The Talented Trilogy [Book Tour with Excerpt]

Welcome to one of the January 14th stops on the blog tour for The Talented Trilogy by Rachel Rossano, organized by Silver Dagger Book Tours. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more excerpts, guest posts by the author, reviews, and a giveaway! (More on that at the end of this post.)

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Seventh Born
The Talented Trilogy Book One
by Rachel Rossano

Published 21 March 2018

Genre: Christian Fantasy
Page Count: 254
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In a world where seventh born sons are valued for their strength and power, she is born a daughter.

Zezilia Ilar is the disappointment. Born after six brothers, she was supposed to be the son to restore her family’s prestige. She intends to remedy her shortcomings by being a dutiful daughter, marrying well and producing children, preferably a set of seven sons. But when someone offers her an alternative, she begins to dream of more.

In a society that worships a goddess, he follows the Almighty.

Hadrian Aleron, as a seventh son of a seventh son, stands to take up the second highest position in government, Sept Son. His main qualification for office is his birth. Despite preparing for this role from childhood, he does not desire what is to come. As a follower of the Almighty, he knows he will be the target of many, and his faith might eventually lead to death.

The Defender
The Talented Trilogy Book Two
by Rachel Rossano

Published 10 October 2019

Genre: Christian Fantasy
Page Count: 216
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Zezilia Ilar joins the sept son’s entourage as a defender. Her growing Talent ability makes her a target for the Elitists, and her gender makes people question her competence. She must protect the sept son. Any mistake could be fatal.

Hadrian Aleron always knew his beliefs would cause trouble, but he didn’t realize how much. Rebels are rising. He could lose his title, his position, and if he’s not careful, his life. As the assassination attempts grow bolder, Hadrian must rely upon his young defender and their shared faith in the Almighty to keep him from faltering.

Living Sacrifice
The Talented Trilogy Book Three
by Rachel Rossano

Published 2 November 2020

Genre: Christian Fantasy
Page Count: 275
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Separated, but still joined, they strive for freedom.

Left behind at the sept son’s compound, Zezilia Ilar struggles with the after effects of her prolonged commisceo-link with Hadrian. She devotes herself to caring for the wounded arriving almost daily from the battlefields. Pressed to perform procedures and make decisions far beyond her training, Zez grows in confidence and skill. All the while, she wonders if she’ll see Hadrian again, fearing the worst possible news will arrive any day.

Sept Son Hadrian Aleron fights to bring peace to his home nation. Allied with the new high king, he and a small army of Talented struggle to retake the capital city. Elitists, though scattered, continue to pick off the strongest of his men. As he battles the remnants of the commisceo-link and tries to organize the campaign, he begins losing himself to exhaustion. Only a miracle will keep him alive.

Hadrian

Rain beat on our heads, seeped through the seams in our tents, and soaked into our food supplies. I answered my correspondence with an oiled tarp pulled over my head. Even then, I remained damp.

“The supply wagon is delayed,” Korneli announced as he came through the flaps of our shared tent. “Broken axle in the mud and no nearby wheelwrights to fix it.”

I groaned. “Sabotage?”

“Weather.” He shook his head like a dog and then scrubbed at his scalp. “This blasted weather is enough to drown a fish.”

“It can’t last forever.” I blinked and tried to focus on the letter in my hand.

“I wouldn’t bet on a break just yet, Hadrian.” Korneli sat on the edge of his cot and reached for his journal. “Letter from home?”

“No.” I rubbed at my blurry eyes. “More news of the cleanup efforts in the east. The Elitists have scattered. Our men found two more compounds already abandoned.”

“You know what that means, don’t you?”

I closed my eyes. “The Elitists are still out there. They are still plotting. Next time they won’t be as easy to spot. I am more concerned about the future for all of us, though.”

“One Elitist by himself cannot accomplish much,” Korneli observed.

“But one Elitist raising a family of strong talents indoctrinated with a toxic world view can do a lot of damage.”

Korneli mulled on my observation for a while. I returned to reading my letter.

“When is Zezilia joining us?”

The mention of her name snapped me out of formulating a reply to the letter. The constant ache in my gut jumped to the forefront of my awareness. I groaned. “You had to mention her.”

“You are better around her. Why ever did you leave her back at the compound? Our defender ranks are dwindling fast. We could use a talent like hers.”

“The dwindling numbers are improving. Since we ordered the defenders to dress like regular ranked soldiers, they are harder to identify and target.”

“We are still losing, Hadrian. Ilar and Sabine know our weaknesses. Eventually we will run out of trained defenders. What then?”

“We will deal with that when we get to it.”

Silence, heavy and uncomfortable, hung between us. I used it to begin writing a reply to the letter in my lap. The wording didn’t flow, but I got my point across. I slid the parchment into the pouch to be reviewed by Renato before it went to the tutor.

“Did you two fight?”

Rachel Rossano is a happily married mother of three children. She spends her days teaching, mothering, and keeping the chaos at bay. After the little ones are in bed, she immerses herself in the fantasy worlds of her books. Tales of romance, adventure, and virtue set in a medieval fantasy world are her preference, but she also writes speculative fantasy and a bit of science fiction.