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    Sword and Verse
    Sword and Verse
    Sword and Verse
    Audiobook11 hours

    Sword and Verse

    Written by Kathy MacMillan

    Narrated by Emily Rankin

    3/5

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    About this audiobook

    In a sweeping fantasy that award-winning author Franny Billingsley calls ""fascinating and unique,"" debut author Kathy MacMillan weaves palace intrigue and epic world-building to craft a tale for fans of Rae Carson and Megan Whalen Turner.

    Raisa was just a child when she was sold into slavery in the kingdom of Qilara. Before she was taken away, her father had been adamant that she learn to read and write. But where she now lives, literacy is a capital offense for all but the nobility. The written language is closely protected, and only the King, Prince, Tutor, and Tutor-in-training are allowed to learn its very highest form.

    So when she is plucked from her menial labor and selected to replace the last Tutor-in-training who was executed, Raisa knows that betraying any hint of her past could mean death.

    Keeping her secret guarded is hard enough, but the romance that's been blossoming between her and Prince Mati isn't helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance—an underground rebel army—to help liberate the city's slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati.

    As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries—one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 19, 2016
    ISBN9780062467553
    Author

    Kathy MacMillan

    Kathy MacMillan has been a librarian, American Sign Language interpreter, children’s performer, teacher, storyteller, and writer. Her previous work includes educator- and parent-resource books about promoting literacy through signing with all children. Sword and Verse and its sequel, Dagger and Coin, were inspired by her research into ancient libraries and her interest in exploring the power of language. Kathy lives near Baltimore, Maryland. To learn more about Kathy, visit www.kathymacmillan.com.

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    Reviews for Sword and Verse

    3/5

    38 ratings9 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I'm not really sure what to rate this one. During the first couple of chapters I thought it was going to be fantastic. I loved the depiction of writing, and the fact that we have a female character who is strong in learning, but not fighting for once. I thought Raisa's crush on Mati was cute. I thought that the descriptions of the writing symbols and runes were interesting. I liked the times where Raisa's hardship was described, and her capture was interesting, but because she was a tutor, and was pampered (compared to other slaves) and had relatively few hardships, we didn't get the impression that slavery was very hard. Yes we saw some whipping scars on other slaves, but that was telling, not showing. Overall Raisa seems to have adjusted to slavery too quickly and easily, even though she was only six when she was captured. It might have been a better story if it had started at Raisa's capture, instead of telling about it in flashbacks, and if there had been more focus on the hardship of slavery, and less focus on the romance. I was also confused by the talk of 'Learned Ones' on the islands. I thought that on the islands everyone learned to read and write, and only in Kilara were these skills limited, but the fact that the islands had 'Learned Ones' made it seem like the islanders limited the skills in a way similar to the Kilarans.And then the romance started and what was cute as a crush came out in a nauseating depiction of lust being passed off as love. I wished that the author had left the romance as a crush until the end when Mati and Raisa could have had a relationship without the sneaking around. I felt that, if Mati had really loved Raisa he wouldn't have let the relationship go as far as it had. It's one thing for people in love to risk themselves to be physical in a relationship. It's something different if they are risking each other. If Mati had loved Raisa instead of just being infatuated with her, then he wouldn't have let the relationship go on for that long, or become so physical. The middle of the book was just romance or Raisa moping because of the lack of romance, and that was very, very annoying. The romance also made Raisa stupid. When Janna found Raisa's hidden papers in the Adytum, she made it to have been an accident. Mati was smart enough that he already knew that Raisa was hiding papers, but Raisa should have taken Janna aside and told her that she couldn't tell anyone about the hidden papers. If Janna was smart enough to lie and claim to be an orphan, than she would have been smart enough to understand that she had to keep quiet about the hidden papers if Raisa had asked her to. But Raisa was neglecting her duty to raise Janna, instead going back to her affair with Mati and letting other servants take care of her, so I guess it's not really all that surprising that her stupidity and neglect led to her getting into trouble.Eventually, I think that Raisa and Mati's relationship became real, and I stopped minding it so much, but it took a very long time. It wasn't until after all of Raisa's lies and stupidity were shown to Mati, and he still protected her, still loved her, that I started to believe his lust may have turned into love. The descriptions of the end battle were muddled and confused. I don't think the author was very good at describing fighting. The way she talked about it, it seemed like the fighting only happened where Raisa was watching. If she wasn't looking at a battle it froze, and if she looked back at it, it began again. The wrap up wasn't well done either. It was very fast, and I thought it was weird that suddenly everyone went from wanting to murder Raisa to practically worshipping her.There were parts of this book that were good, but they were rare, and had long gaps of boring scenes and poor writing in between them. I think that Kathy MacMillan has potential as an author, but she didn't even come close to fulfilling it with this book. (less) [edit]Jun 18, 2016 [edi
    • 5/5
      This fantasy was an engaging story. The main character is Raisa who goes from beloved daughter of rebels to slave to tutor to revolutionary to priestess and the course of 384 pages. Raisa and all her ethnic group are slaves. Raisa works in the palace before she is chosen as tutor-in-training. Literacy is reserved for only the Scholar class but Raisa's father was a Learned One. Her only gift from him is a bit of paper that she is unable to read which contains her heart-verse. Her initial motivation is to learn to write in order to translate this verse.She learns side-by-side with Prince Mati who is the heir to the throne. As is often the case with two young, healthy people who spend a lot of time together, they fall in love. But the course of love isn't destined to run smooth. There is the betrothal to a rich Scholar's daughter and Raisa's growing role with the Resistance which conspires to separate them. There are many other stressors on their relationship too. Both tend to mistrust each other and each keeps secrets from the other. After his father is assassinated, Mati is besieged on all sides. The priests want to depose him and take over the kingdom. His future father-in-law is also conspiring with the priests with the goal of putting his daughter on the throne. Then there are the Revolutionaries who view him as the symbol of all the oppression that they live under. Raisa needs to act as a bridge between Mati and the Revolutionaries which is an extremely difficult task.Finally, a paranormal aspect comes into the story too. Each chapter begins with parts of the story of the gods who formed the world. But the gods are not gone and Raisa's actions manage to free one who has been imprisoned since the beginning of time. And she is bent on revenge.This was an excellent story that has the added benefit of being a stand-alone fantasy. While more in the world would be wonderful, nothing is needed. The story is complete.
    • 3/5
      In reality, it's probably closer to two and a half stars, but I generally round up. Not bad, but fairly standard and predictable YA fare, only (thankfully) without a love triangle. I did like the creation myth MacMillan invented for her world, but found the book as a whole fairly easy to put down. I picked it back up every time, though, so that's something.
    • 3/5
      Solid, interesting, new world. Plenty of drama and I admire any book that holds up the magical power of literacy, so I'm on board for that. I'm not totally into the characters, but I also appreciate the very real moral dilemmas that they face. I suspect that readers who like The Red Queen will enjoy this one, too.

      Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss.
    • 5/5
      The Arnathian Island was raided, the learned ones destroyed and the rest taken into slavery. However, the learned mother of six year old, Raisa, had her flee to a friends house so her life was spared. Because of her early training, she was tested for a tutor position and prevailed. As a tutor-in-training, she met daily with the Prince Matti...Only a few years her senior. They developed a secret , close friendship as they grew older. Would this be their undoing?This is a tale of cruelty, betrayal, trust, change, rebellion, and Rites of Passage. The characters were very well developed and felt real. The scenes were detailed in a way, easily visualized. The Title and the Cover image were both eye-catching and well chosen.The Narrator of the CD's, Emily Rankin, was very talented and did an impressive job in creating the voices for the various characters. Her voice was very pleasant to listen to.The action was non-stop and the story foundation began building steadily until ist ended in a astounding manner.The only negative was the verse of the God's which preceded each chapter. That was slightly vague for the most part and wasn't clearly introduced before the story began. It took the reader awhile and great thought to connect and decipher it. I really di enjoy listening to the CDs and the ending left the reader anxious to discover more!I offer a strong Four Stars rating.This was gifted me with no suggestion, whatsoever, for a positive review. This is my honest review.
    • 1/5
      Terrible. Central character is a romantic weakling that does nothing to move her own plot along.
    • 2/5
      I'm not really sure what to rate this one. During the first couple of chapters I thought it was going to be fantastic. I loved the depiction of writing, and the fact that we have a female character who is strong in learning, but not fighting for once. I thought Raisa's crush on Mati was cute. I thought that the descriptions of the writing symbols and runes were interesting. I liked the times where Raisa's hardship was described, and her capture was interesting, but because she was a tutor, and was pampered (compared to other slaves) and had relatively few hardships, we didn't get the impression that slavery was very hard. Yes we saw some whipping scars on other slaves, but that was telling, not showing. Overall Raisa seems to have adjusted to slavery too quickly and easily, even though she was only six when she was captured. It might have been a better story if it had started at Raisa's capture, instead of telling about it in flashbacks, and if there had been more focus on the hardship of slavery, and less focus on the romance. I was also confused by the talk of 'Learned Ones' on the islands. I thought that on the islands everyone learned to read and write, and only in Kilara were these skills limited, but the fact that the islands had 'Learned Ones' made it seem like the islanders limited the skills in a way similar to the Kilarans.And then the romance started and what was cute as a crush came out in a nauseating depiction of lust being passed off as love. I wished that the author had left the romance as a crush until the end when Mati and Raisa could have had a relationship without the sneaking around. I felt that, if Mati had really loved Raisa he wouldn't have let the relationship go as far as it had. It's one thing for people in love to risk themselves to be physical in a relationship. It's something different if they are risking each other. If Mati had loved Raisa instead of just being infatuated with her, then he wouldn't have let the relationship go on for that long, or become so physical. The middle of the book was just romance or Raisa moping because of the lack of romance, and that was very, very annoying. The romance also made Raisa stupid. When Janna found Raisa's hidden papers in the Adytum, she made it to have been an accident. Mati was smart enough that he already knew that Raisa was hiding papers, but Raisa should have taken Janna aside and told her that she couldn't tell anyone about the hidden papers. If Janna was smart enough to lie and claim to be an orphan, than she would have been smart enough to understand that she had to keep quiet about the hidden papers if Raisa had asked her to. But Raisa was neglecting her duty to raise Janna, instead going back to her affair with Mati and letting other servants take care of her, so I guess it's not really all that surprising that her stupidity and neglect led to her getting into trouble.Eventually, I think that Raisa and Mati's relationship became real, and I stopped minding it so much, but it took a very long time. It wasn't until after all of Raisa's lies and stupidity were shown to Mati, and he still protected her, still loved her, that I started to believe his lust