I found this book via Twitter. SD Simper tweeted a quote from the third installment in this series and, after inquiring, I was led to the first- see, sometimes Social Media does work well for marketing.
This is a high fantasy novel equipped with its own world, history, and laws that I enjoyed learning all about. It amazes me when an author makes up their own universe, especially when it’s completely different from our own. That takes so much planning, care, and hard work, and it completely shows in The Sting of Victory. Simpler did an amazing job creating something complicated and beautiful, with so many politics and layers, I feel like this book hardly skimmed the surface; luckily, there’s more to come!
Let’s get into the premise before I start fan-girling-
The story consistently follows Flowridia, a young, tender-hearted witch, who resides in Staelash, a neutral kingdom wedged in between two territories at odds, after being found in the woods by her celestial mentor. The reader learns of this world’s religions, politics, and ancient history along with Flowridia (who knows little of anything having spent most of her childhood in a swamp/alone) which I though was a perfect way to give the reader information without overwhelming them or over-telling in a way that takes away from the quality of the writing. The quality of the writing should be noted- I often found myself admiring Simper’s vocabulary and descriptions. Personally, it made the book even more enjoyable.
Flowridia joins a diverse (so many different types of races- elves, giants, demons, gods, etc. in this story) group who guide her along different journeys and encounters. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a main character like this one. Flowridia is sensitive, thoughtful, and tragically naive. As a writer, I appreciate the finesse Simper displays in building up the character’s change and I’m enjoying her journey. A lot happens in this book and there’s a love story woven throughout between Flowridia and the “monster,” Ayla. Ayla is a mysterious elf, employed by the tyrant emperor of Nox’Kartha and isn’t well liked by Flowridia’s group (and not for bad reasons) which creates conflict. Maybe one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is because Ayla isn’t a noble hero by any means, in fact more the opposite, but sweet Flowridia loves her anyway. That’s another theme in this book- everything isn’t black and white/good or bad- characters are gray and sometimes just acting along their nature/instinct. Need I say, moral ambiguity appeases me.
There’s a good amount of action in this story, involving battles with gods, genocide caused by demonic possession, and the deflowering of a certain, uh, flower…ehem. Each character in this book has their own distinct personality and voice. They felt so real and I really enjoyed the details associated with each one- it brought them even more to life.
If I had to point out a hiccup- I was confused when I first started reading this book. The story jumps right into action; so much so that I had to go back and check the book details to make sure it was indeed the first in the series. Although not labeled, the first section is a prologue and not the first chapter of the story. Once, realizing this it makes a lot more sense. I did still find the prologue a bit odd though, it felt more like a chapter in the middle of a book, but it also wrapped up nicely with how the book ended, so personally the oddity didn’t outweigh how much I liked it.
The second installment in this series, Among Gods and Monsters, will be released January 31st! The third book will be released this spring, and the whole series will contain 6 books. I know what I’ll be binging the end of this month.
If you like hard core fantasy, epic battle scenes, and charming characters then you might enjoy The Sting of Victory.
https://www.amazon.com/Sting-Victory
Follow SD Simper @sdsimper