ARC Review

Scale information:
1: terrible, awful, I cannot stop ranting about how bad it was; 3: this is exactly what I expect from a book of this genre; 5: I cannot stop thinking about this book, I must own a copy, I will tell everyone to read it.

Wow. Wowowowow. The book has left me speechless. This is the most "five star" book I've read in a while. It was a treat.

The first few chapters were quite the slog to get through. Very verbose. But oh man was it worth it to tough it out until our MC made it to the tailbone city. The story was very well crafted and had enough crumbs of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the whole novel that no twist felt out of place. I was able to guess some of the twists and turns, and was left satisfied with the twists that I didn't see coming - in hindsight the clues were there, I just hadn't noticed it before. The book left me thinking about the plot and the mysteries long after I had put the book down, coming up with theories or explanations.

I hadn't even gotten to halfway when I was telling my bookish friends to add this book to this TBR piles. The world building was strong, the adventure exciting, and the characters real (and real people can be annoying sometimes: when I tell you I wanted to throttle our MC at moments...). The ending was a bit underwhelming, but for once the bulk of the story makes up for it in my mind.

My biggest complaint is that this is not yet released and therefore there is a serious lack of fan art online for me to look at while I await book 2.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I cannot remember the last time that I was so intrigued by a premise to a book. A world where the magic system is entirely tied to peoples ability to finish a story and their words are able to create and help the kingdom prosper, but something happened to cause all those endings to cease. In the beginning were met with Audra who is a storyteller. She shares with us a few stories she attempts and you can feel the hurt in her as she is unable to finish them.

I enjoyed the humor in the characters relationship as she meets and begins to travel on adventure with Jaik, but other than the main characters, everyone else felt more like a prop. A big theme in the story is Audra not remembering a certain time in her life and this leads to many plot points being brought in abruptly that left me confused and in some cases think that I skipped a page.
With Audra's character, I did still want more. I felt as though her selfishness drove her in many aspects, but she wasn't ever allowed to be fully selfish leaving her to turn on a dime between polar opposite emotions that didn't feel organic.

The writing within this book is extremely descriptive in painting the picture of the world, but this can sometimes be to distracting degree and leave the story falling into a rut where nothing is happening for pages. This impacted the pacing since I felt everything was moving along too slowly only to have us jump from one situation to the next before there was even much resolution or parts were just far too rushed not allowing for the emotional connection. While the descriptives of the setting were overflowing with prose, I never was drawn to the emotions. I couldn't buy in to their feelings especially with the romance. The entire book felt more like two friends traveling and far less romantic connection. I wish there was more character focus on these relationships both with the main characters and all the friends met along the way.

In the end, I did enjoy this story, though I was left thinking the execution could have been better. I think this book is too long and could have been parsed down and it would have made the reader experience more enjoyable.

“The things we held onto the hardest were the things we’d brought with us into this strange, broken world.”

“A Story Spun in Scarlet” by R. Dugan

A world where storytellers bear the burden of lost endings. Audra is a storyteller and the loss of her family and friends haunts her. Audra, attempting to forge a new path, finds herself entangled in a web of mystery and consequences. Audra is talked into telling a story one day and with the arrival of a mysterious man she finally ends a story causing the end of new the life she built. Jaik, the mysterious man, is thrown into Audra’s world, they are on the run to seek for the reason the world lost the endings.

Wow… just wow. This book might end up being the best book of the year. The concept immediately drew me into the story. The story was so full of world building and character development. Not only do the characters transform from their current characters to their characters before the loss of endings, but they also undergo a secondary character development as they strive to rectify the chaos they unintentionally caused. The layered character growth is a unique dimension that is uncommon in the books I’ve read before. The characters were perfect, Audra and Jaik relationship felt authentic. The map page was so nice, gotta love a good map page. The book was long and it strengths the book without adding unnecessary things. The ending was absolutely perfect as well. I gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

-Storyteller/Story Weaver
-Magic
-Panic Attacks
-Enemies To Lovers
-Slow Burn

It’s been awhile since I’ve read such a good standalone fantasy novel. Everything about this book is just so freaking cool. I especially loved the world itself. The land of Mithra-Sha, the land where stories have immeasurable power. I just loved everything about it.

