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Trials of the Innermost
Could you defeat the darkness within?
Genre: Adult Science Fiction Fantasy
Series: Book 1 of the Etherea Cycle
Publisher: Hansen House Books
Available May 26, 2023
About Trials of the Innermost
In a world that stopped spinning, six young people embark on a quest to preserve peace between their homelands and fulfill a prophecy that says they will save their world from being devoured.
A cataclysm in Etherea’s past stopped its rotation, leaving three distinct realms: one of light, one of dark, and one of twilight. Years of war between them followed. Until the establishment of the Trials of the Innermost. A new set of Six Truthseekers are chosen for this quest of learning and cooperation. But the fragile peace created by the Trials is crumbling, even as they begin their first task. The group is composed of each realm’s best and brightest, and their talents range from magic channeled through music to explosive crystals. They will need all their unique abilities to survive the Trials, which take them through scorched wastes, a wall of storms, and the shadowed Fellwood. Along their journey, a shared lost past is rediscovered that forces the Truthseekers to question all they once held to be true. Yet even as they grapple with their new reality, a deadly secret is unveiled. A fragment of an alien force called the Penumbra has possessed one of their own, granting him preternatural abilities. One realm seeks to control the entity, but the Penumbra has other plans. If it can succeed in reuniting its broken pieces, it will gain the power to consume all of Etherea’s abundant life force. The Truthseekers must overcome their differences and work together to stop the malevolent entity before they lose their friend—and their world—to the Penumbra’s hunger.
Characters
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Tropes and Elements
- Fantasy and science fiction
- Multiple pov (points of view)
- Swords and magic
- Animal companions
- Only one bed trope
- Non-erotic mlm
- The dog doesn’t die
- LGBTQ+ characters
- Enemies to lovers trope
- Best friends
- Reluctant hero
- Chosen one trope
- Strong females
- Arranged marriage
- Low spice/romance as sub plot
- Gay, bi, ace representation