The Serpent of Sparrow Rest by Sally Parker is the first book in Parker’s Mercenary and Seer series. It is a venomous and vengeful fantasy where religions collide in a slithery, serpentine mystery.
Orphaned after a horrible attack on her village by strangely unhinged bandits, young Elea was taken in by the neighboring village of Wren. Now a mercenary, she defends villagers from danger so that others never share the same fate her village suffered.
Foira is a weaver with a secret. In addition to her skills with her hands, she is also a seer and recently she has been seeing disturbing visions about Elea’s future.
Just when Elea is finally about to express her feelings for Foira, the mercenaries are hired to deal with a mysterious and deadly snake problem in the nearby village of Sparrow Rest. Many feel it is a curse, but the Temple has sent their own warrior to dispel of the snakes and these myths. Fearful of what her visions foretell, Foira accompanies Elea and the mercenaries on their dangerous quest. But even she couldn’t prepare for the truths that solving the mystery of the snakes would reveal.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
I love the world building and mythology in this book. The different animal spirits imbuing shapeshifting powers to the village folk will excite your inner beast and the story is stuffed with so many slithery serpents, it will make you check under the sheets before climbing into bed.
Cons And Heads Up
I do feel as though the writing could be stronger, the story could have been developed a little more and the characters and themes could have been more deeply explored. However, the world building and overall plot were interesting.
The Conclusion
This book is light on the romance side but does have an intriguing mystery, great fantasy elements and ends with an HEA.
Excerpt from The Serpent of Sparrow Rest by Sally Parker
Golden orange light shone across the grass of the plains around the village. Elea watched the sun rise while she and Foira walked in silence. It was a good silence, the kind of silence only those close to each other can have. Elea glanced at the forest on the other side of the village. The leaves were bright green and full. Twenty days into the season of Blossom and everything was blooming and lively.
The two of them walked past the edge of the village, past the few other early morning risers in the village of Wren. The warm glow of the sunrise light brought out the red in Foira’s hair even more than the full light of day. Her hair was tied inits usual braid. Sunrise or sunset did nothing for Elea’s hair. It remained black. She kept hers tied back simply, out of the way. Elea knew the two of them looked to have nothing in common. She was a mercenary, wearing her rough clothes, a sheathed sword through her belt. Foira was a weaver. Her light brown woven dress was simple, but very finely made. Elea was certain Foira was the best weaver in the village and had told her this many times.
“Nice morning out,” Elea said, trying to push away how nervous she felt, but failing.
Foira smiled, looking out at the plains. “Beautiful sunrise.” She looked over at Elea.
Elea’s heart pounded. This was the moment. She’d been trying for a while to find a good time to tell Foira that she loved her and hadn’t found the moment. Now was the moment.
“Elea!”
She tried not to groan at the sound of Lamont’s voice and turned to face him. Her fellow mercenary already had his many weapons strapped on. He was running toward Elea and Foira. They’d gone further from the village than Elea had thought. Lamont was a tall man, but Elea was almost as tall as he was. His black hair was short, but managed to be messy. He looked excited.
“Who hired us?” Elea asked.
Lamont grinned. He stopped to catch his breath for only a moment. “Hanald got a letter from Kennard, Alderman of Sparrow Rest village.” Hanald was the leader of their group of mercenaries. “The others are already at the barracks. Come on, so he can tell us what the job is!” He ran back toward the village without another word.
Elea looked at Foira. Clearly now wasn’t the moment to tell her how she felt. “I’ll see you tonight?”
Foira nodded, smiling. “I’ll see at home. Go.” Despite her smile, Elea could tell she was worried, which worred Elea.
Elea ran back toward the village, to the barracks at the edge of it. The door stood open. There were no chairs or tables in the room. Elea stood by the door. The other five mercenaries were already there, seven counting her and Hanald. Hanald stood at the front of the room. His black hair was streaked with iron gray. He always appeared weathered, but not old. He was holding a piece of parchment that had seen better days. That must be the letter…
“Kennard, Alderman of Sparrow Rest, wants to hire us,” Hanald said, looking at each of them. He frowned when he got to Fulton, who was still trying to flirt with Belinda, who was ignoring him. “He wants the job done discreetly. According to Kennard’s letter, Sparrow Rest has a snake problem. We’ll likely be clearing out the snakes. We’ll leave for Sparrow’s Rest tomorrow morning, prepare today.”
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra
Series
The Serpent of Sparrow Rest
The Reaper of Wren
The Hag of Harrow
The Adherent of Atilis
Bits and Bobs
ASIN number: B09G915D1S
Publisher: Indie Author
If you enjoyed The Serpent of Sparrow Rest by Sally Parker then you should also look at
Note: I received a free review copy of The Serpent of Sparrow Rest by Sally Parker. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
