A simple yet powerful story that captures you from the first page and takes you on an adventure of friendship, loyalty and self discovery

I hadn't read the first book in this series and wish I had before starting this one. Beautiful but I was a bit lost at first!

I didn't realise this book was part of a series but nether the less this is a must-read book for young-adults.

First things first, you really have to accept that this is a different beast to Maresi, the first book in this series we saw in English. This drops the fantasy action (and yes, I say that fully aware that someone here can interact with everyone else's dream life) and concentrates on several women who have come up against the nastiness we saw the men in the first book deliver. We start with a narrator who initially finds her beau to be a bit 'all that', before things change – although she never admits to herself that she was not 'all that' herself, even when she works out that he was only after something else. Yes, this is where the incredibly naïve and juvenile characters meet scenes involving sex, rape and – we assume – buggery. We then get a concubine – ooh, unwanted sex aplenty – and the dream girl – ooh, more unwanted sex, just to thrust it home – before the plot builds to form a sisterhood of sorts. It's a great shame the dream girl's story is 70% summary and only 30% scene that we see, but that's only better than when a woman comes along to do just what everyone else has had to do, but without the narrative voice of her own to describe it to us – someone else gets given the job, unfortunately. The whole is definitely a decent narrative, but is inherently overlong and woolly, and for all the talk of women power it boils down to a man doing something stupid that lets the whole sisterhood do what they want – you could tell miles off they weren't proactive enough. Despite all those quibbles, returning readers should get enough out of it to not spoil their love of this fantasy world.

19 year old Kariba falls for the charms of a power-hungry young man and reveals to him the secrets of her family’s spring. The spring can foretell the future and bestow health or harm. Once Iskan has harnessed the spring’s power for his own needs, there is little anyone can do to stop him. He starts collecting women to his harem, treating them as little more than playthings. Naondel is told from the point of view of Kariba and the other women, over the span of several decades. Beautifully written, and at times quite harrowing, this will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. I have read Maresi and it was interesting to find out the back story. I enjoyed reading the story from the different viewpoints of the strong female narrators. Each with different gifts and there own traumas finding ultimate salvation as a sisterhood. I was hooked in very quickly and felt for each of the main characters. The disintegration of the main villain was well written although not as convincing as the female characters.

I will recommend it to my mature readers as the subject matter was quite adult at times.

If you check out my review of Maria Turtschaninoff Maresi, the first book in the Red Abbey Chronicles, you’ll know how much I loved it. I had to read the second instalment in the series, and it was both more of what I wanted and something new and exciting. Maria’s writing is exquisite, and I love how she weaves her stories slowly and subtly, and the story in this book was so different to Maresi that it still felt new.

First of all, although this is the second book in the Red Abbey Chronicles, Naondel is a prequel to Maresi and not a sequel. It tells the story of the first women who founded the Red Abbey, the women-only society on the island of Menos that Maresi is set in. The majority of the story takes place in the palace of Ohaddin and starts with Kabira. She visits the Sovereign’s palace and meets Iskan, the son of the Vizier who sweeps her off her feet. Iskan is intrigued and obsessed by the mysterious source of magical power in Kabira’s lands, the spirit of Anji, and tricks Kabira into marrying him for control over it. Over the years, we see Kabira as well as Iskan’s subsequent wives, concubines, and slaves, as they suffer mercilessly under his rule, until they finally decide to escape. There is a reason why the Red Abbey Chronicles are being hailed as ‘feminist fantasy’, and that is because these novels focus on women – their strengths, their dreams, their fears, and their stories.

The novel is told through many different perspectives and these various stories take us to many different locations in Maria’s world. Sometimes I am apprehensive when authors do multiple perspectives as it can often feel confusing and the characters can feel superficial, but Maria Turtschaninoff does not fall into this trap. I have absolutely loved the way that she writes since I first opened Maresi, particularly in that her novel’s form is that of written accounts by the characters, looking back on their experiences. This novel consists of the written account of the women once they have arrives on Menos, and it is easy to believe that these are real women remembering their lives. You really get a feel for them as human beings through this structure, and this way of telling the story means that the story builds up over time, just as the characters become clearer and more distinct to you as the novel goes on. I also love how this format means you get a really good idea of the characters’ personal journeys over time. For example, when the novel begins, Kabira is a teenager, and we see her age until she is an old woman, and we see her not only through her own eyes, but through those of the other women as well, so we get a really well fleshed out image of her.

