DRAGON WYTCH by Yasmine Galenorn

Dragon Wytch by Yasmine Galenorn.
Published by Berkley Mass Market Paperback, July 8, 2008. $7.99

The D’Artigo sisters are back, and the stakes rise even higher, not just for Earthside Seattle, but for their home world. A unicorn brings Camille a rare gift of legendary power, the Third Spirit Seal’s sought by both the sisters and Shadow Wing, and Camille’s love life is more complicated than ever.

Told through Camille’s eyes, we experience her growing powers, and the beginnings of her confidence in those powers. From a goblin battle in a local park to a confrontation with dubba-trolls to a missing pixie to a unicorn’s gift to power struggles between cranky fae queens, the lives of these sisters are never quiet. Their main foe here is Karvanak, a Rãkassa out to get the Third Seal for Shadow Wing. Menolly and Delilah are at Camille’s side and have her back, as always, and even their rescued cousin Shamas lends a hand on this thrill ride of a novel.

Smoky the dragon’s calling in his marker, and Camille doesn’t really mind. And her bond with Morio strengthens, magically as much as personally. Smoky may be calling quite a few shots here, but we learn just as much about Morio as about Smoky. It’s Camille’s journey, focusing on her growth, deeper into her own magic, and her own heart, that makes this novel unusual. When Trillian is captured and Camille is faced with hard choices and impossible odds, both Smoky and Morio offer her an unusual choice to give her the power for his rescue.

Galenorn never sacrifices the emotional life of her characters for action, and she never flags on the action. As the lives of these sisters get more complicated, as they’re more isolated yet their band of allies expands, she gives us surprising, satisfying, and always touching glimpses of what makes them tick. She also has a gift for revealing the escalating conflict and information about the sisters’ homeland and previous lives without the reader feeling bogged down by backstory. She makes us love her characters, root for them, become them, and never want to leave.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’re already eager for Camille’s story and the future books detailing the sisters’ struggles. If you’ve yet to read these books: Start now.

Yasmine Galenorn’s website is www.galenorn.com, and her MySpace page is
www.myspace.com/yasminegalenorn.

Upcoming Posts — Stay Tuned!

I haven’t posted much lately, unfortunately, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been busy — bookbuying trips to the Book Barn in Niantic, CT, as well as visiting all sorts of independent bookstores.

Finding new-to-me authors and getting excited about their work.

And more.

So, what’s in store here at A Biblio Paradise?

I’ll be reviewing the wonderful anthology MISSPELLED, edited by Julie E. Czerneda soon — no date yet, but soon. The short version is that every single story in the anthology delighted me, and I’m so pleased to have a plethora of new-to-me authors to enjoy.

Second, I’ll review the upcoming release of DRAGON WYTCH by Yasmine Galenorn, the latest of her Sisters of the Moon series. That review will go up on Friday, June 13.

Thanks for stopping by — I’m sure we’ll have a great summer together in A Biblio Paradise!