Book Review and Giveaway: Dragonwitch

Title: Dragonwitch
Author: Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Rating: 5/5
Book Summary: Submissive to her father’s will, Lady Leta of Aiven travels far to meet a prospective husband she neither knows nor loves–Lord Alistair, future king of the North Country.

But within the walls of Gaheris Castle, all is not right. Vicious night terrors plague Lord Alistair to the brink of insanity. Whispers rise from the family crypt. The reclusive castle Chronicler, Leta’s tutor and friend, possesses a secret so dangerous it could cost his life and topple the North Country into civil war.

And far away in a hidden kingdom, a fire burns atop the Temple of the Sacred Flame. Acolytes and priestesses serve their goddess to the limits of their lives and deaths. No one is safe while the Dragonwitch searches for the sword that slew her twice…and for the one person who can wield it.

I first fell in love with Miss Stengl's writing after I read Heartless. She captured my attention with her realistic character, fictional countries, and gripping story line. In all the books I have read since she has not lost her touch. In fact she keeps getting better and better. I really enjoy they stories and how they connect to other stories. You almost want to make a kind of poster connecting them. 

An author's writing improves with time and practice. Anne Stengl has always been able to write a wonderful story however,  I feel that her writing has 'grown up' since the first book. Her development of characters has improved. Her ability to write a story that is in such a grand scale is fantastic. I feel like her writing has improved and changed for the better. 

Dragonwitch is perhaps one of the most fascinating of her books so far. From the very first book I felt Miss Stengl understood people. She could pull together the best qualities of a person and the darkest. She even grasps and helps the readers of her books to understand what can cause someone to become so bitter or evil. I feel that this quality is at its finest in Dragonwitch. 

Dragonwitch features many new characters which means some new names. Making up names is a talent that I highly admire in authors, that would be because I am so bad at it. All her names sound so Medieval or like something out of Lord of The Rings. Miss Stengl is brilliant with names. 

I identified with so many of the characters in this book. They all have little bits of things that I completely and totally understand and are so me sometimes. I think this is what makes her books so loved. People see parts of themselves. 

I really enjoyed seeing more of Imraldera and Eanrin. They are one of the most steady characters throughout the series, and with each book we learn more about them. Perhaps the thing I like most about this book (and all of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's books) is that the characters are believable. They don't have the fake or phony feel that so many other Christian fiction characters have. Her stories despite being fantasy feel like they could be true because there are so many elements that we all can identify with. She paints them with words that give detail to her story and bring it to life in the readers mind. I am going to find it impossible to wait for her next book to come out!  

I am very very excited to tell you that I am also able to offer a giveaway  of one copy of Dragonwitch. This is my first giveaway that I have done so please bear with me as I do this. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.