Darkwind

The Starchaser Saga, Book 1

By: Renee Dugan

Narrated by: Rachel Leblang

The Middle Kingdom of Talheim has enjoyed peace for decades. But with the threat of war rising from the ruthless South, the dream of a quiet life is fading. And for the noble but naïve Princess Cistine, that means embarking on a dangerous quest to the Northern Kingdom, where she hopes to forge an alliance against their southern foes and save her people.

But when Cistine is captured by an outlaw and his band of cutthroat warriors, she finds a more deadly adventure than she bargained for - and a greater power within herself than she ever knew.

Swept up in the unpredictable tide of a tenuous and shadowy political climate, a ruthless land governed by the stars, and the unexpected revelations that come from her mysterious new companions, Cistine must learn how to fight, how to lead...and above all, how to trust herself.

If the young princess can't be forged into a fighter, then her kingdom will fall.

©2019 Renee Dugan (P)2021 Renee Dugan

Expect the Unexpected!

Princess Cistine of the Middle Kingdom of Talheim takes matters into her own hands when she travels to the dangerous Northern Kingdom with a plan to forge an alliance that will help her Kingdom defeat their foes. Things do not go as expected and she is captured by a band of warriors. Her survival depends on how well she can learn to fight and use her new leadership skills. This audiobook is book one in a series; it could be read as a standalone but why would you want to. The narration provided by Rachel Leblang is excellent. I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Awesome story and characters!

I’m excited to read the next book in the series. I would go more in depth on why I enjoyed this book so much. But it’s late. And I don’t have the energy for that. But I wanted to leave some semblance of a review because they are important and help get the author’s name and books out there. So read this book already! Come on! 😉

My first by R. Dugan and she did not dissapoint!

This is the first title I have read from Renee Dugan and she did not dissapoint! A good mix between character development, plot movement, and general action. Overall a great story where you actually feel invested in characters and want the MC to prevail. I look forward to book 2! Audio Version: Rachel Leblang does a great job differentiating characters and keeping them consistent.ry all over again in a new way!

Very Slow Burn

Cistine is 20 going on 14. A spoiled princess trying to do the right thing for her kingdom, leaves home without permission to journey into the lands of her nation's enemies. Will she mature during her struggle, become a stronger, better person, answer the mysterious voice in her head urging her on, find love, find success?!? Not so much any of those, but this first book sets up the second if you're still interested by the end of 14+ hours.

Incredible New Fantasy Adventure

Parents- PG13- Possible triggers to abuse victims
Language- Gods, hell and a few others but not heavy in bad language and no f-bombs
Violence- some battle gore, heads/limbs being severed, blood, descriptions of violent beatings/abuse
Sexual Content- Kissing, but nothing to warn of in this one

This book was a fantastic start to a new fantasy adventure series. There's a lot of action with fight scenes that do get a bit graphic but the author doesn't delve into a ton of detail as heads of limbs get severed- more or less glazes over and says the characters are disturbed by the scenes and blood. The world building, plot, and pace of the story were all really well done and made this a very difficult book to put down. After reading the summary for this one, I was really hopeful for a fun new series and I was not disappointed! I loved the progression of the characters and the storyline really kept me invested. Cistine (our princess and MC) starts out a bit immature and very naïve, and convinces the King she needs some time away at one of their vacation castles before she's ready to take the throne.... When in reality she intends to sneak off and try to negotiate an alliance that her father won't consider. With her female guard, Ash (BFF) and Julian (friend) they take off even though neither one really supports her plan. Soon after arriving in the other kingdom reality begins to set in, and then they find their group captured by a violent group of outlaws. It just really drags you into the story quickly and then leaves you in a spot that has you laughing, upset and yet anxiously reaching for the next book!

Narrator- did a great job with voices and acting. The speed of the audio did feel a bit slow but I found it was fixed around 1.35x speed.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Good Start That Promises to Get Better

I enjoyed it, and maybe more importantly I could easily get through the parts I felt meh about with the confidence that the series would improve over time. A solid beginning with promise for more, better, tighter sequels. Really amped me up for sprawling fantasy again. Quill was far and above my favorite, and Ashe/Maleck is exactly my kind of ship. Cistine was fine, and I felt like the mysterious tugging/longing was underutilized, and Julian just felt so completely irrelevant, but there's a whole series ahead for things to change. Excited to see where things go.

Amazing Found Family!

What do I always say about fantasy books that are going to be a long series, the beginning is always my least favorite because there is SO much world building. I felt that way with this one for sure but after the book got going, I really became invested in these characters.

I love the character growth of Cistine. I really didn’t care much for her in the beginning but she grew on me and now I am really rooting for her and all of the cabal!

I think I have a feeling I know where this very slow burn romance is going and I am totally here for it! I also am here for all of the relationships with the side characters that I see starting to sprout.

I ended up really liking this one and I can’t wait to continue on with the series!

Read this if you like:
💨 Political conflict
💨 An epic journey
💨 Found Family

THE SOUND OF A DARK WIND

THE STORY WAS REALLY INTRIGUING. THE NARRATOR REALLY AMAZING! I LOVED THE THOUGHT OF WHERE THE STORY WAS GOING.

excellent

Talk about action and adventure! I fell head over heels in love with the characters and This is the epic fantasy I have been waiting for