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A review by caligirlrae
Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
4.0
When I saw the cover for Starflower, I had to jump on this book. I loved that it featured what looked like a woman of color (reminding me of the actress Rosario Dawson) and the beautifully painted style just accentuated the focus of the character. I was a bit worried that this was the fourth in a series but I soon got over that as I dove into the wonderful worldbuilding and lyrical narrative of the story.
Starflower is a fast paced story filled with princess, dragons, bards and a beautiful fantasy setting with various worlds within its own world. Although the story seems like a simple one, it is anything but traditional. On the surface it is a tale of a princess with two suitors interested in her hand (one of which is our hero) and the dragon that kidnaps her. I don't want to give too much away because much of what made this a fun experience for me was going in knowing as little as possible. I will say that this is a great read suitable for both adult and young adult readers alike and for those looking for something a little different with their fantasy (say, a sprinkle of inspirational/Christian fiction) this will certainly be a treat. As mentioned before, I was not aware of Ms. Stengl's previous books in the series and starting with this one didn't make me feel as if I was missing anything. The one thing it may do is make you want to pick up the other books to read the backstory on the characters!
All in all, a fun book that was a pleasure to read. In a book world of increasing violence and sex (which is especially creeping up in modern fantasy fiction), I hope to see more fantasy books like this in the near future that puts the story and characters first and leaves the shock value at the door.
A recommended read!
Starflower is a fast paced story filled with princess, dragons, bards and a beautiful fantasy setting with various worlds within its own world. Although the story seems like a simple one, it is anything but traditional. On the surface it is a tale of a princess with two suitors interested in her hand (one of which is our hero) and the dragon that kidnaps her. I don't want to give too much away because much of what made this a fun experience for me was going in knowing as little as possible. I will say that this is a great read suitable for both adult and young adult readers alike and for those looking for something a little different with their fantasy (say, a sprinkle of inspirational/Christian fiction) this will certainly be a treat. As mentioned before, I was not aware of Ms. Stengl's previous books in the series and starting with this one didn't make me feel as if I was missing anything. The one thing it may do is make you want to pick up the other books to read the backstory on the characters!
All in all, a fun book that was a pleasure to read. In a book world of increasing violence and sex (which is especially creeping up in modern fantasy fiction), I hope to see more fantasy books like this in the near future that puts the story and characters first and leaves the shock value at the door.
A recommended read!