Book Review: DawnSinger by Janalyn Voigt

“A crosswind caught Kai’s wingabeast as lightning flared too near.  Shrilling, the winged horse tilted in flight, and Kai’s stomach lurched.  A gust snatched the hood from his head and roared in his ears.  He blinked to clear the stinging rain that drove into his eyes.  Thunder boomed like a timpani, shaking the air.” ~DawnSinger, Janalyn Voigt

As a guardian of Faeraven, Kai serves the high queen and yet feels divided between his responsibilities to her and to his family.  The high queen lies on her deathbed, yet has a last duty for him to complete.

Shae has grown up as a pampered princess in Whellein Hold, yet she has a restless spirit.  As Kai fetches her to the palace, she sees dark visions.  Things are changing in Faeraven, yet Shae doesn’t understand her role in what is to come.  Slowly, as she gets to know the high queen, she learns about ancient prophecies and her own birthright.

Kai, Shae and their companions set off on a dangerous quest across Faeraven.  During her quest, Shae must learn to rely on Lof Yuel’s strength and to trust her companions.  She must also sort out her confused feelings for Kai.

With beautiful, descriptive prose, Voigt brings the land of Faeraven alive for readers.  The slightly formal dialogue given to her characters and the descriptions of food were small touches that made this world seem real to me.  Other times, there was too much that was unfamiliar to me and left me reading a paragraph once or twice to understand what was going on.

The book includes a glossary at the end and a list of the territories (or shraens) at the beginning.  There was also a map at the beginning, but it was so small that it was next to useless—I had troubles determining where Shae and Kai began and ended their journey.

Kai and Shae were likeable, interesting characters and the plot took several twists that I didn’t expect.  Best-selling author Linda Windsor says, “DawnSinger is a delightful fantasy spun with bardic prose and threaded with danger and intrigue.”  I enjoyed this dip into fantasy and look forward to seeing where the story goes next—now that Shae, the Dawn Singer, has completed her quest, but Faeraven still lies in danger, waiting for the Dawn King whom Shae released.

Janalyn Voigt’s epic fantasy trilogy, Tales of Faeraven, starting with DawnSinger, is published by Harbourlight Books. Janalyn also writes in the western romance genre. She is represented by Barbara Scott of Wordserve Literary. Her nonfiction publication credits include Focus on the Family, Scripture Press (now David C. Cook) and Pentecostal Evangel. She serves as a literary judge for several national contests and is an active book reviewer. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA. Janalyn lives in a quiet corner of the Pacific Northwest, where she discovers worlds of adventure in the great outdoors.

This book was provided for review courtesy of KCWC.