I’m constantly amazed by how Maria Turtschaninoff’s writing seems so effortless. I’m sure that endless hours go into crafting her work to make it so perfect, but as a reader, I felt like every choice of word was perfect, and even though the words are simple, there were many passages that blew me away. She also expertly manages to craft a unique magical world whilst not making it feel overcomplicated or confusing using the different characters to teach us this. Instead of having a huge info-dump, we learn through each of the characters’ different skills. Kabira has grown up with Anji, Garai has grown up with a close affinity to the land, Orseola is a dreamweaver (one of my favourite stories), and Sulani is a warrior woman. They each bring their own knowledge, talents and skills to the story and to the team, so that by the end of the novel, we see women who don’t even all like each other that much form a strong community together.

I honestly feel like I could talk forever about how much I love Maria Turtschaninoff’s writing. I enjoyed Naondel not only for the self-contained story within its pages but also because it adds another wonderful layer to the story that we see in Maresi. Learning about the origins of the Red Abbey and the way of life that Maresi lives was interesting and exciting. As I said with Maresi, I think a wide range of people could love this series. It has something for everyone, whether you are new to the fantasy genre or you have loved it for years as I have, whether you read adult or YA, whether you don’t read a lot at all. There is something in the Red Abbey Chronicles for everyone.

Review posted in my blog under the title: The One with the dark princesses fantasy

A truly intense experience, one I won't be forgetting in a hurry! The women's trials may have been heartbreaking and hard to read but the pay off is worth it!

The women who live in the palace of Ohaddin appear to lead a privileged life where they want for nothing. This could not be further from the truth, because they are a harem brought there through treachery or enslavement, to act as servants or wives. They must do as they are told or suffer the consequences of resistance.
But each of the women has their own special ability, for example, to heal, control dreams, see into the future and be a warrior. All of them dream of a place where they can live their lives in freedom and safety.
They must bide their time and plan until the time is right to fulfil their destiny.
Naondel is the second book in The Red Abbey Chronicles and is a prequel to the first book, Maresi, which charts the fortunes of the Red Abbey, a refuge for girls and women.
Naondel begins like an Arabian Nights tale but soon develops into something far more sinister and complex. This is a story about utter control of women by one man and how, as a group, they work together within the boundaries of their imprisonment and exploitation, to eventually break free of it. It does make for a very grueling read, but it is nonetheless a compelling and rewarding one, which is not without hope.
Naondel is pitched as a young adult novel but, because of the concept of the sexual violence inflicted on the women, this is probably more suitable for older young adult or even new adult readers.
There is a depth to the description of this world which makes for a richly layered story. First-person accounts increase the intensity of the narrative, as you experience this tightly controlled world from the women's perspective. The interconnected relationships, and how each woman responds to the situation, demonstrates a terrifying insight on the part of the author into how women try to deal with the abuse, and survival techniques each of them adopt to cope with the attentions of their abuser (a dreadfully manipulative man in a position of power).
There are some very interesting plot twists which add subtle layers to the narrative, particularly with regards to strength of maternal emotion and the bonding of a mother and child put in an impossible situation.

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this book. I'll copy this review to Amazon.

I enjoyed Maresi for the fairy tale feeling. That feeling is multiplied in Naondel, where most of the characters have some kind of magical ability. The characters drew me in and the story kept me there; it was fascinating to see more of the world than Maresi showed us. Watching Iskan's deterioration was gruesomely compelling.

The only problem I had was in remembering who was who; because the sections are all in first person, the POV character is rarely named, and it was strange to then be in someone else's POV and hear names I didn't recognise. That's my only problem, though, and I'm sure that others won't find it so difficult.

This book is a definite must for anyone who enjoys fantasy grounded in reality.

The first of these books was okay. It was a bit slow, but it had a fairly good story. I liked it enough to want to read more, especially since Naondel is more of a prequel, showing the women who founded the Red Abbey. I was looking forward to seeing their journey and how they voyaged across to find the island. But what I got was just a lot of rape.

I don't mind reading about rape any more than I mind reading about murder or abuse. If it's important to the story and written in a way that doesn't glorify it, I'm okay with it. But this book just had so much of it. There were about three girls in the whole novel who weren't raped. It was awful and I didn't really want to read on. This is a book about the oppression of women. I knew that going in. But there are other ways to oppress women. I expected a bit of abuse. I thought there probably would be some sort of rape or forced marriage, but this was just too much. Turtshaninoff didn't bother thinking of any other ways of oppressing women. I expected a feminist book about women fighting against oppression, but I honestly don't think this was very feminist at all.

