Dawnsinger by Janalyn Voigt

Tales of Fearaven #1 

Published June 2012, Harbourlight Books 

Print and Ebook 

 

Genre: Fantasy  

 

 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 to a divided land. To prevail, each must learn that sometimes victory comes only through surrender.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm trying to get through books I've had on my Kindle or in my computer for years, and this was one on my list.

This book was a pleasant surprise. So much epic fantasy is not strong on the world-building, for various reasons. In a lot of it, the 'Medieval' setting resembles either Colonial America or Ancient Israel, or a combination of the two.

This one was quite different, the Medieval setting is quite authentic (no potatoes, I mean literally), and the story a world building was very strong. Only thing is I think the Glossary could have done with being at the front instead of the back, because I had to keep looking things up to remind me of what some of the 'odd' words meant.

I don't know if this is counted as YA or Adult, but the Quest/Adventure formula worked very well, although it does not start until about halfway through. Before that its sort of introducing the character/setting. Its like a classic Quest story, almost the type of formula you see in Medieval Literature except with winged horses, and a glowing sword and various other mythical elements.

A very good book, its helpful that this and the sequel are both available on Kindle Unlimited.

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