New Read: Root

After a glorious bank holiday weekend last week the rain has now returned to the UK. Finding myself inside again I was happy to lose myself in the exotic world of Root by Tara Maya the fourth instalment of The Unfinished Song series. This is a darker fantasy series I started reading last year but until January I seemed to have forgotten all about it. Earlier this year I polished off the second and third instalments and I was ever so lucky to get my hands on more instalments straight away. I am very glad this is a series I have rekindled my interest in.

Root is the fourth instalment of The Unfinished Song if you’re interested in reading this series I recommend you read my thoughts on previous instalments first as this post may contain spoilers.

Root continues to follow the exciting, dangerous, and unpredictable life of the young girl Dindi. After surviving a gruelling test Dindi has had her life spared and is now allowed to dance with her clan’s Tavaedi group even though she doesn’t possess magic. This is small consolation as Dindi is required to return to her home with her clan folk after losing the man she loves. There is one thing Dindi clings onto and that is the secret that in fact she does have magic. Other’s can’t view this magic because long ago a curse was placed upon her bloodline which Dindi must discover how to break if she ever hopes to reach her dreams. However there is someone  who can sense her magic. He is a dark, mysterious, and dangerous man who is to bring death and war down upon Dindi and her clan folk in the pursuit of her.

Dindi’s teacher, friend, and love interest Kavio was sadly missing from this instalment leaving Dindi to narrate the majority of Root. Kavio was mentioned but his story line was never viewed. I really hope we will return to him in later instalments because I thought the relationship between the two protagonists was really good. It was however quite refreshing to focus in on Dindi as she progresses in maturity and strength. Maya also included the voices of Kemla and Tamio two ambitious Tavaedi dancers who have a bit of sexual tension going on, the faerie born White Lady who is on the run, and the dangerous man in black who is hunting both the White Lady and Dindi herself. I really liked the addition of these narrators because I thought they brought different dimensions to the story.

I love the setting of The Unfinished Song. Unlike a lot of fantasy this series is not set in a medieval setting instead Maya based her writing on a Polynesian myth and choose a stone age style setting for it all. I think the concept of faeries, magic, warriors, clans, hut villages, tradition, canoes and stone monuments all works perfectly together. Other than a few typos I thought Maya’s style, language, and story flowed really well and I didn’t notice the use of any too modern sounding language to break me out from my magical revelry.

Root was a thoroughly enjoyable dark fantasy adventure which I couldn’t put down. I recommend The Unfinished Song series to those interested in darker fantasy. There is violent and sexual content in this series so not recommended for younger readers. I have the next instalments Wing and Blood waiting for me on my kindle. I can’t wait to read them.

I received a free copy of Root from the author in return for my honest opinion.

Are you reading The Unfinished Song series? Are you a fan of dark fantasy?

I’m counting Root as Fantasy for Once Upon a Time VII hosted by Carl V @ Stainless Steal Droppings.

Challenge: Once Upon A Time

(Art by Melissa Nucera)

Spring has arrived which usually means the start of longer and warmers days, flowers, and generally new life all round. Yet here in the UK all we’ve got is more snow and warnings of even more! But while the weather might be letting us down Carl V @ Stainless Steel Droppings hasn’t. Spring means the beginning of Once Upon a Time VII.

“Thursday, March 21st begins the seventh annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through Friday, June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims” Carl V

I have been avoiding challenges recently because I have been worried about pinning myself down too much, considering I like to read by mood. This is hardly a challenge though for me because it encompasses all the genres and sub-genres I love the most! And with the depressing weather I have found myself in the mood for them all the more.

Here are the books on my bookshelf I could choose from:

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin

A Game of Thrones (currently reading)
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow
A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
A Feast for Crows
A Dance with Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust
A Dance with Dragons 2: After the Feast

The Chronicles of Narnia series by C S Lewis (re-read)

The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

The Wind Between the Keyhole

Here are the books on my kindle I could choose from:

A World Apart by David M Brown

The Complete Brothers Grimm’s Fairy Tales (currently reading)

Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales

The Unfinished Song series by Tara Maya

Root
Wing
Blood

So plenty of books to choose from?! Of which two of them I have already started reading. I have decided to join up at The Journey level which means I am pledging to read one book. I will probably read more than one but I like the freedom this level offers me. I am really looking forward to seeing what I and the other participants read.

