“In true epic fantasy fashion, the world building is incredible, and I loved uncovering the lore of the desert.”

Review by Rayleigh Gray

She’d always felt connected to the desert, she just didn’t realize what that meant…

Kaadira is a survivor. Forced to don a disguise and become an assassin seven years ago, she makes a sustainable living, but each kill stains her hands and heart until she doesn’t feel there’s hope of ever being whole again.

Jakeem is an heir. He hates being under his father’s controlling thumb and leaves to prove himself worthy by bringing back a sacred book stolen from them years ago. He doesn’t anticipate how difficult it’d be though, and is driven by desperation to do something he normally never would’ve—team up with an assassin.

Despising each other from the start, Kaadira and Jakeem must learn to work together to reclaim the book from an evil, cunning man while surviving the many dangers of the Great Desert. They later overhear a shocking discovery that leaves them reeling—the legendary sand-masters thought to be dead are alive. Chasing the discovery for answers and hope for the lawless kingdom, the unlikely duo must overcome their prejudices and face the truth of their hearts. But when a betrayal separates them, all seems lost. Jakeem wanders the desert aimlessly, and Kaadira is thrust into a new and uncertain world that will either undo or remake her.

Will Jakeem find himself and his strength or succumb to the land? Will Kaadira succeed in mastering the desert and her heart, or will the darkness enshrouding her soul consume her forever?

Master of the Desert, book one in the interconnected standalone series, is a Middle-Eastern inspired YA fantasy with magic, action and adventure, clean yet swoon-worthy romance, secrets and betrayals, and themes of redemption and forgiveness. You can read Secrets of the Desert in whatever order you want, but it’s recommended to read the first two books in order as they’re heavily connected and the second one contains spoilers for the first.

Master of the Desert sweeps the reader into a whirl of sand, assassins, and romance as Kaadira faces the worst monsters in the Great Desert...including herself.

This book will be perfect for readers who enjoy romantasy without the explicit scenes. The first half of the book is extremely fast-paced and packed with action, but the latter half shifts to a more introspective pace that may not be for everyone. In true epic fantasy fashion, the world building is incredible, and I loved uncovering the lore of the desert. I'm curious to see how things come together in the next book!

Note: I originally started this book as a beta reader; but once I couldn't make the feedback deadline, I bought the book and re-read the released version :)

Content Ratings:

3. Mild action (common injuries with some details).

3. Romance with moderate romantic content (heavier kissing/making out scenes, but no grabby hands).

1. Infrequent substitute cursing (less than 10 “craps”, “hecks”, and/or ONLY book-specific words, etc.)

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

Romance: No X-rated scenes, however, there are many fairly-detailed kissing scenes. Cursing: Limited to book-specific words, so the characters do curse, just in a language unique to this story-world. Action/Gore: I wouldn’t consider the action scenes to ever go above a PG-13 rating and while the topics can be heavy at times, there’s very little gore actually shown on page.

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