It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel snarky (Sage by Jamie Foley: Blog Tour + Giveaway + Review!)

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Jamie Foley’s latest book, Sage! I’m SO excited! 😀

Read on for my review, and don’t forget to scroll to the end to check out the giveaway and other tour stops! ^_^

Title: Sage
Author: Jamie Foley

• Date read: March 19, 2018
• Rating: 5 stars
• Genre: Fantasy / Modern-ish/Post-Apocalyptic-in-another-world? / Christian
• Age: YA
• Year pub: 2018
• Pages: 386 (ebook)
• Series: The Sentinel Trilogy, #3
• Fave character: JET. And a certain character I cannot name because SPOILERS. But he’s awesome. 😀
• Source: The author
• Notes: I was given a free e-copy of this book by the author (thank you!) and these opinions are entirely my own.

It’s really hard to review the final book in a trilogy without spoilers, as I’ve mentioned before; try “almost impossible” with this one! O_O My word. But I’ll do my best. It just may be slightly vague…

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD THOUGH. I’m always nervous coming into the final book in a series, because WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO MY PRECIOUS FRIENDS? It’s the finale, and stakes are high, and is it going to live up to the previous books, and what will the ending be like? And the first two books were ALREADY so intense. O_O But Sage absolutely lived up to and surpassed all the expectations. There were HUGE things going down, and some major twists (like… meep!), but it was all gloriously epic and exciting, and still just FUN on the side, and I love the characters and IT WAS GREAT.

I’M JUST VERY HAPPY WITH THIS SERIES. It can get a little intense or weird sometimes, and occasionally all the fantasy elements can confuse me (with elements and archangels and aaall the fascinating complexity) but I think I have it down now. This is such a fun, exciting, well-written fantasy-post-apocalypse-in-another-world kind of series, and the characters are some of my FAVORITES, and I just love these boooooks! *flails around*

I can’t really say anything about the plot of this third book, especially for anyone who hasn’t read Arbiter yet. (So many huge spoilers in that, not to mention this one…) I’ll just say that it’s just as exciting and intense as the first two books, but with sweet moments and TWISTS, and character banter thrown in—because what’s the end of the world without some snark?

Speaking of snark, there is still MUCH of that, and the dialog makes me grin, and the character interactions are priceless—sheer gold, I tell you. ❤ Not to mention this book having seriously EVERYTHING, including rebellions and escapes and fights in arenas and shapeshifters and a modern-but-fantasy-but-futuristic feel, and all the awesome Aether abilities/powers (so fascinating), and all of it!

I JUST LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH, OKAY. Again, I really can’t talk about what’s going on with them, but I love Darien, and Jet (!!), and Sorvashti, and Tera, and a certain snarky fox (so fun!), and Kohesh cracks me up (oh my goodness! XD), and there’s a CERTAIN OTHER CHARACTER I LOVE who I can’t talk about because of so many spoilers, my goodness. But if you’ve read Arbiter you mayyy have a slight idea about who he is, and I love him! 😀 His character arc is the. best. ^_^ (But Jet though. Jet is my absolute FAVE.)

I love how Darien, Jet, Sorvashti, Tera, and said-unnameable character (and Aleah, I suppose), are all coming so far and learning/growing so MUCH and just—let me hug them! ❤ And I still love Darien and Jet’s buddy-not-buddy, apprentice/mentor sort of roles, and how far they’ve come, but how they’re still the same despite it all, in their own way. THEY MAKE MY HEART HAPPY.

Speaking of characters and my heart being happy, there’s an absolutely ADORABLE romance or two or three, which, again, I cannot discuss. SO MANY SPOILERS. Gaah. But I love-love-love these couples. 😀 There is so much adorableness, it just knocks me over. I CAN’T.

There are a couple things I wasn’t sure if I’d be okay with, but… you know… I think I’m good with it? I ended up quite satisfied on pretty much every count. 😀 (I think I randomly wanted more of Thracian and he was hardly in it, but that’s okay I guess. And more of Jet’s POV, but I always do, so I’ll stop now. XD) And it’s kinda intense and might be better for older teens? (Really bad at age recommendations, here.) But honestly I have no actual complaints. I really enjoyed it!

