Review: ‘Servant of Earth’ by Sarah Hawley
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Servant of Earth
by Sarah HawleySeries: The Shards of Magic #1
Published by Ace on November 12, 2024
SubGenres: Romantic Fantasy
Format: AudioBook
Pages: 451
Narrator: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
Length: 16 Hours And 48 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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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.
I couldn’t wait to dive into Sarah Hawley’s Servant of Earth, the first book in her The Shards of Magic series, featuring Fae. From the start, I knew it was going to be a dark and captivating story that would be hard to put down, especially with such a strong heroine. Kenna Heron is the type of heroine I love reading about in Romantasy storylines. She may appear wild to others, but I saw her as a unique and strong character, ready to overcome anything.
This was the first book I’ve read by Sarah Hawley, and I was immediately drawn into Kenna Heron’s story. As the book is told in Kenna’s POV, a human forced into the Fae world and into the life of servitude, is determined to help her mistress, Lara, succeed in gaining her magic and immortality, because if Lara loses, then it means her own death. Thankfully, she has a dagger she found before arriving in the Fae realm that aids her, and its true origin and purpose are gradually revealed in the book.
The book does go into each of those trials that Kenna and her mistress, Lara, faced, and some of them are not as dangerous and dark, but they are taxing. I felt for Kenna because she had no clue what she was doing, but she was determined to help Lara complete them, even if Lara wasn’t as strong as Kenna. The whole time I was reading this book, though, I wanted someone to take out the King of the Fae because he’s a ruthless King who has no heart or even soul. No wonder there was a rebellion forming behind the scenes of other Fae houses wanting to take him out, and Kenna is determined to help, even if it puts her at risk.
There’s quite a bit of world-building happening, so make sure to pay attention, especially when learning about all the different Fae houses and learning about that dagger that Kenna possesses. One of the houses in particular is definitely important to pay attention to, especially since that house is no longer in existence, but is important to the storyline.
Now, there seems to be a potential love triangle between two Fae Princes who definitely have their eyes on Kenna. One I’m not sure of, since he only wants information from her, but he seems to be very protective of her, then there is the other, who is a player in my opinion, and I’m not sure if he can fully be trusted, especially since he’s the one behind the rebellion. With that being said, if you are expecting romance or even spice right away, you’ll have to wait. It’s more of a slow burn, but don’t worry, it comes eventually.
The ending left me in shock, even though I sensed a twist was coming after all that Kenna endured. Sarah Hawley definitely has me wanting the next book right away after what happened at the end of this one.
I will say this, my gut was right about one certain character, and I’m mad for Kenna. It definitely was an emotional blow to what this character did, and I don’t think he can ever be trusted again. Grr!!
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s the first book in The Shards of Magic series and I highly recommend reading in order.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy Romantasies with amazing world-building and have a strong heroine helping the rebellion to take down an oppressive Fae King, Servant of Earth will appeal to you.
Audiobook Recommendation: I borrowed the audiobook via Libby and thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw did a fantastic job bringing the story and characters to life. I loved her narration and can’t wait to find more books she’s narrated.
What to Expect:
✨Romantasy
✨Fae Magic
✨Secret Rebellion
✨Forbidden Love
✨Strong Heroine
✨Morally Grey MMCs
About Sarah Hawley
Sarah Hawley is the USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth and the Glimmer Falls series. She has an MA 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.
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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