The Kithseeker

**Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion of this book.**

The historic fantasy setting of this book is great and I love the detailed descriptions by the author. I was completely transported. The characters grow on you and the links
between the characters build the world around you, until you are completely sucked in. I definitely became emotionally involved with these characters and this world.

I will say this though, it's best if you read the first book before moving on to the next. I personally like the continuation of the series and look forward to future works from this author.

After devouring the first book, I sat and read the entire second in one hit.

SLOWEST OF SLOW BURNS! I'm a sucker for them. And seeing the softly developing romance between the two characters is wonderful.
Wiseman has come into the narrative voice of this story now, and it's a joy to read. I'm quite desperate for the next one!

Its YA fic. Nothing too naughty or adult in content, but still an inherently enjoyable yarn of magic and mystery and intrigue.

My criticism for this book would be that the continent of Europe does not seem fully realised, I would have enjoyed more place setting of the countries Liara visits - whilst I made do with imagination and a healthy amount of knowledge of the European continent, I would have liked a few descriptive paragraphs.

Cracking read. Will be following this author for more!

I read this Young Adult (YA) historical fantasy book as part of a blog tour for Rachel’s Random Resources, and I am pleased that I did.
An enjoyable and well-realised novel, full of an author-invented plethora of spells and wizardry and set against an anchoring backdrop of 17th Century Europe, ‘Kithseeker’ is the second in the ‘Bookminder’ series. It is a shame that I hadn’t read the first in the series (‘Bookminder’), in order to fully appreciate how the characters had gotten to where they were at the start of this book, but I felt brought up to speed in pretty good time and did not feel like I had to go back and read the first – though I wouldn’t mind doing so.
The multiple viewpoints could alienate or confuse some readers – and I am guessing this format is prevalent in ‘Bookminder’ – but I feel that it was handled as deftly as that style could be, and that I gained some insight and back story that otherwise might have been either missed or over-described. The characterisation was strong (essential when using the first person POV for so many of them) and Wiseman does not often fall into the trap of making their names too similar for the reader to keep a grasp on (though even Tolkien sometimes did that!).
I did sometimes find myself just wanting to shake a couple of the characters (‘get a grip’!) regarding some of their internal monologue and the assumptions they made; I am unsure whether this was down to my properly investing in the characters – which of course would be a good thing – or if, on occasion, Wiseman belaboured a point overly much. I leave it to you to decide!
Wiseman’s writing is of a solidly good standard, my appreciation of it cemented when I saw that she had avoided one of my bugbears; when she writes ’round’ (the shape) and ”round’ (the abbreviation of ‘around’ – the direction), she differentiates with the apostrophe and that pleases me greatly!
A pleasing and enjoyable example of the genre for a YA audience, I would recommend it for that age group and give it 4*

https://ayjaypagefarerbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/blog-tour-kithseeker-by-m-k-wiseman/

This was such an unique and fantastic read! It has amazing characters and a plot that will keep you turning pages or scrolling through the night!😍 The only issue is that I wanted more and wished I read the backstory! The storyline was quite compelling and many fantasy lovers alike would fall in love with the world building! A wonderful read, that I highly recommend!

Synopsis

It’s been 9 months since Liara was banished and walked out of Dvigrand, only to find herself back at the city gate with Nagarath’s hand in hers. The villagers were all gone and their home in Parentino left behind them in ruins thanks to Liara and her spell to destroy her library Catalogue. With no where else to go, they start their next adventure where they began.
They had left Anisthe in Vrsar incantate, stripped of his magic and power to those around him, only Anisthe is determined to reclaim his powers by any means necessary, even if it means hunting for a rumoured fairytale object, Khariton’s mirror. Said to be one of the most powerful objects in the world and the key to restoring him to his rightful place as the most powerful mage. The mirror not only threatens innocents, but also Liara with her unwanted link to Anisthe should it restore his magic. With her being connected to Anisthe for two more years as his progenaurae, Nagarath and Liara have no choice but to follow him and his accomplice, Domagoj, on his journey across the seas in the hunt for a fairytale.
With Liara finding it difficult to understand how Nagarath can so easily forgive her after everything that happened in Vrsar and for destroying their home, the journey together becomes a greater challenge to piece their friendship back together.

