Review: Umbertouched - Livia Blackburne

The mission was a failure. Even though Zivah and Dineas discovered a secret that could bring down the empire, their information is useless without proof. Now, with their cover blown and their quest abandoned, their only remaining hope is to get home before Ampara brings the full might of its armies against their peoples.

As Shidadi and Dara alike prepare for war, Zivah and Dineas grapple with the toll of their time in the capital. After fighting alongside the Amparans against his own kin, can Dineas convince the Shidadi—and himself—where his loyalties lie? After betraying her healer’s vows in Sehmar City, can Zivah find a way to redeem herself—especially when the Dara ask her to do the unthinkable? And after reluctantly falling in love, what will the two do with their lingering feelings, now that the Dineas from Sehmar City is gone forever? Time is running out for all of them, but especially Zivah whose plague symptoms surface once again. Now, she must decide how she’ll define the life she has left.

Together, healer and warrior must find the courage to save their people, expose the truth, and face the devastating consequences headed their way.

Rosemarked Series:
Rosemarked
Umbertouched

Visit Livia Blackburne's website for more information

Review:
Umbertouched is a brilliant follow up to Rosemarked, it took everything I enjoyed about the first book and ramped it up a level answering all my questions and giving me an ending that left me feeling hopeful for the world Zivah and Dineas live in.

After the failure of their mission in Sehmar City Zivah and Dineas have no option but to try to return home in time to warn their people that the Amparan army is headed their way. The Shidadi and Dara will need as much time as possible to prepare for the war that is coming but considering the amount of resources the Amparan empire has they have very little chance of winning. They're also both trying to deal with the fallout from what happened while they were undercover. Zivah broke her healer's vows to save herself and Dineas, something that plays on her mind now she's free. She's also dealing with the symptoms of a relapse, nobody ever survives their second fight with the rose plague so she's living on borrowed time and desperate to do something to help her people survive before she dies.

Dineas isn't the same person he was before going undercover, he's suffering strange symptoms caused by the drugs Zivah used to wipe his memory and now that the potion has been completely reversed he's trying to put the two pieces of himself back together. Everything he did was to save his people but they still see him as a traitor who fought alongside the enemy and killed one of their own. The fact that he did that while undercover doesn't mean much to his old friends and he's also struggling to deal with his own guilt about everything that happened.

These two characters have been through so much and tried so hard to keep their people safe but now they're in an impossible position. They know a secret that could end the war but they were unable to find any proof so that knowledge is next to useless. They're both fighters though and they won't give up on their task easily, their biggest problem is proving that they're not working with the enemy so that their friends will accept their help. I've really enjoyed spending time with these two, and especially loved the slow build romance between them. Things are even more complicated now that Dineas has his memories back but really there is nobody else who understands everything he's been through quite like Zivah so it makes sense that they grew so close.

There really has been a lot to love about this series. All of the characters have complex motives and none of them are perfect, they've all done bad things and made questionable choices but deep down they're all trying to do what's right for their people. We get some surprise alliances here between people who should be enemies and friends aren't always quite what they seem so be prepared for some twists along the way but overall I was really happy with the way most things played out. I'll definitely be watching out for more from Livia Blackburne in the future.

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Rosemarked - Livia Blackburne

A healer who cannot be healed . . .

When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it’s only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she’s destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art—until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill.

A soldier shattered by war . . .

Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he’ll do anything to free them from Amparan rule—even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.

Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn’t be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes.

Rosemarked Series:
Rosemarked
Umbertouched

Visit Livia Blackburne's website for more information

Review:
Zivah has dedicated her life to becoming a healer so she can serve her people but when an outbreak of the rose plague affects Amparan soldiers currently visiting her village she ends up getting infected herself while treating her patients. There are only three possible outcomes to the rose plague and the vast majority of people don't survive the first infection. Rare survivors end up Rosemarked which means they're still highly infectious and can continue to spread the disease even though they no longer have symptoms, the disease always flares back up at some point and will invariably lead to death but there is no way to tell how long it will be before that happens. Even rarer survivors can become Umbertouched, they are now completely immune to the plague and are no longer contagious so are allowed to return to their lives rather than remain in quarantine. Unfortunately for Zivah she becomes Rosemarked and now instead of serving her village as a healer she is forced to live alone on the outskirts unable to touch or be touched for fear of spreading the plague.

As Zivah quietly experiments on herself hoping to find a cure to the plague her life is turned upside down when her village leader asks her to help with a secret mission. The village has been coming under increasing threat from the Amparan Empire and along with the Shidadi Tribe they have a plan to infiltrate the Amparan army with an Umbertouched soldier but they need Zivah's help to pull it off. Dineas was tortured by the Amparan's and is seeking revenge but at the same time he wants to protect his people and the best way to do that is to find out more about the threats they face.

I absolutely loved this story, it's a bit of a slow build so don't expect lots of high stakes action from the very first page, but I was completely captivated from very early on and enjoyed the clever world building and realistic characters. I loved seeing the way the plague effected both Zivah and Dineas, initially they have pretty low opinions of each other but they gradually become friends as they work together against a common enemy. Life isn't easy for either of them and the deeper they get into their undercover work the harder it is to know who the real enemy is. You do have to suspend belief a little about the way Zivah was able to remove Dineas' memories using her healing skills but could bring them back for short periods of time when she needed to talk to him but it added such an interesting dimension to Dineas' interactions with the people he met that it didn't bother me at all.

The slightly slower pacing in the beginning really pays off in the second half of the story when things start to get much more complicated and we start to uncover some interesting secrets. The ending was edge of your seat stuff and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Umbertouched. It's funny because I've not seen much buzz around this book in the blogosphere but it's one of the most unique series I've come across in a while and it's definitely one I'd recommend to YA fantasy fans.

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review.

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