Overall, it’s an EXCELLENT young adult fantasy series and is SO UNIQUE (like seriously, how unique can you get? I don’t even know how to classify its genres…) and I love it to bits. This author is so absurdly talented, and the characters and snark and fantasy-thriller-ness are gold. If you haven’t, I highly recommend checking out the first book, Sentinel!

(And if you’ve read Sage, please talk to me because I MUST DISCUSS SPOILERS BEFORE I BURST. Message me or leave a spoiler-tagged comment or something. XD)

Some Favorite Quotes (Do you know how hard it is to get non-spoiler quotes? VERY HARD. But these are a few…)

Step four: return to Altair and find any survivors. And try not to let Jet kill me.

***

“You’re not teaching her because you think the way she talks is cute.”

Jet didn’t respond. Tera glanced at him in the mirror’s reflection—he stood perfectly still.

“You can’t prove that.”

Tera laughed out loud. “So I was right!”

Jet’s shoulders slumped. “She’d kill me.”

“So we have an understanding, then.”

***

“Your moping is like nails on the blackboard of my soul.”

“You’re an awful little rodent, Felix Kael Tae,” Aleah snapped.

***

Jet breathed like a bull. “You have three seconds before I throw you out the back hatch.”

***

“Spicy, mild, or no spice?”

“All of the spice.” Sorvashti crossed her legs. “None of the poison.”

Jet leaned over the map. “Give her all my spice.”

***

“…just waltz away?”

“I was planning on walking purposefully.”

***

“I was so worried.”

“Naw, I’m fine. … Heard you died.”

“You look super broken up about it.”

***

How do you turn your stupid spear on?

About the Book

Ancient elementals awaken, fracturing a dying world to its core.

Teravyn Aetherswift returns to the land of the living, but everything seems unfamiliar… including her little brother. Zekk offers help, but can an alluring Lynx be trusted?

Sorvashti finally has everything she ever wanted, so the last thing she wants to do is run after traitors. But she won’t leave Jet’s side—unless the horrifying truth about his mother tears them apart.

Darien is sick of being used and lied to. But if he stands up for what’s right, he’ll pay the price with his life… or the lives of those he loves.

Purchase on Amazon or a signed paperback

Check out the rest of the series!

When a meteor storm knocks out the power grid, the supernaturally gifted become pawns in humanity’s struggle for survival.

The Sentinel Trilogy is an apocalyptic fantasy series that takes place on a unique world with ancient powers and elementals, but familiar human struggle.

Clean. Ages 12+

LINKS:

Trilogy Boxed Set: Amazon Kindle – Signed Paperbacks – Goodreads

Sentinel (book 1): Amazon Kindle – Signed Paperback – Goodreads

Arbiter (book 2): Amazon Kindle – Signed Paperback – Goodreads

Vanguard (prequel novella, formerly released under the title Viper): Amazon Kindle – Signed Paperback – Goodreads

About the Author

Jamie Foley loves strategy games, home-grown berries, and Texas winters. She’s terrified of plot holes and red wasps.

Her husband is her manly cowboy astronaut muse. They live between Austin, TX and their family cattle ranch, where their hyperactive spawnling and wolfpack can run free.

Website — Facebook — Twitter — Instagram

Giveaway Time!

Want to dive into a new world or in need of a good book? Enter to win a digital $10 Amazon gift card (3 winners) by signing up for Jamie’s newsletter via the form.

>>> Entry-Form <<<

Blog Tour Schedule

Saturday, March 10^th

• Blog Tour Kickoff – Unicorn Quester

Monday, March 12^th  

• Interview – Siren & Solider Book Reviews

Tuesday, March 13^th

• Book Review – The Left-Handed Typist 

Wednesday, March 14^th

• Book Spotlight – Backing Books 

Thursday, March 15^th

• Interview & Review – Lu’s Reviews

Friday, March 16^th

• Book Spotlight – Laura VanArendonk Baugh 

Saturday, March 17^th

• Book Review – Lands Uncharted

Monday, March 19^th

• Interview – Musings of an Elf

Tuesday, March 20^th

• Book Review – The Page Dreamer (You are here!)
• Book Spotlight – Gillian Bronte Adams

Wednesday, March 21^st

• Book Spotlight – A Little Southern Grace

 Thursday, March 22^nd

• Interview – Unicorn Quester

 Friday, March 23^rd

• Book Spotlight/Book Review – Liv K. Fisher

 Saturday, March 24^th

• Blog Tour Wrap-Up – Unicorn Quester

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Have you checked out this series yet? Because I totally recommend it! (If you can’t tell. XD)

You can read my reviews for the first two books in the series (as well as the prequel novella, Viper/Vanguard) by clicking the covers below…

 

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer / Deborah O’Carroll

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Have another belated review from a couple of March Magics ago. XD

Title: Guards! Guards!

