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.
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Epic Christian Fantasy? Yes, please. DawnSinger is an inventive novel with beautifully descriptive prose and dialogue. I absolutely love the imagery and symbolism woven through the book.
The world-building in this Renaissance-esque fantasy is beautiful. World-building in fantasy is especially important, and Janalyn Voigt has nailed it here. Every location was vividly described in such a way that I was able to escape into the words of this novel and pretend I wasn’t in the real world for a while.
The characters are deep, well-rounded and real. Shae and Kai are on a really epic journey full of unexpected twists, magic, and monsters galore. I love the prophetic voice that guides the characters. It’s just really unique. I highly recommend checking out this original and inspiring novel.
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Prism Book Tours. All opinions are my own.*
Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
A very different read than what I normally read but I’m glad to have the opportunity to stretch my reading elsewhere. Christian fantasy just landed on my favorite genere list.
I thought the author has done a fabulous job with this book.
I finished it one day because it was so very good!
I loved all the action and adventure that took place throughout the story.
Definitely a lot of surprises along the way!
Lots of great secondary characters that I enjoyed getting to know too.
Shae and Kai of course are my favorite characters.
Shae is a strong and determined person whom I greatly admire. I appreciate her
I won’t say why because I don’t want to give away too much!
Kai is a good protector. Strong and kind. He has determination too.
The war between good and evil was excellent!
” Find the light and be saved.” My favorite quote in the book because this is how the author shows us that God can talk to us in whispers. We just need to listen closely so we don’t miss Him. He really can talk to us in so many ways like nudging, pushing, sending his angels, and certain people in our lives to guide us. Friends, family and many others.
I didn’t like Freaer. I didn’t like his ways. Evil to the bone if you ask me.
Another quote was ” Happiness is but one thread woven into the tapestry of life at Whellein.”
I’ve never thought about the tapestry of colors before and what they represented. How interesting!
I thoroughly enjoyed this new to me author who swept me into her fantasy world and now I want to read the 2nd book! I will be looking forward to this new series. A denfinate page turner.
My thanks to Just Reads program for a copy of this exciting book! I was NOT required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.
The fate of the realm is in her voice…
Fantasy has never been my genre of choice, though I have many fond childhood memories of wiling away the hours in Narnia and Middle Earth, but gradually I’ve been opening that door and allowing my horizons to broaden. I’ve actually seen Janalyn Voigt’s name quite a bit, and it’s all been positive, which is why I decided to give the Tales Of Faeraven a shot.
DawnSinger is the first book in the series and in true fantasy fashion there is an epic quest, terrible dangers, betrayal, a taste of forbidden love, and even more importantly the story gets darker as the conclusion draws nearer.
I was pleased to discover that Janalyn Voigt has created a world with quite a detailed history, language, flora and fauna, and landscape. The world is detailed but the story isn’t bogged down by those details. The characters are interesting and you quickly come to like them, especially Shae, Kai, and Elcon. And the villain, oh, I hated him!
I enjoyed DawnSinger, its characters and strange creatures, and I look forward to returning to the land of Faeraven in the next book in the series…
(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)
Thank you to Harbourlight and the author for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Dawnsinger
Faeraven #1
By: Janalyn Voight
*REVIEW*
Dawnsinger is the first book of the Faeraven series. I honestly don’t read a lot of fantasy adventure stories, but I went in with an open mind. The scope of world building is epic, as the setting is vividly depicted with fantastical creatures, dazzling sights and a different language set(see the glossary in the back). The characters are strong, easy to like, sharp witted and complex without being overdone or ridiculous, i.e. the greatest hero in all the land etc. I became invested in the outcome because I cared about the characters.
I saw their quest as allegorical to some biblical tales and symbolic of the eternal good vs. evil battle. The reader can use this story as a metaphor for life: a grand quest with evil temptations and pitfalls to overcome by your own power and sense of what is righteous and good. We all make choices with our own sense of right and wrong every day. The plot is thrilling with action and drama at every turn leaving readers wanting more. Overall, Dawnsinger is a well written adventure steeped in thoughtfully planned fantasy that fans of the genre will surely enjoy.
This was a beautifully written Christian fantasy. I enjoyed the bits of scripture thrown into the story, it really made them come alive in a more action-packed way. The writing was interesting and the characters kept me hooked. I also enjoyed the world and different places in the world.
Shae is a beautiful girl that has a deep connection with Lof Yeul. She has visions from him. She hears from him. She feels a great burden for her people. I loved Shae as she taught me how to trust in God and how to be consistently in a place of being able to hear from Him. Shae was bold, she was snarky, she was strong and didn’t mind being vulnerable every now and then. She was a powerful girl, but she didn’t allow things to stop her from her purpose in fulfilling the prophecy. She gave completely of herself for her people.
Kai was such an amazing young man. He handled himself in battle, he kept his emotions in check (most of the time). Kai was the type of man that pushed a woman to fulfill her purpose. He was humble, kind, loving and just an amazing friend to many around him. He didn’t play games, stood up for what’s right and kept pushing for the greater good. I loved his character and can’t wait to see how he progresses with all that happened at the end.
The romance was adorable to me. Shae and Kai had to overcome a lot with their love for each other. They had to fight for their love on many levels and even in doing so things didn’t pan out as they hoped. I still have hope for them, if she comes back in the sequel.
Freaer was a twisted man. He seemed like a nice guy up until Maeven asked Shae to sing her death song. He pissed me off. He was evil to the core. He played the role well. Knew how to use others for his own means. He reminded me of the way the devil sneaks in, entices us with “beautiful” things and uses people for his own enjoyment.
Elcon, the “prince” was pretty awesome. I would love to see more of his character grow in the sequel. He seems like a quiet guy, but the type you don’t cross because he might be a tad bit crazy. I’m interested in seeing how he rules.
The DawnKing, Emmerich, reminds me of Jesus in that he was sent by Lof Yuel to protect the people of the land. He even did things such as raise the dead and quoted some scriptures to Kai.
Lof Yuel aka the Light was an awesome concept for God. I enjoyed the whispers that came from him as it reminded of how God doesn’t always speak loudly, but rather He uses the still small voices.
That ending K I L L E D me! I just can’t deal. Shae is a woman of strength and Kai is a man of valor because I would not! I died with that ending.
Such a fantastic read and can’t wait to read that sequel!
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.