Off the Bookshelf: ARMOR OF ALETHIA, by Ralene Burke

 

Goal for this year: Clear off at least ONE shelf in my to-be-read bookshelf (currently 2-1/2 shelves). This book was in a basket I won in a raffle at the Realm Makers conference. If all the books by the group of authors who put the basket together are this enjoyable ... I'm going to get a lot less writing done this year than I planned!

Karina, our heroine, has plans for a life of service as a healer. She doesn't enjoy court life, especially since the queen, her guardian, doesn't seem to like her. What did she ever do to her? The king, however, knows some secrets that Karina thought she had kept hidden from everyone.

Those secrets, and her painful past and family shame send Karina hurtling across the country on a quest when the king dies unexpectedly. And with soldiers and bounty hunters and soon monsters hunting her, either because the queen has accused her of murdering the king, or to stop Karina from fulfilling prophecy. First step in the plan for her to save the kingdom: find pieces of the sacred armor. That becomes a little difficult when she is kidnapped from the soldiers protecting her and handed over to the enemy of her kingdom. She learns painful lessons along the way. The question is if she will learn and grow quickly enough to be the hero the kingdom of Alethia desperately needs.