Author: Terry Pratchett

This is less of a review, and more of a things-and-thoughts-about-the-book sort of affair.

I read this one a bit belatedly for March Magics—my first Pratchett novel. People say his books are reminiscent of DWJ, and there is a reason, namely: hilarious fantasy. (I still prefer hers, but he can be fun.)

It’s hilarious and a mess and doesn’t take itself seriously, and is basically a fun rollick. XD It takes SO MANY fantasy tropes and turns them on their heads. It has footnotes. (And one of its footnotes had footnotes.) Any book that has as detailed a thing about libraries on page three as this one has is bound to be great. (Also, the librarian is an orangutan. Because it can.)

The blurb (at least the one I read) seems to act like the book is about Carrot, but it’s really about Vimes. Captain Vimes is the LAST person you’d think of as a hero or even as Main Character material. He’s the most unlikely hero imaginable. But I surprised myself by realizing by the end that I absolutely loved him! XD He’s great.

Anyway, it follows the Night Watch of the city of Ankh-Morpork, a few down-on their luck, scrapings-of-the-gutter fellows. Captain Vimes, Sergeant Colon, Nobby, and Carrot. There’s also Lady Ramkin, who is interesting; the Patrician, who is creepy; and the little dragon named Errol!! (My favorite quote about Errol: “He’d eaten most of the table, the grate, the coal scuttle, several lamps and the squeaky rubber hippo.”)

You can’t really describe the PLOT, as such… there’s just a lot of stuff going on. There’s the Watch, and shenanigans, and it’s fun. 😀

Also, silly names like the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night. And helmet plumes. Also: dragons! And there’s a dash of timey-wimey to spice things up. The thing about the lost heirs!! (I kind of wish it might have turned out a little different about that character… but I don’t know if he’d have wanted that anyway, so I dunno.) There’s a bit of language/rude jokes, but still. I loved the thing about “a million to one chance but it just might work” and how people never say “it’s a certainty but it just might work”. XD There were also some brilliant things about dungeons (never build one you can’t escape from). And, of course, how people in books tend to yell “Guards! Guards!” — because they really do.

There are no chapters, just scene breaks, so it feels like a movie. This also makes it impossible to stop reading, which is awkward for those of us who need to remember to go sleep sometime.

Anyway, I enjoyed it a good deal, and this and “Mort” are probably still my favorite Pratchett books. 😀 I’ll have to try some more with the Night Watch sometime…

Some Favorite Quotes

“set a deep hole with spring-loaded sides, tripwires, whirling knife blades driven by water power, broken glass and scorpions, to catch a thief”

***

There is an art in throwing knives and, even then, you need the right kind of knife. Otherwise it does just what this one did, which is miss completely.

***

It was said that, since vast amounts of magic can seriously distort the mundane world, the Library did not obey the normal rules of space and time. It was said that it went on /forever/. It was said that you could wander for days among the distant shelves, that there were lost tribes of research students somewhere in there, that strange things lurked in forgotten alcoves and were preyed on by other things that were even stranger.*

Wise students in search of more distant volumes took care to leave chalk marks on the shelves as they roamed deeper into the fusty darkness, and told friends to come looking for them if they weren’t back by supper.

*All this was untrue. The truth is that even big collections of ordinary books distort space, as can readily be proved by anyone who has been around a really old-fashioned secondhand bookshop, one of those that look as though they were designed by M. Escher on a bad day and has more staircases than storeys and those rows of shelves which end in little doors that are surely too small for a full-sized human to enter. The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.

***

A couple of guards grabbed Vimes tentatively by the shoulders.

“You’re not going to do anything heroic, are you?” whispered one of them.

“Wouldn’t know where to start,” he said.

***

“Do you think picking someone up by their ankles and bouncing their head on the floor comes under the heading of Striking a Superior Officer?”

***

What would Captain Vimes do now? Well, he’d have a drink. But if he didn’t have a drink, what would he do?

“What we need,” he said slowly, “is a Plan.”

