Kindle Edition Amazon Amazon Category:  Fantasy ISBN-10:  1517053420 Type: Fiction Pages: 424 Copyright: August 25, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781517053420 Price: $3.99 (eBook) Usurped foreign throne, political intrigue, and personal trauma - will Kassia have the strength to survive and find the answers to the mysteries of her family's past? Kassia is a thief and a soon-to-be oath breaker. Armed with only a reckless wit and sheer bravado, seventeen-year-old Kassia barely scrapes out a life with her older sister in a back-alley of the market district of the Imperial city of Corium. When a stranger shows up at her market stall, offering her work for which she is utterly unqualified, Kassia cautiously takes him on. Very soon however, she finds herself embroiled in a mystery involving a usurped foreign throne and a vengeful nobleman. Most intriguing of all, she discovers clues to the disappearance of her father three years prior. When Kassia is forced to flee her home, suffering extreme hardship, danger and personal trauma along the way, she feels powerless to control what happens around her. Rewarding revelations concerning the mysteries of her family’s past are tempered by the reality of a future she doesn’t want. In the end, Kassia discovers an unyielding inner strength, and that contrary to her prior beliefs, she is not defined by external things -- she discovers that she is worthy to be loved. Excerpt I never imagined my life would end this way. Not today. And certainly not in this place. Yet here I was. It was midday, and had I the ability to tilt my face toward the sky I would have been blinded by the early summer sun, a silent observer of my murder. As it was, I could do no such thing. The beefy arm around my throat immobilized me, and as I clawed at it ineffectively, I felt my life drain away bit by bit, with each unsuccessful gasp for air.

Definitely a brilliant diamond of a discovery!
Game of Thrones is Fantasy, there is no doubt of that, yet its connection with history – the comparison to Hadrian’s Wall, the Wars of the Roses et al is just too close to ignore. Occasionally other such novels crop up. They are not history: there is no historical setting, no historical time or place. Not even any historical characters, yet when reading, the narrative is so expertly written that it feels as if it should be historical. For The Scribe’s Daughter, this is one of the rare times when we here at Discovering Diamonds step away from our accepted genre and review a novel because it is too good to not review.

The Scribe's Daughter is an incredible first novel, well polished and well presented, an excellent example of independent, self publishing. If only all Indies could be this good there would be no more quibbles about the, often sneered-at, status of being an indie author. It is also an example of why traditional publishing houses rarely pick this sort of book up - because it is too much of a 'round peg' to fit into the mainstream's somewhat narrow marketing 'square peg'.

Kassia is living a hand-to-mouth existence with her sister in the capital city of a kingdom she calls home. A thief by necessity, Kassia just about manages to keep her landlord happy and her sister protected. But everything changes when a well-dressed stranger gives her an outlandish amount of money to undertake work that she cannot do. She is not such a thief that she takes the money without attempting to learn the skills she needs to do the work. And when an even more well-dressed stranger steps in and buys her a horse, her world will never be the same again.

The author of his novel struggles to place it in a genre but for me it sits nicely in Fantasy, accepting that fantasy is a very wide genre and not all fantasy has to include dragons and raising the dead. There is no Game of Thrones-style magic, but there is intrigue and plot aplenty. The reader is taken on a journey by Kassia and just as she is unsure of everything, so is the reader - not sure who is on which side, not sure even what the sides are, and nothing can be taken for granted.

The first person narrative flows beautifully, so beautifully that when reading it I forgot it was an indie book and I forgot it was a review book, and not one I picked up for myself.

And the version I read included a piece of the sequel to this novel, and that in itself leaves one gasping for more - but no spoilers here except to say I can't wait to read it.

If you like George R.R. Martin and Sarah J. Maas, this is absolutely for you. Definitely a brilliant diamond of a discovery!

