Blog Book Tour | “WayFarer” (Book Two: Tales of Faeraven) by Janalyn Voigt – a series which continues my journey into #INSPY #Fantasy

Posted Friday, 20 September, 2019 by jorielov , , , , , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I started hosting with Prism Book Tours at the end of [2017], having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) whilst I was visiting as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. I had to put the memes on hold for several months (until I started to resume them (with Top Ten Tuesday) in January 2018). When I enquiried about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. I am unsure how many books I’ll review for them as most are offered digitally rather than in print but this happily marks one of the blog tours where I could receive a print book for review purposes. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors.

I received a complimentary copy of “WayFarer” direct from the author Janalyn Voigt in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On what I found inside “DawnSinger” which begins Faeraven:

Whenever I re-enter the Medieval era, I love when authors give their characters heavy cloaks to wear and how the elements of the natural world tend to plague them. It helps root you into the era itself as this is before too much was known about forecasting weather, which kinds of clothes were best for health and where you had to rely on your wits moreso than your knowledge, as knowledge was not just limited but the scope of it was not as openly available to everyone as it became in further generations. This is a world which sets itself against a Medieval background – where the style of their life here is a variant of the Medieval era we have in our own chronicles of History. What I was thankful for were those little touches of recognition to where the world of Faeraven was not entirely outside of a ‘known’ universe and had within it descriptions you could readily draw upon especially if you are a reader who appreciates dissolving inside the historical past via Historical Fiction.

Kai is attempting the impossible at the behest of his Queen – Maeven – whilst riding a wingabeast – as this is the first encounter I’ve had of a creature of this description, I was most enthralled to know more of its origins than I was momentarily to know of his Royal duties and loyalty. Whenever I find a new creature in a Speculative novel, I love to learn as much as I can about their species, their quirks and what their habits are – inasmuch as the descriptive details which give you as stronger impression on their behalf moreso than the ‘straight facts’ sometimes can limit your understanding of their nature.

Counter to Kai’s flight, we find Shae is also traversing the storm whilst questioning why she instead of her twin is the one who causes the most strife in their family. She doesn’t like to be confined and constricted (who would?) but it felt like there was a duty and sense of loyalty underlining her thoughts – almost as if due to those reasons, she has caught herself in a cycle of obedience as she knows no other way forward. Her sojourn to find stillness and contemplation in the garden amongst the greenery and the species who called this place home was beautifully visualised by Voigt. Any reader who loves walking in the natural world will hug this section due to the simplicity of the joy in Shae’s heart for what she observes and how she internally feels more ‘still’ rather than rattled for being there.

Very early-on in the novel, Voigt mentions how Shae must ‘keep to the Light’ as told to her by a visiting WayFarer – their presence was not explained nor had their kind be described past what was messaged to Shae. I felt there was more to that visitor than meets the eye but I also knew their name was the title of the second novel in this series; perhaps, it would due well to keep patient and not to reflect too strongly on what is not yet known nor revealled. What I did appreciate though is this is a gently told INSPY Fantasy novel – wherein, despite the advance of trials and tribulations, there is a hopefulness which is underpinning the dramatic reveals in such a way, you feel the hope of where Voigt left a respite from the worries of this world to where you can tell how strongly faith and hope play a role in how this world evolves. There is definitely a layer of faithfulness and of religious belief – it is not readily spoken about openly but it is hinted towards and that felt like an organic move not to dive too critically into explaining everything in the opening bridge of DawnSinger.

It was not a journey for the faint nor the weak of will or spirit – as Kai and Shae had multiple trials to face both together and separately. Despite coming this far forward there are many questions I still personally have and especially in regards to where Shae is at the end of the novel. I had a few recollective thoughts stemming from my readings of The Clan Chronicles in regards to how Sira’s life and Shae’s had a bit of an overlap in responsibilities and how they were both gifted in a way that is not easily understood nor readily known. They each share a personal destiny which neither of them could have predicted and yet, in this world, I was curious about that ‘other space’ and the realm in which we have not yet traversed. Off then, with I, into WayFarer to seek the answers I need.

-quoted from my review of DawnSinger

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Blog Book Tour | “WayFarer” (Book Two: Tales of Faeraven) by Janalyn Voigt – a series which continues my journey into #INSPY #FantasyWayFarer
Subtitle: Tales of Faeraven
by Janalyn Voigt
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

Trouble stirs between nations and rebellion threatens Faeraven.