That sounded good. That sentence alone sounded worth the pay. If you had a Plan, you were halfway there.

***

“Oook,” the Librarian pointed out, patiently.

“What? Oh. Sorry.” Vimes lowered the ape, who wisely didn’t make an issue of it because a man angry enough to lift 300lbs of orangutan without noticing is a man with too much on his mind.

***

Fortunately, the chances of anyone surviving the ensuing explosion were exactly a million-to-one.

Genre/Category: Epic Fantasy

Age Group: Adult

Published: 1989

Pages: 288 pages (hardcover)

Series?: Part of the Discworld series, which frankly confuses me because there’s so many and they’re… yeah, confusing. But also book one in the Night Watch / Ankh-Morpork City Watch sub-series.

When Read: April 5 – 6, 2016

Favorite Character: Captain Vimes

Source: Library

Other Notes: Read it (a week late) for the March Magics a couple years ago, celebrating Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett, hosted by Kate @ We Be Reading.

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Thanks for reading!

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer

 

Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones

Here, have a review from a couple of March Magics ago, which I never got around to posting. 😛 (This is making me want to get it out of the library again and re-read it!)

Title: Deep Secret

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

I’ve discovered that I’m downright horrendous at writing reviews for books by Diana Wynne Jones. I plan to write one, then I put it off, and put it off, because I know that it’s far too complex to do justice to in a review — and how even do I wrap my head around it all, exactly?? So once again, as I did with Fire and Hemlock, I’m going to need to just start typing and hope something semi-coherent and possibly slightly resembling a review will come out of it…

This story is a mix of fantasy/sci-fi/modern, with some other worlds thrown in for good measure. Most of it takes place at a sci-fi/fantasy convention of all places. Talk about an original setting! It’s in first person but you totally forget this fact as the story draws you in.

I found this one in the adult section of the library (I usually frequent the YA room… sorry-not-sorry, but all the good stuff’s there!). I suppose it’s a bit more Adult than most of DWJ’s books (more language/dark/gruesome/disturbing/implied stuff) so be aware of that. I don’t really recommend it to teens because it’s kinda dark… But it’s so absorbing!

I LOVED the multiple-worlds stuff. Absolutely fascinating.

There are centaurs! YES.

I also loved the idea of “deep secrets” which Magids (the magic users) thread into the world through stories and art and such. Absolutely brilliant.

There were also a few things about writing and I think some jibes at publishers, etc., which I found hilarious. XD

The DWJ library book visiting some of its cousins who live on my shelf

I think it’s possible DWJ put herself in it. There was a lecture on A Sense of Humour in Fantasy. “Some woman beside him wrote funny stuff too” and said that in her own writing, sometimes her jokes made her laugh. (And I remember in some interview or essay or somewhere, DWJ said that about herself.) So I think she put herself into this book and I LOVE IT.

She definitely put in a fan of her book “Archer’s Goon”, as somebody at the convention wore a badge that said “All power corrupts, but we need electricity.” I was just sitting there grinning absurdly as I read that. XD

There are other references too, which made me happy, like to LOTR (somebody had a T-shirt that he said read: “I am a Hobbit.” In Elvish. I think she was making fun of these people, but it was funny. XD), and The Princess Bride. And at one point there was something about being rather like “a magical Bertie Wooster with an invisible butler”. I totally lost it there. It was the BEST.

As usual with DWJ books, there’s a fabulous cast of characters that I love. There’s Maree and Rupert (who tell the story in turns) and they’re so… well… THEM. It’s hard to explain. But I love ’em! Then there are other characters like Will (he’s great!) and Rob the centaur (!!). And one of my absolute favorites is Maree’s cousin Nick—who is, I hear, based on a teenaged Neil Gaiman, who Diana Wynne Jones knew. She based Nick off him, and he’s so incoherent in the morning before he’s eaten breakfast and IT MADE MY DAY. So very hilarious. And one can’t forget neighbor Andrew, the “fabulous Nordic type”! But no more, lest there be spoilers. (Oh! And the quacks! A sort of otherworldly duck. 😀 Loved them!)