I cannot forget to shout out my love for Audra Jashowin either. She’s such a great main character and I loved reading from her point of view.

A Story Spun in Scarlet is a must read for anyone looking for a standalone fantasy novel!

I enjoyed the magic system in this book. It's unique and fresh. Plus the writing is compelling enough to keep things moving, and you want the characters to succeed. The things I think could improve are the setting up of relationships and more authentic dialogue. The relationships felt like tell more than show, and the dialogue was a bit stilted at times. I think building up the relationships to make them seem real would improve the story a lot. That said, I would definitely pick up more from this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book and for the eARC copy. I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Content
No swearing that I remember except for a few very, very mild in-world curses, minimal violence, mild to moderate romance with kisses and (view spoiler)

I absolutely loved this book, it was brilliant from start to finish. I read it so quick.

The character development was so good, you come to love the characters. The writing is incredible, the descriptions detailed.

Thank you to R Dugan for giving me the opportunity to read this fantastic book. I will certainly be recommending this to my book club members!

Really promising start and synopsis. I love long books, however, I can’t stand it when it’s meaningless. It kept being dragged on with unnecessary explanations. It was all about descriptions yet such few storytelling and feelings. I feel like I was being described a scenery and not a story.

(Thank you to R. Dugan, Wave Walker Press and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC)

Holy moly was this book amazing. And if I could give this book more than 5 stars, I very much would. Not only did it have an (in my opinion) very unique story but also a very captivating writing style and lovable characters.

On top of that it was a whole lot of action and also see how the two main characters start from strangers to friends and maybe even more.

On top of that we also have loveable characters, a cool world where everything takes place and a whole lot of emotions during the entirety of the book.

HOWEVER; I do have a tiny bit of complaint about the book even though I loved it from start to finish, which is that I wished that the rulers of the country this story takes place in would be described a tiny bit better because it took me a while before it was fully comprehended for me. But that might also be a personal thing.

On top of that I urge the readers of this book to have tissues at the ready for the emotional rollercoaster that the epilogue will be coming at you with, because the author really pulled at our strings there and it showed (take it from a person who rarely cries at books and who sobbed their heart out after reading the end of this book).

I will definitely be rereading this again since this was such an amazing read. And I will also be checking out the author’s other books that they have written.

This book was amazing. The character development was very well done and I loved the banter and romance. I would highly recommend this book!

When all the tales in the land of Mithra-Sha lost their endings, Audra ran away 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.

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

To fix the broken stories in Mithra-Sha, Audra and Jaik must learn to embrace what lives at the core of their own 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. Intrigue keeps you wanting more,

Thanks go to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel, Book 1 of the new “Tales of Wonder and Woe” fantasy-romance series by author Renee Dugan.

“Let me tell you a story.” What reader, since childhood, has not been captivated by “the power unimaginable in a few small words”? A book that begins and ends with these few small words and makes them the source of power, love and human connection throughout its pages, for me, is the best kind of book there can be.

The cast of characters is long and each plays an important role in the “master story” that is composed of each of their entwined life stories, all playing out in different locations of the magical realm of Mithra-Sha. Except for the two lead characters, Audra Jashowin and Jaik Grissom, and maybe the God-figure, it can be difficult to keep all these straight. The author has wisely included a list of characters and locations, as well as a map of the domain, co-ruled by Sha Tobyrus Lothar and his wife, Shadre Callen, who live in their palace and refuge (the Shasta) with young-adult offspring, their son Sharan Arias and his co-heir sister, Shadress Mahalia.

It’s also essential to understand the caste system at work, especially since there are rank distinctions among and between those who are below the ruling family but above mere citizens. The story focuses on the Storycrafters, a highly skilled social group to whom is ascribed the power of story-making, a power that keeps Mithra-Sha prosperous and peaceful, affecting even the change of seasons and the type, nature and amount of food and employment available to all. Storycrafters study at Fablehaven Academy. Eventually they earn the right practise, and are given cloaks whose colour reveals their level of mastery, from palest pastels to deep red. But only the nation’s Storymaster can don the red cloak, and only after passing gruelling examination and being awarded the title by the Sha and Shadre. The Storymaster’s role is effectively that of Chief Adviser. Keeping watch over all is the Storymaker, an enigmatic figure whom no one has ever seen (yet) but all believe in.

