A lovely take on the (at the face of it rather worn) RPG-group esque band of fantasy adventurers, but made memorable by the quality of the storytelling, the characterizations and the artwork. The protagonist's issues of self-loathing and doubt really bring a lot of personality and identity to the narrative, as do the characters around her. Perhaps particularly the band's leader, a barbarian Orc who somehow excellently both meets and contradicts every trope you'd imagine for him, and easily my favourite character.

If you want a warm, exciting fantasy tale with characters to care about, I'd recommend Daughter of the Lillies. And it's free to read online here: https://www.daughterofthelilies.com/dotl/part-1-a-girl-with-no-face ( )

Glorious. The story is magnificent - I'd read it online, as it was posted. But it's even better in the book - a gorgeous hardback. Somehow it's easier to follow the story this way. And the story is utterly amazing - a fantasy, with orcs and elves and dragons and some really nasty monsters. But it's really about acceptance - by others, and by yourself. Thistle, the "Girl with no face", is a mage - and has very low self-esteem for several very good reasons. We begin to discover those reasons as the story progresses. I love it! I got the book via Kickstarter. ( )