Welcome to the blog tour for the release of Sarah Holman’s latest book in the Tales of Taelis series: Dreams and Devotion!
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been reading through the series up to this point, and enjoying it greatly, so I’m excited to share it with you! 🙂
Here’s a bit about the book, as well as a GIVEAWAY and other tour stops, and then below is my review. 🙂
Dreams and Devotion
Some dreams will be dashed, and their devotion will be tested.
Dara’s life is full of farm work and worries, especially now that her older brother is a priest in a far off city. Yet she still has time to dream of the life she hopes will someday be. She dreams of marrying her dear friend and the worries of her family ending. Now, the selfishness of one person threatens her very way of life.
Dresden’s initial excitement about living a life devoted to the service of God quickly is dashed on the rocks of reality. The life of a priest is nothing like what he imagined. To make matters worse, he finds out his family back in his home village is on the brink of disaster. Torn between his vows and his love for his family, what will he choose?
Dreams and Devotion releases July 15, 2017
Buy the book for the special preorder price, here.
Giveaway
*****ENTER GIVEAWAY VIA RAFFLECOPTER HERE*****
About the Author
Sarah Holman is a not so typical mid-twenties girl: A homeschool graduate, sister to six awesome siblings, and author of many published books and short stories. If there is anything adventuresome about her life, it is because she serves a God with a destiny bigger than anything she could have imagined.
Find her at www.thedestinyofone.com
Stops on the blog tour:
July 8
Bookish Orchestrations ~ Faith Blum
July 9
His Princess Warrior ~ Katie Hamilton
July 10
In the Book Case ~ Tarissa Graves
Jessica Greyson ~ Jessica Greyson
July 11
Gods Peculiar Treasure Rae ~ Raechel
Read Another Page ~ Rebekah Morris
July 12
Whimsical Writings For His Glory ~ Jesseca Dawn
Shannon McDermott ~ Shannon McDermott
July 13
The Page Dreamer ~ Deborah O’Carroll
(You are here! ^_^ Thanks for dropping by! <3)
July 14
Knitted by God’s Plans ~ Kendra E. Ardnek
With a Joyful Noise ~ Amanda Tero
Once Upon an Ordinary ~ Kate Willis
July 15
Jaye L. Knight ~ Jaye L. Knight
Title: Dreams and Devotion
Author: Sarah Holman
- Date read: June 17, 2017
- Rating: 4 stars
- Genre: Christian / Adventure / Historical Fiction (in fictional country, medieval times)
- Age: YA
- Year pub: 2017
- Pages: 137 (Kindle)
- Series: Tales of Taelis, #4
- Source: The author
- Notes: I received a free e-ARC from the author for review purposes (many thanks!); these opinions are my own.
- Links: Goodreads • Amazon • Author’s Website
Dreams and Devotions is a well-written medieval tale about a brother and sister, Dara and Dresden (love their names!): a peasant girl’s life at her farm and home village, and her brother’s life as a new priest, separately facing adversity and growing stronger in their faith. It’s an extremely emotional and rather bitter-sweet book, focusing on the little things, but it kept me so absorbed and it was overall quite good.
My favorite part was the moonlit harvest scene—I loved it! ❤ There’s a scene that’s staying in my memory for a long time. ^_^
Even though it was not an “exciting” story, and focused mainly on the day-to-day life of farming in medieval times and other struggles, it was so well-written and had me absolutely hooked. I could NOT stop reading! I was super caught up in it. 🙂 It’s definitely an unusual and unique tale, more somber and thoughtful than fun or adventurous, but keeping the reader’s attention all the same.
There were many heart-touching or heartbreaking moments, both good and sad, which made me tear up a few times. I don’t always like when books do that but it definitely made me feel strongly. 😉 Sometimes there seemed to be no hope for awhile, but it did sometimes bring goodness out of the darkness and show God using some things for good. There were a lot of good messages throughout the story, many of which I liked. 🙂
I’m continuing to love visiting this land of Taelis! 🙂 Delmore Castle and various characters from Courage and Corruption feature in this book, which was super neat! The harvest song even came back! I’m curious to see where the rest of the stories will take us, so I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series! ^_^ In the meantime, this is the fourth and latest Taelis book (though they can all stand alone!), and I’ve enjoyed the whole series so far. 🙂
It was a lot sadder than books that I normally like to read, feeling more like real-life sometimes than a work of fiction, leaving a few threads not wrapped up in a (to me!) satisfactory way (I wanted one character’s story to end up differently, but all we got was a note in the epilogue that unfortunately left it hanging, and I also expected a romance but didn’t find one; both were sad parts), but despite all that I’d still say it’s a good book, even if not my usual cup of tea. It was very well written, and I’m so impressed with the fact that, despite any quibbles or sadness (and these are my own, personal opinions!), it was still a very good book and had me extremely absorbed. Overall, quite good. 🙂
If you like Christian fiction and medieval times, a well-written book with heart, some bittersweetness, and people overcoming daily struggles and growing closer to God, you will love Dreams and Devotion. ^_^
Favorite Quotes
It was a stick he had fashioned into a crude bow. He had made it in their younger days when he and Geoffrey would play The Archer in the forest. She had been allowed to play with them at times, sometimes playing the part of the brave princess Brianna, sometimes playing a maiden in need of rescue.
***
“Dara, the greatest gift that we can ever offer anyone is ourselves. You have been a friend to me and so many others. You have not let the disappointments of this year keep you from being someone who dares to dream, hopes for the best, trusts God, and loves without holding back.”
***
~ ~ ~
Read my other reviews for the series:
- Admirable (short story)
- Adventures and Adversities
- Befriended (short story)
- Brothers and Betrayal
- Courage and Corruption
- Dreams and Devotion [You are here!]
~ ~ ~
Have you tried the Tales of Taelis series yet? Thanks so much for dropping by, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! ^_^
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Dream away in those pages . . .
~ The Page Dreamer
The Page Dreamer (Deborah O'Carroll) 
Funnn! I actually…like…super emotional stories. Eheheheh. So it sounds like I’d really enjoy this one. That’s sad a few threads weren’t wrapped up though. But ALL these books sound like such sweet, meaningful stories. ^_^
I’ve SO enjoyed watching your progress reading them and getting all your reviews. It’s been great! 😀 (Because I am a nosy bookdragon and love hearing your thoughts on the books you read. *cough, cough*)
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Yes! It was enjoyable! And in that case, you would probably LOVE this book/series! 😀 Christian, emotional, meaningful medieval tales! ^_^
Aww, thank you! Glad you’ve enjoyed it! I’ve been enjoying reading through them myself! 😀 (*is also a nosy bookdragon because it’s the best seeing what friends are reading* ;)) Thank youuu!
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