A fantasy with pirates and the heir to a kingdom in hiding? Count me in! I cannot even begin to describe how much I love (and sometimes envy) Ranee's writing style. Her prose and the incredible detail with which she crafts every single sentence make the book a beautiful experience.

Characters are another one of Ranee's strengths, and I had such a fun time getting to know them in this story. If you're looking for a fantastical adventure with heart, this one is a must-read. Definitely recommend!

Yes! A book that leaves you smiling for all the right reasons! Well developed characters, great world building, a plot that leaves you guessing and biting your nails, tension that is chef's kiss, relationships that make sense but are developing at the same time. This book has it all. I did not read the first in the series, so now I need to pick it up. But I will be reading the next.

I am so happy to be able to meet this book because I am a huge fan of pirates and adventures. At the first time, I was surprised that this is the second book of the series, but I let myself go through the story and find it's a page turning even I get hit and miss of the world-building in some parts (it just because I didn't read the first book). The writing style is captivating, all the characters is well-written. I love all the characters here, I wish I could read the first book before read this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wave Walker Press for providing me the ARC, and thank you so much to the author for writing this amazing adventure of pirates, I have to say that finally I find a good-reads here.

I’ve never read anything from this author before, but I absolutely love, love, love pirate themed books and I just KNEW I had to pick this up.

At first, it really took me a while to get into the story. It’s clear this author knows how to weave a world. But the complex history, lengthy number of characters (and their name pronunciation) threw me for the first 150 pages or so.

However, the author intricately combines each character story, development and a vivid world and I was sucked in. It’s not often I enjoy a book with romance as a main plot point without it venturing into the adult target audience, however this firmly remained in YA and yet still had me absolutely swooning. Found family is an absolute favourite trope of mine, and this had it in abundance. I could not get enough of these fantastic characters at all. Imagine my delight realising that although this is a standalone, there is an another released before this!

As I read this book as an ARC, I jumped into it unaware that it was the second. While this put me at a disadvantage initially with the many world building details, A Tale Told by Traitors had a storyline that had me intrigued to keep reading at every turn. I was fully invested in the characters and found myself blindsided by several of the plot twists. The one aspect of the book that I didn't love was the ongoing parallels drawn between the main female protagonist and her propensity towards baking. Otherwise, it was a worthy read full of action, adventure, pirates and "princesses." Reminiscent of The Princess Bride, this voyage is worth taking.

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

I did appreciate how the author incorporated imagery associated with cooking to hone Lio’s identity as a baker. Unfortunately, I struggled a lot with this book overall. I thought I would enjoy the book because I liked the premise that Lionyra was the lost heiress of Amere-Del. However, the pacing felt off and I couldn’t connect with the characters.

Amazing adventure full of twist and turns and the right amount of pining and romance!
4.5 stars

"Sometimes it takes strong people a while to heal, too... and we're the strongest there is. So we'll find our way thought this, all of us, together."

A Tale Told by Traitors is the second book in a series of sequential standalones each focusing on a new romantic fantasy adventure.

We meet back up with Lionyra Vara at the moment when her past catches up with her and she is taken back to a life she fled 6 years ago, back to the regime of Amere-Del, where she is to take her place back as Delina. She is taken aboar The Athalion, where she meets characters who are more than meets the eyes, including deckhand Bastyan... or is he really a deck hand?

This book was twistier than a fancy french braid, action packed, filled with tension and adventure, well developed characters, meaningful relationships - some that flourish and end too soon, some that live on, and get stronger and stronger as the story goes on.

This was my first Renee Dugan's book and it will definetly not be my last. I fell in love with the characters, sailors and pirates alike, grieved with them, laughed, swooned, got angry, threw my book across the couch, and overall really really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

Lionora Vara is an immigrant in Mithra-Sha and is running her bakery. There is nothing else she loves more than kneading dough, creating breads and treats and to listen to the stories being told in her shop.
To save her best friend she has in this new town she is risking all and is losing as her biggest secret gets revealed. She is not who she pretends to be. She is the sole heir of the ruling regime she fled from and now she is being dragged back in chains as her biggest fear and thread is used against her. The only person in the world she loves most and feels like a sister is also again back in the castle of her biggest nightmare, her decoy. So she willingly is being brought back in cuffs on a ship which shall bring her back. Once they succeeded to escape their fate and again she must find a way to save both of them.
Ryker Kassian is a pirate but hates how other captains run their ship and how they treat their crews. The debts he and his crew he selected to save every one of them from their former fait have with the old pirates are extreme. So when rumours are getting more and more that the Delina, the heir of the ruling regime is seen he is taking on the challenge to find her and request a ransom for her which is needed to buy out his crew.

This is a second book in the series but from my point of view can also be read without knowing the first (which is my case) as this story concentrates on a new character.
Wow, I did not expect this world building. Also the writing style I liked at lot.
What an adventure we are reading about here! We have a great pirate story here with lots of action which I really enjoyed. All the fighting, the decoy and unfortunately also the loss of characters I really liked is for me really good written. I also liked how much friendship and love means in this story, the fight for freedom and to do the right things and what everybody is willing to endure and do for it.

Lionora has different names in this story and I think this is very well showing how she is changing. Some of her actions I can´t really understand during the story but in general I liked to read how she is changing, is setting new priorities and how she is fighting for the ones she likes and loves.
Ryker also has different names he got during the years and I liked his character right from the start. What a captain and how he is fighting for his crew! I really liked his character.
Also all the characters we have in the book, and we talk about quite a lot, I really liked all of them. The ones I hated and I hoped would die due to their cruelty and what they did to others, and also the ones I really liked and hoped only the best for and that they would survive and succeed in their fight for freedom and the right course.
Also the romantic we have in here is in my opinion perfectly set into this world and storyline and giving hope when all seems lost.
The twist and turns, the decoy, the battle, ... we have here kept the story for me on a great level and I wanted to keep reading.