I'd also been looking forward to seeing the women sailing across the sea, maybe a bit of them setting up the island and working out the rules. I got about a paragraph summarizing their journey. I'd have rather this paragraph have been extended and made up the bulk of the book.

There are so many ways they could have shown this book without so much detail about the rapes. It didn't have to be the way it was. They could have glossed over it, faded to black. Anything so I didn't have to read it all. But they didn't and so I hated this book.

This is a must-read book for young-adults and adults alike!

In Naondel Maria Turtschaninoff returns to the world of Maresi and we learn of the circumstances around the founding of the Red Abbey and its first six members. Kariba is his first wife, who in youth and naivete falls for Iskan, son of the Vizier, and reveals to him the secret power of Anji, her family's sacred spring, a power which he soon seizes for himself. Over many years Iksan uses this power to strengthen his position and manipulate all those around him in terrible ways. Alongside the development of his political power is the creation of a brutal harem as he surrounds himself with wives and concubines and Kariba is joined by wives, slaves, servants and women stolen from her from their homes and lands. Over the course of many years these women learn to take comfort and strength in one another and to plan their escape. As a prequel the end is already known, after all without these women the Red Abbey would not exist to provide the haven in which Maresi lives and writes her tale but that doesn't make Naondel any less absorbing.

At first I felt that Naondel was weaker than the first novel. The simplicity of the first story is lost in the number of characters and narrative voices and the many decades and lands covered is quite the opposite of the brief, self-contained tale told by Maresi alone. In addition I had reservations over the frequency of the abuse suffered by the women. Naondel is brutal. These women are injured, humiliated and degraded at all times and rape is a recurrent event. Though each example is brief and never graphic it is difficult to read, and at first I wished that the focus on this most violent of oppressions lacked subtlety and failed to account for the many ways that women can be subjugated. I'm delighted to say that by the end I had entirely changed my mind. From pregnancy, to movement, to activity Iskan exercises full and cruel control over "his" women. The whole tale is built around the physicality of women and the ways in which they are reduced to mere bodies, objects to be used, abused, bought and controlled.

The counterpoint is the women themselves. They are strong and individual but they are also real. They make mistakes and they make compromises with their situation in order to survive. One of Turtschanioff's achievements is a fantastically diverse cast of female characters. She has created several wonderful cultures that add even greater depth to the world introduced in Maresi but they also represent a vital intersectional feminist message. These women are divided by age, race, class and gender identity and in order to protect themselves sometimes they are guilty of selfishness and cruelty towards one another. Their eventual sisterhood is not easy or inevitable but something that grows out of necessity and needs to be consciously constructed and worked at. It's an important message for young (and old) women that sometimes women themselves are amongst their own worst enemies, that by internalising the prejudices and structures imposed by others we can sometimes be led into oppressing each other. This is represented in the antagonistic relationship of the narrators. Kibira rigidly clings to her position as First Wife, enforcing the hierarchy within Iskan's harem and the women are often scornful of the appearance, habits and backgrounds of their companions.

The development of these characters and their situation is a hugely powerful story about reclaiming the female body from those who want to oppress it and having the freedom to do with it what we will. It also challenges gender roles, each character representing a different view of womanhood. Turtschaninoff manages all of this without ever overwhelming her story or her characters, Her writing is easily strong enough to carry the weight of her message, effortlessly moving from vivid descriptions of different lands and customs to breathless action. The plot is develops slowly but its momentum is inexorable and the narrative combines its many voices with confidence and skill. The writing is captivating and it really is a challenge to put it down, I couldn't, I read the whole thing in a single sitting. Most importantly her women are never idealised or reduced to mere cyphers for the things they represent and their diversity never feels like lip service to an ideal.

Naondel is a thoroughly gripping story that manages to combine a complex, inclusive and uncompromising feminist message with a beautifully realised fantasy world. A feminist clarion call in fantasy form.

NB My single remaining concern is that the prominence of sexual assault may mean that younger readers who enjoyed Maresi may not be ready for Naondel immediately. However, rape is never used for dramatic expedient and, like in Maresi, is balanced by the championing of female sexuality and the outright refusal to attach any shame our disapproval when this is a choice actively taken by the character.

