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On the Subject of Griffons
They’ll do anything to save their children’s lives, even if it means working together. Kera Montgomery is still mourning the sudden death of her husband, Morpheus, when her youngest son falls victim to a mysterious plague. With no medicinal cure, Kera must travel to the Long Lakes, where magical griffons capable of healing any ailment reside. As an heiress unused to grueling travel, Kera struggles with the immense emotional and physical strain of her journey—one made more complex when she crosses paths with her husband’s former mistress, Aurora. Aurora’s daughter is afflicted with the same plague as Kera’s son, so despite their incendiary history, the two women agree to set aside their differences and travel together. The road is fraught with dangers, both living and dead. Each night, old battlegrounds reanimate with ghosts who don’t know they’ve died, and murderous wraiths hunt for stray travelers caught out after dark. If Kera, Aurora, and their children are going to survive, they’ll need to confront the past that’s been haunting them since their journey began. And perhaps in the process, discover that old friends may not be as trustworthy as they once thought—and old enemies may become so much more.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2019
3 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Lindsey Byrd
5 books40 followersLindsey began writing stories at a young age, enjoying the escapism of fantasy worlds where anything could happen. When she writes, she focuses on creating complex characters who are neither perfectly good or bad.
She grew up in New York, but moved to Europe to complete her doctoral studies in History. She uses a pen-name to keep her academic publications separate from her fiction work, but her pen-name does have personal meaning.
When she was a child, her mother asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Lindsey responded: "A Bird," and so this name helps make that dream come true.
Shy by nature, Lindsey does not spend much time on social media. Instead, she can be found taking long walks and looking for new birds to add to Merlin ID.
She grew up in New York, but moved to Europe to complete her doctoral studies in History. She uses a pen-name to keep her academic publications separate from her fiction work, but her pen-name does have personal meaning.
When she was a child, her mother asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Lindsey responded: "A Bird," and so this name helps make that dream come true.
Shy by nature, Lindsey does not spend much time on social media. Instead, she can be found taking long walks and looking for new birds to add to Merlin ID.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2019
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
For the full review, visit https://wp.me/p220KL-gQV
From that review:
On the Subject of Griffons by Lindsey Byrd is such an unexpectedly deep, and emotionally rich journey. Not of one woman, although Kera Montgomery is the main character who undergoes the most personal growth and development. So too does the woman who starts out as her adversary and the source of so much of her pain,Aurora., Kera's deceased husband's' ex-mistress.
The writing and characterizations in this story are simply brilliant. Told from the perspective of the "Widow Montgomery", she is at moments controlled, raw, open, distraught, and as the story moves forward comes a woman of strength, determination, and incredible bravery. Someone able to go forward and love again, building a future for herself, others and more. But when it starts out she is a woman overwhelmed by the deceit of her husband, buried in grief by his loss, mired by the weught of responsibility for the huge brood of children she has and and lack of control over his own future which seems lay in the hands of her father and the bankers of the town which want to pressure her into selling them her home, Ivory Gates. She's barely coping and we are made to feel every tear, every throbbing pressure headache, every lost to depression episode Keri is feeling.
For all our reviews, visit http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
For the full review, visit https://wp.me/p220KL-gQV
From that review:
On the Subject of Griffons by Lindsey Byrd is such an unexpectedly deep, and emotionally rich journey. Not of one woman, although Kera Montgomery is the main character who undergoes the most personal growth and development. So too does the woman who starts out as her adversary and the source of so much of her pain,Aurora., Kera's deceased husband's' ex-mistress.
The writing and characterizations in this story are simply brilliant. Told from the perspective of the "Widow Montgomery", she is at moments controlled, raw, open, distraught, and as the story moves forward comes a woman of strength, determination, and incredible bravery. Someone able to go forward and love again, building a future for herself, others and more. But when it starts out she is a woman overwhelmed by the deceit of her husband, buried in grief by his loss, mired by the weught of responsibility for the huge brood of children she has and and lack of control over his own future which seems lay in the hands of her father and the bankers of the town which want to pressure her into selling them her home, Ivory Gates. She's barely coping and we are made to feel every tear, every throbbing pressure headache, every lost to depression episode Keri is feeling.
For all our reviews, visit http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords...
