Review of Dagger's Destiny
Posted: 04 Jul 2021, 21:04
[Following is a volunteer review of "Dagger's Destiny" by Linnea Tanner.]
Dagger’s Destiny is a the sequel to Apollo’s Raven. It is the second book in the Apollo’s Raven trilogy. The first scene shows King Amren who had been dealt a fatal blow by Marcellus, his daughter’s lover, fighting to stay alive. Hardly had Catrin, his daughter finished tending to his wounds that he inquired into the nature of the relationship between her and Marcellus who happens to be a Roman and his enemy. This is the same man whose father is currently holding his first daughter hostage. Catrin answers truthfully. Now he must decide if he would go ahead and execute his own child to make a statement to those of his subjects who are contemplating treason against his kingdom. He has always been a king who has placed laws and adhering to said laws over all else.
The only way that Catrin may be able to save her life is by breaking Rhan’s curse on her father. This seems to be next to impossible as the second half of the curse which was brought about by her abominable act of changing the doomed fate of her lover in the previous book. But she cannot afford to fail. Not when her head is on the line. Moreover, failure to break the curse would spell war between her people and the Romans and the chances of them surviving an onslaught from the Roman Empire are very low. So break the curse she must or perish one way or the other.
Dagger’s Destiny is a book that seems to lean on the extreme side for almost every theme that it focuses on. For romance, it showed two people who were willing to die, literally, for their love. When it talked of war, the bloodshed and beheading were so much and very graphic. Also, one would expect women to suffer the cruel fate of rape by soldiers or captains during wars and Dagger’s Destiny did not disappoint. The only thing that seemed to have been given in moderation is the sex acts during an erotic scene. All of these combined made Dagger’s Destiny a book that both horrified and had me in awe.
I found the vivid and pictorial explanations of the Celtic rituals to be captivating. I have read a bit on Celtic mythology and I have always been fascinated by the gods they worship, how they prepare for war, and the rituals they performed for certain occasions. Linnea Tanner taught me a bit about what was done during the marriage of a man to the (female) heir to the throne. She used her poetic words to show me what actually went on during those occasions (or at least what the books of old say happen). Some people may find this account or ritual disgusting, horrifying. But I was fascinated by the beauty of it all. I was so fascinated that I wished that there were more of these in the story so that I would learn more. From the way I describe my love for such rituals in the Dagger’s Destiny, one can deduce that those were my most-like thing for me in the story.
I believe that Linnea Tanner expertly and splendidly edited Dagger’s Destiny. My conviction is based on the fact that I never laid my two eyes on any error. Dagger’s Destiny is a chilling tale (if I do say so myself) that is made lighter by the romance, love, and hope that was displayed by some key characters. I actually enjoyed reading the book more than I predicted that I would from the start. The profanities and forced sex scenes made me uncomfortable, that is true. But I still think that the book is perfect in toto. I did not dislike anything in it because I did not spy anything that drew my dislike for it. I will like to give Dagger’s Destiny a perfect rating of four out of four stars because of all the appeals that it has. I also want to recommend it to readers that are interested in historical fiction novels and Celtic mythology.
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Dagger's Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Dagger’s Destiny is a the sequel to Apollo’s Raven. It is the second book in the Apollo’s Raven trilogy. The first scene shows King Amren who had been dealt a fatal blow by Marcellus, his daughter’s lover, fighting to stay alive. Hardly had Catrin, his daughter finished tending to his wounds that he inquired into the nature of the relationship between her and Marcellus who happens to be a Roman and his enemy. This is the same man whose father is currently holding his first daughter hostage. Catrin answers truthfully. Now he must decide if he would go ahead and execute his own child to make a statement to those of his subjects who are contemplating treason against his kingdom. He has always been a king who has placed laws and adhering to said laws over all else.
The only way that Catrin may be able to save her life is by breaking Rhan’s curse on her father. This seems to be next to impossible as the second half of the curse which was brought about by her abominable act of changing the doomed fate of her lover in the previous book. But she cannot afford to fail. Not when her head is on the line. Moreover, failure to break the curse would spell war between her people and the Romans and the chances of them surviving an onslaught from the Roman Empire are very low. So break the curse she must or perish one way or the other.
Dagger’s Destiny is a book that seems to lean on the extreme side for almost every theme that it focuses on. For romance, it showed two people who were willing to die, literally, for their love. When it talked of war, the bloodshed and beheading were so much and very graphic. Also, one would expect women to suffer the cruel fate of rape by soldiers or captains during wars and Dagger’s Destiny did not disappoint. The only thing that seemed to have been given in moderation is the sex acts during an erotic scene. All of these combined made Dagger’s Destiny a book that both horrified and had me in awe.
I found the vivid and pictorial explanations of the Celtic rituals to be captivating. I have read a bit on Celtic mythology and I have always been fascinated by the gods they worship, how they prepare for war, and the rituals they performed for certain occasions. Linnea Tanner taught me a bit about what was done during the marriage of a man to the (female) heir to the throne. She used her poetic words to show me what actually went on during those occasions (or at least what the books of old say happen). Some people may find this account or ritual disgusting, horrifying. But I was fascinated by the beauty of it all. I was so fascinated that I wished that there were more of these in the story so that I would learn more. From the way I describe my love for such rituals in the Dagger’s Destiny, one can deduce that those were my most-like thing for me in the story.
I believe that Linnea Tanner expertly and splendidly edited Dagger’s Destiny. My conviction is based on the fact that I never laid my two eyes on any error. Dagger’s Destiny is a chilling tale (if I do say so myself) that is made lighter by the romance, love, and hope that was displayed by some key characters. I actually enjoyed reading the book more than I predicted that I would from the start. The profanities and forced sex scenes made me uncomfortable, that is true. But I still think that the book is perfect in toto. I did not dislike anything in it because I did not spy anything that drew my dislike for it. I will like to give Dagger’s Destiny a perfect rating of four out of four stars because of all the appeals that it has. I also want to recommend it to readers that are interested in historical fiction novels and Celtic mythology.
******
Dagger's Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes