’s the direction in which her life seems to be going, until Baron Seveze dies and everyone learns to their shock that he has left her his entire fortune. He also left her Barbara, despite his promise to free her, and made it so that Margerit cannot free her before she (Margerit) comes of age without most of the baron’s fortune going to the Convent of Saint Orisul instead. Margerit is willing to do this, but her uncle, who still controls her life, isn’t willing to let her. However, Margerit’s efforts win her Barbara’s loyalty. With Barbara at her side, Margerit pursues her heart’s desire: studying philosophy and theology at the university in Rotenek. Meanwhile, Barbara digs into the mystery of her own past.

I hate writing reviews of things I actually enjoyed. I came very close to just pushing out three bulleted lists: What I Liked, What I Didn’t Like, and Things That Didn’t Fit Into the Other Two Categories. ::sigh::

I adored the first half of this book. Sure, it was slow, but in a good way. It reminded me strongly of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor, if that book had been written from the perspective of its women. There was Barbara, who usually dressed as a man and was a skilled bodyguard and duelist. And there was Margerit, who, like The Goblin Emperor’s Maia, was abruptly thrust into the limelight by her changed circumstances. She was expected to find a husband, manage his household, and bear his children, and instead the baron’s money opened up a path to all the things she’d really wanted (plus at least one thing she hadn't even considered).

The setting had a definite sense of weight and depth to it, and the politics was intriguing, if occasionally confusing. I was fascinated with the way religion and magic seemed to be intertwined, even as I worried that Margerit was happily and blindly heading towards being declared a heretic. Even though Barbara spent more of the book in on-page danger than Margerit, I tended to worry more about Margerit than her. Barbara was cool, competent, and definitely more politically savvy.

The pacing occasionally got too slow for my tastes, especially in the second half. There were times when I wished some of the political details and Margerit and Barbara’s analyses of religious mysteries had been tightened up a bit. To be fair, many of the things that looked unimportant or unrelated did eventually tie together in the end, it just took longer than I expected.

Barbara and Margerit’s relationship was one of those things I both enjoyed and had issues with. I liked that it took a while for them to go from bonding over shared interests to mutual secret attraction, and finally to discussing how they felt about each other. Considering the difference in their positions - after all, Barbara was technically Margerit’s inherited property - it would have felt weird if things had progressed more quickly. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t occasionally get frustrated with how long everything took.

For the most part, Barbara seemed to be more acutely aware of the difference in their positions than Margerit...up until a scene late in the book when Margerit told Barbara “You forget your place” during an argument. I was horrified, Barbara felt like she’d been kicked in the gut, and Margerit immediately regretted it. I kept waiting for them to talk about it. Margerit mentioned the scene once, a little, when she voiced her fear that she’d lost Barbara for good, and they talked more about some related issues near the end, but I still felt like the author brushed that one scene aside a bit too much.

Despite my issues with the pacing and my slight dissatisfaction with the way Margerit and Barbara’s relationship was handled, I really enjoyed Daughter of Mystery and am looking forward to reading the next book. I wish I'd purchased the whole series while it was still on sale at Kobo.

 

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

 

When you are traveling abroad, you would want to make sure that you don’t face any unpleasant crisis while traveling or after reaching your destination. Although, you may have a domestic travel insurance plan with you but it is not formulated to function soundly in the hospitals and doctors overseas. Health and problems are there to exist forever and if you are traveling outside of your native country then there is always a certain amount of financial risk involved with it. Therefore as a responsible individual, it is fairly imperative for you to own an International travel medical Insurance. It provides a provisional medical or health insurance for the foreign nationals when traveling outside of their home country.

 

The healthcare expense in the United States is much higher than other countries. Hence, most international companies cost a lot less than American companies. Figure out the expenditure of someone who unfortunately met with an accident or becomes ill in a secluded place and you will get to know how appallingly expensive it can be. Thus, a reliable insurance company is necessitated. It can take away the financial worry of atrocious medical expenses.

 

Visiting Scholar Health Insurance

Health Insurance for visiting scholar can grant the much-needed peace of mind against lofty medical bills to those students studying outside their homeland. Since all the insurance plans are not the same. Hence it is vital to research the plan that you are taking into consideration and understand what it will cover before an injury or illness hits.

 

Visiting scholar insurance plans are available online and also through local area networks in the regions you are pursuing studies. Directly contacting the university admission office may grant you an exclusive discount rate specifically planned for international students.

Opening Line:

 

It takes only one reckless decision to change a life—to better it, worsen it, or end it. It takes only one decision to make someone a hero, or a fool.

 

Genre:

 

YoungnAdult, Sci/Fi Fantasy

 

Description:

 

Cervera, Spain, 1852. David Sandoval is a sixteen-year-old genius on many different subjects, yet he is more content studying than becoming close with family or friends. He accepts an apprenticeship offer from a French architect, and while on his travels to Paris, a foolhardy decision on his part gets him abducted by a gypsy caravan owned by a living Grecian sphinx. The sphinx, seemingly intrigued by the fearless young man, takes him through the Curtain, the gateway between our world and the worlds of the unseen, where many creatures of myth and legend reside. When David attempts to escape back through the Curtain to the human world, he learns a dark secret: a Shade, an extension of the shadowy Night Goddess Nyx, is slowly draining the sphinx of her most precious talents. Can one normal boy truly undo the inflictions of a goddess, and rescue both the seen and unseen worlds from her dark intentions?

 

Link:

 

Amazon US

My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 Unicorns - I loved it!!!

***Received a copy of the ebook for an honest review

 

The cover is definitely stunning with the tiger and fits with the rest of the series and the rest of the sets too!  Amelie Hunt did a great job with the covers!

 

This has been my favorite story of the set.  This is Theron and Lily’s story.  This is the 3^rd book and is of course still for adults only due to content.  It is about 70 pages in length.

 

Okay so Theron really makes himself out to be a jerk…I’d use a stronger word though.  Lily is a sweetheart who just wants to make a difference and has a beautiful spirit.  They both have a back story that makes your jaw drop.  Theron sort of redeems himself toward the end, but I want things worked out more between him and Finn.  I hope there will be more of their stories in the future especially Diesel’s story.

 

I recommend this series to tiger shifter fans, and I can’t wait to see what Cass comes up with next :)