Finder

First Ordinance #1

by Connie Suttle

A dead god.
A dying world.
A girl never meant to be sentient.

Siriaa is dying. A poison is spreading throughout the planet and none know how to neutralize it. Finder, working in King Tamblin's castle kitchen most of her life, has never spoken. A child of questionable parentage, Finder is an orphan assigned to perform duties nobody else wants.

While others plan intrigue, murder and invasion to escape the poison's effects, Finder watches all in mute acceptance. Will she be the key to Siriaa's salvation, or will it die about her, without knowing why?

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Reverse Harem, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Aliens, Young Adult

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2014

About the author

Connie Suttle lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three cats.

Connie holds an MFA in Fine Art (film production and animation) and taught courses at the university level before moving on to bookstore management. Nowadays, if she isn't writing or editing, she's dreaming up her next book.

Reviews

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was so freaking awesome and how the heroine was introduced to the story.

By the time the story started though...there were so many characters that I was getting confused on who was who and what planet they came from.

Also, the POV changes so rapidly and so many times by so many different characters that my brain couldn't comprehend it quick enough.

But story line? I absolutely LOVED it!!

Very unique and different!

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standing ovation!! Really enjoyed this book - right up until the end - at the cliff hanger!! This is one of those stories with several interweaving stories all ultimately circling the main character. I became so immersed in the story that I didn't notice that there was no way that much of anything could be resolved before the end of the book! So now I will doing the hurry up dance (which probably looks a lot like the peepee dance)anxiously awaiting book 2.

I am not certain how to describe the story, just saying that it pulled me in is not enough. Finder is not our heroine's real name. She is an orphan in a society where social standing or caste has real power - not much chance of improving one's lot in life and an orphan is at the bottom. She was thought to be mute by those around her but in the first sentence she says that her voice came at age nine - no reason given. She deems it safest to remain mute. She is adept at finding missing items and is soon called Finder.

Oh the intrigue, the plot twists and the diverse lands, customs and levels of development of societies. I loved it. In fact, I started reading Ms Suttle's young adult series "Legend of the Ir'Indictl" because I like her writing style. BTW the young adult label ... doesn't mean boring or simple.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many ideas, points of view, and characters competing for attention. Neither ideas nor characters are fully formed, and too much information is withheld for the story to make sense. New characters, points of views, and ideas keep appearing even late in the book, so by the end the purpose and plot are lost in a random mish-mash. By the end, the titular character isn't even Finder anymore--she's someone else with a new name, and not enough about her background is revealed to make this a satisfying read. In fact, the cliffhangers do the opposite of what they are meant to do: they are so deliberate and egregious, and so little is offered in return for the omission, that this reader feels cheated and will not be continuing on to the next book in the series.

Problematic, too, is the absence of editing--comma problems, coherency problems in the narrative and dialogue, and problems with word choice (e.g.,"noisome" used incorrectly to mean "noisy").

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gods of randomness love me!

[Lissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy personally.

It was an interesting concept and a story I think I would have really liked however the characters didn't resonate with me nor did the story line or the writing style.

I'm not even sure what the book was about. There's a girl who grows these stubs, which could be wings I'm not sure, in her back and gets them cut off by someone who works in the palace kitchens with her. she also never speaks. there's also other characters whose names I cannot recall because they were two dimensional and bland.

The world was confusing. Names of places are thrown around and not explained or described like I'm supposed to already know what it looks like, who lives there, the history, etc. Were only given a basic plot of evil king, shunned race of people (which the main character is obviously one of them living right under the nose of the people who could kill her) and typical characters in typical underdeveloped fantasy world.

There was even an attempt at a romance but I didn't like that either. The characters were surface level and it wasn't interesting, enticing and the obstacles for the romance to develop were a bit boring . Predictable jealous, spoilt princess doesn't want the servant to get any attention from her boyfriend so she gets someone else she pays to beat her up and send her away. Yawn.

This overall wasn't my kind of book. I think if the world and characters were actually developed it could be decent.

[Dow · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mysterious orphan with a dozen overly convenient magical powers is randomly picked up from the kitchens to become the aide to a prince. One bath later and she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Cliche heaped upon cliche to create one of the biggest Mary Sues in recent memory.

