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Title: Dare
Author: Tricia Mingerink
Series: The Blades of Acktar
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
~ MY REVIEW ~
**5 stars**
Dare by Tricia Mingerink was an excellent fantasy/Christian
allegory. For some reason or another, I wasn’t expecting this book to be so
much my style; but it turned out I loved it from beginning to end! *happy sigh*
Leith Torren in a Third Blade, loyal to
King Respen. Renna and Brandi are two orphan girls, caught up in a resistance
against that same king. When they unexpectedly meet up, they are both forced to
make choices ... Forgiveness or revenge? Duty or redemption? Cower in chains of
the pretense of “safety”, or step out in courage and change lives?
Can I just say I love Leith ?
I adore a book with an epic, torn, struggling hero stuck in a dark “past”.
Maybe that’s cruel. Hehe. But it makes for an unforgettable, valiant, and
loveable character somehow! So yes, Leith was
amazing. I cannot wait to read more of him!
Brandi was really
sweet and fun; too cute not to like! She and her sunny personality added so
much to the story.
Renna was also a
great character. Very relatable, I feel. Her fears. Her weakness. Her desire to
be strong. Her awkwardness ... I really connected with her, felt for her, and
am excited to see where her story goes!
And I must mention
Shadrach! First off, I love his name! *grins* And he was just a great guy too!
At first I was afraid I wouldn’t like him because of ... well, you’ll see. But
he quickly won me over!!
The fantasy world. Ah!! I just love,
love, love fantasy! And Tricia Mingerink’s take on it didn’t disappoint. I must
admit, at first, I was rather surprised by the very “our world” references to
Christianity. There were Christians, church, Bibles, and Bible stories. God and
Jesus were called by those names, instead of having more subtle, fantasy sort
of names. But I soon got used of it and quite liked it. Tricia pulled it off
perfectly! *smiles* I didn’t feel it was “forced” or “preachy” at all. Just a
beautifully-done, sincere, and awesome story of forgiveness, persecution,
grace, and redemption.
I loved the setting.
The manors, prairies, blizzards, lords and ladies, peasant farmers ... and just
everything. It drew you into the story.
And the plot. I felt it was very well
thought-out, and just overall spectacular. Of King Respen persecuting
Christians; trying to squelch this resistance against him. Horrible stories of
orphans’ families’ deaths. Blades, Respen’s men, with scars on their arms,
marking either victories or failures. The real king and queen’s distant
relatives ... will they try to rise and take the throne from Respen? Fighting
for faith and family. I don’t know. I just really like and appreciate this
storyline. It’s something like Jaye L. Knight’s Ilyon Chronicles. And it just
emboldens me. Encourages me. Challenges me. I feel like these kind of stories strengthen
my faith. I watch these characters, not so unlike me, find the courage and pure
trust in God to stand strong and contend for the faith!! *cheers them on* It’s
epic! It’s meaningful! Dare just
has that incredible storyline that will surely encourage souls to stand by
their Lord with new bravery.
There is some violence and frightening
scenes. I would say perhaps 14 and up, depending on what you can handle. As for
myself, some of it felt quite real and eerie—and my breath might have caught
for a moment—but it wasn’t overmuch, in my opinion; and I liked the emotion and
depth.
No romance ... really. But I think we see
one approaching!!! *happy grin* In fact, it’s all coming together quite nicely,
and I can’t wait to see this certain relationship deepen into something more;
in the next book perhaps?? There were a few moments that weren’t necessarily
romantic, but just very sweet and you could totally see this “thing” blossoming
into romantic love. ^_^ I love it so much. Please write the next book quickly,
Tricia!! *winks*
So yes. This book is wonderful! Do read
it!! Dare just pulled
me off my feet and into its world. The characters won’t let me forget them. I’m
captivated, intrigued, and eager for more!! This book is for sure going on my
fantasy favorites list!
I received an ARC of Dare from the author in exchange for my honest review.
It's on my favorites list too!! And I can't wait for the next book either!!! :)
ReplyDeleteYay!! ^_^ Isn't it just fabulous? And yes, the next book!!! Eek!! So excited!
DeleteThanks so much for the review, Shantelle!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tricia!! Thanks for writing such a wonderful tale and giving me a chance to read it! ^_^
DeleteGreat review! I've seen posts about this book before, but now I'm convinced I should read it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Serena! And yes, you should totally read it! It was wonderful!! :)
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