The Shards of Magic: Book 1
Publication Date: November 12, 2024
In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power—but a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything.
Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild—some say half feral—but she’ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court.
Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death—for both mistress and servant.
With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. But worse dangers wait underground, and soon Kenna gets caught up in a secret rebellion against the inventively sadistic faerie king. When her feelings for the rebellion’s leader turn passionate, Kenna must decide if she’s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance at happiness.
Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will… but even that may not be enough.
Growing up, Kenna Heron watched her mother desperately long for a blessing from the Fae. Even though she is now eligible to become one of the four young women sent into the bog to live amongst the faeries, she’s more than a little jaded.
Author Sarah Hawley debuts an enchanting world in Servant of Earth, the first installment in The Shards of Magic series. With richly detailed characters in a world where humans are considered slaves, Kenna trades a life of poverty for unexpected danger.
With a mystical dagger in hand, Kenna must help her new Fae mistress complete a series of challenges. Failure means death for them both. And if there is one thing Kenna has learned in her short time with the Fae, they play by an entirely different set of rules.
Full of depth, this is an engaging combination of both romance and fantasy as Kenna gets caught up in a Fae rebellion. The author offers a trigger warning at the beginning of the story, but every component adds to the plot.
Servant of Earth offers a compelling storyline introducing a magical world and a female main character trying to survive.
Sarah Hawley is the author of A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, and A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest, where her hobbies include rambling through the woods and appreciating fictional villains. She has a master’s degree in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
