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Glimmer of Steel
Stories will save her soul, but not her heart
Damen has a plan to save the life of his childhood friend before she’s forced to marry the evil Noble Tortare: switch her soul with some other girl and let the other girl die in her place. Only he didn’t count on the other girl’s determination to live, he certainly didn’t count on her soul coming from a different planet—Earth, and falling in love? No, he never planned on that. Told from alternating viewpoints: Damen, a truthsayer from Astrune, and Jennica, the soul snatched from Earth.
Like Scheherazade from 1001 Nights, Jennica, the bride with the Earth girl soul, tells tantalizing stories about her planet so her beastly husband will keep her around past the wedding night. But Noble Tortare is no Arabian prince. He’s a monster from the tip of his metal tail to his penchant for sucking the souls from his wives.
Damen must be present while Jennica speaks to Noble, to verify she isn’t lying. As Noble’s faithful servant, he does what Noble asks. Only he didn’t plan to spend so much time with Jennica, and he certainly didn’t plan to care about her so deeply he can think of no one else. Now Damen needs a new plan: free Jennica from Noble’s clutches, free himself from a life of guilt for stealing Jennica’s soul, and free his heart to love—all without telling even the tiniest of lies on a world where deception is like oxygen.
If only that Earth girl wouldn’t have so many plans of her own: like keeping Noble Tortare’s soul trapped on Astrune, because after listening to her stories, Noble craves something more than Jennica’s soul—Noble wants to go to Earth.
Damen has a plan to save the life of his childhood friend before she’s forced to marry the evil Noble Tortare: switch her soul with some other girl and let the other girl die in her place. Only he didn’t count on the other girl’s determination to live, he certainly didn’t count on her soul coming from a different planet—Earth, and falling in love? No, he never planned on that. Told from alternating viewpoints: Damen, a truthsayer from Astrune, and Jennica, the soul snatched from Earth.
Like Scheherazade from 1001 Nights, Jennica, the bride with the Earth girl soul, tells tantalizing stories about her planet so her beastly husband will keep her around past the wedding night. But Noble Tortare is no Arabian prince. He’s a monster from the tip of his metal tail to his penchant for sucking the souls from his wives.
Damen must be present while Jennica speaks to Noble, to verify she isn’t lying. As Noble’s faithful servant, he does what Noble asks. Only he didn’t plan to spend so much time with Jennica, and he certainly didn’t plan to care about her so deeply he can think of no one else. Now Damen needs a new plan: free Jennica from Noble’s clutches, free himself from a life of guilt for stealing Jennica’s soul, and free his heart to love—all without telling even the tiniest of lies on a world where deception is like oxygen.
If only that Earth girl wouldn’t have so many plans of her own: like keeping Noble Tortare’s soul trapped on Astrune, because after listening to her stories, Noble craves something more than Jennica’s soul—Noble wants to go to Earth.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2017
17 people are currently reading
1009 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 21, 2017
Check out this review, and many more, on my blog https://jessjesinghaus.wordpress.com
"Damen had two days, five hours, and twenty-two minutes left to save Nyima’s soul." And thus begins Glimmer of Steel by K.E. Blaski, a story so all consuming, so breathtakingly rich as to transport a reader's soul. On a distant planet, a bloodthirsty tyrant rules with an iron fist. Literally. Augmented through dark magic and covered by an impenetrable metal skin, Noble Tortare has his sights set on a new bride: the beautiful Nyima, Damien's oldest and dearest friend. If marriage were all Noble had in mind, things would still be bad enough, but with his tendency to consume his brides' souls on their wedding night... Damen will risk anything to save Nyima, even doom another in her place. But when Damien's mad scheme to save Nyima actually works, he's faced with an unexpected dilemma: he is unmistakably drawn to this new soul, the feisty Jennica, and must do all in his power to protect her as well.
With Glimmer of Steel, K.E. Blaski has created an absolute feast! Brimming with intrigue and deception, readers are swiftly drawn into an alien world fraught with familiar dangers. Although so many aspects of life on planet Astrune are foreign, they're introduced in such a way as to leave readers feeling comfortable in their surroundings. The world building is lush, absolutely brilliant, and characters are well realized. Our two main characters, Damen and Jennica, are fully rendered and relatable in their strengths and weaknesses. Similarly well portrayed is the villain Noble Tortare, as well as several minor characters of questionable intentions. Billed as Book 1 of The Books of Astrune series, I was very pleased with the ending: a satisfying conclusion with clear paths for future stories to progress. K.E. Blaski has created something special, a real treat for readers!
