What if the protagonist was the daughter of an elven magistrate who finds out she’s actually human and gets kicked out of the magical world; and instead of being prophesied to defeat the dark one, she has a rage-driven mental spiral? And also, what if instead of choosing between two love interests, she has none at all?
Audrey Laine’s newest fantasy novel, The Knighthood, features a classic fantasy novel that flips the hero’s journey trope on its head. Releasing on August 29th this year, the novel features Evy, the main character, who finds out that all she’s ever known and been destined for has been turned to ash.
My world had been shattered before- broken into pieces. Those pieces were dust now, and my life dust in the wind. Not only was I a foreigner to my own bloodline- my own parents, I was limited. A vapour. Elves lived for centuries, but mortals… mortals wrinkled at fifty, or so I’d been told.
~ The Knighthood | Audrey Laine
Most main characters would seek revenge, yes? Not Evy. Instead, she crashes down and self-destructs. Throughout the novel, the reader is taken on that journey through this self-destruction. She refuses to maintain connections with those she meets along the way, makes risky deals with shady figures that could have consequence, and for what? All to desperately claw at some reason to keep on existing.
While mainly, yes, we are a music publication; I’m a big book-lover at heart, as well. Read one of my other reviews here. Now that you’ve had just a taste of what the book has to offer, here are my thoughts and why I think you should grab a copy when the book releases… Please keep in mind that there may be spoilers below.
You can’t lie that it’s incredibly satisfying to see a character who has all the training in etiquette and chooses instead to be “rude” by those standards, all because all who she’s ever loved held up the lies and deceit, and she no longer knows who she can trust. Instead, Evy chooses to trust no one at all, and to cut off all ties she can. Or so she thinks.
She escapes her prison with a magical talking cat, Misty, and curses the wedding of her former brother and new wife. From there, she’s cast out into the human world, where she meets her real human family. However, rather than settling in and adapting, she continues down her path of despair. Why? The life that was destined for her was not only a lie, she was nothing more than a human. Shorter life, with less purpose to live than what she’d known.
Evy meets her neighbors, who due to prior circumstances, know her predicament. She’s met with the first people she feels truly care about her since everything came crashing down; and since meeting Misty. However, Misty is captured, and the three of them journey to find and release her. All the while, Evy still clings on to anything she can from her old life while facing the existential crisis of a lifetime.
Throughout the book, we see Evy continuing down her path of self-destruction and despair, all while realizing that there may still be some hope in sticking around a while longer and seeking out a human life. The best part? No tropey revenge arcs or meaningless side plots. I love a good dark plot, but I love a self-aware character who catches herself before she goes too far, as well.