Are you taking part in Once Upon a Time VII?

New Read: Sacrifice

On my long weekend break with my mother in the New Forest the rain continued to fall which meant we opted to stay in. I was happy to lose myself in the exotic world of Sacrifice by Tara Maya the third instalment of The Unfinished Song series. This is a darker fantasy series I started reading last year but until January, where I read the second instalment Taboo, I seemed to have forgotten all about. I am very glad this is a series I have rekindled my interest in.

Sacrifice is the third instalment of The Unfinished Song if you’re interested in reading this series I recommend you read my thoughts on previous instalments first as this post may contain spoilers.

Sacrifice continues to follow the lives of the young Dindi and Kavio. The peace party led by Kavio has returned from the Blue Water clanhold miserably unsuccessful, only to find while they have been away there has been a coop. This coop has seen the over throw of the war chief Hertio who gave Kavio his position of power, to be replaced by Kavio’s enemy Vultho. Kavio now finds himself back in the middle of the dangerous political and power struggle of the Yellow Bear clan. Meanwhile Dindi has returned to find that she has her own problems as the initiates struggle for power within the lower mob of the clan. In the midst of all this Dindi and Kavio are still meeting secretly so Kavio can teach Dindi the magical dances of the Tavaedi. A secret which if it came out could mean the forfeit of both their lives.

Dindi and Kavio both continued to narrate the majority of Sacrifice which I prefer because I feel they are both like-able characters. It also means we get to hear from a male and female, and higher and lower status perspectives. Maya also included the voices of Brenna a female Tavaedi dancer from the Yellow Bear clan, her daughter Gwenika an initiate training to be a healer, and Rthan of the Blue Water clan a former prisoner of the Yellow Bear clan. I really liked the addition of these narrators because I thought they brought different dimensions to the story.

I love the setting of The Unfinished Song. Unlike a lot of fantasy this series is not set in a medieval setting instead Maya based her writing on a Polynesian myth and choose a stone age style setting for it all. I think the concept of faeries, magic, warriors, clans, hut villages, tradition, canoes and stone monuments all works perfectly together. While reading the previous instalment Taboo I sadly found I was broken out of my magical revery now and again by the use of language I felt was a little modern for the setting. I am really pleased to inform you I had no such problem in this instalment. The style, language, and story flowed really well for me.

Sacrifice was a thoroughly enjoyable dark fantasy adventure which I couldn’t put down. I recommend The Unfinished Song series to those interested in darker fantasy. There is violent and sexual content in this series so not recommended for younger readers. I would really like to read the fourth instalment of the series Root just need to get my hands on a copy!

I received a free copy of Sacrifice from the author in return for my honest opinion.

Are you reading The Unfinished Song series? Are you a fan of dark fantasy?

New Read: Taboo

On Sunday my father and I fought our way through the snow to my grandfather’s house. After a large delicious roast dinner I settled myself down in front of the fire with my kindle in the mood to lose myself in a fantasy tale. With that in mind I took a mooch through my to-be-read folder for a relatively short fantasy book, and I came across Taboo by Tara Maya the second instalment of The Unfinished Song series. This is a darker fantasy series I started reading last year but seem to have forgotten about since.

Taboo is the second instalment of The Unfinished Song if you’re interested in reading this series I recommend you read my thoughts on the first instalment Initiate first.

Taboo continues to follow the lives of the young Dindi and Kavio. Dindi has survived her initiation test but has failed to show she has magic. This means no more dancing for Dindi she is now expected to train as a maiden in the art of cookery, collecting, and cleaning all the skills she will need for the role of wife and mother. Meanwhile Kavio is no longer seen as an outcast, after saving the lives of Dindi and her fellow initiates Kavio has now been promoted to leader of the Yellow Bear warriors. This new home and position could be lost though if Kavio cannot find a way to bring peace between the Yellow Bear and the Blue Water clans. Even though Dindi and Kavio come from completely different spectrums within the clan their lives seem inexplicable entwined for good or bad.

