~ 3.0 stars

I really wanted to be blown away by this book from the description alone, however this ended up being one of the hardest reads I've had in a very long time.

A Story Spun in Scarlet follows a storyteller, and a fairly good one at that. My favorite parts of this book were when Audra was weaving one of her tales, but unfortunately, they are all unfinished.

What I liked: The fantasy setting is fairly interesting, and I loved the idea of storytellers that are unable to complete their stories. You can tell the author knows her setting very well, and it does feel like a real place, fully fleshed out as though it exists in real life. Audra and Jaik are fine as main characters, and their developing romance is quite cute and sweet. It even has one of my favorite tropes at one point (one bed!!!) I liked that this takes us on an adventure as both the main characters become hunted criminals, and I found myself really rooting for them.

What I didn't like: The writing, although beautiful at times, is too heavy. I had issues matching the pacing of the words, and it's overly descriptive. I kept reminding myself that this is from Audra's perspective, and naturally it would be incredibly detailed, but I felt its redundancy really killed the immersion for me. It slowed me down, and I found I just couldn't focus on it. There are also other things that confused me, like the existence of rifles and airships in this universe when I thought the world was more medieval. Also, Audra's stories are sometimes told in tandem with the actual plot, so I was often a bit stretched between the two.

All in all, I liked the idea but didn't care for how it was executed. Renee Dugan is clearly a skilled author, but I feel like she could have whittled it down significantly, considering just how unnecessarily long this book is.

I started reading this book in the midst of a reading slump when nothing was holding my interest (which is really unfair now that I think of it). It definitely got me out of the slump. I am in love with the story and the characters. This is the first book I've read in 2024 that I can honestly say I truly enjoyed reading. I'm looking into reading more of her work.

No one is more surprised than I am. I really, really wanted to like this. I've heard such great things about Dugan's books, and almost everyone I know loves this book! I just didn't click with the writing style. There are tons of long-winded, flowery descriptions for even the most basic things. It repeatedly pulled me out of the story and put me to sleep a couple times. I also thought some of the sentence structure was really confusing, and I had to reread at times. I also struggled with the pacing of the action scenes. The stories told during the action gave me whiplash, and I had trouble switching from the story in italics to the characters' actions. As a result of struggling through the writing, I didn't feel any empathy towards the characters and their goals.

Obviously, I am the odd one out with this book, so take my review for a grain of salt. I'm DNFing it for now.

I can tell this book is going to be a success for a lot of people!

Unfortunately for me I could not get past the long meandering prose enough to really get into the story so I had to dnf.

I am very excited to keep going with other books by this author I just think this one was not for me.

Thank you to netgalley for the eARC!

It took me a while to pick up the book, probably because I’m in a big old reading slump, but I made myself start it. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. There is a lot to take in at the beginning but it’s worth it! The map is super helpful and I referenced back to it a lot to understand where Audra and Jaik were in their travels.

Jaik was my favorite of our two MCs. His goofy personality was absolutely perfect. Audra has wonderful growth through the story. The banter between the two was perfect and made me laugh.

And the ending…. THE ENDING! I can’t say any more than that or I’ll give things away. The story took turns and twist that I was not expecting and that’s everything I want in a book.

“Let me tell you a story”

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an eARC.

A Story Spun in Scarlet has a wonderful story about storycrafters and the beautiful magic they wield. However, as much as I enjoyed the story, there were tons of unnecessary details and scenes. It made the reading feel very dragged on and longer than it should’ve.

Still I read on as I do very much enjoy the story. But the final plot twist was done very poorly. It becomes a whole new story with truck loads of info dump. I do love the epilogue and how it ended, but do I think this book was worth my time? If the author cuts down on the mountains worth of details and scenes that don’t add to the plot, characterization or world building, yes. If it stay as is, no. Scenes and plot points get so dragged out I constantly want to drop the book.

Also I find Audra, the protagonist, really annoying. She has no character building because well, her personality wasn’t established well. The story is basically her being overly anxious and going on a journey to fix the world and overthinking and did I mention she was anxious? Yes? Okay, here’s 500 more pages of her being anxious over anything and everything. I get she has severe anxiety, but I don’t need that fact to be shoved in my face page after page with no breaks.

There are happy, warm moments that made me glad that I stuck on and continued reading. But the final plot twist ruined it for me. It changes the entire story and info dump like I already read 400 pages of the book and know all these new characters and new backstories.

Also I Know there’ll be more standalones in the series, but the world building was done really poorly and doesn’t really leave any threads to follow nor questions to ask.

