Coffee and Thorn Book Tours
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| Welcome to my Blog! Wander through worlds real and fictional, meet interesting people, visit exciting places and find good books to enjoy along the way! |
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| About the Book |
Genre: Historical fiction , Literary fiction
Print length: 345 pages (80K words)
Age range: This is an adult book, but would be suitable for mature teens age 16+
Trigger warnings: on-page violent death (human and animal), funeral, kidnapping of child
Amazon Rating: 4.5*
Empire’s Daughter stands alone, but is also the first in the prize-winning Empire’s Legacy Series.
Lena’s world is about to change forever. Harried from north and south by two different enemies, both wanting this last remnant of a greater Empire’s land, and with invasion imminent, the military leaders see no choice but to ask the unthinkable: that women learn to fight.
In accepting the challenge, Lena is separated from her lover, who chooses banishment rather than break with generations of tradition. Promoted to leadership, drawn into the intrigues of power, Lena must make difficult choices, for herself, for her village, and for her country: a young woman at the heart of the violence and diplomacy that will begin her epic journey to save her land. Evoking Europe after the decline of Rome, the imagined world of Empire’s Daughter and its sequels is brought to vivid, believable life by the precise and powerful writing of Marian L Thorpe.
QueerIndie Gold 2023 for Fiction/Nonfiction;
Eric Hoffer Finalist, 2021;
IndieBRAG recipient, 2021; Silver Medal, Historical Fantasy Box Set of the Year (as part of Empire’s Legacy) 2019
‘I dread the day Marian will be finished writing this series’ Cover to Cover Reviews
‘Thorpe’s writing is beautiful – strong in the details of landscape both physical and political, delicate in the handling of strong emotion, and cunning in how stealthily details of the plot are seeded throughout.’ Karen Heenan, author of The Tudor Court series.
‘this book has it all: tight plotting, strong characters, action, danger, drama, and pathos.’ Discovering Diamonds Reviews
BUY LINKS
Goodreads link:
more links:
About Marian L Thorpe
“My books are historical fiction of an imagined world, one that is close to Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome, but isn’t any of them. A world where a society evolved differently after the Eastern Empire left, an Empire on the edge of history.
After two careers as a research scientist and an educator, I decided it was time to do what I’d always really wanted, and be a writer. As well as my novels, I’ve published short stories and poetry. My life-long interest in Roman and post-Roman European history provided the inspiration for my books, while my other interests in landscape archaeology and birding provide background.”
AWARDS:
QueerIndie Awards, 2023: Gold for Fiction/Nonfiction, for Empire’s Daughter
Indie Ink Awards, 2022: Finalist, for Empire’s Heir
QueerIndie Awards, 2022: Queer Fiction/Non-Fiction: Bronze, for body of work.
Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award, Semi-Finalist, 2021 for Empire’s Daughter
Eric Hoffer Awards: Finalist, 2022, for Empire’s Heir.
B.R.A.G Medallion, 2021, for Empire’s Daughter
Readers Favourite 5-Star Award, 2021, for Empire’s Legacy: The Complete First Trilogy.
Coffee Pot Book Club: Highly Recommended, 2021, for Empire’s Heir
Historical Fantasy Book of the Year, 2019, Gold Medal for Empire’s Exile, Book III of Empire’s Legacy
Box Set of the Year, 2019, Silver Medal for Empire’s Legacy
Highly Recommended, 2020, for Oraiáphon: A Novella of the Empire
Historical Fantasy Book of the Year, Gold Medal, 2020, for Empire’s Reckoning
Discovered Diamond Award,
September 2021, for Empire’s Heir, Book VI of Empire’s Legacy
March 2020, for Empire’s Daughter, Book I of Empire’s Legacy
April 2020, for Empire’s Hostage, Book II of Empire’s Legacy
June 2020, for Empire’s Exile, Book III of Empire’s Legacy.
June 2020, for Empire’s Reckoning, Book I of Empire’s Reprise
Historical Fiction Company
Highly Recommended, 2021 , for Empire’s Heir.