Leaving aside the unnecessary nonsense that only serves to make the heroine more special, the 'plot' was a dull repetition of task-completion by the floormat protagonist, the worldbuilding was shallow, the characters were forgettable and lacked any form of agency. And then the book ends in a way that almost requires you to go read the sequel. No way.

[Rafaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoying Connie's style of writing, she makes it very hard to put the book down. My problem with her books is that she has a wondering imagination.

Her story lines start really good and it sucks you in, and then Kaboom!!! A thousand characters start raining in, the world building triples, you think you had a slowly building romance before but then it becomes irrelevant with the amount of mates and partners who get introduced all at once and you realise there will be no romance nor there ever was. And disappointment falls on you.

Then she brings characters from other series, and they are not just featuring briefly, they become integral to the storyline, and if you haven't read the other series then you're miss out the story lines...

I give up on her books... I read up to book 3, and I'm never picking up her books again...

[Runningrabbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
To find more cheap paranormal books go to https://www.facebook.com/ParanormalBo...

This was a great read with good world building and a nice measurement of supernatural and other worlds. I don't think this series fits into any particular genre, and the next book takes that to another step entirely. So a bit of almost sci-fi, supernaturals, wizards, and then some more.

The character is particularly likable with a fair amount of both worldliness combined with a good juxtaposition of naievety. There is also a very diverse crowd of supporting characters that really adds a lot to the story.

This is absolutely worth a good read, and in a paranormal sense, a bit different. If you like Connie Suttle's other work then I should think you will also like this one. Let me sum up by saying, I went straight onto the next novel.

[Teresa Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read:) really enjoyed this

[Noël · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Lmao, this book is a mess. An absolute mess. I’m sorry, but it’s just everywhere and nowhere.

[Autumn Miller ~ autumnbookreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was fast paced and constantly had my attention. One thing I love about Connie Suttle is that none of her books are alike. Authors traditionally have a certain writing style that you know is theirs. Connie isn't like that. All of her books are different and the plots are never the same. I never know where she is going to take the story next and I can never guess when she is about to drop a plot twist.
I loved Finder/Quin. Her whole life, she has been treated horribly and like she wasn't worth anything. I felt so bad for her during this book because everyone in her life undervalues her and doesn't give her the credit that she deserves. Finder did some extraordinary things in this book and she wasn't recognized for any of it which truly makes me sad. I really hope that she is treated better in the future and gets a happy ending. She deserves it more than anyone.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I will be continuing the series because I am dying to know what is going to happen next. I look forward to learning more about Finder's story. I can't wait to read the next book!

[Abz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too dense and yet not dense enough, and confusing as well. The constant jumping between characters and plots and the relentless introductions of new characters got very frustrating very quickly. I didn't particularly enjoy reading the protagonist being abused all of the time either. There's hardship, and then there's what this book has. Every time her life starts looking up, she gets thrown right back into an abusive situation or one where someone's after her life or both. I had absolutely no stakes in any of the other characters, either, the writing is so brisk and brusque it's nigh-on impossible for me to sympathise with them or understand them more than a surface-level knowledge of what their name and roles are.

Finished it but now I have a headache. :/

[Julie Mohr · Rating 3 out of 5]

JMM

Enjoyed this book. Only drawback is that it jumps around from one character to another with little lead into who it is we are reading about now. It makes the story more difficult to follow as I am trying to figure out how this one character relates to the main character all the time. The story has a good plot and good character development, but the flow between chapters could be better. It enticed me enough that I am still looking to purchase the second in the series.

[Channelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was intriguing and there is good character background foundation as well as reasonable character development throughout the story. I enjoyed learning more about Finder (later named Quinn) as she deals with the hate and prejudice directed at her for merely being an orphan, mute (she can actually speak, but choose not to - very admirable and wise decision), deformed (winged creature). She ends up getting abducted and thrown into a world where she is AGAIN rejected as an outcast for being a half-blood. She is considered less than an animal, in terms of worth. When she does something out of the goodness of her heart, no one thanks her. She saved the prince's life, she healed those people in suffering and not a word of gratitude comes her way, instead it's directed at the people who caused the problems. BASTARDS. You all deserve to suffer, in my opinion.

