Teleo is a retired soldier descended from Mages, who were cast out of power generations ago. After years of war and sorrow, he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life on his farm and work his stonemason’s craft.

His wife and daughter had been murdered during a war raid several years earlier and his young son stolen by the enemy side. He spent years unsuccessfully searching for his son and returned home broken-hearted. At the local castle, he comes upon a war orphan stolen by his side from the enemy and rescues him from abuse, adopting him as his foster son.

Teleo is working at the castle when he finds himself in the middle of a coup. This launches a journey to protect his new family, uncover the secrets of the ancient ways, and reclaim the magic of the Mages.

I got to read a 10k word excerpt of Heliotrope for Round 2 of BBNYA as a replacement, and I was lucky!

I wouldn’t have picked it from cover alone as it looks to be more action-focused, but the writing pulled me in from the beginning.

The story and characters are charming and interesting, even the ones with small appeareances. The world was naturally introduced, the writing style was absolutely beautiful and very atmospheric.

It felt masterfully crafted from a seasoned writer. I’m bummed this book didn’t make it to the finals.