TLC BOOK TOURS: Beneath a Crescent Shadow by A.L. Sowards

 

Synopsis

After an arranged marriage, Konstantin and Suzana must find a way to meet the demands of a conquering Ottoman sultan amid a torrent of setbacks and dangers much closer to their Balkan home.

The Balkans, 1373

A devastating battle claimed the lives of Konstantin's father, uncle, and most of their Serb army, leaving him to rule as a vassal of the Ottoman sultan, a role he is wholly unprepared for. Between war, famine, and a persistent band of brigands, Konstantin is nearly bankrupt. He will need to find a wealthy bride to marry if he is to have any hope of saving his lands and securing his future.

A betrothal to Suzana, the daughter of a prosperous merchant, is soon arranged, and upon meeting her, Konstantin immediately feels hope that their marriage could someday grow into love. Yet, from the moment of Konstantin and Suzana's betrothal, enemies threaten their lives, outlaws prey on their lands, and the terrors of Suzana's abusive past haunt their fragile new relationship. As this onslaught of threats closes in, the two face challenges that will test their love, their faith, and their hope to save their people and win their freedom from the heavy weight of Ottoman oppression.

Format 351 pages, Hardcover
Published June 4, 2024 by Shadow Mountain
ISBN 9781639932467 (ISBN10: 1639932461)

About the Author

"I love books, so that makes Goodreads my favorite social media site. As a reader, I enjoy a variety of books. As a writer, I create historical novels with a wholesome mix of action, adventure, and romance. My stories include a Whitney Award winner, several Whitney finalists, and a Gold Medal winner in the Readers' Favorite International Book Awards.

I'm a wife and a mother of three, and I've called Washington State, Utah, and Alaska home. I'm usually reading a couple books at once and working on multiple writing projects too. Other than that, my life is pretty ordinary. I'm grateful for that. I'll let the characters in my books have all the adventures."

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Setting/Environment:

This story takes place in the Balkans in the 1300s.

AI generated

My Thoughts

The wooden door swung on a squeaky hinge, moving with the wind as flames licked along the roof and brought down the home's last rafter.

This story opens with Zupan Konstantin and his home and surrounding lands that he rules in turmoil. Brigands are attacking the villages and causing chaos and destroying their crops and leaving the people with a scarcity of food. Funds are running low, and Konstantin is a vassal to the sultan and committed to offering up men for the sultan's army. Konstantin's grandfather arranges a marriage between Kostya (as his family calls him) and 17-year-old Suzana, a merchant's daughter. Her dowry will be enough to buy the mercenaries needed for the sultan's army and food for his people amid the loss of their crops.

Suzana is a somewhat timid young girl who's had a hard life in privilege raised by a hard and at times brutal man. She is shrunken, withdrawn and lonely, trying to live life quietly and not anger her father. Kostya became Zupan, ruler and protector of Rivak, when his father was killed. He is unsure of the arranged marriage that his grandfather has masterminded, but one look at Suzana erases all doubt. He feels an immediate connection with her, and she has an inkling that he may be a different kind of man than her father.

He glanced at the upper level again. The woman had disappeared. "Do you know what Suzana looks like?" The woman he'd seen was either Suzana or one of the legendary vila, because he felt an unexplained connection with her. He'd been praying for years for ways to save Rivak. He'd been praying for days that he would be able to love the woman he was to marry. God seemed to be granting both pleas at exactly the same time through the same person. He couldn't call it love, what he'd felt when he'd seen the woman with the large eyes and exquisite mouth. It was more a hope that love was possible and this marriage was part of God's plan.

This is historical romance at its best! Struggles, mystery, history, new love. It makes you want to learn more about this time period, about the Balkans, about the Ottomans, the Serbs and the Turks. It makes you long to see happiness fulfilled for Kostya and Suzana, and peace for Rivak. 

I enjoyed the writing style which is very comfortable to read, uncomplicated yet descriptive. I could see the keep in my mind's eye, the tunics and veils, the trestle table, the church. There was good character development, some good suspenseful build-up.

If I were to have any complaints, it would be the confusion of characters. All of the neighboring lands have their own rulers, so in addition to Konstantin there is also Zupan Teodore and Zupan Nikolai and Zupan Dragomir, and then there are Dama Zorica and Dama Isadora and Dama Violeta, and tons of other unfamiliar and confusing names that are hard to keep track of despite a "cast of characters" list at the beginning of the book. 

Another complaint would be how things were built up as a big deal only to just *zip* disappear to never be discussed again. It was a little bizarre and at times disorienting as I was left feeling as if I missed something, and I would go back and skim the chapters again and find, no, I did not miss anything. The whole storyline just dropped off.

Five words: thrilling, intimate, captivating, sensitive, disorienting

How the book made me feel: affected

Buy Now:

Published by Shadow Mountain, June 2024, in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats. Available for purchase in many bookstores and online at Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Deseret Book, Kobo, Seagull Book, Target, and Walmart.

My final word: While I had a couple of complaints, overall I really liked the story and characters! I was rooting for Konstantin and Suzana, rooting for all of Rivak. The story was affective and effective, the author's writing was sensitive, and the storyline was captivating. Tender romance, exciting battles, taut emotions-- it had it all!

Warnings:

Mild violence. Triggers: memories and allusions to sexual assault and child abuse

Rating:

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour, and the publisher for the review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.