Review: The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon

From ​the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.

THE FIRST GIRL CHILD by AMY HARMON

Publisher: 47North

Publication date: August 20, 2019

Genre: fantasy

 

SYNOPSIS

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.

Purchase Here: Amazon | Paperback | Audio

Praise for The First Girl Child:

“By far, my favorite book of 2019. Addictive, engrossing, completely unputdownable. Amy Harmon’s The First Girl Child needs to be at the top of everyone’s reading list.” —Penny Reid, New York Times bestselling author

“The First Girl Child is a unique and lovely read set in a world that is both familiar and strange. Rich, fast-paced, and romantic, this book will thoroughly satisfy fantasy readers craving a story with meat on its bones. It’s going on my shelf next to Robin Hobb and Patricia McKillip.” —Jared Garrett, bestselling author of Lakhoni

“Utterly brilliant. A sprawling tale of love and magic, of leadership and the sacrifice that comes with it. I cannot recommend this book enough.” —bestselling author Staci Hart

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in eighteen languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.

Amy Harmon has written fourteen novels including the USA Today Bestsellers, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as The Law of Moses, Infinity + One and the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue. Her fantasy novel, The Bird and the Sword, was a Goodreads Book of the Year finalist.

Follow Amy Harmon:  
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REVIEW

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fair warning, I'm going to have to gush over this book a little. There's just no getting around it when you fall in love with a story this completely. I've been reading Amy Harmon's books for four years now and although I haven't caught up on her entire backlist, The First Girl Child is now a front runner for all-time favorite. And yes, it's landing on my shortlist for best books of the year as well. All it took was a few pages into the prologue and I was a goner. This beautiful, heart-wrenching, poignant story is worth every second spent between the pages. It's a fantasy with such fathomless depths, you fall so deeply you don't want to get out again. It's a story of revenge, overcoming impossible odds, courage in the face of tyranny and evil, unbreakable bonds of family, and forbidden love.

The Kingdom of Saylok is made up of six clans: Adyar, Berne, Dolphys, Ebba, Joran, and Leok. Each clan has a Chieftan who leads it, and the King has absolute power, even over these leaders. Many hope to ascend to the throne, but few will have the opportunity in their lifetime. Banruud of Berne is hungry for power and has no qualms about harming anyone who stands in his way. One woman seeks revenge for a horrible betrayal at his hands that will curse all of Saylok, until her son is ready to remove the scourge upon the land.

That son is Bayr. Unnaturally strong and believed to have been gifted by the gods, he becomes somewhat of a legend for his incredible feats growing up. It would be easy for someone to become proud or boastful, but living at Temple Hill with his Uncle has made him a humble man who only cares for the well being of others. Bayr and his Uncle Dagmar's relationship as he grows up in his care touched my heart so much. Dagmar wasn't prepared to take on a fatherly role in his lifetime after committing himself as a Keeper. At first he was flustered and floundering with newborn Beyr, then gradually more confident as he lovingly guided Bayr towards the future he knew he was destined to fulfill. Even knowing someday they must part, he willingly sacrificed his own wishes for the salvation of Saylok. Injustice, pain, and suffering were endured by many. Lives would be changed irrevocably the day that Bayr came into his care, and he's determined to set things right no matter what it takes.

    "There might come a time, when you are no longer a boy, when Saylok will need you to lead her. There might be a day when you will be called on to rule, and you must prepare yourself for that day.”

If I could only use one word to describe Bayr it would be protector. That makes up every part of him down to his soul. After meeting princess Alba, he's enraptured by this child of hope. The first female child to be born during a long drought that has plagued the land for years. He immediately pledges to watch over her and shield her from all harm, never asking for anything in return. His feelings for her were pure and innocent, blossoming into a special friendship as they matured. Bayr and Alba are from two totally different worlds: one from royalty and the other a humble Temple boy without a penny to his name. But their devotion to each other is absolute, even if it must be from a distance at times. They way they changed and evolved took longer than I was expecting, but it was more than worth it by the end. It was like watching a seed being nurtured over time, weathering every storm, and growing into a towering tree with roots so deep they can't ever be unearthed. You feel their rightness down to your bones and want nothing more than the simplicity of them being. Without conflict or conspiracies to tear them apart.

    “Bayr’s birth marked the beginning of the drought. What if his death marks the end?”

Ghost plays an integral role in the story. Sold into slavery, then reviled and feared for being born with albinism, she's been mistreated her whole life. People fear what they don't understand, and her unusual appearance draws prejudice from ignorant people. Fate brings her into Bayr's life and though he's disconcerted at first, he always treats her with open acceptance, as does Dagmar. Love and acceptance seems like a simple thing to some, but to others it's everything. Ghost broke me at times. She was so used to rejection and harm that a simple human kindness couldn't be trusted.

Ghost finally finds a home where she has some semblance of safety. She relies on the anonymity her solitary lives affords, and finds much more than she bargained for in her simple life.

The final part of this book was action packed, tense, thrilling, devastating, healing, and leaves you awed at how it all ties together. My emotions were everywhere on the map, leaving me wrung out and wrecked at the end. It broke me just a little bit, but I can't imagine anything happening any differently. How the balance of power was righted, and the oppressed were finally freed. It was such a thing of beauty that brought tears to my eyes. Amy Harmon has created a story that's often brutal, but never fails to show us the power of love in the bleakest of times. Thankfully I had a friend on standby after finishing this incredible story that I could rant and weep and soak up all of my favorite words with. It was extremely hard to part with these characters so I can only hope that we are gifted with more novels in this extraordinary world!! This is one of her best yet, and I recommend it to any fantasy lover searching for their next five star read.

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