Wednesday, April 25, 2012

HF Virtual Tour Stop and Give@way: The Dragon's Harp by Rachael Pruitt

Title: The Dragon's Harp
Author: Rachael Pruitt
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Dragon Harp Productions
Publish Date: February 8,  2012
Source: HF Virtual Tours






Why You're Reading This Book:

  • You love historical fiction with a splash of fantasy.
  • You love a good legend.
What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Before Gwenhwyfar became Queen - before Arthur met Merlin - a tribal Welsh princess met a young Heatherlands Mage. Together, they will create a legend.

Inside a mist of beauty and brutality waits the Arthurian legend as you’ve never heard it before. Enter the world of THE DRAGON'S HARP, a realm of blood lust and vengeance, of spellbinding magic from the beginning of time. The realm of Princess Gwenhwyfar: a young girl torn between magic and desire, born with magical powers she can either wield to save her people from destruction - or deny to save her soul."


My Two Cents:

The Arthurian legend has gotten the literary treatment from a variety of authors throughout time. It's been told in many different ways and many different formats. King Arthur and his knights of the round table and even the stories of Guinivere (called Gwenhwyfar in Pruitt's treatment, a Welsh spelling), Arthur's great love, have been told in so many different ways and from so many different points of view that sometimes its hard to believe that the stories could be told in any different way. Even though this is so, The Dragon's Harp is a story that needed to be told and sheds new light on the Arthurian legend and is told from the point of view of Gwenhwyfar.

The Dragon's Harp is the first book in a planned 5 book series. The first book in this series covers Gwenhwyfar's young life from her childhood through her teen years. One thing that I really, really loved about this book is the magic factor. Gwen's world is not that glamorous and Pruitt stayed true to the sort of grittiness that medieval Wales held (there is one point that sort of creeped me out and turned my stomach). I liked the grittiness but I liked more that the magic sort of makes up for the grim lives that some are living during the time.

Gwen's world is full of real, tangible magic and dragons and all of these really fantastic things. I don't read a whole lot of fantasy but when I do, I love when an author is able to "normalize" the fantasy elements so they feel real to the world of the book. Pruitt passes that test with flying colors.

I also loved that this book was told from the point of view of Gwen herself. I think it made the story especially special. I loved hearing directly from the woman who has been the star of so many legends and tales throughout history. It's her voice that really makes me anxious to read the next books in this series.

Bottom line: A fabulous historical fantasy!


Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Don't Forget to Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Wednesday, March 7th
Author Guest Post at The Owl Bookmark Blog

Monday, March 12th
Review at The Book Garden
Wednesday, March 14th
Author Guest Post at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Friday, March 16th
Review at Booksessed
Tuesday, March 20th
Wednesday, March 21st
Author Interview at Booksessed

Thursday, March 22nd
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Friday, March 23rd
Monday, March 26th
Thursday, March 29th
Author Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Monday, April 2nd
Review at To Read or Not to Read

Tuesday, April 3rd
Author Interview at The Bookworm
Wednesday, April 4th
Review at vvb32 Reads

Friday, April 6th
Author Guest Post at To Read or Not to Read

Wednesday, April 11th
Review at Unabridged Chick
Review at Book Girl of Mur-Y-Castell

Thursday, April 12th

Friday, April 13th
Author Interview at The True Book Addict

Monday, April 16th

Wednesday, April 18th
Review at A Novel Affair
Author Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Monday, April 23rd
Review at Always a Booklover

Wednesday, April 25th
Review & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Friday, April 27th
Author Interview at Always a Booklover

Monday, April 30th
Author Interview at A Bookish Affair

17 comments:

  1. Told from Gwen's point of view is different. I'd love to win this one. Thanks.

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  2. I really liked this one too and am looking forward to the next one in the series. Great review!

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    Replies
    1. Same here. I'm only sad that it's going to be a bit before the rest of the books are out!

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  3. I liked The Once and Future King by T.H. White and the one by Ursula Le Guin. This one sounds interesting too.

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    Replies
    1. I read The Once and Future King back in high school. I also really liked the Mary Stewart series (which I also read in high school).

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  4. This sounds like an interesting perspective. I tire of the male perspective in historical literature.
    Thank you for the great blog and giveaway!
    Phoenix
    PhoenixCarvelli at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Same here. It's refreshing to hear from a female voice especially when it comes to such a male-centric legend like the Arthurian one.

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  5. Oooh! This sounds like EXACTLY my kind of book - plus you gave it a 4.5 rating...yup, it's now on the TBR!

    Thanks for the giveaway too :)

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    Replies
    1. I absolutely cannot wait for the other books in this series! I really think you will like this one :)

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  6. Sounds like a great book especially since you gave it such a wonderful review and I do like your taste in books!

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  7. Thank you so much, Meg, for your wonderful review of my novel, DRAGON'S HARP. As an avid reader myself, I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the world Gwen, Merlin, & I created :) Special thanks to all your readers for your great comments..I'd also like to mention some good news: "Harp" is now available in print as well as an eBook--and sample chapters are available on my website at http://www.rachaelpruitt.com.. Thanks very much again, Meg, for hosting me--it's an honor to spend time with you & your readers!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm so glad that I got a chance to read your book! I am anxiously awaiting the other books in the series.

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  8. Very nice review. The book sounds very interesting.

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  9. Picked this up on your recommendation and just finished it--loved it!

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