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Today I’m excited to participate in the Creative Blog Tour for Kingdom of Essence by Holly Karlsson hosted by MTMC Tours. Kingdom of Essence is the first book in a New Adult Fantasy Adventure series and it was released in Audiobook on May 20th, 2022.
Title: Kingdom of Essence
Series: Kingdom of Essence #1
Author: Holly Karlsson
Publication Date: May 20th, 2022 (audiobook)
Genres: New Adult, Fantasy Adventure
Format: eBook, Paperback, Audiobook
Purchase a copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Blackwell’s | Audiobook Links
Add on Goodreads!
Synopsis
Elitsa Serlov only cares about two things — earning enough money to start a new life and finding the rogue mage who murdered her mother. But years without leads have left her jaded, and she won’t let anyone — friend or foe — get in her way.
In Casekraia, anyone can use magic if they’re desperate enough to rent relics from the Tower, a corrupt guild of mages more concerned with their own wealth than the welfare of the people. Elitsa has spent the last three years as a reclamation agent for the Guild, hunting down her own people for precious coin and the hope of uncovering what happened to her mother.
Just one week before her contract with the Tower is set to expire, Elitsa is coerced into a dangerous conspiracy by a gang of rebellious thieves. With her loyalty to the Tower in question, Elitsa must decide between her quest for revenge and charting a new course for her life.
With captivating characters, daring heists, and dangerous magic, this enchanting fantasy adventure spins a tale about the power of hope and friendship and our connection to the world around us.
Audiobook
Listen to an Audiobook excerpt!(Audiobook narrated by Kate Reading)
Review
Elitsa has spent the last year’s of her life working as a reclamation agent for the Guild. She started after finding out that her mother’s death was not for a disease but murder.
Her plan was to have enough money to survive and be able to find the assassin and take revenge, but instead of that she just lost herself, being forced to not caring so she could strip innocent people from the reliques that were their only hope to make money, everytime they didn’t pay their ridiculous high debts with the Guild.
But now her contract is coming to and end and she needs to decide wheter she will sign again or if she’ll find a new path. But when she finds out the Guil is not as good as she believed and that she may actually not have an option of a normal life, she has to choose between staying at the Guild side or against them.
I was caught in this book from the beginning. The premise sounded quite original for me, and the magic system based in essences is amazing. It gave me huge vibes of Mistborn.
Even though we get a hint of romance, this is not the focus of the story. More the inside struggles of Elitse trying to find her place in the world.
My only problem were the descriptions. I do love to get a good image of the world we’re in and the characters and places we meet. But they were excessive for me. This made the book feel slower than I would like, but still an absolutely worthy reading and I’ll continue reading the next one.
INTL Tour-wide Instagram Giveaway!
Enter the Rafflecopter below where two readers will win a physical copy of Kingdom of Essence sent via Amazon.
Ends on July 9th, 2022.
Winners will be announced in the Rafflecopter & contacted via email.
a Rafflecopter giveawayLink to Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2aeeb25b103/?Tour Schedule:
June 27
The Reader and the Chef – Book Blog
@heronstairxs – Bookstagram
@inkspit.blog – Bookstagram
June 28
Paper Fury – Book Blog
@booktreasuresau – Bookstagram
@sarah.sbooks – Bookstagram
June 29
@abookworld___ – Bookstagram
Debjani’s Thoughts – Book Blog
@millionpagesreader – Bookstagram
June 30
@spookyrevioos – Bookstagram
Fairrry Prose – Book Blog
@conveniently_tongueless – Bookstagram
July 1
@alessasbookshelf – Bookstagram
Purple Shadow Hunter – Book Blog
@la_lectora.ctm – Bookstagram
July 2
@dhirviepages – Booktok
The Nerdy Nook – Book Blog
@fictionalfey – Bookstagram
@feyssatastics – Bookstagram
July 3
Vanilla Moon Books – Book Blog
@mynoveltreasures – Bookstagram
@librarymouselinds – Bookstagram
A Window To My Soul – Book Blog
About Holly Karlsson:
Holly Karlsson writes epic and adventure fantasy filled with magic, dangerous quests, compelling characters, and mythical creatures. Holly is the author of the Daughters of Fire & Sea trilogy, and Kingdom of Essence.She enjoys connecting to her readers and regularly releases flash fiction stories on her website www.byhollykarlsson.com. Other places to follow her are Instagram, Facebook, and Bookbub.
Website | Goodreads| Instagram
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Kingdom of Essence Excerpt:
The faint sweet scent of birch and wet moss touched Elitsa’s nose as Janso tightened his hand on the medallion. He was drawing on a tree’s essence, likely planning to enhance his strength to try and overpower her.
Elitsa raised her hand in warning and readied an essence of air. A blue swirl of light, like a transparent ribbon, fluttered in her mind’s eye. She could smell the breeze, remember the mountain she’d gathered it on and how it’d blown through her hair. “Careful. I don’t want to hurt you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t. Give me the relic.” She held his gaze, saw the flicker of desperate resolve. “Think of your family, Mr. Janso. You can’t provide for them if you’re injured or dead. I could have taken the relic when I entered this room, but I didn’t. I want you to be able to walk home to your family.”
Janso stared at her, eyes wide, then his shoulders slumped, the smell of trees fading. “They told me I’d earn enough to support my family, but I can barely pay my contract. The essences they want? The ones they’ll actually pay for? They’re near impossible to find. I can’t afford to harvest, but I can’t afford to stop.”
Elitsa took a careful step forward, keeping her eyes on his. “This year has been hard for everyone. Your survival is up to you and what you choose to do next.” That’s all life really was. Choices. Whether to give up or claw your way to the surface.
Janso clutched the medallion as though it held his salvation. “I need the relic to harvest, to feed my family. I know I shouldn’t have sold to the Smoke Eyes, but they pay more per essence. It was the only way to pay my fees to the Guild, to eat. Please, Miss. Tell them I won’t do it again. I promise!”
Elitsa’s stomach murmured as if in shared commiseration. There was a cost to harvesting essence. Despite a relic’s assistance, each extraction drew on your body’s energy. Eating could replenish what you lost, but if you could barely afford food, how long you could work was limited, even dangerous.
Bye bye 💕
