By Darkness Hid by: Jill Williamson

*This book is a three parter. The second book it titled "To Darkness Fled." The third one is "From Darkness Won."

What is bloodvoicing?
It's a mind communication gift that is passed down through royal blood. If you can bloodvoice, you can talk to people with your mind. You can also tell what people are thinking.


Achan Cham's story:

Achan is a slave in the kitchens. Actually, he is worse than that. Achan's a stray. Being a stray is the absolute lowest class he, or anyone else for that matter, can be in. If you are a stray, you get branded on your right shoulder. Achan was branded on his left shoulder. No one can ever figure out why.

But when Sir Gavin meets Achan, he senses something special about him. Achan can bloodvoice. Lord Nathak knows that Achan bloodvoices too, and he worries that with bloodvoicing, Achan will find out his secret. Lord Nathak's secret would make him look pretty bad if it was found it. So he forces Achan to drink a foul tasting potion every day to silence the bloodvoices in his head. But Sir Gavin wants to put a stop to this. He takes Achan on as his squire and teaches him how to use a sword. But then Achan is forced to go to prison for supposedly trying to assassinate the prince. In prison he meets Vrell Sparrow. Vrell cares for Achan and the two are soon friends. But when Vrell reads a note that Achan's old friend, Gren, wrote to him, Achan doesn't know whether he wants to forgive Vrell. In the meantime, Sir Gavin finds out something about Achan that Achan doesn't know. It endangers Achan's life. This important piece of information could change Achan's life forever.

Vrell Sparrow's story:

Vrell Sparrow must disguise herself as a boy to avoid marrying Prince Gidon, soon to be King Gidon. As desperately as some people wanted to be queen, not many would sink low enough to marry Gidon, a lazy, selfish boy who only thought of himself. Worse yet, since the only person who knows that Vrell is a girl is away, she is forced to go be apprenticed to Master Hadar, who will teach her bloodvoicing techniques.

Vrell is a very strong bloodvoicer, but tries to hide her gift, which is very hard when you are around bloodvoicers a lot. Vrell has a journey to take before she goes to be apprenticed. And the people Vrell is traveling with don't know that she is a girl, or so she thinks. If Khai, one of the men she was travelling with, found out her secret, she would be in great danger. Khai would try to sell her, or, still worse, tell Gidon that Vrell is the girl whom he tried to marry. Then Vrell meets Achan and tries to help him. Achan is in prison for supposedly trying to murder the Prince, when he was actually trying to help the prince by forcing him into a tree. Vrell needs help. And she needs it fast. The person she is apprenticed to, Master Hadar, turns out to be untrustwory. She is worried that he's plotting something evil. And then Khai discovers her secret, it looks like things couldn't get worse. Or could they?

My thoughts:

I don't read a lot of fantasy, but this book is excellent! Oryus {review HERE} used to be my favourite fantasy book, but I think I've found my new favourite! And they only get better!
Highly, highly, highly recommend.



Here's a link to the author's website.



My favourite character is Vrell. Vrell is smart and brave. She manages to hide her true identity until the end of the book. And she's nice when she helps Achan out. Achan can be a bit sarcastic and he teases a lot. And since he doesn't realize that Vrell is a girl, he doesn't act at all mannerly. I highly reccomend this book!
Religious content:
Though most people in this book don't, Vrell believes in God and knows that the others are fake.
Achan hears God's voice in his head.
Many of the people in this book believe in false gods and sacrifice to them.


10/10 stars