The Voyages of Trueblood Cay
Being an especial accounting of his life at sea, as told by Gil Rafael
Release Date: January 24, 2019
OUR REVIEW:
The first thing that you should know is that I love everything I've read by Suanne Laqueur and I think I've read everything she's written, so while I don't think I'm biased, maybe I am?
The next thing that you need to know, which I find true for all of her novels but especially The Voyages of Trueblood Cay, is that she's not one for a quick plunge in the plot and character pool. What I mean by that is that she writes long and detailed and because of that you can't be looking for a quick jaunt with a few characters for the day. Her novels build to the crescendo and then break all over you (or just break you) before guiding you sometimes gently, sometimes not, home. I know that when I pick up something she's written I'll be in for something that will most likely punch me in the head and the gut multiple times and I'll be better for it. The long and short of it is that her novels, in my opinion, require your patience and attention and if you're not in the mood for that then wait until you are because her novels are 100% worth your time and attention.
Suanne Laqueur is a world builder, a mapmaker, a myth-maker, a wordsmith and I have absolutely no idea how she did what she did with The Voyages of Trueblood Cay but I'm in awe. Admittedly, I'm not much of a fantasy reader, nor do I read a ton of myths, so I may have had a smidge of hesitancy when I started reading. And, the first little bit of it is a lot of suspension of reality and world building so I had to get my bearings, but once I got to know the world Laqueur built, the hybrid language she created, and fell in love with the characters, I realized that I'd fallen down the ultimate rabbit hole and I wasn't sure if I would ever climb out, or if I even wanted to.
So know this--if you're like me and you know you like Laqueur's previous novels but you don't normally read fantasy novels, you will like this one too. It's her style just set in a different world. You'll fall in love with these characters and yearn to see them triumph over every.single.obstacle. she puts on their path. You'll laugh and cry and try to soak every nugget of wisdom that these characters utter.
One final thing. When you consider that this novel is a novel within a novel-- and if you've read her most recent series you'll recognize references and likenesses--how wondrous a place is Suanne Laqueur's imagination? That she can create The Voyages of Trueblood Cay to stand alone or for those who've read her, to weave in allusions to events to her larks, is truly extraordinary.
SYNOPSIS
Pelippé Trueblood is a giantsblood—one of the great mariners of House Tru. Raised on the mighty ship Cay, he’s chosen at nineteen for a perilous voyage predicted in ancient prophecy. Young and unseasoned, Trueblood fears the gods may have picked the wrong man for the job. Worse, prophecy demands he be accompanied by Fen il-Kheir, and nothing in Trueblood's life at sea has prepared him for this dangerous new crew member.
Fen is a kheiron—a creature with the ability to shift between man and horse. With a dark past, little love for humans and less love for ships, Fen proves a reluctant passenger whose secrets about Trueblood could jeopardize not only the voyage, but the future of the world.
A feud of the gods. Ships built by giants. Spice that makes the world beautiful. Flying horses. Murder and misery. Belonging and bravery. Sailors, centaurs, warriors, queens, courtesans and storytellers. A tapestry of mythology and human experience, The Voyages of Trueblood Cay is both Javier Landes’ love letter to his life, and Suanne Laqueur’s most adventurous love story.
Publisher's Note: Gil Rafael is the pen name of Javier Landes, who is a fictional character in Laqueur's Venery series. The Voyages of Trueblood Cay is the novel Javier is writing throughout the series. This novel-within-a-novel contains subtle references to people and situations in Venery, however it's not necessary to have read the series beforehand. Trueblood Cay can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone. (Contains adult situations written in adult language.)
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SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE
To be shipped after the January 24th release date
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AUTHOR BIO
A former professional dancer and teacher, Suanne Laqueur went from choreographing music to choreographing words. Her work has been described as Therapy Fiction, Emotionally Intelligent Romance and Contemporary Train Wreck. Whatever you want to call it, her goal is to write stories that appeal to the passions of all readers, crossing gender, age and genre.
Suanne Laqueur'sAn Exaltation of Larks won the Grand Prize in the 2017 Writer’s Digest Book Awards. Her debut novel The Man I Love and its follow-up, Give Me Your Answer True, won gold medals in the 2015 and 2016 Readers' Favorite Book Awards. Both were finalists in the 2015 and 2016 Kindle Book Awards, and Laqueur was named a gold medal Debut Author with Feathered Quill Book Reviews.
Laqueur graduated from Alfred University with a double major in dance and theater, and taught at the Carol Bierman School of Ballet Arts in Croton-on-Hudson for ten years. An avid reader, cook and gardener, she started her blog EatsReadsThinks in 2010. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two children. Visit her at http://suannelaqueurwrites.com. All feels welcome. And she always has coffee.
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