LINKS:
Website:
https://marianlthorpe.com/
Mastodon:
https://zirk.us/@Marianlthorpe
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/marianlthorpewriter/
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| An honest review |
For five years I ran an online review site for historical fiction - Discovering Diamonds. Alas I found that I no longer had the time to keep it going, so sadly and reluctantly, closed it down (although all the reviews are still there for you to discover quality novels worth reading). One among these was Marian L. Thorpe's Empire's Daughter, which was duly reviewed by one of the review team. I've considered re-reviewing this title for Coffee and Thorn, but to be honest, I think the original is too good to pass over... so here it is:
It's a difficult and probably daunting task to make up a world. The author has to utterly convince the reader that this new world is believable, and realistic, even though it is fantasy. So the first test of such a book surely must be to make the reader think that they are having a real world described to them. Empire's Daughter passes this first test brilliantly. The whole time I was reading, I was convinced that Ms Thorpe knows every tiny detail of the empire she has created, which made what she described on the pages feel incredibly real. The scenery, the customs and traditions, the way of life - all were portrayed so well that it felt like reading about a real time and place. It's clear that the author has done a great deal of research on several periods of history in order to make her imagined world feel so authentic.
I wasn't sure, initially, though, whether it was a place I necessarily wanted to spend time in, so far-removed was it from anything I'd come across before. But within a few pages I had settled in and felt like I was walking with Lena as she moved around the village. It was almost as if the author was saying, 'It's okay, come on in. It's new and different, but let me be your guide.'
And what a sure-footed guide Ms Thorpe is. This, the first in a trilogy, contains all the elements required of a great story: battle plans, battle scenes, a journey. But it also has human relationships, a love story, and a main character who grows and learns throughout the course of the book. It's not all about the main character though, and all the people whom Lena encounters are depicted vividly and are three-dimensional. One character, Tice, does not have a major role and yet her story affects many of the other characters. (She even has her own song, printed in full at the back of the book, which I thought was a great idea which gives a moment to pause and consider all that has been played out.) Lena's interaction with the other people in the story bring some touching moments, and the bonds she forms with them develop in a believable way. The relationship between her and her partner Maya is interesting and true to life; they love one another, but have opposing views and this leads to scenes of tender, emotionally-charged moments which really resonated. I really enjoyed this book and felt like I'd gone on Lena's journey with her. And here perhaps, the reviewer should ask whether the book passes the ultimate test: does it do its job, imagined world notwithstanding? The answer is a resounding 'Yes'. Long after I'd closed my Kindle on this particular volume, I found myself thinking about the characters and am keen to pick up the story in the next volume of the trilogy.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
and here is an additional review of my own:
What makes a novel not just worth reading, but one that sticks in your mind and at the end of the final chapter leaves you wanting more? That feeling of satisfaction for a story well told, and a deep urge to know what happens next... and after that... and after that...? A good author has the reader well and truly hooked into the life of the characters involved, the time and the place they live, work, love or hate in. The events that happen. That 'page turner' quality that keeps a reader thinking 'just one more chapter ... just one more...' into the small hours of a morning, or missing a stop on the train or bus.
To create all the above an expansive imagination is required, backed up by research to make that imagined fiction appear more real than reality. When reading any book of fiction, be it of any genre, the reader has to get to know the characters, both main and background players in the story, has to journey with them through the events that gradually unravel - maybe the ups and downs of a romance, the solving of a crime, the exploration of travel. To delve into events that happened in the past. All this the author has to vividly and realistically create by the use of words, and nothing but words. Add in an entirely fictional world - or an entire empire - to be described, then the responsibility of the author to take the reader into an even deeper realm of believability is a two, or even three-fold requirement.
To bring all of it - place, events and people - to life requires the creative talent of a very good author, and Marian L. Thorpe is not merely a very good author but an exceptionally brilliant one.
Helen Hollick
* * * * * 5 stars
COFFEE AND THORN PROMOTES QUALITY FICTION, FOCUSING ON WORK PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY OR THROUGH SMALL PUBLISHING HOUSES. WE WORK WITH LOVE. ALL PAYMENTS TO US GO DIRECTLY TO FUND EDUCATION FOR GIRLS FROM A SLUM COMMUNITY IN SIERRA LEONE.
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Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
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THE PENDRAGON's BANNER TRILOGY New Editions available worldwide (except USA/Canada) |
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Available USA/Canada |
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| Have you ever thought of saying 'thank you'? https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/08/summertime-history-say-thank-you.html?fbclid=IwAR0aS4fWJXlQ70RLhyopReb1dIu5n-aL80R9q7w8MelmC_28mnBdMdttKNY |
Thank you SO MUCH, Helen!
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