DawnSinger by Janalyn VoigtMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kai and Shae, the central characters in DawnSinger, are intriguing and engaging. They’re been raised as brother and sister, but Kai knows this is a ruse. Shae’s true identity has been concealed for her own protection. This puts an unusual twist on their relationship, especially when the court minstrel starts flirting with Shae. The romantic element is a relatively small part of the story, but it’s filled with unexpected intricacies and ties firmly into the main plot.
The first half of the book is cloak-and-dagger political intrigue in the High Queen’s court, and the second half is straight-ahead epic quest. The stakes and tension are high right up through the end.
Voigt’s prose is eloquent, and she creates a lot of wonderful word pictures. When this is applied to dialog, the results can be a bit high and lofty and stilted, but many fantasy fans will see this not as a bug, but as a feature. The settings are rich, and there’s a map. All the best fantasy novels have maps.
This is the kind of story that stays with you long after the last page. The kind that keeps you wondering where your new friends are and what they’re doing. I’m looking forward to the sequel so I can find out.
Disclosure: I was given an advance e-version of this book for review purposes.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment