Sinopse: In the Blue, the world's last city, all is not well.
Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, who believes in fairytales that her world can't accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she'd escape into the trees if she didn't know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.
But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.
Beyond the city's boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.
One way or another, the walls of the Blue are going to come down. The only question is what side you'll be on when they do.
Em primeiro lugar gostaria de agradecer à autora por me ter enviado uma cópia deste livro. Foi a primeira parceria de livros no blog! E devo dizer-vos que começamos MUITO MUITO bem!
QUE. LIVRO!
A história desenvolve-se com duas narrativas paralelas. Por um lado temos Julia, que de Serva passa a Atendente, e do Cam que saiu de Blue à procura de uma amiga que desapareceu há muito tempo.
Blue é uma pequena ilha onde se vive pacificamente com os Silvers (prateados, a.k.a vampiros). Mas estes não são uns vampiros quaisquer! Nada de Twilight, nem Diários de Vampiros, NADA DISSO! São vampiros que têm velocidade e bebem sangue, sim, mas segundo as regras porque afinal eles são nobres. Os Silvers são a Elite!
Muitos anos se passaram desde que uma suposta "cura" foi administrada aos humanos, colocando na sua corrente sanguínea um vírus que transforma em humano qualquer vampiro que beba daquele sangue contaminado. Mas as complicações não ficam por aí!
Blue é o único sítio em que pode assegurar que o sangue dos humanos é puro, isto é, não foi contaminado e portanto é seguro para os Silvers. Como tal, os vampiros têm pessoas cujo trabalho é unicamente dar-lhes o seu sangue. E é nisso que consiste o trabalho de Julia, dar sangue ao Silver a que foi atribuída.
Rituais e protocolos à parte, começa a desenvolver-se uma confiança e amizade incomuns.
Será que o que os une irá prevalecer sobre as diferenças irreparáveis?
Para Cam, um Silver pertencente ao Solis Invicti, a missão é outra: encontrar uma amiga de longa data.
Os Solis Invicti são um grupo de vampiros que patrulham o Red, cuja função é zelar pela segurança de Blue, em parte, mas também saber o que se passa para além das fronteiras.
Na sua jornada Cam faz muitas descobertas e conhece muitas pessoas. Resta saber se realmente consegue cumprir a missão que o levou para tão longe. Será que vai conseguir encontrar o que procura? Será que perderá a humanidade que lhe resta?
São muitas questões a responder e senti que em todo o livro andei sobre cascas de ovo com medo de ter esperanças e depois partir o coração. E... admito que fiquei de coração partido no fim. Não vos posso dizer nada porque não quero spoilar, mas caramba, leiam este livro! A sério, é um dos melhores que li este ano! De longe! Ao ler até parecia que eu própria estava naquele mundo, consegui desligar completamente do meio que me rodeava e isso é muito raro para mim.
Ainda por cima é um livro que aborda um assunto que não leio à anos: vampiros!
Obrigada Josie, por nos dares um livro de fantasia brilhante onde podemos reapaixonarmo-nos pelo tema "vampiros".
A escrita é fascinante! Agarra-nos de tal forma à história que é impossível não querermos continuar a ler e a ler até terminar o livro e, consecutivamente, querer ler o próximo (que por acaso sai já agora em Outubro!).
A minha personagem favorita foi a Julia, sem sombra de dúvidas! É uma personagem muito forte e realista. Não tende a fantasiar, não supõe de forma impulsiva, mas também não é cega e percebe quando algo não está tão bem e se deve retirar. Além disso não é propriamente a "dama em apuros" à qual nos habituam nos livros deste género. A Julie é bem capaz de tratar de si e demonstra isso com cada decisão que toma.
Confesso que depois deste livro fui imediatamente comprar o primeiro da coleção Solis Invictis (A Bargain in Silver). E mal sair a continuação de "The Gilded King", também o vou adquirir porque estou maluca para saber como é que a história continua. Quero ler tudo o que existe sobre os "vampiros da Josie"!
Aqui a fangirl de histórias de vampiros renasceu com força e voltou para ficar! E nisso tenho que agradecer à Josie, porque há muito tempo que não sentia tanto amor por livros deste género.
A continuação desta história vai ser lançada no dia 17 de Outubro e enquanto esse não chega sempre podem comprar o The Gilded King:
Aqui vos deixo um pequeno excerto para aguçar a vossa curiosidade:
At the very furthest point of the temple, at the end of the double row of pillars that processed towards it, there was a pedestal mounted on a stepped dais. A figure was laid out on top of it. For a moment, Julia froze, thinking it was a real person lying there, slumbering in the temple, but something didn't fit.
The figure wasn't breathing. It wasn't moving at all.
'Come on,' Lucas said, leading her down the aisle towards it.
'Is it a statue?' she asked.
'A tomb, really.'
As they walked, he snuffed out the lamps that lined the walls, until finally the only illumination came from the rounded alcove into which the dais rose. It was a bright island in the centre of the darkness, and in the middle of it the statue shone: a man, wearing fine clothing in an unfamiliar style, with a blanket of stone covering his body. His exposed skin was tinged with a sheen of gold that glowed like the walls of the temple.
'He looks so real,' she said, reaching out to touch the golden curls that crowned his head. They were slick under her fingers, so intricate they might have been moulded from a real person.
'They say he was.'
'You mean this is his coffin?' The pedestal certainly looked like a tomb. It was wide and deep enough to accommodate a body.
'No,' Lucas said, 'I mean that this is him, that this statue was once alive.'
Julia's hand had been tracing the lines of the face, but now she snatched it away. 'You're not serious.'
'I am.'
'This is why you brought me here,' she said.
'Of course. You want to hear the fairytale, don't you?'