**Reviewed for Readers Favorite**
"Damen had two days, five hours, and twenty-two minutes left to save Nyima’s soul." And thus begins Glimmer of Steel by K.E. Blaski, a story so all consuming, so breathtakingly rich as to transport a reader's soul. On a distant planet, a bloodthirsty tyrant rules with an iron fist. Literally. Augmented through dark magic and covered by an impenetrable metal skin, Noble Tortare has his sights set on a new bride: the beautiful Nyima, Damien's oldest and dearest friend. If marriage were all Noble had in mind, things would still be bad enough, but with his tendency to consume his brides' souls on their wedding night... Damen will risk anything to save Nyima, even doom another in her place. But when Damien's mad scheme to save Nyima actually works, he's faced with an unexpected dilemma: he is unmistakably drawn to this new soul, the feisty Jennica, and must do all in his power to protect her as well.
With Glimmer of Steel, K.E. Blaski has created an absolute feast! Brimming with intrigue and deception, readers are swiftly drawn into an alien world fraught with familiar dangers. Although so many aspects of life on planet Astrune are foreign, they're introduced in such a way as to leave readers feeling comfortable in their surroundings. The world building is lush, absolutely brilliant, and characters are well realized. Our two main characters, Damen and Jennica, are fully rendered and relatable in their strengths and weaknesses. Similarly well portrayed is the villain Noble Tortare, as well as several minor characters of questionable intentions. Billed as Book 1 of The Books of Astrune series, I was very pleased with the ending: a satisfying conclusion with clear paths for future stories to progress. K.E. Blaski has created something special, a real treat for readers!
**Reviewed for Readers Favorite**
October 16, 2017
I was given a copy of Glimmer of Steel by the author, KE Blaski, in exchange for an honest review.
A kingdom ruled by a metal monstrosity. Purple skin that turns onlookers into predators. A boy that cannot tell a lie. Once, Jennica would have brushed it all off as anecdotes of a fairy tale, until she finds her soul ripped from her body and swapped with a princess due to be eaten on her wedding night. Jennica didn’t ask for purple skin that forces her to be isolated or face the untamed lust of everyone around her, or the truth speaking Tovar boy, whose sad, kind brown eyes make her feel something she’s afraid to admit to. Yet as time goes by it becomes hard for her to imagine her life without them. The only way to survive her stay in Astrune is to keep plying her new husband with stories of Earth. But his interest in her stories may be her undoing, for he intends to use the information to fly-- and spread his tyrannical rule all the way to Earth.
Glimmer of Steel is an incredibly fun ride from start to finish. Even though one of our protagonists, Jennica, is from Earth, we spend no time there, instead focusing on the rich fantasy world of Astrune. Though it is reminiscent of traditional ‘fairy tale’ high fantasy—king-like ruler, big castles, servants falling all over our princess-- there were so many things about it that made this world stand on its own. These world building aspects don’t just look pretty, they serve a very real purpose to the story, such as the metal that Noble fuses to his soldiers’ skin, which he uses on Jennica to punish her for running away by turning her feet to metal. These pieces come together to make Glimmer of Steel feel familiar but fresh, which is especially exciting in high fantasy. The book wastes no time on flowery description, instead getting right to the action, which is something I really appreciate. Despite the direct approach, the author definitely takes time to smell the roses, using purposeful words to get the most sensory imagery out of each sentence. Because of that, the book moves swiftly through action with all the senses evoked. I never found myself bored by description or the narration, and never was I starved for setting or a sense of the scene. The balance was beautifully done.
As for characters, holy wow. I loved Jennica. I probably fell in love with her just as Damen did, as her passion, determination, and fiery soul are so well presented on the page that it’s impossible not to. From the very first page, it`s apparent that Jennica is a character of action. Even when trapped in her room, unable to do anything to stop a pending revolt, she refuses to give up and hangs a banner out her window to get her message across. Because of this, it`s so easy to root for her, because when things go wrong for her, we know she`s going to do something about it. Too often characters can slip into a passive role and react to what`s happening to them as opposed to taking action to shape where the story leads. The only issue I had with Jennica was how easily she forgave Damen for some of the really horrible things he does to her. As well, I find it hard to understand why she would develop any feelings for Damen. I mean, his attraction to her makes perfect sense. She`s amazing! But why would she want to spend her time with someone so unapologetically awful?