Then there are the warriors, elite soldiers and the Sha’s personal army, intended to serve and defend all but especially to lend support to the Storycrafters and their Master in particular. It is the union of “sword and story” that keeps Mithra-Sha running smoothly.

When the story opens, all Storycrafters’ cloaks have bled their colours to become an ashen grey. The people are unemployed and hungry, the seasons are out of sync, the crops are failing, the Sha’s bounty can do only very little, and some of the leaders among the warriors are themselves fanning discord. Many don’t remember who the Storymaster was or where she went. Audra and Jaik forget their own identities and each other. The Sha’s most-relied upon warrior, Galan Fiordana, has become a master manipulator, vengeful killer, and the arch-nemesis of just about everyone, including the Sha. But especially Audra and Jaik, who must flee the bounty that the Shadre has placed on their heads for no reason they know, and which Galan will stop at nothing to get.

Why has all this happened? Something has torn the very fabric of Storycraft. Storycrafters consequently lost the skill to tell a good story and more importantly to close the tale properly. This is why all cloaks are grey and the land is in chaos. Until their power is restored, the darkness will not lift. And Audra and Jaik must feel their way back to their own story, individually and together, to do this.

I loved this story, and its stories within the story, which prove the author’s own mastery. At more than 540 pages, however, there is room for some judicious cutting to remove a lot of repetition and make the story easier to follow. The core characters are interesting, but losing some of them, and their locations, truthfully wouldn’t hinder the plot. Jaik and Audra are amiable protagonists with such a complicated backstory and mission that focussing more on them would be good. Even as they go about solving the mystery of the lost endings together, Audra weaves many stories, progressing them slightly over a number of retellings. There are just too many very similar stories, with too many very similar outcomes. For And all their genuine sweetness and cuteness, I also tired of the repeated references to Jaik’s low-slung pants and angular hips, and his supposedly dumb farmhand routine when it’s clear he’s anything but. Likewise the seemingly every other page references to Audra’s propensity for eye-rolling (at Jaik) and her never ending stomach issues. She’s forever gagging, vomiting, swallowing bile, feeling nauseous, covered in “sick”, covering others in sick (especially Jaik), and doubled-over with gastric distress. She’s very public about it all, especially the vomiting. I felt a bit sick myself just reading it.

Despite these few criticisms, I did, as I said, absolutely love this book and its main characters. The epilogue ends with a pointed “Let me tell you a story.” I can hardly wait for the next tale of wonder and woe.

Thank you so much for this ARC! I absolutely loved reading this book. The writing kept me hooked on the story. The characters are all well written and complex. Reading about Audra and Jaik made them one of my favorite romances. I would definitely recommend this to another reader!

A Story Spun In Scarlet catches your interest with its beautiful cover, then keeps your interest with this one of a kind story.

The unique plot is something I have never come across before, which is so refreshing and mesmerizing from start to finish.

The slow burn romance, the unique plot and ohhh, the banter between the characters has made this a new favorite for me and hopefully the next reader as well.

I can find no fault with this book! The story was intriguing and kept me second guessing everything throughout the entire read. The prose was beautiful, bordering on poetic, without distracting from the tale as it unfolded. The characters were delightfully loveable and so perfectly *them* that the ending couldn't be anything other than what it was. And that ending. I cried. But I wouldn't change a thing.

As for the story itself, how unique was that! Stories in Mithra Sha contain powerful magic, which is unleashed at their conclusion. This magic helps all who live on the continent... Until the day stories lose their endings. Audra and Jaik seem to be at the center of everything going on and we follow them as they work their ways towards the truth, together proving that love truly does withstand all.

A Story Spun in Scarlet by R. Dugan

As always thank you to NetGalley, the author R. Dugan and everyone else who led to allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. I promise that my review is 100% my own opinion and not affected by external protection.

Now, this is a long book, and people need to know that before going into it. It spans a long time, and while there's a lot of fluff in the story, it builds onto the book's adventure. It is a story tellers book, a story within a story, and it was epic. Some parts of the story felt repetitive, some things felt like it was pointless, or it added no value to the story. But I find this quite common with these epic-style fantasy stories.