When Kai returns with the supposed DawnKing, Lof Shraen Elcon cannot trust that the Elder youth truly is the prophesied deliverer. Driven to prove himself, Elcon banishes the boy and embarks on a peace-keeping campaign into the Elder lands, where he falls in love with an Elder princess betrothed to another.

Sometimes the deliverance of a nation comes only through the humility of one.

Declaring his love would shame the nations, but Elcon is torn. As war approaches, Elcon's choices lead him on a journey of discovery that will either settle the lands or leave them mired in conflict. Can his kingdom ever be united, or will the consequences of his decisions forever tear asunder the fabric of Faeraven?

Genres: Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781611162929

Also by this author: DawnSinger (Spotlight), DawnSinger, SoJourner (Spotlight)

Also in this series: DawnSinger (Spotlight), DawnSinger, SoJourner (Spotlight)


Published by Harbour Light Books

on 3rd January, 2014

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 296

Published By: Harbour Light Books
an imprint of Pelican Ventures, LLC (@pelicanbookgrp)

Tales of Faeraven Series:

DawnSinger (book one)

WayFarer (book two)

→ SoJourner (book three) *releasing soon! (11th October, 2019)

DawnKing (book four) ← *forthcoming!

Converse via: #INSPYFantasy + #Fantasy
as well as #INSPYbooks + #SpecLit

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

About Janalyn Voigt

Janalyn Voigt

Janalyn Voigt is a writer and professional speaker with a photography habit and a passion for travel. Her unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and fantasy creates worlds of beauty and danger for readers. Tales of Faeraven, her epic fantasy series beginning with DawnSinger, carries readers into a land only imagined in dreams. She is represented by Sarah Joy Freese of Wordserve Literary.

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a note about how voigt helps you maintain continuity:

As you open the first pages of Wayfarer – there is a delightful section wherein Ms Voigt has included a full synopsis and recapture of what happened in the previous installment DawnSinger. I am sure this was intended for readers who pick up these novels out of sequence and desire to ‘try’ reading the stories out of queue, however, for those of us of whom love reading series by order of the serial itself – this is a lovely gesture to ‘refresh, remind and carry forward’ those pertinent details which then allow us to have a flow of continuity imprinted in our mind as we move forward into the next novel in sequence.

I especially found this section beneficial as there were certain aspects of DawnSinger I slipped a bit to understand as this is a well-built world but it is also unlike most of the Fantasy Quest novels I’ve read in the past – therefore, I found this wicked helpful in re-aligning where I need to be focused within the Faeraven world whilst also re-seeing the layers of what needs to be known as I move forward into Wayfarer.

my review of wayfarer:

As I was exiting the first installment of the Tales of Faeraven (DawnSinger) – the person I felt the most for was Kai; as he was caught between family and his loyal duty to the Queen of his world wherein he opted to remain diligent in his duties as he remained loyal to her son (Elcon) as he took on the reins of ruling after the death of his mother, the Queen. Interestingly to note, is how this reverberates into a bit of a discourse of anguish for him as his parents (especially his father) was unsettled by his choice but this stems from a family tragedy and set of circumstances of which Kai cannot alter nor provide a measure of peace to resolve.

In regards to my fascination with the wingabeasts – the further I dug into DawnSinger, the more I realised they were a variant of the Pegasus (or a winged horse). The most gutting bit though is the sacrifice Shae had to make in order to save, protect and free the people of Elderland. She truly never had the proper chance to feel comfortable in her chosen destiny as she went from thinking she was the humble sister of Kai to the one woman who could free a world; the pressure of that kind of weight was not just unbearable but it was a weighty toll to cost someone who lived a whole life before she embraced a destiny she could not change. Counter to this – as you sort out the connection between Kai and Shae, they become the star-crossed lovers of this series and of whom, similar to my protective instincts to guard Sira and Jason from their entwined fate; you feel a protectiveness towards Kai and Shae.

In a similar vein of destined wisdom to touch him (Kai) as it had with Sira and Jason; as some situations in a character’s journey are not meant to be understood in the short term but rather in the longer arm of where they will go from whence they began their journey; you can tell how hard this internal battle of Kai has taken on his soul. He is a man besieged by the past with a heart full of the merciful hope of a future he cannot yet fathom being given. For his part, Emmerich tries to soothe his anxieties and emotional anguish by giving Kai words to chew on and to hopefully give him the advice even Shae herself would support.