I couldn't quite understand why these 3 main kingdoms (i think there are more) are suffering from a poison that is destroying the land and the people/animals/plants on it, and I felt that the author should have worked more on this. She also mentioned something bout the king's ring keeping the poison from spreading to other lands, yet it still does... Just because the characters in the book have no clue as to why there is a poison killing their lands doesn't mean that the author couldn't have written it so that there is at least a breakthrough in information regarding to the poison nearing the end of the first book.

I admire Quinn for soo many reasons. When beaten and mistreated for unjust, whimsical reasons, she accepts it without crying - even though she wants to, she knows it wouldn't help her. When everyone torments her, she ignores them. She believes strongly in fairness, which is typical given her situation, but nonetheless I found her to be really cool. I also like that there is no romantic love interest in this book. Although I could see possible prospects, it's like a bare whiff - hardly even counts.

Things I didn't like:
1. No one just knows how to read... no one.. don't pull a Scout move on me, pls. It's just stupid.
2. No one just inherently knows how to be fluent in languages they do not speak/read/write...
3. When switching perspectives and locations, it wouldn't kill the author to actually start of with that. A simple QUINN or AMLIN would suffice.
4. They still did not explain Quinn's heritage. They touched upon it, but didn't further develop the idea. Actually, the author did this quite a lot. She would touch upon a topic of interest, slightly dig into it, but wouldn't conclude it. It felt darn annoying. So now I'm going to read the second book just to figure out the missing answers. In a way, it was a pretty smart move on the author's behalf, toying with me like that.
5. i wished there was less switching of perspectives. It was cool and everything, but it felt annoying to have to read about Amlin and his friends preparing for war or evading attempts on his life when I could be reading about Quinn.

[Gillian Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars This is a tough one to review because I enjoyed the story but there was a lot wrong in the way it was written. There was so much going on and the story jumped around all the time it was hard to keep track. Important information that I felt should have been revealed early in the story was not given until well into it. Where a lot of books could have been cut short this one could have done with a lot more background information. Lets hope the next book is an improvement as this story has lots of potential.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like Quin had potential. She was cool under pressure which made me read the sequels. But the sequels all run together(same after a while):(
And Quin became an emotional mess in later books which drowned the whole cool under pressure characteristic.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a blogger friend and since we usually like the same sort of books, I read it. Very quickly! And very happily, as it turned out.

Finder is an orphan that was left at the King’s palace kitchen when she was two years old. She spends her time non-stop working and lives a life of a drudge. Her name comes from her ability to find anything that is missing. What no one knows is that she has all sorts of abilities that she hides from everyone. That she knows when bad things are going to happen is just her normal. And oh yes, Finder is mute. The reader begins to wonder early on who Finder really is-is she really an orphan or could she be much more then that, and no, I am not necessarily referring to her special abilities.

The world the author has built seemingly takes place in a time pretty close to or similar to the Middle Ages, or close enough. The author has also built two more worlds in this story. I found each of these worlds to be fascinating and very well done. Due to spoilers, I really can’t explain or the book could be ruined for the reader. Suffice it to say that not everything involves the first world’s time period.

I absolutely loved the character of Finder. She was a completely different sort of character involved in new and way different types of worlds then I normally read about. The pages just flew by as I immersed myself in each of these worlds that Finder gets involved in. Along the way, there’s murders, kidnapping, assaults, abuse, and mega amounts of intrigue. Villains almost outnumber the good guys in some of these worlds.

Connie Suttle is a wonderful story teller, and this is actually the seventh book I have read by her. She knows how to pull you into the story and keep you totally invested in both the story and the characters. My only issue with this book is the number of characters and the names of the characters that you have to keep up with. At about 75% of the way through the book, I became lost at times. Some of the names were so close to being the same names, I became even more confused. It took a little away from the book for me but not a lot. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cliffhanger. Not a fan. I still really enjoyed the book and actually can’t wait for the next one.

If you like a young adult read with a very imaginative story, you may want to check this out. Due to violence and abuse(not sexual)I would suggest it for older teens to adults. I want to also mention the beautiful cover-not only is it a great cover but I think it has a lot to say about Finder and her abilities.(RabidReads.ca)

[Chris Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is frustrating. There are some good ideas mixed in here, but there's just so much wrong with it too.

1 - I had to check multiple times to make sure I didn't somehow grab the Abridged version of the book. The Narrative comes off rushed and choppy, Important events are given very little build up or fanfare, or sometimes even happening off screen. The book never takes a breath, it jumps from plot point to plot point as soon as the bare minimum of explanation is achieved. It's like they just went ahead and published the initial outline.