Nicky Galliers, Discovering Diamonds Independent Reviews

A beautifully written book with rich and powerful descriptions
Now and again, Discovering Diamonds chooses to review a book which is not strictly Historical Fiction, yet nevertheless has all the elements of the genre, such as Fantasy-based stories. And I'm glad that we do because otherwise I may not have come across The Scribe's Daughter by Stephanie Churchill.

Kassia and Irisa are sisters, orphans scrubbing a living in a big city. Irisa is the quiet one, but Kassia, whose story this is, is the loud and streetwise one, stealing food or money from the markets to supplement their meagre income making and selling trinkets. Until one day a rich man brings some bracelets he would like repaired. Kassia does not question why they should have been chosen: a substantial (to them) amount of money has been offered and taken. Unable to fulfil the request immediately, Kassia decides to travel to a nearby deserted mining town in search of a forge where she can do her work.

And here she meets Rem and his son, handsome Jack and the lives of the sisters changes forever.

This is a beautifully written book, with rich and powerful descriptions of people and places that make you feel that you are there; yet they do not intrude on the pace of the story but add to the tension as it build throughout the tale. I loved the way that Kassia gives nicknames to the people she meets when she does not know their names: Lackey Man, Smug Man and so on. Kassia is an admirable heroine – feisty, brave and very down-to-earth.

There are many facets to this story and I don't want to give too much away, but it is also one of political intrigue, many dangers for Kassia and her companions and an ending that you will not see coming and that leads neatly to a sequel – though this is demonstrably a stand alone in it's own right.

Very highly recommended

Richard Tearle, Discovering Diamonds Independent Reviews

Historical Fantasy at its best!
There are some books that you can disappear into, lose track of time and become completely embroiled in the world that the author has created — The Scribe's Daughter is one of those books.

Ms Churchill has created a masterpiece of historical fantasy. Told in the first person, The Scribe’s Daughter tells the story of seventeen-year-old Kassia, a poverty-stricken orphan, who has mastered the art of thievery to ensure that she keeps bread on the table. She is very protective of her older sister who doesn't seem to understand the seriousness of their situation — there is no money for rent, let alone food. So when a stranger offers Kassia a job and gives her a bag of coins, her poverty forces her to accept it, even though her head is telling her not to. But in doing so, she seals her fate and the world that she knows will be lost to her. Along the way, she will meet friends and foes alike. She will suffer loss, abuse and hardship, but she will also discover just how strong and courageous she really is and maybe, just maybe, she will find everlasting love when she least expects it.

What I really loved about this book was the realism. There was nothing unbelievable about this story. There are some very upsetting scenes in The Scribe's Daughter, but Ms Churchill made some really good choices — this author knows where to draw the line. Some terrible things happen to Kassia, but we don't read about them. What we do read is the emotional and physical recovery, which isn't an overnight thing. Kassia is very human. She doesn't get up, brush herself off and be done with it. She suffers, but she is a courageous soul and has an iron will that will not be beaten into submission.

Kassia is a very strong female lead that I couldn't help but admire. Faced with incredible trials and adversary she somehow finds the strength to carry on. Kassia got under my skin, she was so real in the telling, and so very believable that it was hard to think of her as a fictional character!

As a secondary character, I thought Jack was wonderful. An unlikely friend who very soon became Kassia's rock. He gives her hope, acceptance and reassurance when she has moments of doubt. He gets her, like no one else does. I loved reading how their relationship developed over the course of the book.

Despite the terrible things that happen in this book, it isn't a depressing read. Kassia is the source of much humour. She is very good with words, and she is a master at sarcasm! Some of her one-liners certainly made me laugh out loud.

The prose of the story is well-thought out. Make no mistakes; A Scribe’s Daughter is a compelling read and time certainly flew by while I lost myself within the pages. The plot is super engaging and throws up one or two unexpected curve-balls! I so didn't see where this book was going.

The Scribe’s Daughter is an example of historical fantasy at its best, but don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

I Highly Recommend.