Rebecca Hill

The skaa have been beaten into submission. They keep their heads down, work hard, and do their best to survive. Some dare to dream of something more in the Final Empire. Kelsier has begun to plan something larger than the Final Empire has seen in centuries - an uprising that will destroy the Lord Ruler and free the skaa from the meager existence that they are eking out. 

While he begins to build his team, he has once again recruited several men that have worked with him before, but he is also looking to bring on another member - one that has hidden powers, that they do not fully understand themselves. As he brings Vin into the crew, her demeanor is one of distrusting and wariness. She does not trust these men, even though they appear to be a lot closer than most of the crews that she has dealt with in the past. Her last crew was one of pain, hunger and humiliation. Members would sell you out for the smallest offense. Vin learned early on to keep her head down and keep to herself as much as she could. 

Kelsier has started a small rebellion, one that started with the killing of a nobleman on a plantation - while the skaa hid in their homes. He has built a name for himself. He is a survivor of the Pits. The pits of Hathsin are a desolate place, one where people are sent to die. The atium that the Lord Ruler hoards so closely is mined there, and it is worth a fortune. No one has ever returned from the pits before, so Kelsier has become a celebrity in the underground networks, a person who should not be alive but has defied all the odds so far. As talk of rebellion begins - Kelsier lays out a plan so daring, most think he has finally lost his mind and is wandering around insane. Death does not scare him, and yet he is willing to lead others into danger to accomplish the task that they have been asked to fulfill. 

As Vin and Kelsier begin working on the powers that lay hidden within Vin, she learns that she can do so much more than soothe the people around her. While it is a good power to fall back on, there are so many other areas that she did not know she could access. She is a Mistborn, an allomancer. Allomancy is the mystical power held by the nobility, granted to them by the Lord Ruler some thousand years before as a reward for their loyalty. Skaa are not supposed to have these powers, and anyone who shows knowledge of them without being of noble birth is slated for execution. While there are some skaa who have these powers, they are few and far in between, and they have to be extremely careful, as they are hunted by the Obligators and the Inquisitors, who stifle any form of rebellion or security risk to the Lord Ruler quickly. 

The plan? Draw the armies out of the city, put the major houses in a power struggle and war against each other, and then hopefully be able to defeat the Lord Ruler. The odds are definitely stacked against them, and the chance of actual success is slim. Vin is going to act the part of a noblewoman, and begin to infiltrate the noble houses, and begin to glean some information on the members within each household. Sazed, who is a keeper, begins to give her some pointers and tips on passing as a noblewoman from the countryside, the niece of a minor nobleman. As she debuts into society, she meets the heir of the highest house, but this young man is much different from much of the nobles in the city. He thinks differently, and prefers to spend his time with books instead of people. While she is not impressed with their first meeting, feelings quickly change and a small friendship begins to open between the two.  But the tensions between the houses are rising, and nobleman are beginning to turn up dead. It is only a matter of time before the entire city erupts, and the plans that have been laid so carefully by Kelsier, Breeze, Clubs, Dockson, Ham, and Vin are about to be swept away like the ashes that rain down on the city....



Oh my! My friends over at Gamerati have been after me to read these books for a couple of years. I cannot believe I let these go as long as I did!!! THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! If you have not read this book before, you need to do so! I was immediately transported into the book, and hours would slip by before I realized, I should probably be sleeping or working. In my head I kept singing “Radioactive” by the Imagine Dragons as I was adventuring through this book. Brandon Sanderson draws you completely into the pages of his novel, and does not release the hold he has over you at all. This is the first book in a series of three - so be prepared for an epic journey! Pack your favorite treats and drinks and settle back on your couch for a vacation that will leave you breathless. 

This is one book that honestly will make you sit on the edge of your seat and wonder what is going to happen next - the twists, the turns, the secrets.... they are all there waiting for you to discover them!!

Grab your copy today - and remember - There is always another secret....

Follow Joe Leaphorn and Bergen McKee as they work their way through mystery, death and intrigue. When a wanted man turns up dead with no evidence as to how he died, Leaphorn is disturbed. With more and more reports of a ghost, or a Wolf Man raiding the cattle, rumors begin to fly and the case becomes harder and harder to solve. While Leaphorn is trying to solve that, McKee is trying to unravel the origins of some of the witch stories that have been on the reservation for a while. Needing more case studies, he does his best, but when he is pulled into the middle of the investigation without knowing it, he might just uncover his best lead yet...

This book will not leave you disappointed, and has you hooked from the beginning. It has been described as slow in places, but the webs that are being woven throughout the book deserve a closer look and a chance. I have loved these books for a long time, and being able to sit back and read slowly, I was able to pick up on things that I have missed previously.

Great read! Definitely recommend it as a MUST READ!

Nell Caxton and Princess Elizabeth of York are great friends, both headstrong young ladies, who want the best for both of their families. After the death of King Edward IV and the murky succession of Edward V and Richard III, the two young boys, King Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, are locked in the tower after it is proven that they were born illegitimate, which means Edward cannot assume the throne. Suddenly one day they are gone, and no one knows where, or if they are even alive.

Nell is sure that they are dead, while Elizabeth is sure that they are alive and that her beloved Uncle Richard would never harm a child. Nell is a secretary in Margaret Beaufort's household, and while Nell does not like her, she feels as though there is something to be learned from being in her home, and she is right, although the extent of what secrets are hiding in that house are beyond what she ever could have imagined. One night after being forced to stop at another of Margaret's homes on the way back to the main estate, Nell makes a horrifying discovery. The two princes are alive, being held in a dungeon. Nell makes a promise that she will rescue them, and sets in motion a plan to help the two boys escape. Will they be successful or will Margaret Beaufort succeed in having the boys killed before Nell can save them?


“To the Tower Born” is a great read. It brings together two families, and digs through some of the most turbulent times in English history. Many were to ready to believe that Richard III could have had his nephews murdered in order to take the throne for himself, and thereby clear the succession, but there were others who refused to believe that Richard would have stooped so low. There were no lack of suspects.. the Duke of Buckingham, who helped place Richard on the throne, and then designed plans of his own to take the crown. Margaret Beaufort who had a right of her own, but instead wanted the crown for her son Henry Tudor who was in exile. Then there were those that wanted the young prince Edward back on the throne, and would have done anything to undermine him, namely his sister in law, the former queen Elizabeth Woodville. I have long suspected Margaret Beaufort of having more than a passing interest in the young prince's disappearance, as it was to perfect for her and helped her plans along. This book pushes that theory to the front, and places blame elsewhere, thereby vindicating Richard III.