The First Review Is In!!! 5 Stars!!!

 

 

Review by: CP Bialois on June 27, 2015:
This has been a fun series to read. Like the other books in the series, A New Dawning follows the Free People as they struggle to maintain the peace between them and the other peoples. Add to it their Goddess helping to guide them and an old enemy resurfacing and things couldn’t get more exciting.
In the first book, the bigotry shown to the White Tiger Clan by the people of Bandashar is hinted at, but we get to see it in full bloom when King Verimas dies. It would be easy to let such a topic sidetrack the story, and I enjoyed how the author handled it within the story. It does seem a little fast, but when you consider the in-depth planning the main characters thrive on, it’s not surprising and left me with a satisfied feeling.
The wide range of characters were both entertaining and irritating, but I mean that in a good way. One constant in life is the impetuousness and uncertainty of youth. While I wanted to shake a couple of them at times, the grown children of the Tiger Clan found their way and took more responsibility. Their growth from babies in the previous books to taking over in parts of this book left hints at the possibility of future adventures.
Two of my favorites were Hellion and his wife, Fire. They were a perfect match in every way, but they weren’t infallible and they knew that. The uncertainty they carried, as did most of the characters, made them feel as real as any flesh and blood person.
The story was a huge undertaking, but I feel it was done well. As with any story with so many characters and locations, there are a lot of shifts between scenes, but they were handled well. While this can be read as a standalone story, due to the many characters and places I recommend reading the first two books in the series to help keep track of everything.
I’m not going to give away any spoilers, but I loved the ending. It had a sad, yet satisfying feel to it as all the events from previous stories were brought to a close while planting seeds for future tales. Needless to say, this is a great addition to any fantasy fan’s library.