All in all, A Story Spun in Scarlet is an enjoyable read. But there’s so much extra unneeded details and scenes that drags out the story. Then the final plot twist ruined everything for me sadly.

Thank you, Net Galley and Wave Walker Press for this book. A Story Spun in Scarlet by R. Dugan is a fantasy read about Audra, a storycrafter who can no longer finish a story, and Audra is not the only one. All stories have lost their endings. Audra has lost all hope of regaining her powers and tries her best to blend into society hiding from guards and others who hate storycrafters. This changes when she meets Jaik a human amplifier. Soon both are trying to find answers while running away from those hunting them.

This was an amazing read! The banter and dynamics between Audra and Jain were hilarious, and I found Audra to be a very relatable character. The world-building was incredible. Everything from the descriptions of town and nature to the role stories played in the world’s society was very creative. This is a world I would live in.

My only problem with the book was that the beginning felt slow and I was confused about parts of it. However, at about 10%, everything was cleared up. After 50 pages, the book sped up and became fast-paced and hooked me for the rest of it.

Author Renee Dugan has written a novel that reads like a YA tale. The magic system in this fantasy is based on telling stories. The plot is based on the protagonists recovering lost memories and defeating the bad guys.

I was not enamored of any of the characters. There was a lot of YA angst and unnecessary misunderstanding of situations, actions, and motives. I found the magic unwieldy and too time-consuming to be of practical use.

Three stars is my rating. A younger audience may enjoy this story, but I found it just average. Nothing was bad or offensive, I just didn’t see anything to raise it above a three in my rating system. My thanks to publisher Wave Walker Press and the author via Netgalley. All opinions are mine and offered freely.

#AStorySpuninScarlet #Netgalley #AverageRead #ThreeStars #kindlesallthewaydown

If this book went through another line editor or two, I think it would be one of my favorite stories. As it is, though, the prose is a bit arduous to get through, and that is coming from someone who doesn't usually mind purple prose. The writing could use some serious tightening.
BUT! If you don't mind heavy descriptions and a meandering plot, you're sure to be enchanted by the unique worldbuilding and fresh magic system. One thing it really has going for it is the fact that it feels like a new kind of story, which is a rare experience for readers like me who rarely branch out from the fantasy genre. Reading the first chapter was like being dunked into cool water on a blistering afternoon: a cool, fresh reprieve.
This book felt made for writers, the theme centering around every storyteller's struggle: having a great premise and feeling unable to see it through. Unfortunately, it feels like this book suffers a bit from that as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for granting me access to this E-arc in exchange for an honest review✨

This book was written so beautifully! I have never been so grasped from the first chapter as I have with this book. I really loved the concept of this story.

I’m so glad that this story really focused on world building and the ways that the ways the character created her stories.

There is no spice in this book, only a bit of kissing.

I highly recommend this book to all fantasy lovers!

I went into this book with very high hopes and I’m sorry to say that it didn’t quite make it there. I’m so sad because I love many other books by this author so this definitely won’t be the last time I read something from her.

So let’s start with what I liked! I loved the world created in this book. I liked the characters and their journey. The magic system was great. I liked how the conflict was resolved, I liked it a lot actually and I was also surprised by it, which was awesome.

Unfortunately, I found this story to be very wordy. Things that could have been said in a normal way were embellished to the point of me wanting to skim anything that wasn’t dialogue, which made me sad. The over description of just about everything really pulled me out of the story and I found I had to force myself to pick this book up.

I enjoyed the book for what it was but it wasn’t my favorite. No fault of the book I think I was just too deep in my SJM reread.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher Wave Walker Press, and author R. Dugan for providing an ARC in exchange for a review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars

I have to be honest, I DNFed this book at 10%. I didn’t connect with the story and I found it boring, so I put it down for a few weeks. However, I decided to pick it up again and give it a second chance… and I’m so glad I did. A story within a story: A Story Spun in Scarlet recounts the tale of Audra, a storycrafter forced to wander from one city to another desperate to survive. Disowned by her family and forgotten by her friends, she meets a boy that will change the course of her life. I really enjoyed the banter between the characters, their palpable chemistry and loyalty. At first I was scared it would read like most fantasy romances out there, but it wasn’t that predictable and the story was quite unique.

If you’re ready to jump into a 663-page book (yes, because it felt long at times) and get immersed in a fantasy world where mostly everything can come to life, then this is the book for you!

From page one, the writing style had me hooked. Such a unique plot too, a story teller who has fallen from grace and can't finish tales. Really fun and enjoyable read, thank you.