Told through the perspectives of multiple women, Naondel is heartbreaking, breathtaking, and utterly feminist. It's a story of women, sisterhood, and survival.

We begin with Kabira, a young woman from a wealthy family, who guards the secret of Anji, the spring that gives life - and controls it. Kabira falls in love with Iskan, son of a powerful man in the realm, and shows him what Anji can do. Iskan's evil soon rears its head, and Kabira is terrified of what she's unleashed. But she is trapped in his web.

The years pass, and Iskan acquires a large group of women, from different corners of the world. They live together, if not in harmony, then in understanding, and soon become allies against Iskan's cruelty. Almost all of the women are subjected to his depraved sexual desires (although these aren't described in detail, they may upset some readers), and all of them are dependent on his good graces. As Iskan grows more powerful, he also becomes more paranoid, and no one is safe.

The perspectives of all of the women are beautifully written. Their different characters and experiences shine through, and each one of them carries a moral for the reader to learn. Naondel is a feminist text because it not only describes the suffering of women (at the hands of men), but it also shows the strength of the sisterhood, and how important it is for women to come together.

Naondel is the prequel to Maresi, which is now on my list to read. Turtschaninoff is an author to keep on your radar.

When I finished Maresi, Maria Turtschaninoff's first book in The Red Abbey Chronicles, I loved it so much I was ready to dive in to the second book straight away. I have patiently waited a whole year for the much anticipated prequel, Naondel, and it was most definitely worth the wait! Naondel is incredible, and even better than Maresi!

Naondel is a book written by six women, six of the seven first Sisters of The Red Abbey. Naondel chronicles how their they came into each other's lives over decades, due to one vile, deplorable, power-hungry man. As a young woman, Kariba falls for the handsome though arrogant Iskan, son of the Vizier to the Sovereign Prince. In an attempt to impress him, she shows him Anji, her family's sacred spring, and tells him how it's a spring with power; power to show you the future and the past, and how drinking from it imbues the drinker with power. As Iskan manipulates Kariba into marriage and takes control of the Spring, this one mistake changes the course of many lives. With Anji, Iskan becomes the most powerful man in Karenokoi, both politically and through what he is able to do through drinking the water. But the more power Iskan gets, the more he wants - and women are but toys to play with. Over decades he adds to his harem at his palace in Ohaddin; Garai, a captured slave he buys to be his concubine; Orseola, a dreamweaver lost at sea, seeking refuge on Iskan's ship, not knowing what awaits her; Sulani, a River warrior who defends her people when Iskan's army invades; Clarás, a prostitute at a pleasure house Iskan takes an interest in for being "disfigured"; and Iona, a young girl alone on an island. Rape and ill-treatment are all these women know once Iskan steals them away and imprisons them. But these women are brave, with strength and hope inside them, and together, they will do all they can to get themselves free.

Naondel is absolutely heartbreaking. It's not an easy read to see how abused and mistreated these women are - over decades. The book starts when Kariba is 19, but by the time the book ends, she's an old woman. Years go by between the arrival of each new girl, each a teenager when they arrive, but most growing older as they years go on. The story is taken over by each girl as they are imprisoned at Ohaddin, but the narration does jump back to previous women a few times, when there's story only they can tell.

These women are so inspiring; over years of abuse, it would be understandable if these women chose to give up, but each of them fight in their own way, whether it's holding on to who they were and their beliefs, keeping their anger alive, or rebelling secretly. I was in awe of these women as they carried on, as they formed friendships with their fellow captives, as they found joy in the small things. I felt so proud of them. That may sound ridiculous as this is a fictional story, but their experiences aren't fictional; countless women have experienced the treatment these characters do, whether it was in the past when women had fewer rights and were the property of their husband, or when people were slaves, or whether it's today, with women and girls being trafficked and groomed. The world may be made up, the magical spring and other sacred sites of the earth's life force might be fictional, but the attitudes towards and treatment of women are not. Naondel's rape scenes are not graphic, they are a sentence or two long, but that doesn't stop this from being a difficult read. These women are left with injuries. Iskan causes any woman carrying a female child to miscarry, and sons are taken away. They are degraded, violated, criticised, and treated as if they are nothing. Your heart breaks for these women, over and over again. But these women are strong, so there's always hope. At times I found myself thinking, "If only Kabira didn't tell Iskan about Anji," but if she didn't, these women would not have come together. They would not have created The Red Abbey. There would be no safe haven for women and girls to go to, to escape their own ill-treatment - because the ill-treatment doesn't end.

