Search - Dagger-Star (Epic of Palins, Bk. 1)

This book has gotten such bad press that I almost did not order it. The front cover and back blurb where so bad when I got it that I almost did not read it... Red Gloves and goat herders, please. Well, thank goodness I did, this is such a great book that I gave it 5 stars and just had to write a review. This book is not set in the primitive Lord of the Plains world. The Warprize trilogy was so great that you are inevitably disappointed not to return. Dagger-Star is set in a nieghboring world that has mages, magic and seriously strong women. Vaughn manages to pull off a strong alpha heroine who is still vulnerable and a vulnerable hero who is still strong. It is a great story with wonderful secondary characters and lots of room for future installments. I can't wait for Evie's book which I think comes out in 4-2009. My only negative comment would be that the red gloves, as in the apparel item, by story is a bit contrived, but it works in the end and does not over shadow the rest of the story. Seriously well done.

I loved this book!
I definetly thought this was an excellently crafted book dealing with a reversal of the traditional male/ female roles. I enjoyed the character development during the story and even liked the secondary characters. Great read!

I love romance novels--when they are done right. But more and more I'm finding paranormal/fantasy romance novels to be super disappointing and almost stereotypical in their plots. Romance suffers in return for "steamy sex" followed by swift declarations of love that don't ring true. Another stereotype is the Xena-like tough heroine who kicks butt, is sexually liberated, and is actually very unlikable. It's almost as if the author overcompensates for all the wilting flowers that used to make up most romance heroines.

So I was so surprised to absolutely love this book by Elizabeth Vaughan. I had heard of her Plains stories and was NOT interested, but for whatever reasons, took a chance on her standalone, Dagger-Star. What an amazing story! It's a cross between a fantasy and a romance without either genre suffering. It's really hard to make an alpha female pair with a beta male without making either character unlikeable or weak. But somehow she makes the two of them fit so well together. And the goats! How can you not love the goats? They add a touch of humor, poignancy, and platonic love to the story that balance out the horror of Red Gloves' past so perfectly. I believe at the conclusion of the story that she has found her peace and it is in the form of a gentle farmer and his magical goats. Every character in this story is absolutely divinely written and fully fleshed out. Upon finishing this book I had to go out to the store and immediately buy the sequel, White Star, even though I had to tear apart my local Borders to do it (Someone had miss-shelved my book and dammit I was not going to go away empty handed!).

This kind of writing is what fantasy and paranormal romance should always aspire to emulate. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite novels of all time and is staying on my keeper shelf.

I wasn't sure if I would like the book (it's not my normal read), but the reviews were good, so I gave it a shot. I'm glad that I did, it's a great read that I finished in two sittings!

Very strong characters. Good plot.

One of the best romantic fantasy's I have ever read!

Was imaginative and a good story. I few of the plot subplots were never resolved, but the major story was very satisfying and I enjoyed the read...which was a quick one!