Today, we have the cover reveal for Sweet Briar by Rowena Andrews. If you hang around the indie reading scene, you might know Rowena as a reviewer on Beneath A Thousand Skies. She’s releasing her first full novel later this year! If you’re curious about her writing, you can already download the short story Elior for free.
I’m very excited for this botanical fantasy romance. Sweet Briar will release on the last day of October, so it’s still quite a wait. But I know it’ll be worth it. For now, you can appreciate the gorgeous artwork for the cover!
Sweet Briar
Release date: 31/10/2023
Blurb
In Eosros, a Lady Witch must honour the Goddess, preserve the balance, and marry well. And not necessarily in that order.
Roseanne is the last member of the Yarrow family. She is also a Sweet Briar, a Lady Witch cursed by a love lost and her parents’ illicit attempts to cure her. Now flowers bloom on her skin, her magic is corrupted, and her heart is locked away. Yet all society cares about is seeing her wed or stealing her position in the High Coven.
Meriel is a Thorn. An illegitimate daughter to one of the great houses. She is also one of the most talented witches that Eosros has seen in a generation, a dangerous position for someone of her standing, and she has her mother to protect.
In the gardens of the Yarrow estate their paths collide, as one seeks sanctuary and the other tries to escape the demands of her position. Caught between the schemes of a court that wants to keep them apart and interfering allies, they must find a common path if they are to find salvation together or risk losing more than their freedom to the demands of society.
But briars have thorns of their own, and love is far more complicated than nurturing a garden.
Cover Illustrator: Ashe Arends (Spookgeist)
Cover Design: Allegra Prescatore (AO Collective Publishing)
About the Author
Rowena Andrews spent her childhood searching for Dragons and talking to animals and started turning that into words when she was bored in class. She wrote her first book at fourteen and while it lives forever in the bottom of the sock drawer, the encouragement from her English Teacher meant the writing bug took hold and never went away.
Rowena has a BSc in Geography and a PG Diploma in Coastal and Maritime Societies and Cultures. She moved to Scotland for University, fell in love with the place and never left, and now lives and works on the east Fife coast.
When she’s not writing or reading, she’s hoarding dice and playing Dungeons & Dragons, and submitting to the whims of a demanding cat and a pair of mini dachshunds.
