On Tour with Prism Book Tours
DawnSinger
(Tales of Faeraven #1)
By Janalyn Voigt
Fantasy, Christian Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 342 Pages
June 29, 2012 by Harbourlight Books
The High Queen is dying…
At the royal summons, Shae mounts a wingabeast and soars through the air to the high hold of Faeraven, where all is not as it seems. Visions warn her of danger, and a dark soul touches hers in the night. When she encounters an attractive but disturbing musician, her wayward heart awakens.
But then there is Kai, a guardian of Faeraven and of Shae. Secrets bind him to her, and her safety lies at the center of every decision he makes.
On a desperate journey fraught with peril and the unknown, they battle warlike garns, waevens, ferocious raptors, and the wraiths of their own regrets. Yet, they must endure the campaign long enough to release the DawnKing and the salvation he offers into a divided land. To prevail, each must learn that sometimes victory comes only through surrender.
Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│ChristianBook│Harbourlight/Pelican
In My Opinion
Even after giving myself a couple days to process, I’m on the fence with this book.
Jannalyn Voight vividly paints a picture of her fantasy world with descriptive words and phrases. It’s not challenging to imagine this land filled with wondrous beauty and creatures as well as barren and desolate places. Shae, kai, and a handful of others undertake an epic quest to save their beloved people and king. I enjoyed both of these elements of the story.
I’m not sure whether it was a positive or negative that I didn’t realize there was a glossary at the back of the book until I was a good halfway through it. There were so many made up (aka fantasy) words, it sometimes drew me from the story. That said, it did get easier as I continued and just created my own pictures in my head (even if they were way off). I think it would have been even more distracting to constantly flip back and forth to read the pronunciations and definitions each time I happened upon a new one. Perhaps the author strategically placed that glossary at the end of the book.
It also felt like a lot of backstory was missing. Even after finishing the book I have so many unanswered questions, even though DawnSinger (mostly) wraps up this Shae and Kai’s quest. Hopefully, some of those answers will be provided in future installments of the series. Now that I’ve gotten the cadence of this mystical, magical world, I’m not ready to leave it yet.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
About the Author
Janalyn Voigt is a writer and professional speaker with a photography habit and a passion for travel. Her unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and fantasy creates worlds of beauty and danger for readers. Tales of Faeraven, her epic fantasy series beginning with DawnSinger, carries readers into a land only imagined in dreams. She is represented by Sarah Joy Freese of Wordserve Literary.
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Tour Schedule
Tour Giveaway
One winner will receive a fantasy-themed basket, hand-painted Pegasus mug, hand-crafted beaded votive candle bowl, dark chocolate bar, and a Tales of Faeraven bookmark (US only)
Ends August 28th, 2019
Hi, Suzie. Thanks for participating in the tour. I’m sorry you missed the glossary in the back. I wanted it in the front, but my publisher explained that they preferred Amazon’s look-inside feature to pick up more of the story. They agreed to include a notice alerting readers to the whereabouts of the glossary in subsequent books. I’m glad you’ve decided to continue the series. Thanks for reading!
I think it may actually have acclimated me to the story world better without knowing about it. I’m looking forward to seeing how different WayFarer reads now that I know Faeraven
“What do you think about the book, review, or excerpt? What’s your favorite fantasy series?” This sounds like there’s some derring-do and some unique mythology! I’m just finishing up a great trilogy on audiobook, The Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke!