About
Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.
But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.
And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice…and for the one person who can wield it.
Review
Dragonwitch is fabulous story-telling. Ms. Stengl did a wonderful job weaving together this fantasy tale that was complex and filled with depth. Her characters were all fully-fleshed out feeling like real people…ahem or cat that could just step out of the pages. I think Leta and Alistair were my favorite characters. I enjoyed the dichotomy that was Leta. There was practical Leta and rebellious Leta (which was not really all that rebellious). Watching her change and develop over the course of the novel always made the pages turn faster. But my heart just went out to Alistair, he seemed to sacrifice a lot for very little in return and he was such a good person! Romantically, I could see the romance, I could understand the romance. I would have liked for a bit more development and yet the novel didn’t exactly call for it. The only problem I had with this book, is that I haven’t read all the books in this series and so at times I felt lost. There seemed to be two stories going on at the same time, and I skimmed one and read the other one until they seemed to converge at the end. Therefore, if this is your first foray into this series (thankfully it wasn’t mine, I just haven’t caught up yet) then you will probably be very confused. Spiritually, (because this is fantasy, things are a bit different) I like the theme of when God calls, He equips, it doesn’t matter what things look like on the outside. Beautiful novel filled with adventure. Recommended!
**I received this novel from Bethany House. My opinion was not affected in any way.**
Romantic Scale: 6.5/7
remaininhislove 