They’re here!

The release date for The Breathing Sea, I & II, is fast approaching!  July 28 is the day!  And in the meantime, e-ARCs are available for those who want them!  For those who haven’t read the first part of the series, The Midnight Land, TBS I & II is a continuation of the action begun in The Midnight Land, but they can also be read as a standalone duology.  This is a “summery” read, in that it’s set in the summer, but it’s also full of symbolism, allusions, and serious thoughts about the meaning of life and morality, just like you’d expect from something inspired by Russian literature.  Here’s the blurb for the first book:

Dasha is a gift from the gods.  Only she’s not very gifted.  Or at least so it seems to her.

Eighteen years ago, Dasha’s mother made a bargain with the gods.  She would bear a gods-touched child, one who would stand on the threshold between the worlds, human and divine.  Dasha is that child, now almost ready to become a woman, and one day take her mother’s place as Empress of all of Zem’.  Except that Dasha is shy, lonely, and one of the least magically inclined girls in the Known World.  Instead she has fits and uncontrollable visions.  When she sets off with her father on her first journey away from her home kremlin, she hopes she will finally find someone who can help her come into her powers.  But those whom she finds only want to use her instead.  What will it take for her to unlock the abilities hidden within her, and take up her proper place in the world?

The sequel to the award-winning novel The Midnight Land, The Breathing Sea returns to the land of Zem’, where animals speak, trees walk, and women rule.  Filled with allusions to Russian history, literature, and fairy tales, this coming-of-age tale straddles the line between high fantasy and literary fiction.

And here’s the cover and blurb for the second book:

Tormented by her growing visions and unable to bear her companions any longer, Dasha has fled into the woods with the spirits who have promised to help her.  But not all promises can be kept.  Dasha must strike off on her own and learn to fend for herself for the first time in her life.  With war on the borders of Zem’, the woods hold more dangers than bears, wolves, and hunger, and Dasha’s greatest danger may be within her.  Can she learn to control herself and her magic before she endangers herself, her companions, and perhaps her country itself?  And what price will that control demand?  How much will Dasha have to sacrifice in order to save herself and her land, and will that sacrifice be voluntary—or not?

The Breathing Sea II: Drowning is the sequel to The Breathing Sea I: Burning and a continuation to The Zemnian Series.

If you are interested in receiving an ARC of either or both of these books, please send me a message!  You can comment on this post or email me directly at elenapedigo@yahoo.com