While these are a part of the story, I absolutely loved that there was a character and location guide. Which gave you pronunciations and descriptions to help you understand and differentiate. I will always have a special place in my heart for books with a map at the beginning.

“Let me tell you a story…”

Audra Jashowin, her lack of purpose driving her since she was disgraced by her family. A story crafter on the run. Fleeing the rejection and her home, she is flung into a new adventure. Bringing in Jaik Grissom, who has the ability to bring her stories to life. The book unravels love, loss, and adventure.

This book is perfect for someone who loves a more long-winded style book, with in-depth world-building and a complex magic system and doesn’t forget a little bit of a slow burn romance. It is a book that you have to stick with for it to ultimately pay off. The second half is a lot better than the start. But with the majority of epic stories, the first part will always be heavy on the world-building and details.

Thank to NetGalley for an ARC of A Story Spun in Scarlet! This review is entirely of my own opinion.

Firstly, this book is 659 pages and I was only able to finish to 30% which is about 200 pages.

I really enjoyed the unique concept and plot, and with Renee’s gorgeous prose and world-building I was kept entranced.

What made me DNF this book though is that I felt the characterization was lacking after 200 pages. I couldn’t really connect to Audra or Jaik, and this was enough for me to not be interested to continue their story. I can see how further into the book, the characters and their relationships would develop, but unfortunately if I’m not hooked by 200 pages, I feel it’s not in my best interest to continue.

I still love Renee as an author and her writing style is one of my favorites! The Starchaser Saga and The Curse of the Blessed series are some of the best books I’ve read!

What the heck did I just read and why is it now my favorite book ever?

Before this, Deathless was my favorite book. But I would never, ever, ever re-read it because it put me in such a reading slump and made me feel like my heart was ripped out and chewed with the strength of that story. This book somehow made me feel the same way again, and so it must sit in the freezer with Deathless, haunting me but never to be read again.

Seriously, this book was THAT good. I wept. I laughed. I felt hope. I felt despair. It was a very, very good story. Not just a book, like “oh I couldn’t put this down” or “oh I ship this couple” or whatever, like it was just genuinely a good story. If it didn’t hurt so damn much, I’d probably read it again too, but alas, the PAIN.

I highly recommend it to everyone. But I do NOT thank NetGalley for bringing this eARC into my life because now I’ll never be able to read anything else. Alas.

This was a nice book to start the New Year on.
yes, it's long but I loved the stories within a story; could some things have been cut? Yes. But its a quest book, and this is what I expect from quest books.. it takes place over several months, which is something I appreciated because it gave time for the relationship between the two MCs to grow organically.

Audra is a likeable enough MC and Jaik is a good companion. The concept is unique and even if the execution isn't perfect and the ending is a bit hazy, the story itself is good and I wanted to keep going and I actually lost track of time finishing it up.

Thank you NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

DNF 9%

I know! This looks like I gave this no chance, but I swear I tried 🥺
This is a pretty long book, so this is still about about 60 pages, buy it was ALL description. There was so little dialogue, and every page was just never-ending paragraphs of description, and that type of writing is just never for me.

It seemed like it could be an interesting story, and unfortunately I never made it to the MMC, but I felt like I was moving through molasses trying to read this and I just wasn't enjoying myself 😔

Firstly, huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC for this novel.

I wanted to like this book so much. The premise of stories as magic, and a world where those stories have lost their endings, was one that filled me with so much excitement. And the story itself seems to be a wonderful one, with plenty beautiful moments spied as I flicked through to the end. However, despite every effort to finish it, I just physically could not.

The prose was unfocused and meandering, and it swallowed up the plot and the characters and the world. Superfluous descriptions, too-long sentences and entire paragraphs that could be reduced to mere sentences, and repeated sentiments made it personally very difficult to read. I did flick further through the book before deciding to DNF to see if it got any better, and while the opening chapters do seem to bear the brunt of it, perhaps due to their expository nature, it continues to be a theme throughout. I usually love descriptive/poetic prose but with this book it crosses the line into purple.

As a constructive point, I can't help but wonder if the author's style would be more impactful in third-person, as part of the issue I think lay in the fact that much of the main character's voice is overwhelmed by flowery descriptions, leaving little room for her personality to shine through.

Two stars for the premise. The story showed a lot of promise, the writing just needed to be a lot cleaner.