Klara's Journey

by Khaliela Serenity Wright

Overview

Klara doesn't have to think twice when a band of itinerant travelers offer her employment with their company. Eager to escape life as the village whore, she joins the expedition knowing only that the ragged wanderers are destined for the wildlands believed to be the ancestral home of their Goddess. Signing on as cook and huntress, she embarks on an adventure that leaves her torn between hope and fear.

Aided by an unhelpful wizard, Klara finds herself pursued across nations by rabble-rousing religious zealots and ushered into a journey of self-discovery, tapping into a new world of sexual exploration rather than exploitation. Klara's journey catapults her into the lives of a banished nobleman and an exiled king, either of whom may shatter her heart... or lead to the ultimate betrayal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957910000
Publisher:	Hart and Hind Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/02/2023
Series:	Kenetlon Sagas , #1
Pages:	388
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Khaliela Wright is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in IDAHO Magazine, the Latah Legacy, and other outlets. Originally from Sandpoint, Idaho, Khaliela now lives in Potlatch where she currently works for the U.S. Census Bureau gathering information on income, employment, and housing trends in the Idaho panhandle. Refusing to be divided by state-line loyalties, she is a graduate of both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. Her free time is devoted to outdoor pursuits and, yes, finishing the trilogy. Klara's Journey is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

2023-02-09
A sex worker with a tragic past discovers her inner strength and self-worth in Wright’s debut fantasy novel.

In a fantastical, sprawling, rural land divided into kingdoms of clans composed of divergent races, a young woman named Klara provides drink, sustenance, and sexual services to the patrons of an alehouse. One evening, she’s offered an unlikely opportunity by a tall, dark-haired foreigner. Waywyrd, a wizard, seeks a cook to join a traveling party, and he convinces her to accept his offer. Months pass before his return, and Klara’s dream of escape from her hated circumstances fades, but Waywyrd and his party, members of the Keltoi clan, show up as she is busy servicing a particularly loathsome customer. Her fortunes soon improve. The Keltoi appreciate having someone who can serve a tasty meal after months of enduring their own cooking. Eventually, Klara becomes thought of as the seventh member of the Keltoi party. As Karn puts it, “I don’t think of you as a whore that I could pay for pleasure as I wanted it. You’re a member of the company and I’d like to think we’re friends.” But being the only female in the group creates complications; Thorn and his nephew Karn both take a shine to Klara. She discovers that they are both royalty in need of future heirs. Unfortunately, there are those in the party who would sabotage any relationship between a Kelt and a commoner. In her debut novel, Wright does a masterful job of portraying Klara’s journey. The Klara that the reader first meets is guarded and cut off from emotion. After she joins the Keltoi, she begins to open her heart to the possibilities of family and love, though her growing trust proves to be dangerous. Wright also ably develops the rough-hewn Keltoi into distinctive, enjoyable characters. Wright has created an enthralling new series lead, so here’s hoping Klara hangs on until the second book.

A woman’s striking metamorphosis and pain drive this compelling debut.

Kirkus Reviews