Zendar: A Tale of Sand – 4 Star Book Review

Welcome to one of the Februayr 16th stops on the blog tour for Zendar: A Tale of Sand by K. T. Munson, organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour 7 other reviews and a giveaway! (More on that at the end of this post.)

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About the Book

Zendar: A Tale of Sand
by K.T. Munson

Published 22 August 2020

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Page Count: 53
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Zendar is a world of sand and strife.

Living in the great capital of Zendar, Sol, Nitya has always longed for something more than her family’s merchant lifestyle. She craves adventure—or at least hopes something remotely exciting could happen. When her best friend, Juni, secures them both positions in the palace’s kitchen, Nitya gets to experience a different world than she ever imagined—especially after a young soldier catches her eye.

Her world will never be the same.

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Excerpt

He walked around the bench and bent to retrieve her drawings. “I thought you heard me approaching. It seems you were too focused on your art.” He began to look at them.

“Wait!” she said, but it was too late.

His eyebrows arched at the drawing at the bottom of the pile, one she’d done of him. Should she simply run away? Perhaps if she placed some distance between them she could pretend this wasn’t happening.

“Is this me?” he asked, holding it out.

She nodded before snatching the papers. Mortified, she held them to her chest. Instead of leaving or mocking her, he took a step closer, putting them at an intimate distance. He cocked his head to the side, and she felt her lips part slightly. He focused on her smile, and for a moment she thought he was going kiss her.

“How do you choose what to draw?” His words entranced her like a charmer.

“Pretty things,” she replied mindlessly.

He gave her a lopsided grin before reaching up to snatch the offending drawing from her hold. “I think I’ll keep this.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “I thank you.”

My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars
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I was granted complimentary access to a review copy of Zendar: A Tale of Sand as part of my participation in the blog tour for this title through Goddess Fish Promotions. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Nitya and Juni get the opportunity to experience the life of a palace servant for a month when the kitchen needs coverage for a pregnant woman near birth. It seems like the perfect little adventure to these girls until Nitya trusts the wrong people and gets herself in trouble of the worst sort!

This book is a fun, quick read that feels like an excellent introduction into the world. I very much appreciate the fact that it jumps straight into the plot and fits in worldbuilding as we go, but I suppose at just 53 pages it can’t afford to do otherwise!

The “Nitya’s in trouble” aspect of the plot is very well done and kept me reading. The Nitya falling in love with Ramas aspect… We get hints that Ramas has been aware of and had feelings for Nitya much longer than she’s been aware of him, but that doesn’t make how fast she falls for him feel any better for me. This is peak YA intalove, and it’s not my thing.

For most of the story I get the sense that this country and society are a bronze age type setup, but at one point there’s mention of airships. Is this meant to be a steampunk world? (Or bronzepunk? I recently heard that term.) I didn’t get that from the novella, but it makes me very curious about the full-length Zendar novel!

About the Author

K.T. Munson is an independent author. First published at 5 years old in the young writers conference, she has pursued writing ever since. She maintains a blog creatingworldswithwords.wordpress.com that is about writing and her novels. She was born and raised in the last frontier, the great state of Alaska.

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Giveaway Alert!

K.T. Munson will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.