This is my post during the blog tour for Charm Wars by Dan Lutts. In a world where women rule, commoner Rill Larkin desperately wants to become a mage, but noblesse Alyse Dejune wants to have nothing to do with magic even though she's expected to become a mage on Name Day.
This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and the tour runs from 17 October till 6 November. You can see the tour schedule here.
By Dan Lutts
Genre: Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
***I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are my own***
Book Summary
Welcome to Caldon, a land of mages and magic, where the noblesse possess massive political and magical power and destroy anyone who threatens the noblesse way of life‚ especially the commoners.
Rill Larkin, the son of a commoner blacksmith, has high ambitions. To be a mage, join the exalted ranks of the ruling noblesse, and establish his own noblesse family. Defying both the system and his family, Rill becomes the apprentice of Deuth Estati, a powerful archmage. But appearances deceive. As training progresses, Rill learns of decades-long secrets and manipulations that threaten his dream. And Deuth might not be as benevolent as Rill thought.
Alyse Dejune despises magic, even if she does belong to one of the oldest and most powerful noblesse families in Caldon. The deceits and treacheries of noblesse life and the loveless marriage alliances among the noblesse families disgust her. Her family however has high expectations: that she fulfill her role as a noblesse girl by marrying Troy Estati, an arrogant, selfish noblesse boy she does not love. And Alyse harbors a secret‚ the potential to become one of the most powerful mages in generations and wield forbidden magic‚ that, if revealed, could mean her death.
In this deadly game of ever-shifting alliances, where the state wages perpetual war against an ancient enemy, Rill and Alyse are thrown together in a land where magic is failing. And as greedy noblesse families raid surrounding family compounds for powerful charms, Rill and Alyse are left standing at a terrible crossroads.
My Review
I love reading fantasy stories. This book is almost 500 pages long. Once I started reading Charm Wars I forgot how many pages there were. I was reading it so fast and it was SO hard to put down. This is one of those books that you carry everywhere and read every chance you get.
So, I was hooked when I read the back cover where it said, "Welcome to Caldon, a land of mages and magic". The magic is super cool and easy to follow. There were many unique things that I liked and was easy to follow. My favorite characters by far were Alyse Dejune, a member of the most powerful noblesse families in Caldon, and her cousin, Kate, a Backwatcher who protects her. Alyse is strong and determined about who she is and who she wants to be in the future. She does not want to take orders from the family matriarch about who she should marry and when. Kate is one of the most loyal friends I've ever read in a book, next to Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings. Alyse and Kate work well together and always have each other's back.
Rill is the son of a commoner blacksmith who dreams of becoming a mage. He wants to leave the poor and oppressed life behind. Rill is bold, hard-headed, impatient, and impulsive. The only person that's been able to keepRill kind of under control is his cousin, Jedd. Once big things start to happenfor Rill, Jedd becomes more disenchanted with him and how much he has changed. Also, there is so much going on with the political structure of this world, and boy, there are many secrets that were hidden and now are being revealed. Each time one was revealed there was another gasp from me.
The action is non stop and the other characters are written so rich and unique. The alliances made among the rich and poorkeep changing and you never know who to trust. There aremany powerful people in this novel from all walks of life andand it's exciting to see when new magical powers are exhibited.
I truly enjoyed this novel and could hardly believe this wasDan Lutts first novel. I was so fully immersed in the world of Caldon and I can't wait to go back. The novel did end on cliffhanger and I need to know when Book 2 will be published.This fantasy novel gets 5 stars from me for being different,fast-paced, and keeping me on the edge of my seat.
Excerpt From Charm Wars
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Dan Lutts, the author of Charm Wars, was brought up in Quincy, Massachusetts, and began addictively reading Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman comic books at an early age, much to his mother's distress. In junior high school, he switched to reading science fiction novels. While in high school and college, he wrote science fiction short stories.
Dan taught history and archaeology in high school for ten years. After being laid off because of budget cuts, he used his love of writing to retrain and became a software technical editor and writer. He worked for several computer companies, taught technical writing at the college level, and worked as a freelance writer. Now, combining his love of history and writing, he works at a World War II museum doing research and writing.
Dan loves to read and has varied tastes, including Young Adult, historical fiction, mysteries, 18th-century sea epics, and history. He especially enjoys Young Adult fiction and decided to try his hand at it. Charm Wars, Dan's first novel, is the result.
Dan lives in rural Maine with his wife, Lisa. When he‚s not working or writing, Dan can be found reading, making, and shooting medieval arrows with his longbow, or playing with his two dogs and two cats, all rescue animals.
Author links:
- Website
- Newsletter
4 $25 gift cards, either Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice) - US Only
Hi, Sheila,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for being part of Charm Wars' blog tour. And also thank you so much for your wonderful review. I really appreciate it.