Help A Bitch Out - SOLVED!

HaBO: Shy Priestess Heroine

You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!

This HaBO request is from Amina, who is looking for a romantic fantasy book:

I am DYING to find this book. It’s a fantasy with romantic elements or a strong romantic subplot.

The heroine is shy and isolated. She is the priestess or caretaker for the town temple; the townspeople are afraid of her and mean to her. One day a wounded, hot guy is left at back of her temple door. She takes him in and nurses him back to health. The townspeople shun her for it . In fact, she’s in danger from them for taking him in and helping him they even go to such lengths as to potentially (?) stone her and shame her publicly.

The hot guy she healed rescues her and takes her away. She thinks he’s a regular soldier, but at the end of book, he takes her to the city and she finds out he’s part of the royal family or he’s a noble. She rides into town on a horse with him dressed in rags or not too well and feels embarrassed to be taken to the palace. I think she has red hair and the guy is tall with dark eyes.

I think it’s part of a series because, in the end she meets the queen and her lover or consort, who is maybe a mage or a commoner or someone unusual for the queen. I loved this book and am so mad I cannot find it again!

Who can find this one?

Categorized:

Help a Bitch Out

Comments are Closed

  1. Lisa F says:

    This sounds like Wild by Jill Barnett, though it’s not a perfectly neat match – the heroine is shunned because the villagers think she’s a witch, and they stone her because of that. Hero is a lord and vassal who ends up injured and heroine heals him with natural/herbal medicine. Hero also takes her into town to meet his mother and father and a scene similar to what you described plays out. Heroine is def a redhead and hero def has dark eyes.

    SPOILER: it turns out the temple she’s guarding provides proof that she, too, is royal – a descendant of Arthur Pendragon.

  2. Escapeologist says:

    Tamora Pierce maybe? I haven’t read all of her books but the queen and her consort part is giving me Alanna vibes.

  3. Chels says:

    That somewhat reminds me of the Bonemender by Holly Bennett but it’s been years since I read it (like over 10+) so I don’t remember exactly.

  4. Katie K says:

    It wouldn’t be Jeffe Kennedy’s Forests of Dru, would it? Some of the details seem very similar to what I remember on these books, but it has been a few years since I looked at them. Good luck!

  5. Kathy says:

    There are a lot of similarities to Bekah Clarkes The Healer and the Warrior (redheaded healer heroine despised by the townfolk, injured “soldier” whose actually royal, roadtrip to his kingdom), but I dont recall the meeting the queen aspect or it being part of a series. Worth a look, though, as it was the first thing I thought of. Looking at the other comments, it’s a more popular trope than i realized 🙂

  6. Sara says:

    I don’t know what it is, but I now want to read it.

    It’s not Tamora Pierce, though. I have read almost all her books, and this doesn’t have her vibe. It’s not Alanna or Daine or Kel or Beka, and she doesn’t (or hasn’t in what I’ve read, at least) go as dark as stoning, or delve into Arthurian legends, not unless it’s a one-off.

  7. Cara says:

    Not all the details perfectly line up, but this sounds a lot like “Alliance Forged” by Kylie Griffin, it’s the second book in the Light Blade series.

  8. Kara says:

    I second Wild by Jill Barnett.

  9. Anna says:

    I second The healer and the warrior. The Queens is the hero’s sister. This is one of my favorites to ❤

  10. Lostshadows says:

    I think this might be The Fire Opal, by Catherine Asaro.

    I haven’t read it in awhile, because the next book put me off the series.

    There’s a magic system involving colors and shapes, in case that rings a bell.

  11. MaryK says:

    Assuming the remembered details are correct, I don’t think it’s Wild. I read the sample and it’s similar but there’s no temple and the heroine lives in the woods hidden away from the town and very isolated. She finds the hero half dead in the forest. Also, it’s set in historical England with King Edward so no queen and consort. The HABO book must be a fantasy or alternate universe.

  12. MaryK says:

    Also according to the sample, the Wild heroine has curly brown hair and the hero has hair “like a copper penny.

    I hope the requester’s details are correct because it sounds like an interesting plot.

  13. Amina says:

    Hi everyone!!! Thanks so much for all the great recommendations! I think it’s the Fire Opal by Asaro but since there is no kindle copy, I’ve ordered a paperback from amazon. I am excited to read the other suggestions however since they all seem so great!! Thank you again everyone!

  14. Gloriamarie Amalfitano says:

    Sounds like something Mercedes Lackey might have written, but I couldn’t say which one.

  15. Holly says:

    I haven’t read The Fire Opal, but the plot sounds a lot like The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon (a follow up to her Bird and the Sword book). If you haven’t read that one yet, it sounds like you might like that one, too. Cheers!

  16. Lisa F says:

    Well, now I want to read The Fire Opal. Good catches, MaryK!

  17. MaryK says:

    I’m always surprised by how many SciFi/Fantasy books aren’t digital. There’s no kindle sample for Fire Opal, but the amazon page does include a sizable excerpt. I’d recommend reading that before searching out a paperback.

    This HABO really struck a chord and I’m checking out all of the suggestions. 😀

  18. HannahS says:

    It sounds similar to Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews as well. I don’t think it is what you’re after, but it’s a similar enough story that some here would be interested!

  19. San says:

    @Gloriamarie Lackey did write one with that trope of the odd [respected but rejected also] healer and the travelling injured hero, it was in the Owl Mage series, but neither was royal.

  20. Elizabeth Vaughn’s Warprize is another that shares these tropes! (And I want to read all the books discussed here now. 🙂 )

  21. cindy says:

    I think this might be The Grove by Jean Johnson

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top