Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara || Phoenician Mythology Meets Dangerous Adventure

Vial of Tears

Two sisters become trapped in the underworld--and in the machinations of deities, shapeshifters, and ghouls--in this lush and dangerous Phoenician mythology-inspired fantasy.

Sixteen-year-old sisters Samira and Rima aren't exactly living the dream. Instead, they live with their maddeningly unreliable mother in a rundown trailer in Michigan. Dad's dead, money's tight, and Mom disappears for days at a time. So when Sam's grandfather wills her the family valuables--a cache of Lebanese antiquities--she's desperate enough to try pawning them before Mom can.

But she shouldn't. Because one is cursed, forbidden, the burial coin of a forgotten god. Disturbing it condemns her and Rima to the Phoenician underworld, a place of wicked cities, burning cedar forests, poisoned feasts of milk and lemons, and an endless, windless ocean.

Nothing is what it seems. No one is who they say. And down here, the night never ends.

To get home--and keep her sister safe--Sam will have to outwit beautiful shapeshifters, pose as a royal bride, sail the darkest sea... and maybe kill the god of death himself.

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Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Touching sibling bonds and loyalty between sisters.
• Fierce women who aren’t afraid to fight for themselves and each other.
• Monsters based on Phoenician mythology.
• A dark fantasy world based in ancient Lebanon, brought to life.
• A peek into a unique, diverse culture and characters.
• Portal fantasy mixed with mythology.

Many thanks to Holiday House and Rockstar Book Tours for an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

I absolutely can’t get enough of these adventure books lately that focus on diverse mythology. Phoenician mythology is one I haven’t seen before, which made me all the more eager and excited to pick this book up. I was more than ready to be swept into this unique, new world, and boy was I not disappointed!

Vial of Tears is an adventure into a lush, dark world based on Phoenician mythology, filled with danger and monsters and more than a little mystery.

I absolutely fell in love with this world. Make no mistake, it’s incredibly dark . . . which is maybe a little why I love it? There are a loooot of ways a traveler could meet their end, and Samira stumbles into more than just a few of them. There are good things about the world, too, which outweigh the rest. I had such fun with this book. The only problem is I really wanted this to be a series, and I’m not seeing where it is. I still have questions that I want answered, and I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the way the book ended as a standalone. Then again, I’m partial to series, so maybe that’s just my own bias speaking there!

This world is not for the faint of heart. The Phoenician underworld is populated by monsters and creatures you wouldn’t want to come across in a dark alley . . . or a light alley . . . or, well, anywhere, really.

I’m not as familiar with Phoenician mythology, so while there were a couple of creatures I’d heard of before, most of it was new to me. I loved discovering all the different kinds of beings that populated the underworld Bishara creates! They’re dark and harrowing and have a hankering for blood . . . but there’s also a lot of good in people, too. It’s a dark world, make no mistakes, but it’s not without hope.

Best of all, you know what dark worlds mean? Yup, plenty of adventure and danger and scenes that will get your blood pumping! If there’s one thing Samira is good at, it’s getting in trouble. I’m 90% sure it’s because she goes by Sam, and we aaaaall know what troublemakers those Sams are, am I right? This is why you don’t name your kids Sam if you don’t want them to be sucked into a funnel, dropped into the underworld, and attacked by random monsters. Just a little word of advice for all you future parents out there.

Samira and her sister find themselves in a little over their heads when they land in ancient Lebanon, ruled by Phoenicians, as they struggle to survive against all odds.

And who can blame them, really? I think we’d all be more than a little surprised to be dragged to the underworld and then promptly kidnapped and threatened, with no hint of how to get back home. These women are absolutely fierce, though. Despite everything the underworld throws at them, Sam refuses to give up on going home. And when the sisters end up separated, Sam refuses to give up on finding Rima and getting her out of there.

I loved the balance between Sam’s fierceness and her out-of-placeness in the world. Some portal fantasy, the main characters are so overpowered and suddenly have all of these abilities. Sam is tough and isn’t going down without a fight, but she’s not infallible and she’s not a warrior. Still, there are some things she’s good at simply from her everyday life, such as skinning fish and shooting with a bow and arrow. I appreciated how these simple country things take on a whole different life and meaning in a new setting!

Sam hasn’t had the easiest life, with a mostly absent mother and a father who is missing in action, presumed dead. A lot of her character journey is dealing with the grief around her father and learning how to both love and let go.

I absolutely loved this aspect of the storyline, because it was such a poignant, emotional thing. No one wants to admit that someone they love is gone, even if they fear it might be true. There are some truly amazing lines about hope and death that were really food for thought. They were so beautiful and well written that they got me right in the feels.

Sibling bonds get me every time, so I enjoyed the relationship between Samira and Rima and the lengths they’ll go to for each other.

If I’m honest, this did feel a little one-sided on Sam’s part for most of the book, but then again, we are in Sam’s head, so maybe that’s to be expected. It’s clear that the sisters mean everything to each other, though, and it’s so lovely to see them supporting each other and having each other’s backs.

Juxtapose that, perhaps, with Eshmun’s family, which is . . . well, exactly what you’d expect from a family of gods. Phoenicians are no exception there. There’s certainly no love lost between them. If you think your family get-togethers are awkward and complicated, wait until you meet this family. Trust me, you’ll feel so much better about your own relations, guaranteed.

About Cristin Bishara

Cristin grew up in a small Ohio town where she got her first library card at age three. She’s been reading and writing ever since. Before publishing Relativity, Cristin worked as a freelance business writer, authoring magazine articles, as well as copy for food catalogs, ads, websites, and tourist guides. She’s taught composition and creative writing, both at the college level and
in community workshops. In her spare time, she loves to travel, attempt to learn Spanish and Arabic, and cook, especially her grandmother’s Lebanese recipes. Learn more about Cristin by following her on Instagram.

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3 winners will win a finished copy of VIAL OF TEARS, US Only.

Week One

Week Two

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