Heartseeker

Wow.

Heartseeker, by Melinda Beatty, is one of those “Wow” books.

By “wow book,” I mean one that seems so familiar and comfortable it fits your story-loving brain like a comfortable glove. At the same time, the characters cling days after you’re done, so you think, “Did I really finish that book? I can’t be done with those characters yet!”

To be fair, you aren’t done with them yet. While this book isn’t advertised as the first in a series, it clearly is. When you are reading late you see the small number of pages left, you have that sinking feeling… “Oh, no… I’m going to have to wait for a sequel, aren’t I?”

But don’t let that stop you hurrying out to get it. These characters can happily dance in your brain for a year, if need be—they are that good.

Here’s the summary:

“When the King hears that Only Fallow can see lies and only tells the truth, he summons her, and she must navigate the dangerous, political world of the King’s court.”

That summary is pretty inadequate. The book spends as much time describing where Only is from—her home, family, and way of life, as it does describing where she ends up. Only is from a tiny rural town, an orchard farming family, and a tradition of wise women.

Have you seen the movie Chocolat

with chocolatier Juliette Binoche and gypsy Johnny Depp?

Only’s father hires help to get the harvest in—the Ordish people—river folk that remind me of the Gypsies in Chocolat. The town’s attitude toward the Ordish mirrors the same.

You’ll find wonderful girl heroes—young and old—even the country folk’s traditional worship is matriarchal. A sword-fighting princess, a cunning and surprising female villain (or is she a villain?) Only is the kind of girl protagonist that wins my heart every time.

Full of tensions, traditions, and talents, this is a tale you won’t forget! You can’t rush too fast—pick up Heartseeker, by Melinda Beatty, today.

Happy Reading!