BRT: The Song Caster by Danielle E. Shipley

Title: The Song Caster

Author: Danielle E. Shipley

Number of Pages: e-book

Rating: 5/5

Released: June 24, 2014

Summary

The dull doom of impending marriage at his back and a reticent royal at his side, remarkable minstrel Gant-o’-the-Lute is off in search of adventure, and you can be sure he finds it – complete with much music, magicked maidens, and a dangerous power so great, Lute might for once find himself outmatched.

Review

Remember my little complaints regarding The Seventh Spell? They don't apply any longer. I doubted that I would have to worry for long! I admit upon starting this book I had my insecurities: I didn't know much about Gant-o'-the-Lute just yet, and I was not a fan of Benedeck in The Stone Kingdom.

As usual, however, my interests were captured and happily enslaved to the book's plot. Throughout this novella we learn a little more about the culture that is the world of the Wilderhark Tales, including some of the "myths" that pervade their culture and we get to witness another kingdom or two.

There are also cats. Lots and lots of cats. (The cat lady inside me squeals.)

The character exploration in this addition surpasses that of the previous books. In the first, Sula and Villem found themselves,  but when it came to their innermost traits, they didn't get into that as much. The same for Rosalba in The Stone Kingdom. The Seventh Spell spent much more time focusing on the major problem at hand (understandably). 

So to have a book that's perfectly paced while digging into the depths of the two protagonists is refreshing and fun to read! It ties up a loose end left behind from The Stone Kingdom and shows us so much more about Lute's conflicting desires - and, once again, love prevails over all in a wonderful twist.

Perhaps the one thing I'm unsure of in this addition is how a certain spell was cast in the first place. To prevent spoilers, all I'll say is that it's a spell Benedeck is sent to solve. Did Lute accidentally cast it?  I don't think it was ever confirmed. 

The only other thing I wondered about was Viralei's characterization - everyone else got plentiful development, but I didn't see as much from her, only a few tidbits about the culture of her kingdom. (I personally would love a book about her kingdom.)

Otherwise, I have no complaints about The Song Caster. Delicious plot twists, amazing characters, perfect pacing, a nice blend of conflict and resolution, in general a fantastic and worthy addition to The Wilderhark Tales.

***There is going to be another post today for The Sun's Rival! Stay tuned!!***

BRT: The Seventh Spell by Danielle E. Shipley

Title: The Seventh Spell

Author: Danielle E. Shipley

Number of Pages: e-book

Rating: 4.5/5

Released: January 28, 2014

Summary

A witch’s attempt to cast one spell too many casts everyone touched by her previous spells into chaos. Scattered throughout each other’s pasts, Sula and Edgwyn, Villem and Rosalba, and the rest of the magic’s affected have a single chance to break this last enchantment before their “happily-ever-after”-s cease to have ever been. 

Review

It's no secret that I love Danielle Shipley's work at this point - or, I hope it isn't. The Seventh Spell is no exception to that flow - I'm still in love with the work and the characters .

And characters come forth in abundance in the third installment of the Wilderharks. Each has their own predicament, tale to tell, and skill that assists all of our beloved protagonists out of the situation they've found themselves in.

*Cough* Sula.

From the first page, the reader is unfailingly hooked - again. Shipley's skill to carry a story from project to project and keep the precise characterization, tone, and pacing consistent is still extraordinary. 

A few of my favorite things from this book include the fact she has still continued to offer nods of acknowledgement to fairytales of old, that each and every new character gets just enough time in the spotlight to become someone we care about immensely, and the idea utilized for the plot of this project in general. 

I really have no idea how she keeps making these riddles and songs. I'm starting to think she's striking deals with anarchwitches to have this kind of talent. I couldn't make a song or riddle like the ones in The Seventh Spell to save my life.

The settings and characters, again, are just fantastic. The plot is beautiful and well-executed.

And now, for the cons. This might be one of the first times I've ever had small complaints about her books, but they're minor indeed:

1. Pace. I stated earlier her pace is still consistent - and where it concerns how it spans across the books, it is. Yet I encountered a few issues when, especially near the end, it seems that there are still events waiting to occur, yet they're skipped in favor of going straight to the end. Since it's a novella, I understand there were constraints, but it still felt rushed

2. Lack of resolution in some aspects. At the very end it seems a few plotlines that had been utilized throughout the work were sort of abandoned (for example, Sula having a minor conflict with [spoiler - highlight to read] Sigmund and Edgwyn). Some of the characters also vanish - which is addressed in the next book, but was so open-ended in The Seventh Spell.

3. Lack of conflict. This kind of ties into the lack of resolution. Don't get me wrong. Conflict was abundant and wonderful in this book! Yet there are a few times when it seemed some characters should have argued/hashed things out, and they never did. Example: Sigmund and Sula didn't have enough conflict/resolution, nor did Aurabella or Cellodran.

Again, all of these points can be traced back to the constraints Shipley faced since this is a novella. The fact there were a few flaws doesn't detract from the work enough to come even close to saying, "Don't read it!" On the contrary, this book set so much into motion that I'm going to beg for people to read it.

Small flaws or not, it's fantastic. This book weaves together the plots of the previous books - something a lot of authors fail to do - and incorporate a half dozen new plot points in such a way that readers won't get lost or wonder who or what they're dealing with. Her writing flows as always. In the end, very great book, and worthy as the third installment of the Wilderharks. 

Formatting issues wouldn't permit italicization of "The Seventh Spell/Wilderharks" throughout the review. 

W3: NaNoWriMo 2014

W3 is much easier to type than Writing World Wednesday.

It never occurred me to write a post about it - I'm not sure why I didn't. How did your NaNoWriMo 2014 go? 

The first few days went pretty great for me - I wrote 7k in one day near the beginning. I went through a slump afterward due to school and work, though. [[[Yeah, work was interesting during that time.]]] Afterward I bounced back and made it to 51k!

Whether we succeeded or not, just writing at all is a fantastic achievement. Every word goes to the story that may change someone's life. Just keep trucking it along!

On that note, I guess there's an app on GooglePlay called NaNoProgress that poses a bit as an out-of-November NaNo word counter. I'd recommend it, if I could get it. It's only available for Samsung devices.

It's almost that time... I'm gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo, too. How about everyone else? If anyone's curious about joining my cabin with Z.G. Writer (heh, it's been a while since she posted, but she is still writing) let me know.

Have a good Wednesday, everyone, and take a minute today to write three sentences in your WIP for me! If you have any stories about your NaNo experiences leave a comment~

Book review on The Seventh Spell tomorrow!