Dindi and Kavio both continued to take turns in narrating the story in Taboo which I enjoyed because I feel they are both like-able characters, and it means we get to hear from a male and female perspective. Unlike Initiate though Taboo had more than two narrators. Maya added the voices of Brenna a female Tavaedi dancer from the Yellow Bear clan and Rthan her slave husband from the Blue Water clan. I really liked the addition of these narrators because I thought they brought a whole new dimension to the story.

I love the setting of The Unfinished Song. Unlike a lot of fantasy this series is not set in a medieval setting instead Maya based her writing on a Polynesian myth and choose a stone age style setting for it all. I think the concept of faeries, magic, warriors, clans, hut villages, tradition, canoes and stone monuments all worked perfectly together. The only thing that broke me out of my magical revelry during Taboo was the use of language. I never noticed in Initiate but in Taboo there were a few times the language used sounded too modern for the setting in my opinion. This was a minor problem though which didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

Taboo was a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy adventure which I couldn’t put down. I recommend The Unfinished Song series to those interested in darker fantasy. There is violent and sexual content so not recommended for younger readers. I am looking forward to reading the next instalment Sacrifice which is already waiting on my kindle.

I received a free copy of Taboo from the author in return for my honest opinion.

Are you reading The Unfinished Song series? Are you a fan of darker fantasy?

New Read: Initiate

Initiate is the first instalment in the epic series The Unfinished Song by the independent author Tara Maya*. There are twelve instalments planned for the series, other instalments available now are Taboo, Sacrifice, and Root. To find out more about this series and/or its author why not pop over to the author’s blog Tara Maya’s Tales.

Dindi has grown up in a small rural clan in Faearth. Dindi is somewhat of a black sheep of the clan though because she’d rather dance with the pixies than do her chores. Dindi dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, a group of powerful warrior dancers to do this though she will have to pass a secret test as part of her initiation ceremony into womanhood. The rest of her clan thinks this is madness as no one from their number has ever managed to pass this secret test before. Instead they feel Dindi should find a suitable husband, have a family, and put her silly dreams to bed. Kavio is a similar age to Dindi but in stark contrast to her he is already a very powerful Tavaedi, some might say the most powerful. His power has brought him many enemies though. Soon Kavio finds himself falsely accused and found guilty of a crime which means he is exiled from his tribe, family, and home. This leads Kavio’s path to cross Dindi’s in an unexpected and powerful way.

I found Initiate to be thoroughly interesting and a quick read too. I originally picked up this book, read a chapter, and found I really wasn’t in the mood for it. A couple of days later I picked it back up and I was clearly in the right mood because I finished it that evening! Initiate is a very short novel, which could have been easily finished in one sitting. What I found though was the story was a lot darker than I have first presumed. From looking at the pretty cover and hearing terms like ‘fantasy romance’ used to describe this book I went into reading it quite naive. Hence my almost shock on the first sitting. On my second sitting I was prepared. There is violence, and there is sex and rape in this book but I do think it is tastefully done. There is enough detail to know what is going on but not enough to make you shy away from what your reading.

I enjoyed the characters of Dindi and Kavio both were believable and very like-able, and the technique of switching between them for narration kept my interest fresh. It also meant that there was a nice balance of male/female perspective which meant the story didn’t become too girly. What I really loved about this book though was the setting. Maya herself says that she initially sat down to write this story in the generic medieval/castles/knights sort of setting but found it just didn’t work. And so she changed the setting to one of tribes and almost stone age surroundings. I’m so glad she did! The idea of faeries, magic, warriors, clans, hut villages, tradition, stone monuments all worked perfectly together.

The underlying inspiration for The Unfinished Song series is apparently a Polynesian myth, not a mythology a know anything about! So I can’t wait to read the next instalments as it will all be a surprise for me. If you are a fantasy bookworm I highly recommend you give Initiate a go, you can get your hands on a copy at Amazon for a bargain price.

I received a free copy of Initiate from the author in return for my honest opinion.