{Review} The Voyages of Trueblood Cay (Venery #2.75) by Suanne Laqueur (@JavierLandes)

The Voyages of Trueblood Cay
Being an especial accounting of his life at sea, as told by Gil Rafael

Pelippé Trueblood is a giantsblood—one of the great mariners of House Tru. Raised on the mighty ship Cay, he’s chosen at nineteen for a perilous voyage predicted in ancient prophecy. Young and unseasoned, Trueblood fears the gods may have picked the wrong man for the job. Worse, prophecy demands he be accompanied by Fen il-Kheir, and nothing in Trueblood's life at sea has prepared him for this dangerous new crew member.

Fen is a kheiron—a creature with the ability to shift between man and horse. With a dark past, little love for humans and less love for ships, Fen proves a reluctant passenger whose secrets about Trueblood could jeopardize not only the voyage, but the future of the world.

A feud of the gods. Ships built by giants. Spice that makes the world beautiful. Flying horses. Murder and misery. Belonging and bravery. Sailors, centaurs, warriors, queens, courtesans and storytellers. A tapestry of mythology and human experience, The Voyages of Trueblood Cay is both Javier Landes’ love letter to his life, and Suanne Laqueur’s most adventurous love story.
 
Publisher's Note: Gil Rafael is the pen name of Javier Landes, who is a fictional character in Laqueur's Venery series. The Voyages of Trueblood Cay is the novel Javier is writing throughout the series. This novel-within-a-novel contains subtle references to people and situations in Venery, however it's not necessary to have read the series beforehand. Trueblood Cay can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone.

(Contains adult situations written in adult language.)

Pelippé Trueblood was born to sail the seas.  As the only son of the legendary Kepten True, he grew up knowing that one day he too would navigate his own ship. He listened carefully to the tales that his father told while surrounded by his beloved crew and dreamed of the day when he would have such sweeping adventures.  That day came much sooner than he ever expected.

May I call you legantos?

It’s an old giantword. It means “beloved reader” and it allows me, the storyteller, to address you throughout the tale-telling.

Shall we begin?

The story of Pelippé Trueblood starts and ends on a ship.

His life at sea was shaped by his decisions and the choices made by those who came before him. His voyage was shaped by legends that began centuries before his birth and the tales he left in his wake.

His life is written and his is a love story.

So listen, legantos.
​
Listen to learn it. Learn it to tell it. Tell it to teach it.

The kheiron known as Fen il-Kheir experienced more than his fair share of pain.  He was taken prisoner as a young foalboy and forced to endure untold atrocities at the hands of his captors.  When he was finally rescued, he was irrevocably broken – both in body and in soul. 
 
Nothing could quiet the rage that burns inside of him.  Until he met Pelippé Trueblood.
 
Pé and Fen have been thrown together by those who believe that they are the ones to fulfill the prophesy detailed in the stones of the sacred Truviad. But will they ever be strong enough to make the sacrifice that is demanded of them?  

​Fen sat astride a chair, arms folded on its back, chin on top. His wings filled the cabin, blocking out the bed where the twins lay sleeping. The tiers of feathers, white and silver and perfect, rose and fell gently with Fen’s breath and Trueblood wanted them on his skin. 

They stared a long, long time at each other. 

The cold coming off the kheiron smelled delicious. 

Fen lifted his head and unfolded his arms. He slid the ringos from the thumb of his fivehand. His eyes closed once as his wings retracted, melding back into his body. Without a word, he held out the circle of silver.

 “No, you’re free,” Trueblood whispered. 

“I know.” His finger extended further, the ringos dangling from its tip. “I’m free and I’m onboard now. I’m part of this now. Part of the quest and part of your crew. If you’ll have me, I’m willing to stay.” 

Trueblood freed an arm from the blankets and started to reach. Then he hesitated. “It’s yours.”
​ 
“I want you to wear it,” Fen said. “My choice this time. It means something different now.”

It’s not a secret that I love everything that Suanne Laqueur writes. And by love, I mean LOVE IN ALL CAPS!  Even still, that didn’t stop me from being skeptical about reading her first fantasy novel.  
 
After The Voyages of Trueblood Cay, I will never doubt her genius again.
 
It took me a long time to read this book.  Not just because of its length, but because I wanted to savor every word. I recognized each of her characters within the new incarnations and once again, their story absolutely destroyed me.
 
With giants, winged horses and sea monsters - It’s a world lush enough to bear the name of the Venery series. But at the very heart of it all is a love story that simply refuses to be denied. And it’s an odyssey of the soul that I won’t soon forget…

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