Genre: Fantasy
Recommendation: Excellent
Originality – 5/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 2/5
I love this book!
It’s got magic, torture, betrayal, court intrigue, and a murder mystery, but mostly it’s about the characters. When the peasant girl, Keedrina discovers that her family has been murdered, she meets Duke Vahn, the awe-inspiring younger brother of the king, and the direction of her life is immediately changed.
Keedrina loves and admires Duke Vahn and her highest aspiration is to be his slave. Which is where things get a little strange. The reader can certainly understand Keedrina’s fascination with the man, but is he someone we would like? Not today. He’s brave, fair, and honest, but what he takes the most pleasure from is people wanting to serve him! I imagine him as the most noble royal person you’d never want to meet.
It’s hilarious watching Keedrina learn to be a part of his staff, though. From learning how to sleep in a real bed to taking a bath to using a toilet, this simple peasant-turned-slave has a lot to learn. And the adventures and dangers she finds herself in after being thrown into the life of this aristocrat will certainly keep you turning the pages.
With Hokstad’s court intrigue, her subtle use of fantasy, believable descriptions, and complicated characters, The Duke’s Handmaid is a winner all around. In fact, I think it’s the best character book I’ve read. And this is only the first volume in the trilogy. There are definitely some things that still need to be taken care of at the end of book 1 and we can see that the duke’s final goal is to gain the throne itself. Will he get there? We’re not sure, but we’ll enjoy watching him try.
The Duke’s Handmaid is not a Christian story per se as there are no direct or parallel influences evident in the book. It is a clean read, however, and as long as you keep in mind that it is fantasy, Christians should have no objections.
It may not be the high fantasy or adventure story that you’re used to reading, but I heartily recommend adding Caprice Hokstad’s The Duke’s Handmaid to your to-read pile. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you enjoy its uniqueness.
The Duke’s Handmaid is available from Splashdown Books
Visit Caprice’s website!
"Nor Iron Bars a Cage: Book 2 of The Ascendancy Trilogy" by Caprice Hokstad Book Review
Genre: Fantasy
Recommendation: Excellent
Originality – 5/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 5/5
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!
Chastity belts. Arrow-head whips. Board game duels. Sacrifice. Prophecy. War.
Everyone’s in danger in Caprice Hokstad’s 2nd volume of The Ascendancy Trilogy.
kee, Captain Shil, and healer Pharn Patkus have a new plan to locate
Dauntere, the duke’s missing son, in enemy territory. Meanwhile,
Countess Delorae has plans to become the new mistress of Rebono Keep,
whether Duke Vahn wants her or not.
Nor Iron Bars a Cage is the perfect sequel to The Duke’s Handmaid.
We get to know and love the characters even more, including the
arrogant Duke Vahn, who finally gets a taste of his own medicine…and
more.
I
was also surprised and pleased to see a couple of more Christian
overtones coming into play in book 2. They are very subtle, but one
character’s actions for another can only remind us of Christ’s sacrifice
for us, and the mages begin to reveal a different side of Latoph’s
religion.
If you haven’t read The Duke’s Handmaid yet, do yourself a favor and read it as fast as you can, and then pick up Nor Iron Bars a Cage. Book 3, Blood and Brine, comes out shortly.
The Duke’s Handmaid is available from Splashdown Books
Visit Caprice’s website!
"Blood and Brine: Book 3 of the Ascendancy Trilogy" by Caprice Hokstad Book Review
Genre: Fantasy
Recommendation: ExcellentOriginality – 5/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 4/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 4/5
The perfect ending to the perfect trilogy!
Caprice Hokstad wraps up her Ascendancy Trilogy
masterfully. There’s war, plague, creative military tactics,
Joseph-style economics, a mass murder mystery, assassins, betrayal, and
the divinely-inspired birth of modern medicine, all of which will keep
on the edge of your seat and wanting more.
kee,
Timna, Duke Vahn, Captian Shil, Lord Blackthorn, Pharn Patkus, and King
Arx all feature grandly in this final volume. With some new roles and
some new revelations, you won’t want to miss what happens to each of
them, or to the Kingdom of Latoph.
Of
course, the question is, Will the Duke finally get the crown? Well, I
won’t give it away, but I will say that I think you’ll be very pleased
with the ending.
With the end of the Ascendancy Trilogy,
we can only hope that Caprice will be spinning us a new tale shortly,
but if you need more Hokstad in the meantime, you can check out her
fan-fiction at http://underseaadventure.net/ .
Congrats, Caprice, on this amazing debut series!
Visit Caprice’s website!
So glad you enjoyed the book! In addition to Splashdown Books, you can find it (and book 2, and in another 20 days, book 3) all at Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. E-books are currently on sale.
ReplyDeleteHope you like the other books just as well and thanks again for the review.