‘Clenching the hand that Nagarath had let go, knowing his brief abandonment to be one of practicality, Liara blinked back illogical tears. It was nonsense to think that the mage would hold her hand forever. But his withdrawal left her feeling numb.’

My Thoughts

The second installment of The Bookminder and a great storyline to continue Liara and Nagarath’s journey. I loved this book even more than the last with it’s interesting plot, new questionable acquaintances, a hint of romantic curiosity as well as far off exciting lands to continue their adventure.
Liara and Nagarath are only getting more captivating for me. It’s clear they are growing feelings for each other, but Liara is still too young to identify the feelings she has for him and Nagarath’s unlikely chance of running into his old attachment; Amsalla DeBouverelle, has caused an underlining string of emotions to surface with his actions.

It’s easy to find how Liara struggles to keep her emotions in check when she has never experienced feelings like this before. Jealousy sneaks it’s way into her life which catches her more off guard when Liara realises how real her feelings are for her wizard. Not that she would tell him of course with his attentions on Amsalla. Even with her emotions up in the air, Liara gradually changes from the immature selfish girl from the previous book and we see her grow into an independent young woman who opens herself up to the world around her with her new experiences and trials in becoming a presentable woman in high society with the assistance of her new companion, Sophie. Liara can’t help but secretly crave the life that would bring her back to Parentino’s library with her Nagarath, just the two of them living the simple life within the castle walls.

The reader keeps the pace perfectly to allow us to get to know our characters, the locations they end up in and the whirlwind of emotions that follow them along. I still feel like I don’t know Nagarath’s character well enough yet though. We get glimpses into his previous life as he takes Liara around the world where they end up in Versailles in France where they stay with old friends and see old acquaintances. He obviously previously lived a very comfortable life with high connections in society that easily acquires them with an invitation to the King’s palace itself. No magic required. His feelings for Liara are very intriguing. He puts on a front to keep up appearances in society for he can’t be seen traveling with an eligible young woman on his own without some family connection between them. His old friends can see past the facade of being her ‘uncle’ simply by the way he looks at her openly in a room full of people. It’s adorable and I feel, besides his previous attentions to Amsalla, he hasn’t allowed himself much experience with women. His actions are almost as young and innocent as Liara’s.

‘Feeling sheepish for such an omission to her courtly education, and reckless from how much she looked like herself, Nagarath’s carefully rebuilt barrier came crashing down. Propriety be damned. She was going to know how to dance when she entered the court of the King of France.
Nagarath made a neat half-bow and waited. He prompted, “Liara. You’re learning to dance.”
“Now?”
Nagarath simply waited for Liara’s answering curtsy.
“But…” Liara hesitated, and seeing how Nagarath was going to keep waiting for her, she clumsily curtsied and then stood awkwardly. With a grin and flourish of his wand, Nagarath set into motion the music box which sat on his mantle, the tinkling melody repeating itself in perpetuity through the lesson.’

I really liked the amount of action and adventure within this book compared to the limited locations in the previous one set mainly in Parentino and Dvigrand. The author allowed us to see the world from their eyes set back into the 1680’s around Europe, from Italy to Spain then ending up in streets of Paris before stepping into the Parisan court of Versailles. The author has really done well to set the scene in the historical settings.

‘Even the shabby buildings were impressive. Matched brickwork and rows of windows stretched the length of the street only to meet another building, equally grand. It was as though the buildings were courtiers, too, each trying to outmatch its neighbor with its perfect proportions or grand entrances of arch after arch. Everything seemed so delicate, breakable. The exact opposite of what Liara had grown up knowing; solid, simple, rustic, and serviceable. In Paris, everything seemed designed to look like something else. Gloves looked like curtains, pruned trees resembled statues. Every available surface had been carved, patterned, and decorated. It was dizzying to look at.’

I’m really looking forward to reading the next instalment when it gets released to find out what happens with Nagarath and Liara in their next adventure!