I’m absurdly proud of myself for only staying up until 2-something a.m. and having the willpower to go to bed without finishing the last 70 pages. I got to the part where it said: “And, I see in retrospect, that was the last moment when events were in any way within my control.” And I thought: “Welp, I’d better go to bed before things get worse.” 😛

Anyway, DWJ is brilliant and I love her books so much, and this one was no exception! It was longer than many of them. I get addicted to her longer books and LIVE in them, and then have a tendency to accidentally go around in a haze for the next few days, vaguely living in the story again in the back of my mind after spending 414 pages in it…

“Where is the road to Babylon? / Right beside your door.”

The road I’m looking for is the road to the library to get the sequel, thank you very much.

The story doesn’t need it, but I do.

From Goodreads:

All over the multiverse the Magids, powerful magicians, are at work to maintain the balance between positive and negative magic, for the good of all.

Rupert Venables is the junior Magid assigned to Earth and to the troublesome planets of the Koyrfonic Empire. When the Emperor dies without a known heir, Rupert is called into service to help prevent the descent of the Empire into chaos. At the same time, the senior Magid on Earth dies, making Rupert a new senior desperately in need of a junior. Rupert thinks his problems are partially solved when he discovers he can meet all five of the potential Magids on Earth by attending one SF convention in England. However, the convention hotel sits on a node, a nexus of the universes. Rupert soon finds that other forces, some of them completely out of control, are there too…

Genre/Category: Contemporary Fantasy / Sci-fi / Inter-world Fantasy / ??? / DIANA WYNNE JONES (which is a category of its own, or should be, because it’s really hard to fit her books into pigeonholes…)

Age Group: Adult

Published: 1997

Pages: 414

Series?: Book 1 of Magids; followed by The Merlin Conspiracy

When Read: March 22 – 23, 2016

Favorite Character: Oh my GOODNESS, don’t ask me this! O_O (Er… I know I’m asking myself; shush.) Rupert or Rob or Nick or Will or Andrew or somebody. Probably most of the cast because you just get so attached to DWJ characters…

Source: Library

Other Notes: Read for March Magics, hosted by Kristen @ We Be Reading

Have you read this one? I feel this NEED to talk to people who have. XD (And I also want to re-read it either before or after Realm Makers, because Sci-fi/Fantasy Conference…)

Thanks for reading!

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer

Minstrel’s Call by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt: Blog Tour + Giveaway + Review!

Hello, my dear Page Dreamers!

I’m absurdly pleased to be a part of the Minstrel’s Call release blog tour. It just came out last week, and I’m here today to share my review for this book, which is the fourth and final (!!) book in Jenelle Leanne Schmidt‘s family-friendly, epic fantasy series, The Minstrel’s Song. (Hint: I ADORE THIS SERIES. ❤ )

Be sure to scroll to the end of the post for the fabulous giveaway Jenelle is hosting, and to check out the other stops on the tour!

So. My review. 😀

SALE NOTE FOR THE PREVIOUS BOOKS (LAST DAY): King’s Warrior and Second Son are on sale for 99 cents each, and Yorien’s Hand is on sale for $1.99, from Feb. 27 – March 6.

Title: Minstrel’s Call
Author: Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

• Date read: March 5, 2018
• Rating: 5 stars
• Genre: Epic Fantasy / Christian
• Age: Any
• Year pub: 2018
• Pages: 552 (ebook)
• Series: The Minstrel’s Song, #4 (previous books: King’s Warrior, Second Son (prequel), Yorien’s Hand)
• Fave character: Kiernan Kane and Brant! ❤
• Source: The author
• Notes: I received a free e-ARC from the author and these opinions are entirely my own.

THIS BOOK. AAAAAAAAAAAHH.

I will be calm, I will, but… just… I have no words, okay? I’m trying to, but all my thoughts are just swirling around in my head in a kaleidescope of sweeping-fantasy-epic and happiness and character love. MY FEELS.

When I finished reading it, I made a lot of incoherent noises of happiness, and hugged my cat and my sister, and danced around, pretty much in the clouds. ^_^ And then I just wanted to curl up and hug the book (which is awkward when it’s on my laptop… *cough*), and feel HAPPY BOOKISH THOUGHTS and think about everything that happened in it, and basically be ABSURDLY PLEASED WITH LIFE. But instead I’m going to write my review so that I can tell you all how much I liked this book, and why you have to read it too! 😀

I love this series so, so much and this book was absolutely the PERFECT conclusion to it. I’ve just grown so fond and attached to this series and these characters and all of it! ❤

Firstly, excuse me while I talk about SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS of all time, namely Brant and KIERNAN KANE. Just—words do not suffice to talk about these awesome characters! I LOVE THEM SO. I’ve loved following their stories through this series and—this final book!! O_O SO much goes down in this volume. SO. MUCH. Reveals and twists and hardships and epicness… And I love them all the more for it. ❤ These two characters ALONE are well worth reading this series in order to meet. 😀 As much as I love each of them on their own, their friendship-that’s-kinda-not IS MY FAVORITE THING. But Brant is the best warrior/king type of character, and Kiernan Kane is the bestest Minstrel ever and is so much more than he seems, and I can’t talk about him but JUST GO MEET HIM, OKAY.

