Heather’s Bookshelf: Hands Like Secrets: The Seven Strands: Book One
Author: Mariah Norris
Released: 05/13/22
Genre: Adult Fantasy
“It hits me then what Jeroen’s death will mean once the whole school knows. A Crimson Cowl killed an Anjahel student on Aschamon’s grounds. Aschamon, whose pristine sidewalks had never borne the accursed tread of Cowl boots in her entire existence. The school’s perfect record is now irrevocably shattered.”
“Hands Like Secrets” introduces Saeli, a student at the prominent institute of Aschamon. She’s autistic and having difficulty convincing her teachers she’s worthy of elevating to Silver Mantle status in order to fulfill her lifelong purpose of defeating the Crimson Cowls.
But when Rafel Kailar (a noted notorious Crimson Cowl) breaks into her school and kills a fellow student while attempting to kill the headmaster, Saeli’s whole world changes. She initially believes she’s in a life threatening situation, but soon realizes Rafel is not going to hurt her. Instead, he’s interesting, charming, and driven toward his ultimate goal: Stopping the war between the Cowl’s and the Mantle’s and overthrowing the gods of Verre.
Rafel tries to convince Saeli to join his cause, but her professors are convinced she’s in danger. In an effort to keep her safe, they keep her grounded to the school. She turns to her roommate, Fien, to help and begrudgingly drags her best friend, Yan, into it. Will Saeli choose the correct side to support? Will she keep herself and her friends safe? And will they even be friends when this is all over?
Trigger Warning: violence/torture, murder, adult language, drug use, reference to sexual assault, kidnapping
Overall, this book took me for a ride. It started out as a challenge for me: a detailed fight scene filled with magic and spells. I am not typically a big fan of any kind of fight scenes in books and this wasn’t an exception. As it was in the beginning of the book, I had no connection to the characters or any context as to the importance of what was happening. It seemed to also go on for a while and lost me a couple of times along the way. However, after the fight scene was a different story. I found the rest of the story to be intriguing and the pacing picked up quite a bit. There’s an element of mystery and reveal throughout Saeli’s interactions with Rafel that kept me wanting to know more. I also enjoyed Fien’s character and thought the author did well in developing both Saeli and Rafel with distinct voices. However, I felt the feelings of Saeli for Rafel came off more as a girl crush and not as chemistry and I think it actually detracted from their relationship and Saeli’s development as a character. The ending is setup for a sequel and while I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, this one felt as though it completed the original story. It’s also a little crushing- fair warning!
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
Saeli’s a student at a school training Mantle’s to hunt down the evil Cowl’s when she comes face to face with one. A mystery wrapped in a fantasy that starts out as a challenge but develops into an interesting tale.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Mariah Norris
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Find it for purchase here
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