Honestly, from an objective point of view, Damen is a solid character. He’s well-constructed, consistent, and has believable drives and morals. But from a personal point of view? Damen the truth-telling Tovar is the biggest ass in the book. How you do that while staying a truth teller was a little impressive, I have to admit. If he had played any role but the love interest, I probably would have loved him, but as a love interest there was no way I could get behind him. A brief (incomplete) list of his assholery: he’s the reason Jennica’s soul was snatched away (he essentially condemned her to death, knowing that he was condemning an innocent); he doesn’t apologize for it even as he starts falling in love with her, because he’s happy “she’s here with him”; he tries to poison his rival love interest and accidentally gets her instead; he tries to sabotage Jennica’s trip home because he believes she belongs in Astrune with him; I could go on. He’s also portrayed as honourable because he resists the temptation of Jennica’s purple skin, when in reality he lusts after her just as much as anyone else, and his desire for Jennica causes him to do awful things while in full control of himself, which is a lot worse than doing so while under a possessive influence. Damen has the decency to feel bad about what he does, but not enough to apologize, make amends, or change his behaviour. Because of this the romance feels a little unbelievable at best, and somewhat unhealthy at worst.
This leads into my second issue with the book. The book is framed as Damen’s world which Jennica is brought into. We see this in how the book begins with Damen and Nyima, heavily establishing their world and situation, before we even get the chance to meet Jennica. When we finally get to, we get less than a chapter’s glimpse of her world before she’s dragged into Astrune. While we don’t need to spend a lot of time in a world we already know, the rest of the story centers around Jennica’s struggles against her circumstances and her attempts to help, so it would have been nice to establish her as our primary character right off the bat. This was Jennica’s story, and by framing it as Damen’s, Jennica ended up feeling like an object being acted upon instead of an independent driving force, which is what you want your main character to be. What we’re left with felt a little jarring and especially so because I could find little to no reason to sympathize with Damen.
Aside from the above concerns, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The prose was simple but beautiful. The story captured me right off the bat, the tension steadily mounted, and the climax really satisfied my inner girl power. The book also explored some themes about consent as Jennica learns to stand her ground and even fight off people hypnotized by lust. The world building was my favorite part, and I loved how each aspect came around to affect the plot. Moreso, it sets itself up for an exciting sequel and leaves the reader with great lingering questions. Did they really succeed? What will happen now that the Citrons are free? And most importantly, what’s happening to Nyima back on Earth?
All in all, 4/5 stars. A beautifully immersive fantasy world with a fiery heroine who spins stories to save her soul.
A kingdom ruled by a metal monstrosity. Purple skin that turns onlookers into predators. A boy that cannot tell a lie. Once, Jennica would have brushed it all off as anecdotes of a fairy tale, until she finds her soul ripped from her body and swapped with a princess due to be eaten on her wedding night. Jennica didn’t ask for purple skin that forces her to be isolated or face the untamed lust of everyone around her, or the truth speaking Tovar boy, whose sad, kind brown eyes make her feel something she’s afraid to admit to. Yet as time goes by it becomes hard for her to imagine her life without them. The only way to survive her stay in Astrune is to keep plying her new husband with stories of Earth. But his interest in her stories may be her undoing, for he intends to use the information to fly-- and spread his tyrannical rule all the way to Earth.
Glimmer of Steel is an incredibly fun ride from start to finish. Even though one of our protagonists, Jennica, is from Earth, we spend no time there, instead focusing on the rich fantasy world of Astrune. Though it is reminiscent of traditional ‘fairy tale’ high fantasy—king-like ruler, big castles, servants falling all over our princess-- there were so many things about it that made this world stand on its own. These world building aspects don’t just look pretty, they serve a very real purpose to the story, such as the metal that Noble fuses to his soldiers’ skin, which he uses on Jennica to punish her for running away by turning her feet to metal. These pieces come together to make Glimmer of Steel feel familiar but fresh, which is especially exciting in high fantasy. The book wastes no time on flowery description, instead getting right to the action, which is something I really appreciate. Despite the direct approach, the author definitely takes time to smell the roses, using purposeful words to get the most sensory imagery out of each sentence. Because of that, the book moves swiftly through action with all the senses evoked. I never found myself bored by description or the narration, and never was I starved for setting or a sense of the scene. The balance was beautifully done.
