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- September 28, 2022
Sade Louise Unveils “Blood of the Lotus,” A New Coming-of-Age Series
Debut novelist, Sade Louise, has officially launched her first book, Blood of the Lotus. A young adult urban fantasy novel, bringing fantasy into the modern day world with twists and turns around every corner. Spinning a new tale of religion she challenges how we
perceive good and evil as the altered timeline in her story unravels.
Trained to kill demons, she never thought she’d join their side.
Seventeen-year-old Nova Fandera has always known her duty to bring honor to her family by becoming an Undivided—a demon hunter bonded to and given strength by an angel—but as desperate as she is to prove herself, she is kept trapped within the confines of her father’s estate with no explanation as to why. When she hears of the coming blood moon—a rare night when demons feed off the moon’s essence and become stronger—Nova recklessly escapes, determined to bring the head of a powerful demon to her father’s doorstep. What she doesn’t expect, however, is the aid of her enemy and a deal offered: answers to the questions her father won’t even acknowledge in return for training six young half-human, half-demons. But hunters don’t make deals with devils. That is, unless they’re left with no other choice.
Nova soon discovers that her questions about her identity and family’s history are more than what she bargained for. A unique and powerful artifact that heeds her call, a mystical lotus tattoo, memories of other lives, and lost love… The mysteries keep piling up with no end in sight.
When a faceless Darkness threatens her from chasing after these answers, Nova risks everything she’s ever known and teams up with the very beings she was raised to hate.
Yet the journey is only just beginning. A lifetime of lies and betrayals is unraveling with the red string of fate, leading Nova to a truth no one is prepared for. One that screams for retribution and cries for the lost. But Darkness will do anything to stop her—even if that means destroying the world.
The book introduces us nearly mid-battle before we are pulled back for some explanation and exposition. And the pace shifts as we begin to foreshadow that our main character, Nova Fandera, is much more than a sheltered child. She is being kept from learning far darker. At first, she appears to be more of an unreliable narrator. Her sheltered nature lies therein a naïve nature to the way the world works, but her passion and desire push her into a trajectory of growth and change unlike anything she could have ever expected before.
We begin to see a different side of Nova, starting with the perspective of her closest friends, who speak highly of her. Her best friend and rival, Adrian, shares nothing but thoughts of love and affection toward Nova. Then our perspective of her begins to shape more fully. Nova continues to share and open up to us as we begin to understand that not only is Nova tired of being sheltered, but she competes to be worthy of everyone around her as she is consistently underestimated and condescended. We then witness the unfurl of the reasons she feels the way she does… and we trust in her a little more.
Nova’s angelic trials, a coming-of-age ritual for her and her clan, come upon her on her eighteenth birthday. Not only does she see things unlike anyone else who had endured through the trials, she is chosen not by one but two angels in her angelic trials, never to be seen before by anyone in the clan or the Undivided– those who also have been chosen to merge souls with angels in the heavens. This chapter offers the most intense visuals in the novel thus far, offering more foreshadowing for what remains in the rest of the novel.
We see Nova make the critical choice to turn her back on all that she’s known in order to find answers to the seemingly endless questions that no one she knows seems willing to answer. Breaking off the ties from her father, who refused to redeem himself and unveil the truths about her upbringing and the world as she knows it, Nova makes a deal with a demon as an alternative; turning her back on her clan and everything they stand for.
It’s quite evident the author has studied the lore behind the angelic and the demonic through how each character reveals themselves throughout the novel. And using Nova as a catalyst for breaking off generational curses, coping with parental traumas, and ultimately, relying on inner strength when all else fails, we see a character grow and shift in a way that is relatable for many in the audience.
As the novel commences, we uncover the secrets that laid before Nova as she makes the choices to break the cycle of generations and the lives before her. And as this alone breaks from generational curses, judgement and fear are traumas on their own that Nova faces head on as she, too, discovers her identity and finds confidence from within. There is a really beautiful underlying message in this book, especially considering the angels and demons and the warfare in between. Biblical or not, it holds an important message for anyone coming of age, trying to assert who they are and pave their own path, separate from the soul ties, generational curses, and warfare generations before them.
“My whole life , everyone has tried to protect me. It’s never been what I’ve wanted or asked for; I’ve only ever wanted to be free, to understand who I am.”
~ Nova Fandera | Blood of the Lotus
Grab your copy of Blood of the Lotus, available now!