It's always refreshing to discover a new beloved author!

R. Dugans story telling is so magical. She manages to create a perfect slow burn by adding so many details in the characters, the world and painting each interaction between the mcs with so much significance it makes continuing this tale so rewarding! The characters are what I'm mostly obsessesed in the book, the way the mmc fits the fmcs character and needs (and the opposite is true) like a glove, the way you can tell they were made for each other I'm simply in awe.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a good premise and it didn't disappoint. The story is beautifully written and I really loved the world building. Audra was an interesting character but sometimes was a little forgettable. Overall it was a lovely story.

The book has a great plot and character building! I was intrigued by the way characters lose their endings. I despise books with no endings so it made stick to it until the end and I don’t regret it! The plot prevails against the romance or spice but none the less it’s still a great book!

“What a terribly beautiful thing it was, to be cared for… knowing so many things could change that forever.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Renee Dugan for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Wowwww what a lovely story 😭 Even though this is only my second ARC, I feel so lucky AGAIN to have had the chance to read such a wonderful book. The magic system in this story is so unique and intriguing, I’ve never read anything like it before. The idea that a story could never be finished…. Terrifying. But also the idea of a story being woven into reality as it’s spoken… also terrifying! My mind goes straight to Pennywise being spoken into existence - no thanks 😂 And honestly, the way the misspoken creatures at the Illusionarium were described sounded just as terrifying as Pennywise lol (specifically thinking about the children crawling with spiderlike speed). For someone with aphantasia I was very impressed and enjoyed the attention to detail throughout the book.

The therapist in me loved that the author had her characters practicing 54321 grounding skills throughout the book 🥹 The one-bed-at-the-inn scene was so perfect and it wasn’t even smutty!! It so beautifully captured the playfulness of two people learning to be vulnerable with eachother - I could feel their giddiness, it was so sweet. The romance between the characters was beautiful and gave me butterflies throughout the book 😭🥹

Overall, I thoroughly loved this story. I hope you choose to add it to your TBR, it deserves a lot of love 🖤 go support an indie author!! 🫶🏻

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This book is very much about stories, and their power and purpose. This is perfect for fans of Stephanie Garber's writing, and at times it felt very familiar to that. I liked the writing style and characters, but the main plot felt a little out of sorts for me. Stories without endings are upsetting and that was hard for me to grasp a hold of.

AUDRA JASHOWIN is a storyteller without a purpose.
When all the tales in the land of Mithra-Sha lost their endings, Audra fled from her family’s rejection and the only home she ever knew. Now, with a sense of veiled danger haunting her heels and her life as devoid of direction as her stories, she arrives at long last in a city of fresh starts and second chances.
There, she finds an adventure greater than she ever dreamed.
JAIK GRISSOM might be the key to bringing back the power of all stories.
A simple farmhand with a way around weapons, Jaik possesses more than a sharp wit that sets Audra’s soul aflame. He’s a natural amplifier with the talent to breathe life into her tales…into all the tales in Mithra-Sha.
Chased from their comfortable lives by a stroke of ill luck on a fateful night, Audra and Jaik embark on a journey for answers—through the wilderness and over the raging sea, to the heart of storytelling itself. Along the way, the strange bond between them deepens as they begin to uncover a mystery that lurks beneath all the broken tales, written in the shroud of their own unlikely pasts.
To mend the fractured stories in Mithra-Sha, Audra and Jaik must learn to embrace what lives at the core of their own stories: the bravery and brilliance, the loyalty and love, and the purpose and power they both harness—together and apart.
And they must face a terrible truth penned between the pages of their quest…a tragedy that will change the course of history and rewrite the ending of their tale forever.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The story starts with Audra who tries to tell a story to a crowd of children, hoping to make it to the end, only to not be able to finish it. And this is exactly what this book is about: a world with stories that have no endings, Audra, as a storyteller, is incapable of ending a story, as are all others in this world. This is a unique concept and I was drawn to this premise.
Audra starts working at a bar and when ordinary farmhand Jaik walks in, it is suddenly possible for her to finish the story she was telling. And that's where our story begins. The two of them set out on an adventure to reveal the mystery behind the broken stories.
The writing style in this book is very flowery and lyrical, but it is also like taking a very very long breath, so it seems longer than it actually is. It was difficult for me in the beginning to really get into it. But once you get used to the writing style it flows better. The romance is not as prevalent in here and its not spicy at all, which is alright since I prefer a good plot anyway.