With a beautiful detailed prose and intriguing complex characters, it was easy to fall into this world. I loved the unique plot (and really liked the 'luck' element) as well as the relationship between Audra and Jaik. I'll definitely be reading more by Renee Dugan!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is exactly what I needed to get out of my fantasy. reading slump. I feel like so many fantasy novels follow the same basic premises'. But I thing the author is such a creative soul who created a world that I, as a reader, want to immerse myself in. ‘Tales of Wonder and Woe’ indeed.

I quite enjoyed the complexities of the fmc. Shes not your typical herione who is strong but doubts herself. No, in this story our FMC doesnt understand the complexities of the path that she and fate have set her on.

The famon and hardships are very well written, the picture is drawn perfectly in your mind that when you see the turning of the tide you can really see the impact that stories have on the realm.

I think I expected a large. epic battle towards the end but wasn’t disappoint with how the book ended. I see here on goodread that it says #1 of Tales of Wonder and Woe. So im hopeful for a second novel. I think this is a perfect world for more stories to emerge and look forward to reading more from this author.

Id like to thank NetGalley, Renee Dugan and Wave Walker Press for giving me a free ebook copy of A Story Spun in Scarlet.
*allthough I recieved an ARC of this book, this review is wholy my own and not influenced in any way*

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Story Spun in Scarlet is a compelling story that combines elements of fantasy, adventures, and romance. Renee Dugan masterfully and thorough created a plot that will hook you in. The world building is extraordinary, I've read a lot of fantasy books, but I've never seen a story like this. The characters are well-developed, each with their own complex backstories and motivations. I had a special connection with Audra, a talented storycrafter. Her main love interest is Jaik, with whom she began her journey.

The romance tropes:

- Strangers to Friends to Lovers (no explicit content)
- One bed trope ))))
- Tension

I've enjoyed R. Dugan's writing, she has an ability to depict scenes so vividly by explaining in great detail.

The pace:
very very slow paced, you won't be so invested in the book till 70% . The book is huge but I think it totally deserves a chance.

Overall, A Story Spun in Scarlet is a great read!

This story about the magic of storytelling. With interesting beginnings, we followed Audra, a story crafter who cannot finish stories as her magic disappears. Until — of course — she met a man and tada — she finished a story. A bit of a cliché for me. But with that, I love the banter and humor of the two. Both of the MC are not so hard to admire. And I enjoyed it! Thank youuuu!

★3/5

this was such a fun and refreshing read. a story with constant twists and turns that keeps you turning the page. audra is a strong female mc that radiates authenticity and determination to unravel the mysteries of her country.

the setting really carried this book for me, the adventures were fast paced and entertaining although some of the plot twists were easy to see coming. the beginning was focused a lot on descriptive world building and not a lot of dialogue but it picks up fairly quickly. the ending will have you reeling.

overall a good start to a series that will follow new narrators in sequential standalones. excited for what's to come.

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ♡

Thank you to the publisher for this ebook ARC.

This book was really unique in how it used a really well known topic (storytelling into reality) and made it something new. It does feature amnesia and more, but it was a pretty good read.

I loved how the MC’s come together as Antagonists to Friends to Lovers, but with such a twist! The story itself unravels in unexpected ways that kept me enjoying it as I went.

It was a bit hard to continue reading it when my attention wandered away a lot - but it still got me coming back to it. Definitely worth a read if you like subplot romance but really good world building and fantasy magic.

This was a great read and I highly recommend it for anyone to put on their reading shelves. The adventure was spot on. The worldbuilding was impeccable. The characters were well-rounded. Everything that works for a fantasy novel. This was a fun read and I couldn't put it down with each chapter offering something new.

DNF, I sadly just couldn’t get into this one. I tried it multiple times but it read too much literary fiction to me which isn’t a genre I love.

I absolutely loved this book. The author did such a good job of keeping me interested from chapter to chapter and the ending had me shook. I can’t wait to see where this story goes

This was really intriguing.

It felt very YA/NA with high fantasy mix.

If I could compare, I felt it had the adventure of Chronicles of Narnia meets Throne of Glass. I don't know why, because it is NOTHING like either of those, but it felt fantasy/romantic, without the spice, but on a huge adventure, and I wanted to know more 🤣

But I just felt it was unique.

It took me a long time to finish because I found it just wasn't capturing my attention, but that is because I am more of a romantic tension, painful romantic angst girly.

I still recommend this book for fantasy YA/NA lovers.

Basically, if you love Powerless by Lauren Roberts, then you'll like this.

