When the master said, “Six,” something changed in the room.

.…The children, despite their obvious fatigue, snapped to attention like rabbits scenting a predator. They didn’t rush at Six as they had rushed at one another.

….And Six? The one who commanded this sudden tension, this careful advance? It stood a moment, taking them all in at once, stare like a razor’s edge. And then, it flew.

 

The thief Jun Ironway has gotten wind of the score of a lifetime. Esek Nightfoot and Chono (two clerics of the Kindom) are charged with the misson of assuring that Jun Ironway does not get her hands on the coin that can change the Kindom completely…. and then there is Six.

These are the characters around which everything turns, in this incredible Space Opera debut novel by Bethany Jacobs.

Politics, brutality, secrets, fast action and love are the ingredients thrown into the pot. And then everything speeds up, gets more complicated leaving you spellbound with this fantastic First Novel of a Space Opera.

If you like Space Opera it doesn’t get any better. It never lets up, it never lets you down and the twists in the ending ……WOW!

That this is the author’s first novel and not her tenth is unbelievable. It is the first book in The Kindom Trilogy – and the second “On Vicious Worlds” will be published 15 October 2024, so luckily we all don’t have to wait long.

In the acknowledgments the author thanks her parents for this: A seven-year old asked you if she could be a writer someday, and you said yes. “You may not have realized that I was serious, but you changed my life with that answer.”

And after having read this book, your life will also have been changed.

So far this is the best First Novel of 2023 I’ve read – it’ll blow you away!

Joan rolled her eyes at him and squared herself up with Nick. “Come on, then.”

“Ah, please be gentle with me, Joan.” Nick stood tall, bringing his sword up in a salute.

Her heart raced as her gaze instantly caught on the thick fan of lashes surrounding his deep-brown eyes.

She needed to focus.

Joan and James are sixteen year old twins. They live in 1605 in London – a London filled with Fae. They are working for the King’s Men – William Shakespeare’s acting company. Joan is maintaining the stage blades using her magical ability to control metal and James is an apprentice actor in the company.

The twins can see the Fae, which the normal people without magical abilities can not. But as the new King fails to uphold the pact between the Fae and the humans violence erupts. Suddenly there is danger everywhere, and the twins are hard pressed to save the lives of family and friends.

This First Novel is wonderfully alive and fully succeeds in bringing the atmosphere of 1605 London to its pages. The characters (including William Shakespeare) are alive and the language is beautiful.

Lucky for us this is the first book in “The Forge & Fracture Saga” and the second will be published on April 23, 2024 – so you don’t have to wait long to learn more about this historical setting and wonderful characters.

If the second book is just half as good as the first you’ll still be in for a treat.