The Lost Legends

By Leah's Books on August 6, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )

The Lost Legends is the debut book from Cait Marie, and it exceeded the hype!

TRIGGER WARNING: off-page death of a parent, murder, a plague

A plague. A prophecy. A centuries-long curse.

All her life, Princess Adalina heard tales of the legendary, immortal warriors known as the Nihryst. Cursed and bound to a deck of tarot cards by her ancestors, the Nihryst were stranded on a remote island nearly a century and a half earlier.

Her brother, Prince Shane, is destined to rule the kingdom of Detmarya. Though preparing for this role has encompassed his entire life, control of the kingdom may come sooner than expected due to their father’s sporadic behavior.

Discovering the king’s plan to set a war in motion with a mass assassination, Ada unwittingly joins a crew of pirates in search of the only beings powerful enough to stop him: the Nihryst. Meanwhile, Shane and a group of underground rebels make a haunting discovery of a plague infecting the streets of Detmarya.

With a looming deadline to save multiple kingdoms and thousands of innocent lives, both royal siblings join quests worthy of Ada’s beloved fairy tales.

Ada is a princess, but she’s anything but your typical idea of a princess. She has some truly endearing characteristics, including her love of reading (a girl after my own heart), a vicious stubborn streak when she knows she’s right, and she’s highly intelligent. She takes on an important role in the story, working hard to find a way to save her kingdom and innocent people from a war.

Shane is a prince that is everything I could have asked for and then some. He’s brave, loyal, and protective, but my favorite thing about him is that he is willing to go above and beyond to help others.

Captain Lee — where to start! At first he’s a bit abrasive, but there’s more to him than I expected. He quickly became a character crush of mine, and the fact that he heads up a crew of pirates isn’t exactly a deal breaker for me. 😉

Each of the characters shows growth and change in the book, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next for each of them. Certain talents and skills weren’t obvious at first, but I was delighted when they came to light.

As a reader who enjoys plot-driven books, this plot immediately had me hooked. A plague, a prophecy, a curse, action, pirates, romance, and duty all come together beautifully to make this the kind of book that I couldn’t put down and read in a single day, the kind of series where I can’t wait for the next book to be released, and a book that completely captured my heart.

The characters are another one of my favorite aspects of this book. In addition to having a great plot, books that I enjoy best have characters who are captivating. The main characters are multi-faceted and engaging, which is important in holding my attention. Ada and Shane aren’t what I’d expect from a prince and princess, but they are everything royals should be — devoted to their kingdom and the people in it.

This book is an incredible piece of literature, and it’s even more impressive to realize that it’s a debut author. It’s a well-crafted story that I can’t speak highly enough of. There is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, but there was plenty of closure to leave me feeling satisfied yet desperate to return to this story.

People who have sat around with me while I’m reading, especially when there’s a surprising reveal, a shocking plot twist, or an unexpected event often look up in alarm when I gasp audibly. The gasp factor is directly related to the number of times I audibly gasp during a reading, and there isn’t an upper limit.

Gasp Factor: 15

Cait Marie has been obsessed with books her entire life. The love of writing didn’t hit until 2017. Since then, she has held multiple positions within Coffee House Writers, including C.O.O., Advertising Supervisor, Editor, and Writer. In 2018, she used her passion for reading to create Functionally Fictional. In 2019, she joined the indie staff of YA Books Central as a reviewer and then Indie Assistant Blogger.

Cait graduated with honors in 2019 from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and she is currently enrolled in their Master of Fine Arts program. She lives in Indiana, where she freelance edits and provides a variety of other author services. When she’s not writing or reading, she can usually be found watching Disney movies or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, creating bullet journal spreads, or singing along to various soundtracks and showtunes.