As for characters, holy wow. I loved Jennica. I probably fell in love with her just as Damen did, as her passion, determination, and fiery soul are so well presented on the page that it’s impossible not to. From the very first page, it`s apparent that Jennica is a character of action. Even when trapped in her room, unable to do anything to stop a pending revolt, she refuses to give up and hangs a banner out her window to get her message across. Because of this, it`s so easy to root for her, because when things go wrong for her, we know she`s going to do something about it. Too often characters can slip into a passive role and react to what`s happening to them as opposed to taking action to shape where the story leads. The only issue I had with Jennica was how easily she forgave Damen for some of the really horrible things he does to her. As well, I find it hard to understand why she would develop any feelings for Damen. I mean, his attraction to her makes perfect sense. She`s amazing! But why would she want to spend her time with someone so unapologetically awful?
Honestly, from an objective point of view, Damen is a solid character. He’s well-constructed, consistent, and has believable drives and morals. But from a personal point of view? Damen the truth-telling Tovar is the biggest ass in the book. How you do that while staying a truth teller was a little impressive, I have to admit. If he had played any role but the love interest, I probably would have loved him, but as a love interest there was no way I could get behind him. A brief (incomplete) list of his assholery: he’s the reason Jennica’s soul was snatched away (he essentially condemned her to death, knowing that he was condemning an innocent); he doesn’t apologize for it even as he starts falling in love with her, because he’s happy “she’s here with him”; he tries to poison his rival love interest and accidentally gets her instead; he tries to sabotage Jennica’s trip home because he believes she belongs in Astrune with him; I could go on. He’s also portrayed as honourable because he resists the temptation of Jennica’s purple skin, when in reality he lusts after her just as much as anyone else, and his desire for Jennica causes him to do awful things while in full control of himself, which is a lot worse than doing so while under a possessive influence. Damen has the decency to feel bad about what he does, but not enough to apologize, make amends, or change his behaviour. Because of this the romance feels a little unbelievable at best, and somewhat unhealthy at worst.
This leads into my second issue with the book. The book is framed as Damen’s world which Jennica is brought into. We see this in how the book begins with Damen and Nyima, heavily establishing their world and situation, before we even get the chance to meet Jennica. When we finally get to, we get less than a chapter’s glimpse of her world before she’s dragged into Astrune. While we don’t need to spend a lot of time in a world we already know, the rest of the story centers around Jennica’s struggles against her circumstances and her attempts to help, so it would have been nice to establish her as our primary character right off the bat. This was Jennica’s story, and by framing it as Damen’s, Jennica ended up feeling like an object being acted upon instead of an independent driving force, which is what you want your main character to be. What we’re left with felt a little jarring and especially so because I could find little to no reason to sympathize with Damen.
Aside from the above concerns, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The prose was simple but beautiful. The story captured me right off the bat, the tension steadily mounted, and the climax really satisfied my inner girl power. The book also explored some themes about consent as Jennica learns to stand her ground and even fight off people hypnotized by lust. The world building was my favorite part, and I loved how each aspect came around to affect the plot. Moreso, it sets itself up for an exciting sequel and leaves the reader with great lingering questions. Did they really succeed? What will happen now that the Citrons are free? And most importantly, what’s happening to Nyima back on Earth?
All in all, 4/5 stars. A beautifully immersive fantasy world with a fiery heroine who spins stories to save her soul.
February 24, 2017
I LOVED this book. I loved the world building, the character's, the antagonist and the Cidrans (read the book to find out what/who they are)
I found this book via Kindle Scout and was immediately drawn to the premise. Unfortunately it wasn't chosen for publication (WHY?) but the author released it herself and I'm so glad she did.