2 - Finder is a MASSIVE Mary Sue. Honestly, put her through one of the online tests and she scored a 117 (just for note 70 is considered high). It might be higher, but some are questions determining if it's a self insert and I couldn't say if Connie Suttle was doing so. She scores a positive in being a Mary Sue in all 5 categories. I won't go into all the reasons because of spoiler, but calling her a literal Angel is only a small part of it. I have a feeling the only reason it's not higher is because the book is so abbreviated. I'd put money on her having a beautiful singing voice and/or being an amazing dancer.

3 - Pick a point of view! This switching from first person to third is really irritating.

4 - Finder OP. This falls into the Mary Sueness, but it's bad enough that it needs to be stated again. This girl has God level powers, Omniscience, Limitless Healing, Telepathy, and more. Really, the only thing stopping her from ruling the world is her limiting herself.

5 - Finder is the only flushed out character. Several other characters exist, but it seems like they're only there to be mean and abuse Finder, feel bad for Finder being persecuted, or talk about how amazing and important Finder is.

6 - WTF is up with that ending? The book just sort or stops. Just as she finally seems to be building up to some sort of climax... The End. The F***? Again, like with complaint 1, I feel like there are pages, or even entire chapters, missing.

Needless to say, I'm not going to continue with this series.

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

When You are born as nothing you die as nothing. When you have no parents, the only way to survive is to work for the privileged but otherwise you should be invisible. Don't stand out under any circumstances and maybe you'll going to live until adulthood. That is what Finder thought all her miserable life. She doesn't know where she came from, her own name or who her parents are. One day she was just left in Fyris palace kitchen and that was that. Unfortunately Finder couldn't be as invisible as she would like. Her many gifts, such as finding things, and knowing things about people made her hard to miss.

When Amlis, Prince of Fyris, decides to take Finder as a page, she knows that her life is about to change, the problem is, she doesn't know if it be for better or for worse. Things about to get more complicated for Finder but will she be able to face the challenges head on or will she crumble?

My Thoughts

I do love Connie Suttle's books and this one is no exception. The world the author creates is so unique and so touchable at the same time that it is easy for me to loose myself inside the story and sometimes hold my breath or shout at some of the characters.

Finder is a great book to read and to just let down your hair and enjoy. But whatever you do, just remember that you will never end it with just reading one book. If you start any of Connie Suttle's series you'll going to end up with reading them all. I highly recommend it :)

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

this story is really good. An orphan is left on the queen of Fyris' kitchen step. Finder is raised as a servant, a lowly kitchen helper. She doesn't talk, she can find things by focusing on what she wants at that moment. She understands animals and can heal. Her misfortune is her lack of status.

In a glass castle, winged humanoids reign. Their colored wings determine their trade and their caste. Their last king and queen were murdered in Fyris, and with the queen died the magical cleansing of the land.

Across the sea is a developed land of science and guns. Their president is wise and kind; his son us dying of the wasting sickness. Usually his doctors and medicines are sent to for to help, but they can't cure this.

The fault in this story is its layout. There are too many lands, too many characters of import, and too little editing. The scenes jump suddenly from land to land, and without very much character development other than a few core characters it is very hard to keep up. Also, many kings and their princes share very similar names. I'm still a little unsure about at least two sets of people, and it took me quite a while to realize that someone was who they were. Character development is lacking. Story flow is jarring.

But, the storyline was good.

[Gene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Finder, the main character, but that's about as far as this book went for me. The relationships were weak, the plot was nearly invisible and random characters kept emerging throughout the book.

Plus, the author committed a mortal sin. She only wrote half a book! For crying out loud, if you're going to write a story, write the whole thing. Don't end it with the plot half finished. Yes, I get it that you were trying to bait me into reading another book. But in this case, the writing style was so difficult that I just don't want to read anymore.

If you're going to shift perspectives in a book, try to add some rhyme or reason to it. Do it with each chapter. But don't jump around every fourth paragraph. It makes it really hard to follow and much more difficult to relate to the characters.

So, that's where I stand. I liked and bonded with the main character, but didn't find much more of interest in this book. I have no plans to read further in the series.

[Nicole]

Okay.. It's will be hard to give a review with out spoilers, so here is your warning!

