The Lightness of Water (Water Witch) YA Fantasy Romance Adventure by Toni Cabell ➱ Book Sale with Rafflecopter
The Lightness of Water
Water Witch Book 1
by Toni Cabell
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance Adventure
The
only thing more dangerous than divining for water is falling in love
with the enemy…
**2022
B.R.A.G. Medallion Award**
**2022 Winner - The Wishing Shelf Book
Awards**
**2022 Gold Medal - Best Fantasy Romance - Global Book
Awards**
Solace
is beautiful, strong-willed, and called the water witch by her
neighbors. She divines for water in the arid hills of her home—a
dangerous pastime across the border, where the king controls access
to all the water.
Rhees is brooding, bitter, and hiding a
deadly secret. But he’s determined to find a way to help the
thirsty people of his land—even if it means kidnapping the last
living water diviner.
But divining for water is against the
law, punishable by death. Should Solace risk everything—including
her heart—in a daring race to find water, or flee across the hills
at her first chance of escape?
Beauty
and the Beast meets The
Hunger Games in
this thrilling romantic fantasy. Pick up The
Lightness of Water by
award-winning author Toni Cabell, and be swept into a world of
betrayal, mystery, and heart-stomping action.
**The
Lightness of Water depicts
an assault on Solace that may disturb some readers of Toni’s other
Young Adult books**
Praise
for The Lightness
of Water:
"An
exquisitely refined fantasy adventure that will keep you reading well
into the night." (Indies Today)
"A cleverly crafted
fantasy packed full of mystery, adventure, and a little romance!
Highly recommended." (The Wishing Shelf)
"The
Lightness of Water by
Toni Cabell was a riveting novel that held my attention from the
first chapter." (Readers Favorite)
**Get it FREE June 15th – 19th!!**
**Check out the COVER REVEAL of book 2!!**
The Way of Water
Water Witch Book 2
An
unexpected guest arrives at the palace with an old claim for the new
King of Toresz—but if Rhees agrees, he risks losing Solace
forever.
Visitors
from every land and province are traveling to Toresz for the new
king’s coronation. Crown Princess MaudeLyn of Censarra arrives
early. A day early, in fact. Forcing her way into the dress
rehearsal, she delivers shocking news: according to the arcane laws
governing royal marriage and succession, Rhees and the princess are
betrothed!
Solace and Rhees part on bitter terms. Homeless and
heartsick, Solace begins the arduous journey back to her father’s
house. But at every stop along the way, the people hail her as the
Water Witch Queen.
When tragedy strikes, and Rhees needs her
one last time, will Solace stay and fight for her adopted homeland
and their new king?
**PreOrder now for Only .99cents!!**
EXCERPT
FROM THE LIGHTNESS OF WATER, BY TONI CABELL
Afterward,
she couldn’t be sure if it was pure exhaustion—water divining took a lot out of
her—or the emotional drain of finally telling Arik her feelings, but all she
could say for certain was that her sense of hearing failed her utterly. She
never heard him coming. She’d walked maybe thirty paces, guided by the thinnest
sliver of moon, and then all went black.
Solace
struggled inside the blackness, pushing against whatever held her. The
blackness felt scratchy, almost like she’d walked into a burlap sack. She
kicked and screamed, but someone wrestled her to the ground. Clapping a strong
hand over her mouth and nose and cutting off her air, a man’s voice growled
through the darkness, “If you want to live through the night, keep your mouth
shut—” and then the sharp pinch of a dagger pressed against her throat.
She
screamed as loudly as she could, kicking and punching wildly. She made contact
with something, a shin or knee perhaps.
“Oof!”
grunted the man. “Don’t make this any harder on yourself!”
Solace
twisted out of his grasp and started running blindly, the sack still on her
head and dangling below her knees. Her kidnapper caught up with her in a few
long strides and tossed her to the ground. Solace felt him straddle her, and
she screamed harder, terrified of what he had in mind. The man clamped his hand
over her mouth and leaned down to hiss in her ear. “Stop now, or your family is
next.”
My
family? He must mean Dad, and Arik and Gordo. He’s been spying on us! But why?
We’re nothing but poor hill people. Solace squeezed her eyes shut and
sniffled. She had to keep her father and the others safe. She’d cooperate for
now—until she could figure out a way to escape.
“Can
I remove my hand now, without you caterwauling to the moon?”
Solace
nodded and bit back a snarly reply. Her captor made quick work of trussing her
up like one of her Naming Day packages, and then he tossed into the air. She
swallowed down a scream as she landed, presumably on a horse, because she heard
him snort and paw the ground. Someone—probably the same knife-wielding man,
because he seemed to be acting alone—jumped into the saddle and adjusted her so
she lay across the front of the saddle, with her head bouncing below the
horse’s withers. She sensed a flick of the reins and the horse took off at a
gallop. They were followed by a second set of hooves hitting the rocky soil
somewhere behind them.
Solace
tried listening to the horses’ hooves striking the ground to figure out their
direction but she soon gave up. They rode for what seemed like days, but was
probably a few hours, Solace rocking and bumping along until she wanted to
retch. She squirmed about in her sack until the man yelled, “Be still! You’re
upsetting my horse.”
She
yelled back, “And you’re upsetting me! My head’s splitting, and I’m going to be
sick all over this burlap in another minute!”
The
man reined in his horse and they slowed down to a trot, then a walk, and
finally they stopped, Solace’s stomach in her throat and her head throbbing.
“I’ll
remove the ropes and sack so you can have some fresh air. No funny business or
you’ll regret it.”
“Am
I supposed to thank you?”
“I
don’t expect gratitude, but I demand obedience, or the sack will go back on
your head for the duration of the ride. And I can assure you, it’s a very long
ride.”
Solace
listened closely to his pronunciation of certain words; his enunciation was too
refined to be from the hills of Yelosha, which was the only accent Solace could
identify. He might be from one of the cities along the western coast, beyond
the Hawxhurss Mountains that split Yelosha in half—the western half lush and
green and prosperous—and the eastern half arid and brown and poor. Or maybe he
wasn’t Yeloshan at all.
Solace
felt herself being lifted from the back of the horse, more gently than she’d
been tossed onto it, and then one hand gripped her waist while the other hand
unwound the ropes. The man let go of her momentarily, and in her
disorientation, she tumbled to the ground, still swaddled in burlap. Her head
struck something sharp, a rock or tree root. As she drifted into
unconsciousness, she thought she heard him exclaim, “Are you alright? I didn’t
mean to—”
Solace
woke up thirsty, her head pounding, lying under a blanket inside a two-person
tent. She rolled onto her side and cried out from the pain. Bringing her hand
up to her bandaged head, she probed around and discovered an egg-sized lump on
her forehead.
The
tent flap was drawn back and a large shadow loomed in the opening. All Solace
could make out was the silhouette of a tall man, framed by the sunlight outside
the tent. How long have I been lying here? A frisson of fear crept up
Solace’s spine, and she paused, trying to figure out whether she hurt anywhere
other than her head. She took a deep breath and exhaled. No, I think it’s
just my head—for now.
“Skillfully plotted books packed full of magic, mayhem, and a plethora of dark secrets…” (The Wishing Shelf)
An award-winning fantasy author, Toni writes the “perfect coming-of-age tale with a magical twist.” (Indies Today) Her books feature strong female protagonists, page-turning plots, and relatable characters that spring off the page.
Toni makes her home in a small village along the shores of Lake Michigan with her handsome husband and grumpy miniature schnauzer. When she told her fifth-grade teacher she wanted to be a writer, neither of them expected Toni’s journey to include stints as a nurse’s aid, personal banker, instructional designer, real estate broker, systems analyst, and youth director. Toni is thrilled to be an indie author and does at least half her writing in the middle of the night, which may explain her wild plot twists and unforgettable characters.
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$10 Amazon,
Signed Print Copy of The Lightness of Water
– 1 winner each!
Thank you for posting about my book tour & giveaway for The Lightness of Water! Love the name of your blog!! Words are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt. Sounds really good.
ReplyDelete