When the abandoned princess discovers a friend, some muscle, and a passion for swords, she also acquires the crucible by which she uncovers the mysterious key to unlock her grief and win true freedom. Or will her strength confound her future in the kingdom to which she rides?
At the mythical edge of the Berkshire Forests, Wren finds herself rattling around in an austere castle, abandoned by the King and Queen. King Belodawn seems to blame his daughter for the mysterious disappearance of his wife, and he avoids his daughter at all costs in favor of conquests requiring his person away from the kingdom. But, things are about to change; the princess has matured. Wren's spirit refuses to remain the lost bird she became at age twelve. With the aid of the cook and the cook’s son, Wren discovers her unknown dexterity in sword fighting. With it, she believes a new community in which to live will open up but is this young girl prepared to encounter deceptive ghosts, angels, and demons in the maze of the forest to attain her aim?
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Charmayne Hafen is a graduate of John Brown University and has her masters in counseling from the Denver Seminary. Her love of Celtic mythology in Christian themes inspired her to write her debut Young Adult novel, Indebted: The Berkshire Dragon. She is a fan of the author, Stephen Lawhead.
She has written several short stories for children, teens, and adults, as well as the fantasy trilogy being published in 2020 by Capture Books, called, The Land of Twilight. She is currently working on the development of her sequel to The Berkshire Dragon.
Charmayne has a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and psychology as well as a Master of Arts degree in counseling. When she’s not writing, Charmayne is running counseling groups for adults and a therapeutic photography group for teens. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband John and her two chihuahuas, Pepe and Frida.
The Take:
My mom ordered this book for me to review without consulting
me on it first, so when I got it I was a bit leery of it, but gave it a shot
anyway. I must admit, for the first hundred or so pages, my leeriness was for
good reason. While I found the beginning to draw my interest slightly, it felt
like a very generic female empowerment story. Then everything changed. I had a
wrench thrown in the gears of my expectations, when I found that the expected
outcome was not what was coming; so, as I read the middle of the book, I found
myself more interested. It had become more than the usual “I have to go on a
quest to kill a dragon plot”. Granted, I still found a few very generic
elements in this part of the book, the need for Wren to keep a certain secret
being the most glaring one, mostly in the way she went about it, but I was
still interested. The ending was both good and bad. I must admit, something I
expected to be a long, drawn out battle, turned out to last a single page, and
that was extremely disheartening, but the final plot twist made up for my
disappointment, as did the rest of the ending.
Overall, I give Indebted four stars. Though it was well
written through most of it, the generic elements that were included caused it
to be very predictable at many points, making this a book that is better used
as a time filler than the thing to look forward to after a long and exhausting
day. But, having said that, I must admit a few of the twists in the plot were
very ingenious, and, while they didn’t entirely make up for the predictable,
they made this book worth the time spent reading it.
I was provided with a free copy of this book courtesy of the author and Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.
I was provided with a free copy of this book courtesy of the author and Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are my own.
Blog Stops:
Texas Book-aholic, January 22
For The Love Of Literature, January 23
Just the Write Escape, January 24
Debbie's Dusty Deliberations, January 25
Mamma Loves Books, January 26
Wishful Endings, January 26 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 27
By The Book, January 28 (Author Interview)
janicesbookreviews, January 29
Inklings and notions, January 30
A Baker’s Perspective, January 31 (Author Interview)
Seasons of Opportunities, February 1
Blogging With Carol, February 2
Library Lady's Kid Lit, February 3
Artistic Nobody, February 4
To celebrate her tour, Charmayne is giving away the grand prize of a pillow made with one of the illustrations!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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