Dawn Book #1
Ginny O (GoodReads Author)
Self-pub, Mar 21, 2017
Kindle ed, 289 pages
Genre(s) Fantasy
Source Author
Other books in this series: not available yet
Synopsis:
A fateful birthday. Sleeping curses. True love’s kiss? Two kingdoms in the balance. Great destinies shouldn’t be like this. Cursed at her cradle, the exiled Princess Roxana has spent almost five years trying to find the witch responsible. And now her time is running out.
Warrior and magician, Princess Roxana has spent the beginning of her adult life helping others escape their curses by dealing with the evil magicians that cast them. Now it’s past time that she dealt with her own fateful curse. Nearing twenty-one, the curse will fall whether she wants it to or not. Neither she nor her only companion, Gorlouis, a fire dragon, can stop it. She needs to find the witch or find her fairy godmother before her birthday.
With magic involved, there is no such thing as coincidence. The witch that cursed her hasn’t been idle. She’s about to curse and ensnare another young baby princess. It’s up to Roxana to stop the witch and save the child. Whether the people want her to or not.
And to make matters worse, cursed monsters are attacking villages. Heading the hunt is Prince Marcellus, Roxana’s betrothed. Tall, dark, handsome and arrogant, he thinks she’d be better off in skirts and out of his way. He knows nothing of her curse. She thinks he’ll just slow her down. True love is not in the offing.
Roxana feels responsible for the monsters and will hunt them down with or without Marcellus’ help. Even if that means she risks becoming one of them. There aren’t any moments to waste. She’s running out of time.
About the Author:
I’m an Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer without any fancy degrees, just an abiding passion and a lot of experience pounding away at the keyboard. I love reading and I love writing. Reading is an addiction and writing is a disease. (If you don’t believe me, ask Robert Heinlein. Go on. I’ll wait.) My third-grade teacher read us The Hobbit and Mossflower with voices and started my addiction to the written word. He is awesome. Redwall, Star Wars, Dragon Riders of Pern and about anything Mercedes Lackey were my comfort reads of choice in high school.
I love back rubs, cuddles and action movies. Yes, Action Movies. What is not to love? Man eye candy, gratuitous explosions and no need to think too much. I think too much already, sometimes I just want to turn my brain off, thank you very much.
My Disclaimer: I was provided a free ecopy of this book by the author. I am providing an honest review for which I am receiving no compensation of any kind. All opinions are fully my own.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review
My Review:
This was a magical story for me. It’s what I call a fairy re-tale of Sleeping Beauty. So, you know the underlying story line. It does take a few detours from the original story, though and they are quite original and full of surprises.
My absolute favorite character is Gorlouis, the dragon. He’s 400-years old in dragon years, which is about a 14-year old boy in human years. So, he never wants anyone to talk about love or sex around him. He’s very squeamish about it. But he’s also Roxana’s best friend and he’s very good at it.
Roxana is having a tough time and time is running out for her. She’s been running around helping everyone with their curses, but no one can help her with hers. We get a lovely ringside seat at one of her rituals. And it’s absolutely wonderful! Roxana and Gorlouis have hooked up with Prince Marcellus and his knights and they are trying to stop the spread of the “wolf-man” virus in the neighborhood. So, Roxana is going to treat everyone at one time in a large ring rather than one-by-one. The use of that much magic will flatten her, but it should be better than doing it again and again and again.
The author takes us through each step of the preparation of the circle with the layers of sun and moons and the tree of life. We see the branches woven together. The butterflies are bound to the circle as well. Candles are set at important points around the circle. Then each infected person has their finger pricked for a drop of blood and steps into the circle. Then Roxana gathers her final tools and her magic within her to start her ritual. The author paints a picture that you can see in your mind of the moons and the sun rising behind the tree. The butterflies fluttering in the soft glow as they rise in their column. The pretty flowers that have been provided for them to eat while they are confined. I can’t paint the same picture, but Ginny certainly does in the book. It is beautiful! I found the details of the Cleansers’ magic incredible.
I certainly didn’t expect the ending. But I can’t say anymore or that would be a spoiler, and I don’t do that if I can help it. So, you will just have to get this fun book and read it for yourself while I go harass Ginny about the ending and what’s in the next book!
a thoughtful reveal 