may have turned into love. The descriptions of the end battle were muddled and confused. I don't think the author was very good at describing fighting. The way she talked about it, it seemed like the fighting only happened where Raisa was watching. If she wasn't looking at a battle it froze, and if she looked back at it, it began again. The wrap up wasn't well done either. It was very fast, and I thought it was weird that suddenly everyone went from wanting to murder Raisa to practically worshipping her.There were parts of this book that were good, but they were rare, and had long gaps of boring scenes and poor writing in between them. I think that Kathy MacMillan has potential as an author, but she didn't even come close to fulfilling it with this book. (less) [edit]Jun 18, 2016 [edi
    • 2/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: A fight for knowledge.Opening Sentence: First came Gyotia, many-limbed and all-seeing, born from mountains of hidden fire into the darkness.The Review:The concept behind this book is very interesting. The book world is divided between slaves called Arnath and the nobles/wealthy called Qilarites. Learning how to write is forbidden to anyone but a Qilarite. The only exception to this rule is the Prince’s Tutor, and an orphan slave (Arnath) is always selected for this role. This tradition has continued for years but the slaves are becoming restless, resistance is growing and the war for knowledge has begun.“You think the knowledge you have is a gift,” he said. “But you wear shackles too, even if they’re silk instead of iron.”At first, Raisa, the new tutor, struck me as a silly slave who had her head in the clouds. She’s selected as tutor and falls in love with the Prince immediately, which I thought was bizarre. But the more I learned about Prince Mati, the more I realised that he was unlike any normal Prince so it was little wonder that she fell for him. He in turn falls for her but Raisa’s uncertainties and secrets almost destroy their relationship.She pointed at me. “At least one of you has sense. He told me that you broke it off. You’d have been wiser to do so long ago.” Broke it off. The phrase was apt. I felt as if a piece of my body, of my heart, had been broken off.I found it odd how many secrets she kept from Mati and stranger still was how easily he forgave Raisa. It took a while, but as the story progressed I began to like Raisa more although her inability to take a stand for her people was frustrating. Raisa isn’t a typical heroine, she preferred to sit in the background pretending to be oblivious to the injustice her people faced, which annoyed me since she was in such a crucial position to make some changes. Eventually, she sucks it up and helps bring peace to both sides.“If you betray us, I’ll kill you myself.”I had no doubt he meant it. I should have been terrified, but his words only angered me. Who was he, to demand my help and threaten me when I gave it?As a Prince, I didn’t expect to like Mati as much as I did. In fact, when his betrothal to Soraya was announced yet he continues to pursue Raisa, I thought he was just using her and felt disgusted by him. However, Mati was the compassionate and open minded Prince his father never was. The innumerable times he protected Raisa and saved her life might not be realistic but were certainly romantic!Between the chapters of Sword and Verse, there are snippets of history relating to the old gods but I didn’t quite understand the relevance of these until a lot later in the story. Yes, there was always some sort of link between the events of history to the scenes in Raisa’s life, but I only appreciated the importance of history and the author’s creativity until I reached the final chapters of this book.I shoved the stopper into the bottle and stood abruptly. “I’ll do this, but only for those children. Not for you. Be perfectly clear: I wouldn’t help you if you were on fire and I were the ocean.” I whirled and ripped back the curtain, startling Kiti.Finally, I would like to add that there were times when this story dragged on and occasionally I wondered why it was taking so long to wrap up but the surprising ending made it worth the wait. Despite this, Sword and Verse is unlikely to be on my list of book recommendations!Notable Scene:I couldn’t let anyone see how much I wanted to learn to write. I’d long ago learned that wanting things too much was a sure way to have them taken from you.FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Sword and Verse. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book from the first page. The author did a fabulous job creating an interesting and complex world and Raisa, although not perfect, was a compelling heroine. Combined with romance, action, political unrest, mythology, libraries and the power of the written word, this was my type of book. A great read.