By Rio L. Barney
Hello fellow readers! Join me on a journey into a cursed land as I review the fantastic new fantasy by Tim Facciola, The Ghosts of Rheynia.
First off, have you read any of Tim Facciola’s books before? If you like fantasy, you should. Facciola’s books are filled with this incredible world that has a nod to Roman history. This is such a wonderfully dark world. Facciola builds unique worlds and then fills them with strong characters that keep you hooked throughout the whole book. This book is dark, it’s grim, it’s so action packed.
The story begins with the two main characters, step-sisters, that couldn’t be more different than each other. Threyna is the sister that was raised in the military. She has a relentless duty to maintain order and unity. Laela is the sister that was raised in the Underground. Her life’s goal is to take her people to freedom. Both are born in the cursed land where it rains every night and the dead never really die. Plagued by shades, ghosts, and the animated undead (not to be confused as zombies, blah! This is NOT a zombie book), both sisters are always at odds and on opposing sides. Forced to team up, the sisters have to figure out a way to achieve both of their goals while staying alive. Facciola weaves a brilliant story, but it is his characters that keep you coming back for more. Very rarely have I ever read a story where the main female characters are so well written. Facciola veers (thankfully) away from the normal stereotypes of strong women and creates characters that are truly believable. Their strength and fighting skills are so well written. I also must mention Dracus. Oh Dracus. I loved this character. Leave it to Facciola to write a dark and gritty fantasy and still be able to insert a heartbreaking love story in with ease. I loved this book so much. There was action, there was twist after twist, there was betrayal and family trauma, and there was raw, emotion evoking writing that left me wanting to read whatever was next from author Tim Facciola. While this book is not for the faint of heart, once you read it, your heart will be filled to the brim afterward.
I highly recommend this book.
You can find The Ghosts of Rheynia available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, paperback, and hardback.
Photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash
Rio L. Barney is an author of all things fantasy with a dash of horror and sci-fi mixed in. When not trekking through the wilds of Utah with her husband and three children, she can be found hacking away at a computer, often laughing at her own jokes. She loves to stare at the stars and dig in the dirt while attempting to grow anything and everything in the heavy clay of Utah County. Born and raised in Lehi, she has traveled the world only to return to her hometown. You can find her on Facebook as Rio Barney and Instagram @barneyrio