The Third Veil

Written by Heather Carter

Narrated by Emily Mount

Two halves, one soul… Can Seven find it within her battered heart and fractured soul to trust in love once more?

After working her life as a servant in her abusive mother’s cathouse, Seven Ponds dares to dream of a future with the local farmer who stole her heart. But when her home is engulfed in flames, and the fire claims the life of her first love, she struggles against the grief consuming her.

When a strange mechanical device in the sky and terrifying shadow creatures appear, her town is thrust into an unnatural winter signaling the end of the world. Discovering secrets of an ancient past, Seven is thrown through a mysterious veil into a new world… a world full of magic.

Tasked with saving the world, and her mother, Seven stumbles along her fated path, finding it filled with monsters in beautiful disguise, passionate love from an unexpected soulmate, and bitter betrayal.

Can Seven work through her grief and anxiety to save Earth before it’s devoured by the Aldaanians? Or will she crumble beneath the weight of the world sitting atop her shoulders?


Note:
This book contains themes of sexual trauma and suicide.
It is intended for readers 18+.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: Jun 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094454542

Heather Carter

Heather Carter is an independent fiction author who writes primarily adult fantasy and fantasy romance. Her novel, Of Songs and Saltwater, a loose, gender-swapped retelling of The Little Mermaid was released in June of 2021, and she has been featured in multiple anthologies since. She has written several other novels that are in her publishing pipeline. (Look for those soon!) Heather calls the St. Louis area home, and lives with her husband, two children and one extremely spoiled cat. (What writer doesn’t?) When she’s not writing, she loves to read fantasy novels, make music, and drinks way too much coffee.

Reviews for The Third Veil

[Marjorie Neal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought the narration was just perfect! She carried the storyline beautifully. The story is how boundaries are nonexistent in love. How someone can save your very soul with their love.

[Cassidy Perreault · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written but I struggled to finish it. The story is interesting and not as trite as so many fantasy novels, but it has a traumatic weight to it that reads like a novel based on historical tragedy or something real. It was weighty and a bit stressful to be honest. I considered not finishing it and picked it back up after several breaks. I don't consider myself a fluff reader but maybe this one was harder to engage with than most books for me. For context I read a lot of variety and I highly appreciate the intricacies of classical works like LotR, but this one had an emotional weight that bordered on anxiety producing. A worth while read and higher quality than a lot of what is available from modern authors, but you might want to be mindful this is not a carefree read.

[luv4fairies · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book!! I wish this was a series, I have many unanswered questions.
Hopefully Scribe puts out more audiobooks by this narrator and author

[Pim Jansson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was really sweet. Wish it had been written so that you'd get to know the male character better.

[clkelley256 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent story! I devour 3-4 books a week and after finishing this one I’ve found myself sitting and thinking instead of running off in search of my next book. Luckily, I did find Ellie and the King’s Pandemonium Candle, so my Heather Carter binge is on!
This world is intriguing and I would love to discover more of it. Seven Ponds’s suffering through these chapters was excruciatingly relatable, as was the fierceness of her love for others. I have no doubt that this is one of those stories that will remain in my library forever.

[Mak Osborne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely love this book. I definitely recommend this amazing story.

[Rebecca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so enchanting. The world, the characters, the magic! The villains are bad enough that you hate them, and the heroes are just damaged enough that you want them to succeed! I loved every minute.

[Rachel Mundy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5/5 EXCELLENT book. I very much enjoyed the audio version!

[Kara Stephen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The beginning was a little slow but I'm so glad I kept listening. I wish this was a series. It was so good!

[Jenna Vaughn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ugh, I don't want it to be over! This was an awesome fantasy book. Seven has been a servant in her mother's brothel all her life. She loves her childhood friend but when he is killed in an explosion, she's set on a journey she would never have imagined full of magic and friends and enemies.
I enjoyed the world building but I struggled with the prince and his cruelty. My heart broke for Seven and all she lived through.

[Adele Thomas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. The writing is great, the narrator is wonderful. Highly recommend!

[erika · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this, and I can't believe I had never heard of this before I stumbled upon it. Phenomenal magic and world building. 7 and Drayfus will stay with me for a while.

[Victoria Papstein · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good read! Could've used some more steamy scenes but that is just a personal preference;)

[Natale Michaud · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While the book and narration is slow, I'm glad I didn't quit, as the story itself was enjoyable.

[LM Rader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Was a chaotic ride and so much sadness.... that I'm not in a hurry to read anything other than HEA novellas to try and remove the rain clouds

[Katie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great narration! I loved this so much! I can't wait to hear more from this author and narrator.

[becky · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was slow and not very like amped up. I could not listen to It. After 7 hours left and I think I'm gonna stop.

[Kelly Peterson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent narration,mostly developed characters but they could have been more robust. There were a few pretty big plot holes but overall it was a good story and we'll written.

[Bill Hair · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story itself should be a 5 Star read for me but the constant negativity, near death and crushing angst drove me crazy. Thank goodness for the ability to skip forward whenever the h would go on a 'what to do' / I am about to die / I am so angry and will lash out / I am too late / fighting back tears / about to escape but somehow get caught again scenario.

I do think that the story is worth reading/listening to as it is not a rehash of other stories. Cut the crushing angst in half - 4 Stars and cut the excessive drama - easy 5 Stars for me.

[yogaschuback · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Seriously one of the best stories I have read. Writing was exquisite.

[tabatha bronson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Main character white, English, 24f. World:early industrial revolution maybe, seemed like earth as we knew it, but with a few doorways to other dimensions. Spice: 3/5, trigger warnings: death, a lot of death. attempted suicide by hanging, suicide, heavily implied but not graphic rape, domestic abuse, child abuse.
This book was unhinged. At no point did I know where it was going next and I’m not going to lie, a lot of the more intricate details in this book escaped me. Perhaps they were glossed over or perhaps I wasn’t paying enough attention but I was able to get enough of the broader strokes to follow along for the most part. There wasn’t a cliff hanger or anything but the ending was definitely open for a sequel. I was entranced by this book right away, it sucked me in and had me feeling like she and Charlie were meant to be together forever within the first few minutes. In contrast, I don’t really understand her relationship with the other guy, nor do I understand what he is? Slight Spoilers going forward:

Everyone dies horribly and the mother of the mc is described as being the worst ever in anecdotal narration, but is somehow immediately a redeemable character upon her arrival in this book. To be fair the mother is never given a full forgiveness but is very different than we were led to expect.

[kristin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story and world building. The narrator is fantastic- would enjoy a sequel;)

[Ruth Galicia-lopez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written. I'm glad there was minimal smut. I enjoyed the story and characters.

[Charlee Pina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic story telling and narration. Literally would not change a thing except maybe have it not end? The world building, traumatic situations, realistic emotional turmoil, and believable/likable characters was incredible and I literally could not stop listening once I started. I truly hope this world gets an expansion or we at least get to see other worlds that the veils lead too.

To the author: you did an incredible job. As an editor, I can’t help but restructure sentences or get irritated by repeat words (ex: he held my hand in his hand.), but there wasn’t a single sentence in this story that burned my soul. It was incredibly written, and I couldn’t help but be fully immersed in the story.

P.S.: it’s 4:22 in the morning so I’m definitely not editing this review regardless of my profession. Don’t judge me ?