The story itself is epic. EPIC, I TELL YOU. I was wondering, since it’s the last in a series and all, how it was going to pull this off. But I need not have worried, because it totally fulfilled my expectations. It’s a glorious sweeping epic and it was quite the adventure. I was absorbed in it, even in the slower parts, and by the end I was absolutely on the edge of my seat and SO EXTREMELY WORRIED about my precious friends and quite emotionally invested. Like. Just. THE TENSION. *collapses* This is final-book-wowness on a grand scale. Meep.

SO many things happen in this book, I don’t even know where to start! And also there are so many spoilers. O_O So… I probably can’t even say very much, because I don’t want to spoil them! (I mean, even things that are spoilers from previous books which are so much a part of this story… Reviewing the last book in a series is hard, guys. XD)

Suffice it to say that there is catastrophe and eucatastrophe, laughter and tears and soul-stirring calls to battle, cataclysmic fights and epic quests, music and light and darkness and hope and triumph. And it’s all so BEAUTIFUL. *sniffs* *hugs book* It can be fun and epic in turns (I know I keep using that word but I’m NOT EVEN SORRY), and just—words fail. It’s just the kind of fantasy I like, I suppose. ^_^ There’s even a thread of Christian allegory, in the best way possible. So well done!

I love this world, and the unique fantasy elements, like the dreamworld things and the portal prison and just EVERYTHING. So intriguing. Twissssts caught me off my guard, were fascinating, or I bounced up and down because I suspected them and YES. The quest to an arctic-like place (sooo cool!). I loved the ship!! 😀 (See gorgeous cover for details.) And oh, the prophecy THINGS! O_O Wow, wow, wow. Such reveals going on! And the Corridor, and just EVERYTHING HAPPENED. And the dragonssss, and other fantastical creatures! (The wind!) Absolutely brilliant and delightful.

Oh, and a random thing, but I LOVE the little almost-Arthurian dashes of mythology thrown around here and there in the series. 😀 And I also really enjoyed the snatches of quotes etc. at the beginning of the chapters (new in this book). They were fascinating, and showed such a depth to the history of the world of Tellurae Aquaous, like a rich tapestry we catch glimpses of. It really gave me a feel for that, and made me long to know more about all the stories hinted at!

All my character friends! I love them all and they’ve come so far and just— *HUGS THEM* They go through SO much in this book, but I loved standing with them and watching them come through it all. Kitry is an adorable new heroine, and I love continuing to follow the adventures of Kamarie and Oraeyn, Brant and Dylanna, Yole, Leila, Kiernan Kane, Jemson, Devrin, and the rest. ❤ I could talk about each at length but this is getting long and also there would be so many spoilers. XD BUT I LOVE THEM. MY HEART.

Each book in The Minstrel’s Song series is more amazing than the last. I keep thinking “the next one can’t be better than this.” But they ARE. And the writing, too, is getting even better in each new installment! Yorien’s Hand was my favorite (it was also the first one I read, since I read them out of order… Oops.) and I re-read it and loved it all over again. And as I was reading Minstrel’s Call, I was like “Eh… it probably can’t be better than Yorien’s Hand.” BUT THEN SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED AND JUST. Every book builds on the previous one and becomes so much more epic and fantastic and it’s basically a climbing stair of awesome and I LOVE IT.

I love that this book and series are family-friendly fantasy, while still being epic and thrilling, and I fully intend to read these aloud to my siblings. (And also to get a shiny paperback of this one someday because I neeeed it on my shelf.)

It’s an enormous book, but I’m glad I got to spend a little more time with these beloved characters in this beautiful and perilous world. (BUT BRANT. AND KIERNAN. KIIIIERNAN!)

