Rating: 5🌈
Sam Burns is such an amazing prolific fantasy writer that I’m reading several new series from her while discovering ones from her backlist I’ve not yet started. And yet here’s another fabulous book that welcomes in a new incredible universe full of political intrigue, four magical ruling families, and a crisis that’s falling upon the land.
I’m so in.
And immediately invested as the entire book and multiple storylines plays out during a politically charged, emotional, and often potentially violent meeting between the heads or representatives of each ruling family.
Each story is about a different family. Burns starts with the family or what’s left of the Gloombringer family. That’s aging, cold, often nasty Oberon and his wounded younger sister Titania in their ancient large household. While we are deeply involved with this duo, their history, and their tangled relationships with the rest of the other rulers, it’s Adair Courtwright, and Rain Moonstriker that’s the central pairing here.
Adair Courtwright who’s powerfully talented in his ability to see life connections, bonded to moon tear Rhodri, and through his family legacy, is in service, as was his father, to Oberon Gloombringer. And Rain Moonstriker, who has shown up at the four-ruling family summit as the Moonstriker representative, bringing his own team and plenty of his mother’s agendas and secrets.
The Moonstriker family is large in size, intellectual in temperament, isolated and held in somewhat fearsome regard, mostly due to Rain’s mother and uncle’s power. Burns gives the reader several intriguing glimpses into a couple of Rain’s siblings, which only makes us want more of each of them. Rain is well developed individual assisted by his own bonded stones. His romantic relationship with Adair is one that needs to be understood by reading it as it’s layered with Adair’s personal story. It absolutely works, and they are assisted by those around them.
An occurrence that happens again and again as other different people appear during this meeting, as family members or employees. Each one is so well defined, uniquely themselves with a backstory that cries out for greater exploration, that this novel alone would weigh a ton would that happen.
I honestly forgot about the timeline here, as I was so caught up in the various drama plots, the romance between Adair and Rain, and the fact that this summit is headed for disaster with no stopping it. Just fabulous.
So many creative moments and imaginative elements that Burns has written into her story and universe. It just captures the reader’s attention and own imagination too. One of my favorites?
Burns has also created sentient stone, crystals of various ages, that bond with humans, gifting them with various forms of abilities depending upon the type and nature of each stone. This is a devastating aspect of the world, because it both has the capacity to elevate or subordinate a person’s status, especially as they have no choice over what stone bonds with them. They are simply great characters themselves, and I can’t wait for the author to explore this further.
I can’t wait for Dawnchaser to be released. I need to know what happens next! This is a must read, especially for lovers of fantasy fiction.
The Summertide Chronicles:
✓ Gloombringer #1
â—¦ Dawnchaser #2 – Oct 3,2024
Buy Link
Gloombringer (The Summertide Chronicles Book 1)
Blurb
For decades, the four families who rule the Summerlands have been locked at an impasse. No one is fighting, but neither has anyone been speaking.
We don’t have time for that anymore.
Mount Slate, the volcano that sits in the middle of the Summerlands, is threatening to erupt, and only the four family heads working together can avert disaster.
As the right-hand man of the Gloombringer, it’s been up to me to convince first my boss, and now the rest to put aside their differences and work together for the good of the world. The problem is that not everyone is all that interested in the good of the world—not unless they get something out of it. Even worse, I now find myself distracted by the Moonstriker’s envoy, Rain. He’s intelligent and handsome and for the first time in my life, I’m struggling to focus on work. But I have to.
It’s up to us to save the world.
If we can.
Gloombringer is the first of four books in The Summertide Chronicles, featuring one right hand man trying to save the world, one future family head trying to seduce him, one woman badly in need of another drink, and a plethora of people trying to keep them from their goals. It ends with Rain and Adair’s HFN, but also contains an overarching storyline that will follow the entire series.
• Publication date: July 25, 2024
• Language: English
• Print length: 334 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 