April 11, 2019
I read this book in a day and I enjoyed it. While it wasn't the best fantasy that I've ever read, it was highly interesting and engaging. I felt for the two main characters plight and rooted for them throughout. The novel was both fast paced and full of twists and turns,
Would I recommend this? Yes.
Would I recommend this? Yes.
June 4, 2019
Review to come!
December 5, 2019
“When true love is found, it’s merely found. The rest . . . the rest is just . . . what it is. Gender hardly matters when you find your love.”
I read a lot of fantasy. I love a queer storyline. So, when I saw this book on Riptide Publishing, I had to check it out. It did not disappoint.
Kera (Kerryn Montgomery) is a complex character. She is a mother and a widow whose late husband was a war hero who was killed for attempting to assassinate their country’s leader. She remembers Mori (Morpheus) mostly with affection, but then she is forced to spend time with his mistress and remember the time he betrayed her.
Aurora is equally fascinating. She is the “other woman” but she is so much more. Life has never been easy for her and, while she feels guilt for sleeping with Kera’s husband, she is also jealous of Kera’s privilege.
Together, they find they have much more in common than they ever could have guessed.
Kera’s son Aiden and Aurora’s daughter Faith have fallen ill with a plague that is ravaging the land. There is no cure, but they will not accept that. The legends of the griffons draw both mothers out on a quest with their children to seek out the talons and feathers that are said to heal any ill.
At first, they travel together for safety in the wilds. But, as time goes on, the four grow close until, to their surprise, love grows from the ashes of their past.
Over the course of their journey, Kera learns that she is stronger than she ever dreamed she could be, and Aurora learns to trust. They find that they are stronger together. They both learn to love again.
There is so much love in this story, it all but drips off the pages. Love of a mother for her child, love of a wife and husband for each other despite his betrayal, love between friends who served in the war together, love between two children who become chosen siblings, and love between two women who find each other where they never expected.
“Happiness, she discovered, wasn’t something her husband was ever capable of giving to her. It wasn’t something anyone could give her. It was something that she needed to farm and cultivate on her own. Something that she needed to look for within herself in order to bring it out to the surface. And while people could influence her happiness, they couldn’t provide it to her ready-made. She couldn’t place all her dreams in one person and think it would turn out well.”
I read a lot of fantasy. I love a queer storyline. So, when I saw this book on Riptide Publishing, I had to check it out. It did not disappoint.
Kera (Kerryn Montgomery) is a complex character. She is a mother and a widow whose late husband was a war hero who was killed for attempting to assassinate their country’s leader. She remembers Mori (Morpheus) mostly with affection, but then she is forced to spend time with his mistress and remember the time he betrayed her.
Aurora is equally fascinating. She is the “other woman” but she is so much more. Life has never been easy for her and, while she feels guilt for sleeping with Kera’s husband, she is also jealous of Kera’s privilege.
Together, they find they have much more in common than they ever could have guessed.
Kera’s son Aiden and Aurora’s daughter Faith have fallen ill with a plague that is ravaging the land. There is no cure, but they will not accept that. The legends of the griffons draw both mothers out on a quest with their children to seek out the talons and feathers that are said to heal any ill.
At first, they travel together for safety in the wilds. But, as time goes on, the four grow close until, to their surprise, love grows from the ashes of their past.
Over the course of their journey, Kera learns that she is stronger than she ever dreamed she could be, and Aurora learns to trust. They find that they are stronger together. They both learn to love again.
There is so much love in this story, it all but drips off the pages. Love of a mother for her child, love of a wife and husband for each other despite his betrayal, love between friends who served in the war together, love between two children who become chosen siblings, and love between two women who find each other where they never expected.
“Happiness, she discovered, wasn’t something her husband was ever capable of giving to her. It wasn’t something anyone could give her. It was something that she needed to farm and cultivate on her own. Something that she needed to look for within herself in order to bring it out to the surface. And while people could influence her happiness, they couldn’t provide it to her ready-made. She couldn’t place all her dreams in one person and think it would turn out well.”
October 6, 2019
f/f fantasy with a hint of romance
This was a great fantasy story about a noble woman who has to team up with her dead husband's mistress to try and save both their kids.
The romance was pretty low-key, only really coming out toward the end, but not surprising as you could see it building slowly as they learnt to trust and rely on each other. Enemies to friends to lovers rather than slow-burn. You could really see the growth in the view-point character Kera as she come to better understand the world around her.