So, over to the plot.... The MC Jennica wakes up to find herself in another body on another planet, all down to a boy named Damen who wanted to save the soul of Nyima, the girl she replaces. Not only does she have to contend with that, she also has to contend with Nobel (an evil man / reptile who sucks souls to maintain his power - eww!) She is to be his next wife, chosen for her Rosen skin, or rather Nyima's (the girl she replaced). To save her life, she tells Nobel stories of Earth and manages to keep him from devouring her soul. Meanwhile, she becomes friends with Damen and Marcis who, overtime, begin to fall in love with her. Damen, however is the one who captures Jennica's heart despite the fact he brought her to this world. I must admit, of the two men, I actually preferred Marcus, but maybe this is because I am an older reader and he's more my type (lol).
I won't spoil the ending by telling you anymore, but I do suggest you go read this book, it won't disappoint.
I found this book via Kindle Scout and was immediately drawn to the premise. Unfortunately it wasn't chosen for publication (WHY?) but the author released it herself and I'm so glad she did.
So, over to the plot.... The MC Jennica wakes up to find herself in another body on another planet, all down to a boy named Damen who wanted to save the soul of Nyima, the girl she replaces. Not only does she have to contend with that, she also has to contend with Nobel (an evil man / reptile who sucks souls to maintain his power - eww!) She is to be his next wife, chosen for her Rosen skin, or rather Nyima's (the girl she replaced). To save her life, she tells Nobel stories of Earth and manages to keep him from devouring her soul. Meanwhile, she becomes friends with Damen and Marcis who, overtime, begin to fall in love with her. Damen, however is the one who captures Jennica's heart despite the fact he brought her to this world. I must admit, of the two men, I actually preferred Marcus, but maybe this is because I am an older reader and he's more my type (lol).
I won't spoil the ending by telling you anymore, but I do suggest you go read this book, it won't disappoint.
February 11, 2017
OMG! This is so good! I saw it as a Kindle Scout campaign nomination when I was scouting and nominated it. And I can't believe Kindle Scout didn't take this one. I couldn't put it down. I love the world that Blaski creates. It's different than other fantasy worlds, with a nice evil, villain of silver scales and a tail. Magic prevails, and even dark magic, which of course causes the catalyst of the plot, switching souls.
Damen wants to save his best friend that has to marry the evil Noble Tovar. The only way is to switch her soul with another person, getting her out of the body that will soon have its soul devoured by the evil dictator Noble. But who jumps in but a girl from Earth, and that's when it gets interesting.
Jennica, the girl from Earth, has to navigate a new world where she has to convince its ruler not to kill her and stay alive by giving him information about her plant. Meanwhile, the man that switched her tries to help and eventually starts to fall for her. What ensues is a fabulous fantasy I couldn't stop reading. Highly recommend for people that would like to try out a new fantasy author and a new world.
Damen wants to save his best friend that has to marry the evil Noble Tovar. The only way is to switch her soul with another person, getting her out of the body that will soon have its soul devoured by the evil dictator Noble. But who jumps in but a girl from Earth, and that's when it gets interesting.
Jennica, the girl from Earth, has to navigate a new world where she has to convince its ruler not to kill her and stay alive by giving him information about her plant. Meanwhile, the man that switched her tries to help and eventually starts to fall for her. What ensues is a fabulous fantasy I couldn't stop reading. Highly recommend for people that would like to try out a new fantasy author and a new world.
March 8, 2022
I must admit that I was just not into “Glimmer of Steel,” by K. E. Blaski as I read the first few pages. Science fiction/fantasy once held great appeal for me, but over the years my tastes have expanded leaving little room for that genre. And yet, as I kept reading, absorbing new data, I became invested in the characters. Invested, interested, I wanted to insert myself in the story so that I could feel everything the characters were going through. A shadow, flitting thither and yon. By the end of the book I was saddened to realize that I was no longer a part. Start reading. I dare you to resist the steel tendrils as they encircle your heart and mind. Great YA reading.
April 7, 2021
Very entertaining
A fun read with a main character whose power is unlike any I have run across in the hundreds of fantasy books I have read. Well worth your time and money.
A fun read with a main character whose power is unlike any I have run across in the hundreds of fantasy books I have read. Well worth your time and money.
February 24, 2022
I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads Contest.
Passing the book on to a very excited fantasy book genre reader. I am sure she will love it.
Passing the book on to a very excited fantasy book genre reader. I am sure she will love it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews