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sjvoels 's review for:
Umbertouched
by Livia Blackburne
I received an ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story takes place immediately after "Rosemarked" with Zivah and Dineas arriving back in the Dara village after fleeing the Ampara army. Along their way, they attempted to capture evidence that it was the Emperor Kivan and Baruva working together to weaponize the rose plague and that they were the ones who poisoned General Arxa's army on their first visit to the Dara village in "Rosemarked." They prove unsuccessful, finding only the word of Baruva's slaves and though they find that important and worthy, it is unlikely that the weight of the empire will find it to be of importance.
Meanwhile, Zivah and Dineas have a difficult time returning to the village. Zivah, of use despite her rosemarks while journeying to and from Sehmar City, is now no longer allowed to practice her healing and is back to being ostracized from her fellow villagers. Dineas, having taken potions to remove his memories while in Sehmar City so that he might better assimilate into Neju's Guard (General Arxa's army), is immediately branded a traitor amongst his Shidadi. After a series of confusing missteps, including helping Zivah leave the village undetected so that she might continue her search for evidence against Baruva, Dineas is forced out of the Shidadi with the Amparan army prepared to attack.
I enjoyed "Rosemarked" having received it in the Uppercase subscription box; I wouldn't have read it otherwise. (Note: I no longer subscribe to this box receiving three "realistic" fiction books in a row; I read to escape this wretched world.) I was interested to see where Zivah and Dineas' travels took them and how their relationship might change and I was pleasantly pleased by how confusing and messy it was. What relationship isn't? Their's was one that took time to grow unlike the love at first sight often found in novels.
And while I have not experienced this personally and might be wildly off-base, I appreciated the inclusion of Dineas' PTSD. It struck me as a realistic portrayal and a necessary one. He had experienced so much and it would have been off-putting had he come away unscathed. I was especially delighted to read the author's note in which Blackburne thanks a psychologist for assisting her to accurately portray the effects of PTSD. Well done.
This story takes place immediately after "Rosemarked" with Zivah and Dineas arriving back in the Dara village after fleeing the Ampara army. Along their way, they attempted to capture evidence that it was the Emperor Kivan and Baruva working together to weaponize the rose plague and that they were the ones who poisoned General Arxa's army on their first visit to the Dara village in "Rosemarked." They prove unsuccessful, finding only the word of Baruva's slaves and though they find that important and worthy, it is unlikely that the weight of the empire will find it to be of importance.
Meanwhile, Zivah and Dineas have a difficult time returning to the village. Zivah, of use despite her rosemarks while journeying to and from Sehmar City, is now no longer allowed to practice her healing and is back to being ostracized from her fellow villagers. Dineas, having taken potions to remove his memories while in Sehmar City so that he might better assimilate into Neju's Guard (General Arxa's army), is immediately branded a traitor amongst his Shidadi. After a series of confusing missteps, including helping Zivah leave the village undetected so that she might continue her search for evidence against Baruva, Dineas is forced out of the Shidadi with the Amparan army prepared to attack.
I enjoyed "Rosemarked" having received it in the Uppercase subscription box; I wouldn't have read it otherwise. (Note: I no longer subscribe to this box receiving three "realistic" fiction books in a row; I read to escape this wretched world.) I was interested to see where Zivah and Dineas' travels took them and how their relationship might change and I was pleasantly pleased by how confusing and messy it was. What relationship isn't? Their's was one that took time to grow unlike the love at first sight often found in novels.
And while I have not experienced this personally and might be wildly off-base, I appreciated the inclusion of Dineas' PTSD. It struck me as a realistic portrayal and a necessary one. He had experienced so much and it would have been off-putting had he come away unscathed. I was especially delighted to read the author's note in which Blackburne thanks a psychologist for assisting her to accurately portray the effects of PTSD. Well done.