Read if:
You like the show Once Upon a Time Fairytales
Magic
Story telling
Found Family
Tolkien-esque writing

This was a fun read that scratched my neverending fairytale itch.
I already have my copy (with sprayed edges by custom.sprayed.edges on insta).
It is indeed wordy, as some have pointed out. That did not deter me as I'm a huge Tolkien fan and he can basically spend 10 pages describing the bark on a tree... Dugan is descriptive but merely to set the scene & vibes of the land/atmosphere; fully fleshed. I imagine future installments will have faster pacing.
Anyhoo, this tale has it all. Mystery, adventure, romance (sans spice), found family, minsters and magic. An original tale, written beautifully.


Thanks to NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for the eARC!

⁀➷ 5 stars ☆

let me tell you a story...

this book was absolutely magical. a stunning story about stories.
i went in with fairly low expectations because of the length and the synopsis, although interesting, was a bit confusing? to me + the first couple of chapters were a bit slow and didn't really grip me, but i'm so glad i pushed through because it got so much better and i quite literally could not put it down. it's long but the pages fly by. (also, the cover is stunning)
i am quite literally destroyed. the ending had me sobbing actual tears. why was this so good???

✧ brief summary.
audra jashowin is a storycrafter in a world run off the power of stories. for some unknown reason, all storycrafters have lost the ability to end their tales, throwing the world into disarray. rejected and cast away by her family and friends, she travels from village to village in hope of finding an answer as to why this is happening. until one night, when she's telling a story at a bar, locks eyes with a mysterious farmhand, aaaaand... finishes her story. hence begins the adventure!!

✧ plot
ABSOLUTELY INSANE. the worldbuilding?? the magic system?? it was actually so unique and refreshing. seriously never read anything like it. this book is very much high fantasy so it could be a bit confusing at first but it got a lot easier as the chapters went on. i loved the whole magical system built around stories and luck being a whole thing in this book. the pacing was great, which is a lot coming from me given that my top complaint about books is usually "the pacing was off". if you're looking for a fast-paced book, this is not for you but i loved the slower pace, it really allowed the characters and plot to shine through clearly instead of feeling rushed.

i loved the little stories woven in between, it was such a fun little surprise every time. i actually got goosebumps every time audra said "let me tell you a story". and how they interwined together into the ending? i was absolutely in awe. the quest vibes were so much fun and this is such an immersive book, like you can picture everything very clearly as it happens and honestly felt like i was in the book. there were so many twists and turns in this that left my jaw on the floor and that final plot twist near the end? i will NEVER recover.

✧ writing.
the writing was so poetic and enchanting, i seriously could not pick out quotes to put in my review because every line is quote-worthy. however, i did feel like it was a bit heavy at times. i often had to re-read some parts twice because i didn't comprehend it the first time. which is honestly my fault because i was studying for exams while reading this so my brain was fried 😭 the first few chapters took the brunt of it though, so it got better after the 10-ish chapter mark. still, i love purple prose when it's done right, and this was definitely that! the writing was so atmospheric and helped set the scenes perfectly.

✧ romance.
THE ROMANCE WAS SOSO CUTE OH MY GOD. audrajaik are literally soulmates. their love is so genuine and tender and their story definitely captured my heart. the strangers to friends to lovers trope was done so well and it's very much a slowburn so i didn't feel like the romance was rushed at all. i love them so so much and they better show up in the sequel !!

✧ overall.
i'm so absolutely in awe of this beautiful story. the world and the magic system were so well developed, the characters all have distinct personalities and are lovable (except galan, he can die), the pacing was amazing, the writing is stunning and everything was tied together perfectly. i want so much more about this world and will definitely be seated for the sequel <3

──── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

thank you to netgalley and the author for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review! <3

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While this book may not have been for me, I do feel it’s a lovely story. The authors writing style is very lyrical and poetic, if a bit wordy. The characters were likable and the plot very interesting!
I would recommend this book to you if you’re into lyrical, YA high fantasy 🙂

Audra is a storyteller. Unfortunately, she fell out of favor when all the stories lost their endings. She then meets Jaik who will have the power to act on her gift like an amplifier, bringing her stories to life. Driven by destiny, they will go in search of answers to find the end of the stories but also to write their history.

It was a very interesting and rich read, even if I found it quite “heavy”. Being basic French, my notions of English were a little shaken... ^^" But I understood the whole story and that's the most important thing. The novel is poetic, very descriptive and the people who like stories full of details should find what they like.

In short, a story which I hope will eventually be translated into French! ^^

Thank you NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for the ARC I'm exchange for an honest review.

