Kenna Heron is a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei. Known in her village for being a little wild, Kenna must help her mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death – for them both.
With only a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and harrowing tests . . . But worse dangers wait underground, and soon Kenna gets caught up in secrets and passion. With time against her, Kenna must decide if she’s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance at happiness.
Surviving the trials will take cunning, courage, and an iron will . . . but even that may not be enough.
I have recently enjoyed the Glimmer Falls trilogy by this author, and I loved the light rom-com fantasy feel, they were definitely cosy fantasy. Servant of Earth is not what I expected at all, but it’s occasionally nice to be surprised (even when that is a complete about-face in writing style).
What you have with this book is a story that feels very targeted towards the ACOTAR/Crescent City/Foxglove King fan (which sadly I am not). Luckily, there are lots of people who love the “mortal girl goes to fae world and falls for deceptively beautiful and handsome man” story.
This book has great potential to become an incredible series, especially targeting that (very large) audience.
Not one for me, but the main characters are well-crafted in a world that is structurally sound – we get enough of the history to make me (a world-building nut) happy, giving us a great foundation for a strong series that readers who enjoy visiting an intriguing fae-world will love.
If this review were purely about the writing rather than subjective opinion it would be a high four…
Unfortunately, I found that the plot was sadly rather predictable. The main character was ‘destined’ to be something special, or else the book wouldn’t have been able to move beyond the first chapter, but having her start as the underdog and end as essentially as someone incredibly important (not going to give it away because this may be right up your alley) was what I had expected since chapter two.
One thing I did enjoy – because it reminds me fondly of the rather bloodthirsty bow in The Sofa of Time – was the sentient dagger that kept Kenna company throughout her journey. The dagger’s motive is made apparent closer to the end of the novel, but it is clear from the start that it has an important role to play in Kenna’s fate.
As always, I enjoy Sarah Hawley’s writing, but I personally prefer her more light-hearted and slightly older characters.
