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Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite
Forged by Betrayal and Blood by Helen Garraway opens the Celestial Throne series, a fantasy that brims with ancient magic, political intrigue, and a gritty redemptive journey. Vael Tor Arne, also known as the Butcher of Leif, is a disgraced soldier who has lived on the fringes of the empire, banished and haunted by a betrayal that destroyed not only his reputation but his family. Farsolian warbands hunt Vael and his soldiers. His path leads to a lethal assassin, Disari, Sister of the Moon Blossom, whose mission to murder Emperor Talonm instead turns into an oath to destroy the oppressive sisterhood. When prophecies about the celestial dragons destined to protect the realm surface, Vael becomes the target of a sadistic warlord. Can he survive what is coming for him, protect his men, and find redemption?
Helen Garraway is a great entertainer, and her epic fantasy had me invested in her characters and how she explores their psychological wounds. Vael festers with survivor’s guilt and resentment, yet he is fond of his newfound family to whom he shows loyalty, especially Mort, the healer, and the protective Lars. Disari is another character who is grounded, struggling with the indoctrination by the Sisterhood and her desire for freedom. The setting is written with atmospheric detail, from the sanctuary’s stone archives to the Farsolian peaks and the snow that covers them. Forged by Betrayal and Blood is filled with action and scenes that test the human will. Fans of Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon will find familiar thrills in the elements of military fantasy and dragon mythology; however, Garraway distinguishes her work through its examination of the cost of honor and the haunting question of whether a man broken by bloodshed can ever be free.