Kai isn’t the only person having trouble finding a resolve to accept the circumstances of why Shae is no longer physically present in this world; his duties to Elcon are strained by a brother who cannot accept the conditions of what separated him from his sister. In regards to siblings in this series – it is quite curious how Shae was raised to believe one person was her brother, when in all honesty she had never known her biological brother, only the adopted brother she was raised with as her family was only a surrogate one in order to protect her as her mother could not do the same whilst she was alive. With all the revelations of DawnSinger – I had a feeling the characters in this sequel would be touched with ambiguous loss and a growing vacancy of acceptance for the circumstances whilst severely altered their lives. This is where prophecy and destiny are not keenly accept on the terms they are given because they test the people they are touching with truths they are ill prepared to accept without emotional baggage. Not that I blame them! Who could take-on what they have without some remnants of grief?

You had to smirk a bit – how despite everything else he is shouldering, Kai has had full acceptance of what the fates have brought to his path. Others of this world are not as quick to accept anything he has presented to him, lest of all the presence of the DawnKing as this feels presumptuous to them moreso than the truth of the situation. Yet, despite these arduous exchanges and the mind-numbing ways he is noticing certain facts are not taking root in Elcon’s mind – Kai attempts to right his own heart and mind onto the truth without succumbing to the darkness of depression the the things he cannot change.

Life continues to prove adverse and bountiful of the moments in life people need to take heed to appreciate – such as new birth (of a child) and the tender hours spent with an appreciation for those you love whilst embracing the beauty of the natural world round you. Voigt anchors WayFarer with a sense of self, a sense of purpose through predestined prophecy and the mysteries of a world who is just now developing a keener sense of itself. The journey herein is not necessary the destinations but the evolution of understanding the greater scope of their individual purpose as they are alive. There are developments within the breadth of power alignments but at the heart of the series are the people themselves – the characters who are walking through their lives to endeavour not just to understand their own purpose but how the purpose of the many can elevate their whole world.

on the speculative styling and narrative vision of janalyn voigt:

One of the ways Voigt helps you align yourself alongside Kai is by fusing his journey with a tucking in awareness towards his introspective and internal journey towards acceptance of destiny. Kai (like Shae) are walking on a path they never knew would lead to the places they journeyed but this is where Voigt shows how sometimes the quests you undertake in life lead you to where you are meant to be rather than to the places you desire to journey.

Her series is an evolution of time, thinking and the the magnitude of attempting to bridge a society of questioners into an age of epiphany and enlightenment. She paints the story alive through descriptive narrative where you gather glimpses of how this society is rooted into the Medieval setting it thrives inside but with the added bonuses of having the fantastical emerging forward into the narrative as well. My favourite creatures are the wingabeasts – being a horse lover and the fact, it isn’t hard to imagine what it would feel like to ride in the wind with their wing span helping you to soar through the clouds.

She brings you the magic you seek out of a wicked good Speculative novel but with a firm grounding in seeking to discuss what is Darkness and what is Light; how do the two battle for dominance and what is the destined path of a soul who is meant to free their people?

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This blog tour is courtesy of:

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I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst readers who gravitate towards the same stories to read. Bookish conversations are always welcome!
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I am rather curious if other readers who appreciate the mainstream side of Fantasy & Speculative worlds if they’ve taken this curious passageway into INSPY Fantasy such as I have been doing? What they felt about how the fantastical is re-anchoured through a narrative highlighting the inspirational aspects of its newfound roots in this new sub-niche of INSPY Lit whilst if they also felt this niche honours both literary roots it is cross-secting? I am finding there are certain authors who are mastering this dual balance & focus; giving me not just wicked good reads but worlds in which I am impressively in awe of how they’ve built them!

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Wayfarer blog tour via Prism Book Tours

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I shared the following posts on behalf of the Faeraven tour:

Book Spotlight w/ Notes for “DawnSinger”

Book Review for “DawnSinger”

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Reading this novel counted towards one of my reading challenges:

Beat the Backlist banner created by Austine at A Novel Knight and is used with permission.

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{SOURCES: Book covers for “Dawnsinger” and “Wayfarer”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Janalyn Voigt, the tour host badge and Prism Book Tours badges and/or banners were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. 2019 Beat the Backlist banner provided by Novel Knight and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.

I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Friday, 20 September, 2019 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Prism Book Tours




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