The First Girl Child

The Chronicles of Saylok

By: Amy Harmon

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.

©2019 Amy Harmon (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"By far, my favorite book of 2019. Addictive, engrossing, completely unputdownable. Amy Harmon's The First Girl Child needs to be at the top of everyone’s reading list." --Penny Reid, New York Times bestselling author

"The First Girl Child is a unique and lovely read set in a world that is both familiar and strange. Rich, fast-paced, and romantic, this book will thoroughly satisfy fantasy readers craving a story with meat on its bones. It’s going on my shelf next to Robin Hobb and Patricia McKillip." --Jared Garrett, bestselling author of Lakhoni

"Utterly brilliant. A sprawling tale of love and magic, of leadership and the sacrifice that comes with it. I cannot recommend this book enough." --Bestselling author Staci Hart

Perfect!

This book is PERFECT! If you like the show Vikings, this book is for you. The audiobook is just perfect. The narrator is clear and whisks you away and lets your imagination take over. Without corny voices or over the top acting. It's just a simple telling of a beautifully written book. As with all good books, I would get impatient and switch to reading because the suspense was just too much!

I have never been that person to reread a book that I remember reading. But this is one I would gladly read again and again. It has beautiful tender moments that make you feel both the pain and love of each extremely well-created characters. As a parent I found myself feeling the desperation which was described in the pages of this amazing book. The innocence of a love scene was so vividly described it felt like an intrusion reading it.

This book is about how a wounded woman can change the lives of many as she is forced to deal with the realization of leaving her newborn child in a cruel world. Mothers are someone we all have and sometimes take for granted.

For me, this book shows how sometimes being a woman gets in the way of being a good mother. It might be interpreted in another way for others and isn't that what makes a book great. It can mean so many things depending on the reader.

The First Girl Child

Thank you Ms Harmon for a truly remarkable tale. I rarely use the word enchanted, but that is the best description l could give to how l felt while reading this truly unique fantasy. More please!!!

5 Stars! Amazing Story and Narrator

No doubt, this was another breathtaking story in this author's arsenal. The First Girl Child was amazingly well thought out and the details were exceptional in the world-building and characterizations. The first 50% was slower moving as it built this fictional Norse world. After having meticulously learned the ways of the kingdom, clans, and keepers, the story built to a resounding crescendo in the second half with multiple characters and their individual stories meeting in a flurry of revelations that threatened to be their undoing. There were many characters, but the author managed to have me invested in each of their stories and outcomes. At moments tense and frightening, there were also many times I smiled, cried, and swooned. Most importantly, I was consistently awestruck by the storytelling. In the end, it was a brutal world, but not without a gloriously welcome happy ending.

Since I read and listened to the book and audio interchangeably, I want to give recognition to the narrator, Rob Shapiro. I've only listened to this narrator on one other occasion and that was with Amy Harmon's, Making Faces. Along with that novel, it's an audio that remains a top favorite of mine, because of the fabulous presentation. It's rare for me to enjoy a single male narrator when they are also relaying female dialogue. Rob Shapiro has it mastered in his sentence emphasis, inflections, and various voice incantations. An outstanding story aptly presented by an excellent narrator.

Another Amazing Amy Harmon story!

I’m a huge Amy Harmon fan. I went into this book hoping that she wouldn’t let me down and I can definitely say she did not! Not only can she create characters that that you come to know and love, but she creates them with depth and personality. And her story lines. They always flow smoothly and make perfect sense as to how and why they take the directions they do. This story fits the Harmon mold perfectly. It’s a story set in another time and place, much like her books, “The Bird and the Sword Chronicles”, with characters who possess fairly clear roles within their societies. Roles they fill by birth or by happenstance. The question is, whether or not the characters will be able to rise above these roles put upon them to become who they are truly supposed to be. This book was definitely worth the purchase price and lands in the category of books I will read or listen to again and again.

Very much enjoyed

Though I can understand where some reviewers are coming from in their complaints surrounding character depth/focus (some secondary characters more compelling yet less fleshed out than some primary- I too found myself caring about and wishing for more of Ghost than Alba, more interested in Aidan than the rather flat evil villain) - I still really enjoyed this book, but I am highly partial to fantasy & Norse mythology to begin with. The author's prose is beautiful & I found the magic system & worldbuilding compelling if a bit underdeveloped- it had the feel of an inexperienced fantasy author. Pacing did seem a bit off, and the twist toward the end felt rushed and a bit predictable. Will still seek out 2nd book when it comes

start casting

love it, need to make a movie it was absolutely full of delight to read.

refreshing novel learning about culture along the

First book with Nordic mythology, it was a capturing story. Not predictable and beautifully told.

Engaging Story

Great story and voices. I really enjoyed listening to the book on my commute to/ from work for a couple weeks.

hard to turn off!

I really enjoyed listening to this book! it was a great story and it was read very well. I don't often listen to the same story again but its likely I will listen to this one. i had a hard time turning it off.

what a surprise!!

wonderful book. the story line had so many great twist and turns. I wish they would make this into a movie!!!