I don't want to say too much more; this is a book where you should get to know the characters and their stories as you read. But this is a story that teaches; it's a made up fantasy world, but there are times where you can't help but see reflections of the world we live in, and there are moments where feminist values really shine through, and you feel like you are being spoken to about the just how incredible girls and women are and what we can achieve. Maresi was a feminist story, but this one, with the women writing about their hopes for the future and The Red Abbey, it takes it a step further and talks about a woman's worth. Reading it, I felt empowered. I felt proud to be a woman, and of who I am.

Despite how horrific the events of this story is, like Maresi, Naondel is a quiet and beautifully told story. It doesn't sound like the kind of story that would be, but Naondel is enchanting and completely captivating. Turtschaninoff has such a way with words that reading her story is enjoyable despite the fact that what you're reading about is so upsetting. Naondel also has that fairy tale feel to it that Maresi had, though is perhaps less Disney and more Grimm. Naondel is storytelling at it's best, and I lapped it up. I couldn't put this book down, not only because I was desperate to know what would happen to these women I'd come to love, but also because I couldn't get enough of Turtschaninoff's writing.

One of the other things I loved about Naondel is how it has a pretty diverse cast, with these women coming from various races and cultures. Garai is described as having red-brown skin and white hair, and Orseola is described as having dark skin. Orseola's people live in trees. Garai's people moved from place to place, their property being only what they need. Garai, Orseola and Sulani know of sacred sites and the earth's life force, and so in some ways their cultural beliefs overlap, but yet are separate. There is a beautiful same-sex relationship, and there is an intersex character.

This book is hard read, but also such a joy. Full of hope, courage, empowerment and sisterhood, Naondel is a heartbreaking but incredible story, and one that will stay with me for a very long time.

Thank you to Pushkin Children's Books via NetGalley for the eProof.

This book was dark. Really dark. It is published by Pushkin's Children's book and listed under teens and young adults. This is definitely not a book fit for that audience.

I didn't know what to expect as this is the second book in the series 'The Red Abbey Chronicles' which I didn't know when I started reading. However, it's a prequel to the first book and can be read as a stand alone. I was intrigued by this book due to the beautiful cover and short blurb.

It was well written, so well written that it made me feel disgusted by the antagonist, he is truly evil. Ishka, the master, also the Vezier to the king, is very power hungry. He has come into touch with a powerful spring that allows him to see the future, pull in people's deaths and keep him strong. He kills as he pleases, rapes as he pleases and kills of the unborn children of his wife if they are girls. The book starts off as any other book but quickly takes a dark turn when he rapes his soon-to-be wife.

And that is what this book is, different women telling the story of their background before they come to the kingdom, how they came to be in the kingdom and then how Ishka humiliates them, rapes them and makes them feel like death is a better option. With the way it was written I felt humiliated for them, I felt depressed and hurt for them, which is something I really didn't enjoy.

But, and yes there is a but, I see why it was written this way. We need to understand why the women want revenge, why they want to escape and why they want to set up a safe place for girls and women who have had a tough upbringing. And I did. It was very, very clear. Nothing was sugar coated, and the rapes didn't go into detail, but it was enough.

I started enjoying the book about halfway in, as the women start realising their strength, working together and planning their escape. You see the women grow, you see how powerful they can be. And this was beautiful.

All the women are different, they have different strengths and powers and use these to their benefit. They come together, even though they alienate the other. There is also a character who I think is a hermaphrodite (I'm not sure it was never fully explained whether she actually had both sexes or whether she felt like she was both sexes). A romance blooms up between her and another one of the women. I really liked this, you see it blooming throughout. And again, it was so well written that when it got to the good parts, the positive powerful parts, it was so beautiful.

I would recommend this book to people but only if you feel like you are capable of reading about torment, humiliation and heavy subjects like rape. The ending is beautiful and that is why this book is definitely worth the read. But it seems to take a long time to get there. This book just wasn't for me, I think I got too emotionally involved.
If you decide to read this book and share a review, let me know what you think about it.

I just CANNOT get enough of this series!

I loved both this, and Maresi (the first in the series) in equal, yet different measure.
More books filled to bursting with strong, awesome female characters please?!

This instalment was so much darker.
So much heavier.
Filled with so much more evil and malevolence.

And I loved it!

It was such a great origin story for The Red Abbey, and I can't wait for book number three!