Torn

The Unraveled Kingdom, Book 1

By: Rowenna Miller

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Torn is the first book in an enchanting debut fantasy series featuring a seamstress who stitches magic into clothing, and the mounting political uprising that forces her to choose between her family and her ambitions, for fans of The Queen of the Tearling.

In a time of revolution, everyone must take a side.

Sophie, a dressmaker and charm caster, has lifted her family out of poverty with a hard-won reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly embroidered spells. A commission from the royal family could secure her future - and thrust her into a dangerous new world.

Revolution is brewing. As Sophie's brother, Kristos, rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement, it is only a matter of time before their fortunes collide.

When the unrest erupts into violence, she and Kristos are drawn into a deadly magical plot. Sophie is torn - between her family and her future.

©2018 Rowenna Miller (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Torn challenges readers to thoughtfully consider all sides of social change by humanizing each perspective. Readers interested in classic fantasy, feminism, adventure, and a bit of romance will enjoy this thought-provoking book." (Booklist)

"A gorgeous weave of romantic fantasy and urgent politics." (Anna Smith Spark)

"Strong research, moral ambiguities, and an innovative magic system." (Kirkus)

"Real stakes combined with a clever, unique magic system." (B&N SciFi & Fantasy Blog)

Fun read

This was a fun read that was easy to get caught up in, despite the fact that the female lead was a bit oblivious.

baffling

First of all, Moira Quirk does another excellent job with the narration. Without her I wouldn't have gotten over halfway through this book.

spoilers ahead

If you want a book about class struggle where the protagonist is from the lower class but wholeheartedly sides with the nobility, this is for you.
If you want a book where the upper class are literally flawless angels who do nothing wrong in the narration, this is for you.
If you want a protagonist who has worked hard to open her business despite it being almost impossible due to the upper class' iron hand control, and who sees a handsome duke once and goes all in on the upper class' side (with some hesitation, no real inner conflict), this is for you.
If you want a book where the major conflict is resolved while the narrator (protagonist) is sleeping, so we're only told about it after the fact, this is for you.
If you want a protagonist who literally does only two things that impact the entire conflict throughout the whole book, and both at the very end, this is for you.

She does nothing but hesitate and gush about her crush the entire book, and the outcome would likely have been identical without her.

This wasn't for me.

Great premise, somewhat disappointing execution

Loved the world setup and characters! Really brought down by weak antagonist, lack of ambition in engaging the themes of its plot... Still enjoyable and I will check out the second book to see what happens.

Loved!

loved this book! I can not wait for the next one in the series!

Loved it!!!

I couldn't put the book down. I found the plot somewhat akin to a rich tapestry, full of color and design. Excellent storyline, and the Narrator was amazing!!! ❤️

A tense political romance

I’ve become a fan of Moria Quirk, and she does not disappoint in this gripping political story. With a heavy dose of romance, and nod to current frustrations with disparity, this book made me feel that I was in another world.

Really gripping story!

This one gained my attention back when it first came out because it involves a magic system that involves sewing. I got the audiobook with the entire idea that I would do some cross stitching while listening to it, but it didn’t end up working out like that. Oh well! :D

This is the story of Sophie, who is a seamstress in the city of Galitha. Her and her brother Kristos are common folk in the city ruled by the noble class. Their parents both died some years earlier, and were originally from the country of Pellia, where charms and curses and other such superstitions and magical abilities are still fairly commonplace. Sophie learned from her mother how to cast charms, and now makes a decent living running her shop and discreetly selling charmed clothing to the nobles.

Kristos on the other hand, is part of a radical group of common folk who have become more vocal as tensions between the noble class and working classes have increased. The common class wants more equality and a say in lawmaking and whatnot, and the nobility is… well, the nobility. Kristos is quite involved with these rebels, right up until they take him hostage in order to force Sophie to use her ever increasing friendships with some of the nobles in the city to make a cursed bit of clothing for someone in the royal family.

So, Sophie finds herself in between doing as she must to see her brother safe again, and an increasingly serious relationship with one of the most noble of dukes in the city.

I thought this book was fantastically written, with lovely prose, and brought so much well described tension to the table at times that I had to take breaks because the tension and the emotion that this book threw at me was getting me all riled up. That’s a sign of good writing! I will admit that when I went in, I was not expecting this book to have a real good fist fight with my feels, but it certainly did. I liked Sophie as a character, and I really wanted her to succeed against the antagonists. The revolt that plays out over the course of the story was very well plotted out and unfolded in a way that I felt was believable and totally could have happened in real life. The magic system was really neat, and while the magic wasn’t really the driving force of the story, it definitely added a level of mystique to the whole thing. I enjoyed the romance that played out in this one as well.

It had absolutely wonderful narration as well from Moira Quirk, who made all the characters sound suitably different and gave even male characters, like Kristos and Theodor really great voices. I sometimes have a hard time with female narrators, but her voice is very pleasant to listen to, and this book, when I had time and inclination to listen, seemed to just fly right on by.

All told, it was a great use of 14 or so hours of your time, if you like books with an interesting and old-world feeling magic system, with sewing, and a well written and believable proletariat revolt, and a bit of romance all in one package.

Enjoyable but slow

It started off going pretty fast and enjoyable. And about mid way through I was thinking to myself “I really want to like this book.” I loved the protagonist and even the characters surrounding her and the issues that she was dealing with but it just seemed like there was some dead space in between. A little repetitious at times. But I did find the story interesting and I wanted to know more so I finished the book and looking forward to the next one. I recommend it to anyone who has the patience and just enjoys listening to a good story. I would not call it a page turner but certainly you will be rooting for the main character.

Poor character and plot development

Really my title says it all made it through 4-5 hrs of the book which was mostly world building at the expense of characters and plot... the reader is told the main character and her brother are smart yet they never do anything to prove it. And the intrigue is just meh. Some people might enjoy this book but unfortunately I'm not one of them

Narrator good, written well, but horrible story

Narrator was excellent, but the story was unbelievable, protagonist was almost stupid and gullible. The premise sounded interesting, and the first couple chapters on how the main character worked. Her charms as a seamstress were interesting but it quickly fell short. You could almost see how the story would go as unbelievable as it was the main character commits treason and then goes about her job as if that’s that, the deed is done and behind her and now her life would go on just as before. The main characters in the book were just unlikable either because they were so naïve and stupid instead of logically thinking adults. The brother was irritating from chapter 1. So many plot holes, and expecting the reader or listener to gloss over them was just too much.