Birthright

Ascension, Book 1

By: L. Fergus

Narrated by: Mary L Phillips

Kita has a problem—if her day wasn’t bad enough.

After being unexpectedly selected as Junior Commander of the futuristic Legion, Kita can’t wait to leave.

However, her mother reveals Kita is the heiress to a powerful title in Arcone and insists Kita claim it before she leaves in a Proving Ritual of skill and honor.

Kita was the famed Angel of Yorq, champion of the dueling circuit. The ritual should be easy.

Now, she finds she’s gravely miscalculated the purpose of this fight. It’s not a duel of skill—but combat. She’s never experienced a battlefield, only the city streets.

Kita has never lost a professional duel and would rather die than suffer the embarrassment of defeat.

She’s left with a choice: reveal she’s an assassin and win but destroy her anonymity and reputation. Losing means she could lose her commission in the Legion, the prize from Arcone, and her standing as undefeated as the Angel of Yorq.

Welcome to one girl’s exciting fantasy sci-fi adventure series to uncover the knowledge of the universe and save her world from hordes of monsters. Follow her multi-book series with her friends, the beautiful, superpowered Angels.

Start your exciting journey into the Ascension series, a world of monsters, future tech, and secrets! Buy Birthright today or download it on Kindle Unlimited!

©2019 Chelsea Feeny (P)2024 Chelsea Feeny

Critic reviews

AWARDS

•Best Overall -- The Pearl Awards
•1st Place Science Fiction -- The Lilac Awards
•1st Place Science Fiction -- LGBT+ Wattys
•1st Place Science Fiction -- The Blue Rose Awards
•1st Place Science Fiction -- Eminence Awards

"This was a brilliant book." —The Faerie Review, Liliyana Shadowlyn

A Bad Girl You'll Love

I've read the series and enjoyed Mary Phillips performance. Birthright is a great setup to the Ascension series. Not only is Birthright fun but everything comes together in the next book when the series begins to cook . Kita is a fun bad girl that I fell in love with. Her dedication, loyalty, and care for her friends is enjoyable and a nice counter to her dark side.

Kita is an empowered female

…And yet, too cruel and brutal for my own enjoyment.

But that’s a personal opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Entertaining and immersive

This was an entertaining listen, so much so that I listened to it in one go. In book 1, we’re introduced to the main characters and the world. We follow along with Kita as she is introduced to her culture and learns more about the world and herself in the process. She fights against gender stereotypes, righteousness, and the status quo. Through her logic, skill, and diplomacy we meet new and diverse people that join us on her journey. I can’t wait to see where this story will take us next.

Note: a copy of this audiobook was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Destiny and secrets collide!

L. Fergus's "Birthright," narrated by Mary L. Phillips, crafts a captivating fantasy world where destiny and secrets collide. Fergus's writing is immersive, and Phillips's narration adds depth to Kita's journey. In this gripping tale, Kita's pursuit of her birthright unfolds with suspense and revelation, making "Birthright" a must-read in the fantasy genre.

fairly good, could be improved

Overall, I did enjoy the story quite a bit. The setting is very unique and the skill set of the MC is also intriguing.


Pet-peeves ahead:

Though I do wish there was more of an explanation as to why the world uses swords and armor while the Legion has firearms (besides the reason of: oh it's always been here and we still don't know everything about it.) I also felt a bit annoyed often hearing the MCs weapons being named. We get it. They are called Dawn and Dusk, stop reminding me multiple times in a single chapter.

Narration-wise, I think a bit more clean up and rechecking would be wise. Chapter 1 ends with a sigh and the sound of a page turning. There were also a couple instances where a character's dialogue had mixed accents or words cut short.