Dagger's Sleep + Dissociate {A Dual Book Blog Tour}

Greetings, readers! Yes, I'm back...just unofficially. ;) Expect lots of pics and memories to be shared later this week!

Today I'm sharing a book spotlight and review of two recently-released indie books in the fantasy genre with Tricia Mingerink (a fav author!) and Sarah Addison-Fox's (an author I want to give a try!) dual-book blog tour. :D

Synopsis

A prince cursed to sleep. A princess destined to wake him. A kingdom determined to stop them.

High Prince Alexander has been cursed to a sleep like unto death, a curse that will end the line of the high kings and send the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia into chaos. With his manservant to carry his luggage and his own superior intelligence to aid him, Alex sets off to find one of the Fae and end his curse one way or another.

A hundred years later, Princess Rosanna learns she is the princess destined by the Highest King to wake the legendary sleeping prince. With the help of the mysterious Daemyn Rand, can she find the courage to finish the quest as Tallahatchia wavers on the edge of war?

One curse connects them. A hundred years separate them. From the rushing rivers of Tallahatchia’s mountains to the hall of the Highest King himself, their quests will demand sacrifices neither of them could imagine.

Amazon || Goodreads

Review 

What a ride, y'all.

The course of this book is like a river, dotted with waterfalls of adventure and rocks bearing labels like 'pain' and 'intrigue'. (That's basically the extent of my creativity analogies. Stop laughing.)

The plot was adventurous, but the insane, heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat excitement was kind of come-and-go. Some parts were upbeat and thrilling, while others were more laid-back and comfortable. The storyline was entertaining, and the retelling aspects subtle and nicely done. I totally suspected the Jadon/Daemyn plot twist, though. ;) The romance was sweet and endearing, drawing me in more than other aspects of the story. And the allegoric hints were very nicely done!

The setting was interesting and unique. The Indian-tribe feel, the seven kingdoms, the mountains and rivers and bridges. It was different and lovely—and really relatable to this mountain girl. ;) Many of the names felt familiar to me, such as Cumber Gap (Cumberland Gap), Tuckawassee (Tuckasagee), Cheyandoah (sounds like Shenandoah, unless I'm pronouncing it wrong), and Kanawhee (Kanawha Valley). Not sure if it was intentional or not, but that was cool. xD

Now, about the characters... Rosanna was pretty good, and I enjoyed her story. Daemyn was FABULOUS and I loved him so much. Alex...I'm still not sure what to think about him, as I was really annoyed with his character until nearly the 40% mark. He somewhat redeemed himself, but not enough for him to be a favorite. Berend (THE PUNS <3) was great, as were Zeke and Isi (hard-core shipping those two).

I don't read much fantasy, and the whole thing with the curses and gifts and Faes threw me off for awhile, but I eventually got a grasp on what was going on with everything. (Basically, the resurrections confused me, because my mind doesn't work well in a realm where such things just commonly happen.)

All in all, it was a well-written book with a solid storyline. In my opinion, it wasn't as good as The Blades of Acktar, but because this author is a favorite, I'm sure I'll be reading more of the retellings in this series. So, after all that, I'm going with a 4 star rating. It was good, but not amazing. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

**I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.** 

Author Bio 

Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.

You can connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog.

Synopsis

Freedom begins with finding the truth.

Amidst the turmoil caused by Smyth’s arrest, Celeste is stuck in limbo, stripped of her citizenship, with no choice but to flee to a peaceful Kyraenean hideaway with the tumultuous Amaya Mason.
When bounty hunters threaten the local orphanage, Celeste and Amaya must work together and fight. Even if it means risking what they cherish the most.

His plans in tatters, his career in jeopardy, Mick Haynes is forced to leave Kyraenea with the enigmatic Torrance Kyle, the agent he still can’t trust.

Torrance is good at lying, and even better at hiding his pain, but is he strong enough to deal with the consequences of betraying his own father?

Can Celeste accept the truth, accept her place in the Haynes family or will lies chain her to the past and destroy her chance at a new life?

Amazon || Goodreads 

(The first two books in the series, Disowned and Dissemble, are also available on Amazon.)

Author Bio

Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born home-schooling mother of two who loves action-packed fantasy with strong heroines. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 27 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on her Christian YA fantasy series', she can be found fangirling on Goodreads or sending GIFs on Twitter.

You can connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and her website.

Have you read these authors? Favorite Indie fantasy?? :D