Shattered Ascent

One night of rebellion. A sacred ritual shattered. A prince marked by a power he was never meant to possess.

Prince Kestrel is suffocating under the weight of his crown and his mother’s iron-clad rules. Yearning for a single night of freedom, he defies her strictest command and sneaks out with his friends to witness the legendary Ascension of the Blood—a forbidden ritual where the spirits of an ancient, winged lineage rise to the heavens under the full moon of Pantaleon. He wants only a glimpse of real magic, a story to tell.

But a single misstep plunges him from the shadows into the heart of the sacred ceremony. His reckless fall doesn't just interrupt the rite; it shatters it, with devastating consequences. The magic of the hollow doesn’t just kill intruders, it changes them. Now, Kestrel is fused to an ancient power he can’t control, a terrifying secret that re-forms him into something both more and less than human.

Abandoned by his friends and hunted by the ritual’s furious priests who want his blood to undo the damage, Kestrel is trapped in a canyon teeming with restless spirits drawn to the new power radiating from him. To survive, he must master the impossible gift forced upon him and escape the hollow before its guardians—or its ghosts—claim him forever. But the price of his escape may be his very soul.

Embark on a thrilling adventure in Shattered Ascent, the first book in the Kestrel the Falcon Prince series. Perfect for fans of epic coming-of-age fantasy, high-stakes action, and stories where one choice changes everything.

Recommended For:

• Older teens, adults, and young adults

• Fans of clean, in-depth fantasy

• Readers who enjoy character-driven stories with a fast-paced plot

• Lovers of world-building and action-adventure fantasy novels.
  

Fantasy Breakdown:

• Plot Twists: 5/5

• Worldbuilding: 4/5

• Character Depth: 5/5

• Emotional Impact: 5/5

• Unputdownability: 5/5

Final Rating: ✩✩✩✩✩ — 24 out of 25 Fantasy Thriller Super Points

You can find Shattered Ascent at Amazon.

Prince Kestrel is tired of being told no. Defying his mother, the Queen, he ventures into the forbidden Pantaleon's Hollow to witness a sacred ritual where the spirits of a winged bloodline ascend to the heavens. He expected a secret adventure; he found a disaster of his own making.

A fatal mistake sends him tumbling into the ceremony, shattering the ancient magic and unleashing a power that should have remained dormant. The hollow’s magic doesn’t kill him. It marks him, binding him to a sacred gift he was never meant to have and transforming him into a beacon for the canyon’s restless dead.

Hunted by vengeful priests and haunted by the very spirits he came to see, Kestrel must learn to control his terrifying new abilities to escape the canyon. But survival means embracing a destiny that will set him against his kingdom, his family, and the very nature of who he was born to be.