If I were 13, this would have become my personality. But reading it as a nearly 30y old, it is a bit cringey.

Thank NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This book was PHENOMENAL! I simply adored it.

The characters were vivid and the world was so well written that I just jumped into the story completely. I was so in love with Renee Dugan's work that I got her others to dive into as well. Highly recommend this book!

Lionyra Vara is a baker hiding in Mithra-Sha, because she is the sole heir of the Dels in the neighbouring country of Amere-Del. But no one can hide forever and Lionyra soon finds herself face to face with her past. Refusing to go back to that nightmare she flees. As she escapes she is aided by a sailor who turns out to be a Pirate Captain. Ryker and his crew are drowning in debt and he sees his only option to free themselves is to ransom the lost Delina. Lio offers Ryker a chance for more and asks him to help find her missing friend. Ryker seizes the chance and they soon find themselves traversing hidden pirate cities and into the heart of Amere-Del where a revolution is starting. As all their secrets threaten to overwhelm them they are forced to face their past and their growing attraction to one another.

I knew this story would be about Lio but didn’t expect to see Jules again and my heart hurt reading those chapters knowing his fate. And while this book was a stand alone there were ripples from the first book that affected this one. IE When Audra restores storytelling. That gave me chills. But this story can stand on its own. It is filled with so much character and I just couldn’t get enough. The intrigue, the romance, the action. This was a chunky book and it took me a bit to get through cause life, but I loved it. Lio and Ryker (bash) are adorable and I love when the guy realizes he fell first. I don’t know if there will be more in this series but I would love to see it. Even if just a small novella so Audra and Lio can be reunited.

Rating 4.5 stars
*I received a review copy from NetGalley for my voluntary and honest review

i loved this high-stakes adventure/fantasy novel. it was so richly detailed, the characters were jumping out of the story and this was chock-full with all the Feels. the writing was lush and absolutely gorgeous. i cannot wait for book three already!

YES... This was actually my first book from the author and it is every fantasy dreamer come true.. I don't know if it was the fact that I'm also a Assassin's Creed game player but it did gave me those vibes, which I truly enjoyed.
Both FMC and MMC were fantastic characters and the fact that didn't had spice was totally understandable, it wasn't necessary because the story itself was more than good

A Tale Told by Traitors by Renee Dugan is a thrilling romantic fantasy and the second book in the Tales of Wonder and Woe series. The story follows Lionyra Vara, a humble baker in Mithra-Sha, who secretly holds the title of ruler of Amere-Del. When her life and the life of her friend are threatened, Lio is forced to return to the land of her nightmares. Alongside the legendary pirate Ryker Kassian, Lio embarks on a dangerous mission to find her missing friend and confront the regime that has hunted her for years. Their journey takes them to treacherous pirate cities, hidden towns, and the heart of a looming revolution.

The book is rich in adventure, with a deep blend of trust, redemption, and romance. The slow-burn romance between Lio and Ryker is intense, set against a backdrop of high-stakes action and dark secrets. Dugan’s writing is praised for its atmospheric world-building, particularly the nautical elements and the complex characters. The plot’s twists and betrayals keep readers on edge, making this installment a thrilling ride for fans of romantic fantasy with elements of betrayal and redemption

I adored this book, from beginning to end! It kicked off with action and stayed that way throughout the entire book! This kept my interest from start to finish. This is one of those books that I thought about when I wasn’t even reading it. Every time I put the book down I could not wait to pick it back up and continue the story.

I loved the characters, the changes we saw in some of them, and the surprises that hit me out of nowhere! And I loved the FMC and MMC, and their relationship.

The author used tons of similes and metaphors to baking, which I loved. In such an action-packed and intense book I feel like this added a lot of warmth and comfort which I enjoyed and appreciated. And since it’s full of pirates, I also really loved all the pirate talk and sea/ sailing related metaphors as well.

This was my first book by R. Dugan and I look forward to reading more by her!

10/10
No spice
No intense language

Thank you, NetGalley and R. Dugan for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an amazing read.

I was captivated from the first page. The connections between the characters, effortless world building and kept me turning my page the entire time.

I am so excited for this adventure to continue and where we go next time.

Size wise, the book was large, but jam packed with quality writing the entire way through.

Thank you to the author, Renee Dugan, for supplying me with an advanced copy of the ebook.

Fan FREAKING tastic! What an epic pirate adventure with a swoony romance!! OBSESSED! This caught me very off guard. I went in completely blind and let me just say WOW! The characters were really well developed and the TENSION!!!!! I just wants to say thank you for this masterpiece!

A dark and magical fantasy story full of action and adventure that had me hooked from the start. I can see my students really loving this story.

This is the second story in the Tales of Wonder and Woe series by author Renee Dugan. I have read the first in the series (A Story Spun in Scarlet), but one doesn’t need to have read the first to fully enjoy this book. Lionyra Vara is living the peaceful life she’s created for herself when her past returns to haunt her. After being captured by her former tormentor, Lionyra sets off on adventures on the high seas – sword fights, gambling, espionage, royal power struggles, and daring rescues abound!

I really loved this book! There was so much action, unexpected twists and turns, and meaningful character developments/relationships. The way the lives of the characters intertwined created a beautiful found family. While the storytelling magic made sense to me since I’ve read the first book, there could be a little more explanation of how the magic works for new readers.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I'm so glad I had the opportunity. Well written with adventure and romance. I enjoyed all of the characters and watching them interact and grow. Believable and lovely romance. I didnt realize this was the second book in the series Tales of Wonder and Woe (they are standalone books). I plan on reading the first book A Story Spun in Scarlet asap.