The Name-Bearer (Flowers of Prophecy #1) by Natalia Hernandez

For her entire life, the Name-Bearer’s sole purpose has been to receive and deliver the names of the future monarchy from the Flowers of Prophecy. But when the child is finally born and the Name-Bearer is sent to the Flowers, they refuse to name him. Instead they deliver a prophecy; another child was born who is more worthy of the Naming, and if they are found and brought before them it will usher in a reign of peace. Having failed in her duties the Name-Bearer is considered a traitor to the crown, and must hide among an elite sect of warrior women where she experiences friendship, found family, and love. Her training as a warrior helps prepare her to embark on her quest to find the Unnamed Prince, clear her name, and bring peace to her realm. A story of magia, warrior women, found family and love - and not accepting who you are told to be, but embracing who you are destined to become.

Adult • Diversity Representation/BIPOC/Own Voices • Fantasy/Mythic, Retelling, and Folklore • Diversity Representation/LGBTQ+ • Fantasy/Epic and High

Content Warning: Violence – on page fighting against monsters and people. Some blood, stabbing, mentions of arrows hitting their marks in people. Three major fighting scenes mentioned in detail. Death – on page, part of the violence in the fighting scenes. Blood – again, mentioned during the fighting scenes. Monsters Bullying Human Trafficking Verbal threat of sexual assault (not explicit)

armedwithabook book blogger

Gripping start. Stellar cover. I didn’t find the second half as engaging but I liked the book enough to complete this duology when I get a chance!

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bkwrm1317

This was a really interesting novel, although there were odd breaks in the progress of the overall story arc as the protagonist went from one portion of the setting/story to another. This created a slightly disjointed reader experience for me. World building was distinctive.

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Menendezbe

The story was original and interesting. The world was fascinating, but the pauses to explain it through narrative were a bit jarring. Great to have a fantasy built on a Latin culture, but the reason they spoke Spanish was unclear. The cliffhanger was unsatisfying.

SKaeth author

An incredible story filled with diversity and fresh worldbuilding that came from the heart, with lovable characters you are excited to root for. The ending clearly sets up for the next book and I suspect it's meant to be all one long story by the end.