The Lightness of Water

Water Witch Book 1

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Pub Date 5 Apr 2022 | Archive Date 1 Jul 2022

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Description

The only thing more dangerous than divining for water is falling in love with the enemy…

Solace is beautiful, strong-willed, and called the water witch by her neighbors. She divines for water in the arid hills of her home—a dangerous pastime across the border, where the king controls access to all the water.

Rhees is brooding, bitter, and hiding a deadly secret. But he’s determined to find a way to help the thirsty people of his land—even if it means kidnapping the last living water diviner.

But divining for water is against the law, punishable by death. Should Solace risk everything—including her heart—in a daring race to find water, or flee across the hills at her first chance of escape?

Beauty and the Beast meets The Hunger Games in this thrilling romantic fantasy. Pick up The Lightness of Water by award-winning author Toni Cabell, and be swept into a world of betrayal, mystery, and heart-stomping action.

**The Lightness of Water depicts an assault on Solace that may disturb some readers of Toni’s other Young Adult books**

The only thing more dangerous than divining for water is falling in love with the enemy…

Solace is beautiful, strong-willed, and called the water witch by her neighbors. She divines for water in the...


Advance Praise

“An exquisitely refined fantasy adventure that will keep you reading well into the night.” 5-Starred Review, Indies Today

"A cleverly crafted fantasy packed full of mystery, adventure, and a little romance! Highly recommended!” 5-Starred Review, The Wishing Shelf

“An exquisitely refined fantasy adventure that will keep you reading well into the night.” 5-Starred Review, Indies Today

"A cleverly crafted fantasy packed full of mystery, adventure, and a little...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781736624470
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Average rating from 22 members


Featured Reviews

With some books you know from page one if you will like them or not. others they grow on you as the book pans out. This was one of those books.... that i knew from page one i would like. well written and i loved every moment of it. side note when i read from female authors i try read books that have the right amount of romance. not to heavy but just the right amount combined with action. both sexes can read this. I highly recommend it when it comes out on its due date. I will be looking for more works from this author. 5 stars being exceptional. and my overal rating.

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This was a fun, engrossing YA fantasy..

Solace is a water diviner. Rhees is brooding, and bitter. He kidnaps Solace to help the thirsty people of his land. However, divining for water is against the law, punishable by death. Should Solace risk everything to help?

Based on this description, you know there will be some kind of romance between Solace and Rhees. You also know that of course she will help find water. However, the descriptions of how that all comes about is the story.

I love that the books gives the relationship time to grow and isn't that annoying :insta-love. I love the story, and how they overcome the odds. I thought the concept was really interesting. Let's be honest - if someone today could figure out how to make drilling your own wells legal, so everyone had to pay, they would do it.

Overall, i really enjoyed this book and will give it a solid 4 stars. -this was a "keep the pages turning" book.

Thank you to the author #ToriCabell the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

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I was drawn into this story immediately. Solace is a strong female character who is cherished by the men around her and one in particular that wants to make a life with her. But the age old problem of differing interest levels presents itself. She finds herself abducted and must discover a way to freedom. I must admit that I expected a much different story when I first began, but I was not disappointed with the story that I found. This is a clean read with just a touch of romance amidst a tale of adventure and a battle for a kingdom. I am very excited to start reading the second book in the series.

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A page turning fantasy that combines an element of ecological awareness and just the right amount of romance. Anyone who loves fantasy that mixes in a little reality will love this book.

The premise of this novel is that being a person with a special talent for finding water in a world where water is scarce can be a dangerous as well as a valuable skill. The heroine finds herself kidnapped and at risk for her water-divining abilities in this well-imagined world in which water is more precious than oil is today. So the book has a geopolitical and ecological subtext but has plenty of narrow escapes, fights and romance between the heroine and captor.

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"I've seen how he looks at you."

The Lightness of Water, you guys. This book has everything. From enemies to lovers to fighting side by side in battle, there isn't a moment in this story I didn't love.
It was in the same vein as the Book of Pellinor or a more YA-centric Chronicles of Prydain, some of my favourite series. It didn't focus heavily on "other species" such as elves in order to make the world feel fantastical and amazing; instead, we meet Solace Blu, a water diviner, and her kidnapper, Rhees, who has some very compelling arguments for what he did.
I loved the character arcs and their complexity; I adored the chemistry between different characters and how all of them teach each other new things; I really enjoyed the plot and the turns of events and plot twists.
Solace felt like a very unique protagonist to the story, and her own small talents and abilities (slinging, her special horse mount) made her feel more real and interesting as a character. Rhees was incredibly lovable (even when you kind of wanted to hate him), and his emotions and reasoning were complex and believable.
I truly loved this work and would definitely recommend it.

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Rating: 4.5/5
The only thing more dangerous than divining for water is falling in love with the enemy…
Solace is beautiful, strong-willed, and called the water witch by her neighbors. She divines for water in the arid hills of her home—a dangerous pastime across the border, where the king controls access to all the water.
Rhees is brooding, bitter, and hiding a deadly secret. But he’s determined to find a way to help the thirsty people of his land—even if it means kidnapping the last living water diviner.
But divining for water is against the law, punishable by death. Should Solace risk everything—including her heart—in a daring race to find water or flee across the hills at her first chance of escape?

This book was not what I was thinking it was and that was a very pleasant surprise. I loved the enemies to lovers, the action scenes, and the overall character development. There really wasn’t a point in the story that I didn’t like. The Characters developed throughout the book were very consistent and so was the plot, with the little twists that we would get here and there.

Solace is amazing in my book, to have everything that has happened to her and to still have her coming out on top and to still be an amazing strong female lead was great. I loved her special abilities other than the water divining, her ability to use a sling and to be so accurate with it, and I love how she would have to mount her horse.

Rhees is a strong male character, he is a main character but definitely Solace took the role in this book more for me. I really wanted to hate Rhees for the first part of the book but he grew on me, and I ended up loving that guy.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes enemies to lovers, YA books, magic, Character driven plots, then this book is for you.

I received this book from Netgalley and BooksGoSocial to review for my honest opinion.

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I enjoyed this book. I look forward to the next one in the series. I
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I knew from the description that I would enjoy this, but I really got drawn into the story. Not a difficult read, lovable characters, standalone book. Highly recommend for anyone that enjoys YA fantasy.

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