Would definitely recommend.
This was a great fantasy story about a noble woman who has to team up with her dead husband's mistress to try and save both their kids.
The romance was pretty low-key, only really coming out toward the end, but not surprising as you could see it building slowly as they learnt to trust and rely on each other. Enemies to friends to lovers rather than slow-burn. You could really see the growth in the view-point character Kera as she come to better understand the world around her.
Would definitely recommend.
September 24, 2020
4.5 stars
Disclaimer: I am an acquaintance of the author; however, I purchased this ebook for the full price.
The only pseudo-complaint I have about this novel is that it could have been a tiny bit shorter. However, shortening the text would have involved cutting much of the hero’s internal narrative, which is a delightful mixture of wry and poignant. It took me a moment to wrap my head around a hero who is a late middle-age mother, which is a shame because those are honestly the heroes we probably need to see most in our world. Kera is not only a mother many times over but also a widow in a society that doesn’t appear to have much use for widowed noblewomen. But when her youngest child falls ill, Kera rallies the inner strength she has always had to save him by starting a personal quest to seek out her world’s mythical griffons.
Due to coincidental (but not unbelievable) circumstances, Kera teams up with the woman her husband once had an affair. It’s absolutely as awkward as it sounds, but I adored that Kera and Aurora’s dedication to the health of their children came before any animosity between the two women. Once again, too many stories already pit women against each other over a man (even a dead man), and I would not have had much patience for it here. Instead, readers are treated to a fantastic evolving relationship between women of different classes as they overcome natural distrust and systemic cultural barriers.
The Hamilton references are simple to catch for anyone familiar with the modern musical, in terms of character and a few small bits of narrative (see what I did there?) reminiscent of song lyrics. I hope those unfamiliar with the musical still enjoy, like I also did, a fantasy story set a bit further along, technologically, than most medieval- or Renaissance-inspired settings. The fantasy elements themselves trend toward the darker, but the way Byrd approaches them never dips this novel into needing any sort of “horror” label.
The ending is entirely satisfying and completely unexpected until you think back and realize that all of the clues are firmly established beforehand to excellent effect. Honestly, I almost expected to be disappointed by the griffons once the characters reached them, but overall, this is a very hopeful story with a satisfying romantic through-line. So, minor spoiler regarding the griffons that doesn’t give away any details: They are all and more.
I look forward to reading more by this debut author in the future.
Disclaimer: I am an acquaintance of the author; however, I purchased this ebook for the full price.
The only pseudo-complaint I have about this novel is that it could have been a tiny bit shorter. However, shortening the text would have involved cutting much of the hero’s internal narrative, which is a delightful mixture of wry and poignant. It took me a moment to wrap my head around a hero who is a late middle-age mother, which is a shame because those are honestly the heroes we probably need to see most in our world. Kera is not only a mother many times over but also a widow in a society that doesn’t appear to have much use for widowed noblewomen. But when her youngest child falls ill, Kera rallies the inner strength she has always had to save him by starting a personal quest to seek out her world’s mythical griffons.
Due to coincidental (but not unbelievable) circumstances, Kera teams up with the woman her husband once had an affair. It’s absolutely as awkward as it sounds, but I adored that Kera and Aurora’s dedication to the health of their children came before any animosity between the two women. Once again, too many stories already pit women against each other over a man (even a dead man), and I would not have had much patience for it here. Instead, readers are treated to a fantastic evolving relationship between women of different classes as they overcome natural distrust and systemic cultural barriers.
The Hamilton references are simple to catch for anyone familiar with the modern musical, in terms of character and a few small bits of narrative (see what I did there?) reminiscent of song lyrics. I hope those unfamiliar with the musical still enjoy, like I also did, a fantasy story set a bit further along, technologically, than most medieval- or Renaissance-inspired settings. The fantasy elements themselves trend toward the darker, but the way Byrd approaches them never dips this novel into needing any sort of “horror” label.
The ending is entirely satisfying and completely unexpected until you think back and realize that all of the clues are firmly established beforehand to excellent effect. Honestly, I almost expected to be disappointed by the griffons once the characters reached them, but overall, this is a very hopeful story with a satisfying romantic through-line. So, minor spoiler regarding the griffons that doesn’t give away any details: They are all and more.
I look forward to reading more by this debut author in the future.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews