Book Review: We Are The Origin

As part of Resist Bookseller’s continued focus on independently published authors, we chose fantasy writer CM Lockhart as our indie author in spotlight. We read the wonderful book We Are The Origin, her debut novel.

Book Synopsis

She was a shadow.

Forced into a life of serving the queendom before she was old enough to deny them, Brandi was a cultivator of death and the queen’s own blade, reserved only for the disloyal and the blasphemous. Crafted by the queendom and forged in blood, she was nothing more than a tool. She was never meant to have an opinion on whose blood she shed — never meant to question whose back she was pressed into or whose throat she was slipped across.

She was destruction.

But when Freya, the goddess of life and judger of souls, demands that she protect rather than destroy, Brandi has no choice but to obey her new orders. And while abandoning the queendom comes with its own set of problems, being hunted by the people she once called family is the least of her worries when the gods reveal to her an enemy who exists beyond the reach of their power. So, with a helpless princess in tow, she begins her search for a way to fight this impossible enemy and save the realm from destruction.

Because she is the wrath of the gods.

And it was foolish for anyone to forget that

Book Review

I know this may seem like a trivial item but as a bookseller, we come across some very well-written summaries that don’t set the reader in the right space to experience the book. Lockhart’s summary does.

I believe this book had two elements that stood out to me: the world-building and the story pace.

Any fantasy story worth its salt has to have an inviting and well-built world. The world, especially in fantasy, serves as a primary character and can distract from the main goal of the story if poorly done. Lockhart not only built a world that managed to feed you complexity but didn’t add features unnecessarily. She built her own religion and decadent scenery, none of which were overly predictable or distracting from the main storyline.

Lockhart also kept the pace of the book exciting. From the first paragraph to the end, there was movement and action. The characters didn’t sit talking about paint drying, dulling the storyline. All conversations and action scenes were important to the story or character development and kept my attention throughout.

If I had some things I would have liked to see go differently in the book it would be the super villain more air time. The arc from meeting with him to the end of the book felt short considering the importance of the character in future books. I also would love to see more scenes with Brandi and Jack in their relationship but I would expect to see more of that in the next installment so I will be patient.</p>

My Recommendation

My recommendation ranking system goes as follows:

* Hard pass / not worth the read

* General interest but no rush

* Recommended read

* Must read

* Certified generational classic

This book rates for me as a MUST READ.