The cover immediately drew me to this book, and the premise sounded really interesting: a story about a storyteller! Even more than that: a story about a storyteller unable to finish stories. Unfortunately, I found that this story didn't capture my attention and it was hard to focus on the story when I was reading it. And it was even harder to focus on the stories within the story; I don't think I can recall details about a single one. I gave this story 16 chapters/20%, before DNFing it because I just couldn't get into the story.

Things I liked:
- Short chapters (5-6 pages, mostly)
- Chapters have names, not just numbers
- Language wasn't very complicated, not hard to follow

Things I disliked:
- A lot of narration/description
- Not a lot of dialogue
- Very long sentences at times
- Didn't feel like I got to know the narrator very well

All in all: this story wasn't really my cup of tea, but if the things I disliked are things you like, this story might be for you!

A unique story mixing fantasy with feminism, with a protagonist with some truly unique powers. An enjoyable read.

Woof. Dnf at 20% for me. It was just moving so slow, and I can’t bring myself to dive back in. I thought the idea of her powers was really creative, I just couldn’t bring myself to care where her story went

ARC Review ~ A Story Spun in Scarlet~

*******************************************

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dugan did it again! Though it took me a bit to get into the story, once I did I fell in love. The twists and turns of this book had me on the edge of my seat and rooting for the main characters. I grew to adore the world Dugan created once again and can’t wait for more.

Thank you NetGalley and Wave Walker Press for this ARC!

A Story Spun in Scarlet is sprawling fantasy infused with great world-building and meticulous attention to the fantasy world that Dugan uses to immerse the reader in the story. This is a novel brimming with a cast of unique characters with a focus on marginalised groups. Dugan has created a compelling fantasy that follows the well-defined hero’s quest narrative while incorporating sociopolitical themes of marginalisation and persecution.

A well-written novel where the classic epic fantasy departs for strong feminism and focus on inequality.

Dugan writes with ease, compelling the reader deeper into the intricate world-building. At times there is a sense of slowed pace where the complexities of the world-building and sociopolitical intrigue could be more concisely delivered to maintain the high action pace of the beginning.

Conclusion

A recommend fantasy for fans of epic fantasy series, sociopolitical intrigue and thorough world-building in a classic hero’s quest fantasy but with strong feminist themes. Dugan has begun a new fantasy series to watch!

Unfortunately, this book didn’t really work for me, partly because it just wasn’t really my thing at all. The story felt really cliche—the heroes are all super good, the villains are all super bad and childish, and unfortunately none of the characters were interesting enough to make up for this. Both Audra and Jaik felt really bland and nothing about them stood out to me. I couldn’t really feel the chemistry between them, and their banter was really corny to me. Honestly a lot of the dialogue just came off as corny to me as well, especially with the way characters would replace swears with some variation like ‘luck’ instead of ‘fuck’. I generally don’t have a problem with fantasy curses, but it just becomes really silly and juvenile to me when the word is obviously used in place of an obvious curse and when you have characters saying things like ‘lucking hell’ or whatever.

The world-building felt very lacking in details especially for a novel that was 500+ pages. I feel like we were not given a lot of knowledge about how the world worked in relation to storycrafting, and whatever details we were given were just haphazardly thrown out without much fleshing out done. For instance, it’s stated that storycrafters are responsible for many inventions like airships and rifles, but that just made me have questions as to how the magic in the setting worked—like are these airships or rifles akin to what we’d see in the modern world with similar infrastructure or just magical items with no logic backing them? And if storycrafters were responsible for inventing them, where did they get the ideas from?

I’m not really sure how to best put this, but basically the world felt too much like a generic fantasy setting to feel like a world that was heavily influenced by storycrafters, even though the narrative was saying that the setting was. I guess if everything was written in a more ‘magical’ way it would’ve seemed more believable to me.

I also felt like this novel did not need to be as long as it was. I found myself bored throughout many parts of the story.

A lot of the main plot beats in A STORY SPUN IN SCARLET also strongly mirror another one of the author’s works that I read a few years ago—THE CHAOS CIRCUS. I don’t want to give too many details because of spoilers, but when the reason behind the lack of endings for stories was explained, all I could think was how similar these two stories were. I also wasn’t really a fan of how a lot of the main events in the story seem to have some sort of ‘destiny’ undertone to it, especially in regard to Jaik and Audra. I know that there’s a plot reason for it, but it just wasn’t really my thing.

Overall, this book just really wasn’t my thing. I didn’t think it was horrible—the concept was interesting, the writing was fine, the characters were decently developed. I just ended up not really enjoying it. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic fantasy story with some plot twists.