Ou se preferirem, podem ouvir a autora a lê-lo:
Synopsys: In the Blue, the world's last city, all is not well.
Julia is stuck within its walls. She serves the nobility from a distance until she meets Lucas, who believes in fairytales that her world can't accommodate. The Blue is her prison, not her castle, and she'd escape into the trees if she didn't know that contamination and death awaited humanity outside.
But not everyone in the Blue is human, and not everyone can be contained.
Beyond the city's boundaries, in the wild forests of the Red, Cameron has precious little humanity left to lose. As he searches for a lost queen, he finds an enemy rising that he thought long dead. An enemy that the humans have forgotten how to fight.
One way or another, the walls of the Blue are going to come down. The only question is what side you'll be on when they do.
First of all I would like to thank the author for sending me a copy of this book.It was the first partnership of books on the blog!And I must tell you that we started VERY VERY well!
WHAT. A. BOOK!
The story unfolds with two parallel narratives. On one hand we have Julia, a Servent who's "promoted" to Attendant, and on the other side we have Cam that left the Blue, in search of a friend who disappeared a long time ago.
Blue is a small island where everyone lives peacefully with the Silvers (a.k.a vampires). But these are not like other vampires! Don't think Twilight or Vampire Diaries, it's NOTHING like that! They are vampires that have speed and drink blood, yes, but according to the rules because after all they are nobles. The Silvers are the Elite!
Many years have passed since a supposed "cure" was given to humans, putting in their bloodstream a virus that transforms any vampire who drinks that contaminated blood into a human being. But the complications do not stop there!
Blue is the only place where it can ensure that human blood is pure, that is, it has not been contaminated and therefore is safe for the Silvers. As such, vampires have people whose job is to give them their blood. And that's what Julia's job is, to give blood to the Silver to which she was assigned.
Rituals and protocols aside, an unusual trust and friendship begins to develop between Julia and Lucas.
Will the things that unite them prevail over the irreparable differences?
For Cam, a Silver belonging to Solis Invicti, the mission is another: to find a longtime friend.
The Solis Invicti are a group of vampires who patrol the Red, whose job is to watch over Blue's safety in part, but also to know what goes on beyond the borders.
In his journey Cam makes many discoveries and knows many people. It remains to be seen whether he can truly fulfill the mission that has taken him so far. Will he be able to find what he is looking for? Will he lose his remaining humanity?
There are many questions to answer and I felt that throughout the book I walked on eggshells by fear of hoping for a "happy ending" and then breaking my heart. And ... I admit I was heartbroken in the end. I can not tell you anything because I do not want to give any spoilers, but damn, read this book! Seriously, it's one of the best I've read this year! By far! While reading it, it seemed that I was in that world myself, I was able to completely disconnect from the environment around me and this is very rare for me.
To add, this is a book that talks about a topic that I don't read for years: vampires!
Thank you Josie, for giving us a brilliant fantasy book where we can fall in love again for the "vampires" theme.
The writing is fascinating!It holds us so hard to the story that it is impossible not to want to continue reading and reading until we finish the book and, consecutively, want to read the next one (which happens to be released in October!).
My favorite character was Julia, without a doubt!She is a very strong and realistic character. She does not tend to fantasize, she doesn't suppose impulsively, but she is not blind either, so she realizes when something is not so well and know when she should leave.Moreover, she is not properly the "lady in distress" to which we are used in this kind of books.Julie is quite capable of taking care of herself and demonstrates this in every decision she makes.
I confess that after this book I bought immediately the first book of the collection Solis Invictis (A Bargain in Silver).And as soon as the sequel of "The Gilded King" is released I'm going to get it because I'm dying to know how the story continues. I want to read everything about Josie's vampires!
Here the fangirl of vampire stories was reborn with strength and came back to stay!And by that I have to thank Josie, because I have not felt such love for this kind of books for a long time.
The continuation of this story will be released on October 17th and while it doesn't come out you can always buy The Gilded King:
Here I leave a little excerpt to sharpen your curiosity:
At the very furthest point of the temple, at the end of the double row of pillars that processed towards it, there was a pedestal mounted on a stepped dais. A figure was laid out on top of it. For a moment, Julia froze, thinking it was a real person lying there, slumbering in the temple, but something didn't fit.
The figure wasn't breathing. It wasn't moving at all.
'Come on,' Lucas said, leading her down the aisle towards it.
'Is it a statue?' she asked.
'A tomb, really.'
As they walked, he snuffed out the lamps that lined the walls, until finally the only illumination came from the rounded alcove into which the dais rose. It was a bright island in the centre of the darkness, and in the middle of it the statue shone: a man, wearing fine clothing in an unfamiliar style, with a blanket of stone covering his body. His exposed skin was tinged with a sheen of gold that glowed like the walls of the temple.
'He looks so real,' she said, reaching out to touch the golden curls that crowned his head. They were slick under her fingers, so intricate they might have been moulded from a real person.
'They say he was.'
'You mean this is his coffin?' The pedestal certainly looked like a tomb. It was wide and deep enough to accommodate a body.
'No,' Lucas said, 'I mean that this is him, that this statue was once alive.'
Julia's hand had been tracing the lines of the face, but now she snatched it away. 'You're not serious.'
'I am.'
'This is why you brought me here,' she said.
'Of course. You want to hear the fairytale, don't you?'
Or if you prefer you can hear the author reading it:
Sou a Brenda, blogger e bookstagrammer dos Açores (Portugal). Apaixonada por livros e gatos. Sou fada, vampira, sereia, tributo. Sou todos os livros que li e experiências que vivi. Um livro transporta-nos para novos mundos e permite-nos ser o que quisermos. Bem-vindo(a) ao meu cantinho! :)
