Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: The Story Raider by Lindsay A. Franklin

About the Book

Book: The Story Raider
Author: Lindsay A. Franklin
Genre: Christian YA Epic Fantasy
Release Date: July 23, 2019

Deceiving an empire is a treacherous game.

Tanwen and the Corsyth weavers race to collect the strands of an ancient cure that might save Gryfelle. But Tanwen has a secret—Gryfelle isn’t the only one afflicted by the weaver’s curse.

As Queen Braith struggles to assert her rule, a new arrival throws her tenuous claim to the Tirian throne into question. Braith’s heart is turned upside down, and she’s not sure she can trust anyone—least of all herself.

The puppet master behind Gareth’s rise to power has designs on Tanwen and the story weavers and will stop at nothing to reclaim the throne. A plot to incite the angry peasants of Tir takes shape, and those dearest to Tanwen will be caught in the crossfire. As the fight for Tir consumes the realm, no one can remain innocent.

Click here to grab your copy.

My Thoughts:

I liked this book even better than the first. We get a whole lot more world building and character development in this one. I really enjoyed seeing more of this world including the other cultures and how they worked under Tir's rule. I was still a little confused with the whole magic system, but I certainly got to know this world much better as a whole.

The concept of the curse and the search for the cure was of course right up my alley. And I grew extremely fond of them all throughout the course of this book. Tanwen was once again her charming self. My favorite thing about her is her unique character voice. It's so plainspoken and different and definitely helps me to connect to her character. Her growing relationship with her father was heartwarming. Obviously I love Mor because who doesn't love a pirate? He was somewhat broody but then I also understand the stress that he was under. I felt so bad for Brac and I don't blame him for anything. Braith is a saint. Kharn is my new favorite character in this series. He's just amazing honestly. The other characters were also amazing and prepare for a few harsh deaths.

That ending was rude and I need the third book immediately. Please and thank you.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, all opinions, however, are my own. I was not required to post a positive review.

  

Reviewed by Nicki

About the Author

Lindsay A. Franklin is a best-selling author, freelance editor, and homeschooling mom of three. She would wear pajama pants all the time if it were socially acceptable. Lindsay lives in her native San Diego with her scruffy-looking nerf-herder husband, their precious geeklings, three demanding thunder pillows (a.k.a. cats), and a stuffed wombat with his own Instagram following. You can find Lindsay on social media, too, if Wombatman hasn’t hijacked all her accounts. She’s @LinzyAFranklin on Instagram and Twitter, and she Facebooks at www.facebook.com/LindsayAFranklin.   

More from Lindsay

I often get asked how I came up with the idea for The Story Peddler, book 1 in The Weaver Trilogy. It’s a dangerous thing to dig too deep into a fantasy novelist’s imagination (it’s pretty weird in here, you guys), but the short answer is I was sitting in a workshop at a writers’ conference, and an acquisitions editor made a comment—something like: “I have to peddle your stories to executives. At the end of the day, I’m just a story peddler.” When I heard that phrase, my imagination exploded. I thought of what a “story peddler” might look like if we added a little wonder and a sprinkling of fairy dust to the equation. Then Tanwen emerged as a character who might be a fun vehicle for this story-peddling process, and I imagined a story that would suit her. The Story Peddler was born.

But someone recently asked me why I visualized the supernatural art of storytelling in the way I did—as strands of color, light, fabric, or glitter coming out of the hands of the person telling the story, then crystallizing into a solid object for her to sell. And I have no real answer for that, except, again, “It’s pretty weird in here, you guys.” The Weaver Trilogy is a celebration of creativity and art, and that gave me reason to think about what other types of strand-weavers in this story world might look like.

If you’re new to the series, here’s a primer on the weavers you’ll find in these books.

Storytellers: Strands pour from their hands as they tell stories. When they reach the moral or ending of the story, the strands come together to form a crystallized sculpture. A story peddler then sells the sculptures to make her living.

Songspinners: Strands are lighter, airier, and come from their mouths instead of their hands as they sing. Songspinner strands are emotive and speak to the hearts of the hearers. Once the song is over, the strands disappear.

Colormasters: Strands are like streams of paint, ribbons of fire, or jets of water. When they hit a solid object, they create an image on the object. Colormasters seek to reflect the beauty of their surroundings, capturing the physical world exactly as it is or simply as it feels.

Stoneshapers: Their hands light up as they manipulate rock and stone with their fingertips. They create beauty by molding something that already exists and releasing the art trapped inside.

If that sounds like fun, welcome to my weirdness! Tanwen can’t wait to weave a sparkling adventure for you.

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, August 5

Retrospective Spines, August 5

Worthy2Read, August 6

Seasons of Opportunities, August 6

Through the Fire Blogs, August 7

Fiction Aficionado, August 8

Blogging With Carol , August 8

Simple Harvest Reads, August 9

Books, Life, and Christ, August 10

Remembrancy, August 10

Pause for Tales, August 11

Hallie Reads, August 11

Kathleen Denly, August 12

Inspired by fiction, August 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 13

A Baker’s Perspective, August 14

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 14

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, August 15

Texas Book-aholic, August 16

janicesbookreviews, August 16

Inklings and notions , August 17

Artistic Nobody, August 17

A Reader’s Brain, August 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lindsay is giving away a grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card, The Corsyth custom Story Peddler candle from Novelly Yours, The Cethorelle custom Story Raider candle from Novelly Yours, choice of two tea tins from the Adagio Story Peddler Tea Shoppe, “Hedgenibblers, fluffhoppers, mountainbeasts, oh my!” mug Story Peddler book sleeve, Story Raider enamel pin, and assorted bookmarks, stickers, and art prints.

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/e718/the-story-raider-celebration-tour-giveaway