First off, the summary is very misleading.. There is so much going on in this book, and the summary makes it seem simple.. (And ps, what god?!)
If you're not a fan of game of thrones, you won't like this either. There are about 70 different story lines going on at one time, and it switches around like crazy. I'm normally pretty good at keeping characters straight, and I was struggling big time. Wayyy too many names and stuff going on. I get that it's all tied together sort of, but shit.. It was over the top.

That being said, I did really like it, and would gladly read the next in the series. I got very attached to our h.. I love her!!!

(Also, just as a side note.. I'm glad I gave this a change b/c I hated the only other thing I've read by this author)

[Siv Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dont know how to describe this book.

Although I thouroghly loved it. 4,5 stars. The half star deduction were
because the pace between settings were somewhat jumpy at times, even though
I could desipher where the story were folding out.

Ok, so well, just read it. I think this is a either love or hate it kind of book. For
me it fit as a glove. The heroine grows in time with the storyline, and the threads are
knittet together in a captivating and somewhat new take by blending different genres and uh.. "timelines" .

I am deeply eager to continue this series. Hopefully it wont take long before book 2 comes out.

Thank you Connie Suttle, for giving me such pleasure reading you book.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!

This book started off slightly ho hum, but turned hIghly addictive. I could not put this book down.
Fun, light, entertaining, yet unpredictable! Can't wait to see where the story leads.

Follow up, after having read the second book (which throws off) and begun the third books I am beginning to give up hope. I feel the author has now involved so many different characters that they lack any depth at all. The series has taken a turn for the worse. I am leaving the rating as is for this book, but can not give the series as a whole anything more than a two star rating.

[JadeShea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finder is a girl who has lived her life without speaking, and being treated horribly. Now, she's being taken to a new land because people don't want her around. As she goes to a new world, her powers start to come out and so does her voice. People are learning she's not at all what they thought she was, and as time goes on she does her best to overcome everything against her.

This book was really good. It opened up a new world, and a really awesome new heroine. I thought the plot line was really interesting, and kept me guessing the whole way through the book.

I look forward to more in this series, this was a great start.

[Riotkittin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book ends with a gallery of 125654 characters, 101 loose ends, a Mc that's becoming more and more special and a cliffhanger. ...Not sure if I want to read further.

I was curious about the other parts to the series and it seems like the number of people rating the books are cut by half by each book and even the people giving book 1 and 2 glowing reviews are giving really bad ratings for book 3, 4 and 5. So nope. I'm not gonna spend more time on this series.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to be another great series from Connie. I would say that it feels like an historical paranormal fantasy with hints of sci-fi possible romance. It has everything that I like about a Connie Suttle book. Great characters, mystery, intrigues, etc. I am excited to be able to read this new series.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Siri]

DNF!!!!!
aghhh noo this book was horrible, i had really looked forward to this series which would be the first book by Connie i would have read. but noo this was so bad that i aint had the heart to even finish this.....
Everything was just wrong,
" "She´s a servant. You forget your place, " Omina hissed. What does it matter if a girl gets beaten?, Amlis? "
OBS, Omina is Amlis mother

Ehh what the actual fuck, and the main character gets beaten by like everyone everyday and she is mute so she can´t stand up for herself. ( i aint saying that you can´t stand up for yourself if you are mute, but especially this character don´t in this book) She also saves people and don´t even get any cred for that. for example when she saved Amlis for getting killed, she took that beat for him, which she didn´t have to. and no one even recognized for her courage???!! And those guys should not be her future love interest, if they are i will kill them. Like they are so two faced, they treat her like trash but will at the same time be " kind" to her in their way

the girl is kind of just laying there and taking all

[Salwa Aj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just hope, if there s a love interest, it won't be the prince. He is not a stellar person, he s just not too bad compared to others. Him, rodrick, wolter and then, his mother, do not trully regret the mistreatment of servants, even if that servant has saved their lives many times to her own peril. I didn't feel the prince's apologies came from true regrets for causing her pain (beating her twice). And her '' savings'', even when aknowledged are taken for granted. Had the same feeling in the black rose' serie, beyond the third book, the heroine is taken for granted by her romantic interest.. There s always a subtle vibe of sexism in the good guys' behaviour. And it is not adressed properly, ithink.
Ps: i realise characters from other series in the same world are mentionned (in the second book), i regret not reading them first.