Fans of fantasy series hold onto your hats because we have a very exciting post for you today. If you’re looking for: a. more indie publishers to support, b. more sapphic adult fantasy, and c. a whole lot of fun to have, then you won’t want to miss out on the Black Crown series. Your luck is in today, too, because we have the exciting task of revealing the cover of book two and a little sneak peek at what’s to come! Strap yourself in and let’s go!
But before we start, remember you can, of course, also follow Cate on twitter.
Defenders of the Black Crown
by Cate Pearce
Rep: bi mc, lesbian mc
Release date: 22nd September 2022
Goodreads | Preorder links to come
Synopsis
The Queen is dead.
A new enemy is rising to power from beyond the coastline.
Raena, an heir to the throne, takes her place as ruler of Candor. But she cannot reveal her true identity as a woman or she will surely be executed.
Avenna, once a duchess, returns to her life as a commoner. She hardens her heart and leaves her true love Raena, but will a heinous assault reunite them?
Sylas, a Lord displaced, is forced to lead the refugees and prisoners out of the Boen slaughter. He may be the only one to stop the next war between dwellers of the ocean and the land.
And Bell, the noblewoman, finds the way to command a kingdom is sometimes through gaining the ear (and the bed) of a King.
In this second book of the Black Crown series, Raena, Aven, and their allies learn that it will take more than power and titles to overturn years of oppression, but they might die trying.
The tubular ship had fully risen and floated atop the water. The head was split open like a pierced belly, revealing the contents inside. Dozens of barbaric Hornes were swarming within the dark mass of the wooden ship, scrambling for a single point. Sylas’s eyes followed their movement to find their destination—a roped netting that had been secured to his cog with metal burs. Frantically, Sylas bent over the edge of the bow and grabbed at the rope, trying to yank free a bur’s grip on the hull.
A firm tug on the netting from below ripped the rope from Sylas’s hands.
The Hornes were upon the rope, climbing.
They were a sight of terror.
Every man wore sleek black hides, tight to their skin, wet from the spray. It was as though they were coated in an oily sea monster’s flesh that gripped and caged the muscle beneath. They had long black hair and eyes of fury, dark as night. Their thick necks were gilled—their exposed fingers and toes splayed and webbed. As they clamoured up the rope, the sunlight reflected on their cheeks, revealing glints of a mosaic, their skin displaying a patterned hint of scales.
Sylas’s heart pounded in his chest and he grasped the oar in his hands, rolling it in his grip to prepare. As if there were anything he could do to save or protect himself.
And Isla.
And Cames.
They were all doomed. Oars and barrels would do nothing for any of them. His only hope was to kill enough of them on their way up.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cate Pearce was homeschooled on a Christmas tree farm in rural Western Washington. At age eight she was fed-up with a plotline on Star Trek TNG so she wrote her own episodes on a Commodore 64. She has been a writer ever since, but only recently decided to share that information with you and the world.
Cate has two children which she delivered at-home with the assistance of saintly midwives. Cate is unapologetic in her fervor for feminism, queerness, and Christian faith. Aside from writing, her “day job” is to prepare organizations for response and recovery from catastrophic disasters. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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