It’s practically perfect and I love it, and it was intense but made me absurdly happy, and just go read this series now. (And then come tell me so that we can flail about the spoilers in this book and how amazing Minstrel’s Call was. :D)

About Minstrel’s Call

War threatens. The game board is set. But the Minstrel is missing…

Advancing his growing power, the Dread Prince breaks free of his prison and brings a faction of dragons under his control, stirring unrest and hatred in the newly united kingdoms of Tellurae Aquaous.

When the dragon wards of Kallayohm are targeted in a ruthless attack, the High King travels there to administer justice. But the trial results in a crippling blow that leaves him reeling.

On the heels of defeat, an unexpected message from the erstwhile Minstrel arrives, pleading with his friends for rescue. Together, the High King and his companions must follow the fragile trail, braving peril and darkness that will test the measure of them all…

Amazon • Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway From Jenelle:

I am giving away 1 Dragon Sword, 1 252-piece puzzle of the artwork for Minstrel’s Call, and 1 signed paperback copy of Minstrel’s Call. (Due to standard-postal shipping restrictions of blades outside the continental USA, and the lack of reliable dragons these days, I cannot offer the sword to winners outside the U.S. However, if someone outside the U.S. wins that particular item, I will send them a $35 Amazon Gift Card instead).

Enter the giveaway HERE!

Visit Jenelle Online at:

Website/Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads

Tour Schedule

Monday, February 26

• Welcome post from Jenelle
• Interview with Kyle Shultz
• Guest post with E. E. Rawls

Tuesday, February 27

• Guest post with DJ Edwardson
• Book spotlight from Catherine Chant

Wednesday, February 28

• Book spotlight from CL Wells

Thursday, March 1

• Book spotlight from Annie Douglas Lima
• Character interview with Kendra E. Ardnek

Friday, March 2

• Book spotlight from Bryn Shutt
• Newsletter release with Sarah Ashwood

Monday, March 5

• Book spotlight from Dawn Roberto
• Guest post with Liv K. Fisher

Tuesday, March 6

• ARC Review from Deborah O’Carroll (You are here!)

Wednesday, March 7

• Book spotlight from Nancy Moors
• Character interview with Kandi J Wyatt

Thursday, March 8

• Author interview with Kendra E. Ardnek

Friday, March 9

• Book spotlight with Laurie Lucking
• Tour End/giveaway winner post with Jenelle

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Have you checked out this series yet? I love it so much! ❤

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer / Deborah O’Carroll

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Related Reviews

 

March Magics 2018!

It’s MARCH, guys!

Which means March Magics/DWJ March (hosted by We Be Reading). Which means celebrating Diana Wynne Jones and her books (as well as Terry Pratchett and his). Which means: one of my favorite times of year! 😀

This year’s theme is short stories… and here’s what I’m hoping to read this month for March Magics!

Nightstand: March Magics edition (March 2018)

• The Game, The Homeward Bounders, & A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones — I haven’t read these yet, so I’m looking forward to reading them. New DWJ reads are always a treat, and I’ve heard a lot about these so I’m curious! March Magics is the perfect excuse to read these. 🙂
• Dragons at Crumbling Castle & A Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett — These are on the readalong list, consisting of short stories, so I’m looking forward to checking them out. 🙂 Especially the Discworld ones in the second book, and the fact that Dragons at Crumbling Castle consists of stories he wrote when he was 17 and they look fun. XD
• I also Fully Intend to get my hands on a copy of Diana Wynne Jones’ Unexpected Magic short story collection sometime this month when it’s in at the library… so that’ll be my DWJ short story readings for the month if I can can get to it, because I’ve been meaning to read that one for AGES.
• And I have some other review books etc. (not pictured) which I need to read soon as well, so that’s probably all (or more than!) I can handle this month. (Though if I happen to feel like some other DWJ or Pratchett book and find time, I will definitely not complain.) But I’m really looking forward to them!

As for blogging-related things, we’ll see what I get to, but I’m hoping to post at least a couple of other March Magics posts this month, so stay tuned!

Mostly, I’m just really looking forward to spending the month reading books by my favorite author and generally immersing myself in all the DWJ goodness, because it makes me happy. ^_^

Are you planning to read anything by Diana Wynne Jones or Terry Pratchett this month? Because you totally should! And if you’d like a few more DWJ-related things, you can check out my DWJ Project page. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer / Deborah O’Carroll