Praise for The Chronicle of Secret Riven:
“The Chronicle of Secret Riven hypnotizes with the cadence of a fairy tale and the sweeping scope of an epic. I longed to linger in this world of eloquent animals, hidden forests, and magical libraries, and felt nearly heartbroken to turn the last page. Ronlyn Domingue, like her unforgettable heroine Secret Riven, has a knack for making us all see the wonder in what appears to be ordinary.”
Description
A girl with wondrous, hidden powers must find the courage to confront her destiny in this breathtaking sequel to The Mapmaker’s War, which New York Times bestseller Deborah Harkness called “an otherworldly tale that charts the all-too-human territory between heartbreak and hope.”
To see is a trick of the mind, but to believe is a trick of the heart.
Born to brilliant parents one thousand years after a great conflict known as The Mapmaker’s War, Secret Riven is an uncanny child who can mysteriously communicate with plants and animals. When her knowledge of an esoteric symbol brings unwelcome attention, gentle, watchful Secret finds acceptance from Prince Nikolas, her best friend, and Old Woman, who lives in the distant woods.
When Secret is twelve, her mother, Zavet, receives an arcane manuscript to translate. Zavet begins to suffer nightmares and withdraws into herself. Secret sickens with a fever and awakens able to speak an ancient language, in which her mother is also fluent. Suddenly, Zavet dies—and the manuscript is missing. The only clue left is a cipher for Secret to find. Soon, she will have a choice to make: confront a destiny tied to an ancient past or deny it, never to know its whole truth.
“With the cadence of a fairy tale and the sweeping scope of an epic” (Amy Shearn, author of The Mermaid of Brooklyn), The Chronicle of Secret Riven is a spellbinding tale of love and adventure, myth and legend, fate and free will—and an introduction to an unforgettable heroine.
Reviews
“Mysterious manuscripts, arcane languages, and sinister silences animate the wonderfully inventive realm of Secret Riven, a character so powerful that we are both startled and enchanted as we tumble headlong into her world.”
“The Chronicle of Secret Riven is an extraordinary mix of a fresh voice and an Old World sensibility. With mesmerizing language, Ronlyn Domingue spins a tale of wonder, danger, and magic, taking the reader to a faraway world that helps us to see our own with more clarity. This is a book that reminds us of the power of silence, of paying attention, of intuition, and of protecting the most vulnerable among us.”
“An epic fairy tale for a new age; Ronlyn Domingue has created a mythos all her own. The Chronicle of Secret Riven deftly braids the story of love, loss, magic, myth, and ancestry together into a hauntingly beautiful tale. The book also possesses a secret itself. If you know how to look for it, if you know how to listen, you’ll risk being inspired by the powerful message that glimmers beyond the pages of this shimmering story.”
