The Amethyst Talisman

Book one of The Cursed Weapons Trilogy

I gazed into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, drowning in pools of amber liquid, imprinting this memory into my mind for when I didn’t have him with me. If only he’d kiss me, give me something to cling to in the hard days and cold nights ahead…

from The Amethyst Talisman – Aerin Apeltun

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An innocent assassin. An oppressed prince. A curse to bind them.

A world broken by civil war. Merciless assassins that will kill anyone for the right price. A forbidden love destined to destroy everything.

Amethyst is the deadliest assassin in the Five Lands. Known as Lady Merciless, Amethyst has never failed a mission and she has never missed her mark. But she hides a terrible secret from the Iolite Coterie of Assassins – a secret that would land her at the top of their hit list.

When she’s accused of murdering the Crown Princess of Aerba and stealing a gem of legend, Amethyst’s reputation quickly comes to haunt her. Cursed by the King, she must find the true assassin and thief, or the Curse will kill her. The last thing Amethyst needs on her quest is Prince Valerian, sent with her to avenge his sister’s murder.

Forced to work together, Amethyst and Valerian’s destinies become entwined as they search for the assassin and gemstone. With the curse slowly draining Amethyst’s life, and the Coterie setting their sights on Valerian, it’s not only their lives that are at risk – but their hearts too.

REVIEWS

“This book was amazing! You guys know I don’t read a huge amount of fantasy but you do know I love crystals and how stunning is this cover?! It drew me right in to reading the blurb and sounded like a great story so I had to sign up and am I glad I did! The Blood Rule Decree at the start gave it the perfect insight into the world, and combined with the map you had a good idea of the world before the story even began… It was a really well thought-out world and I loved that each of the Five Lands had their own ‘thing’. I thought the naming idea of each land naming their people after different ‘real world’ things like herbs, gemstones, trees etc. was great because it gave them fantasy weird names without the “how the hell am I supposed to pronounce this random assortment of letters?”. Absolutely genius in my opinion!
Samphire was such a strong main character. An assassin but her thoughts and inner turmoils were so normal and human no one could help but fall in love with her. Rian was an excellent sidekick and love, the perfect amount of useful strong prince but not so much that he took over… I loved their relationship and the way it grew despite all odds and I absolutely fell in love with them and their friends (read: family). The storyline was so engaging and set it up the series nicely… I would 100% recommend you pick this up and I will definitely be getting my hands on book 2 as soon as is humanly possible!

@be_ca12 Instagram

“If you love an adventurous fantasy, then this is a book you should get on and read!

@book_lover296

Phire’s relationship with Rian was incredible… heartwarming, emotional and just so bloody fabulous to read!

@bookswithbecki