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Epic of Palins #1
Dagger-Star
After captivating readers with her Chronicles of the Warlands trilogy, Elizabeth Vaughan now returns to that world with a beguiling tale of daggers and destiny, a cold and beautiful mercenary known as Red Gloves, and Josiah, a lone fighter emerging from the torched fields and razed farms of his homeland. All Josiah knows about the mysterious woman is her dagger-star birthmark, a sign that she is destined to free the people from a ruthless usurper's reign of terror.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2008
58 people are currently reading
1501 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Vaughan
40 books847 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Elizabeth A. Vaughan is the author of the Chronicles of the Warlands, a fantasy romance trilogy from Tor Books: Warprize (her first novel), Warsworn, and Warlord..
She's always loved fantasy and science fiction, and has been a fantasy role-player since 1981. By day, Beth's secret identity is that of a lawyer, practicing in the area of bankruptcy and financial matters, a role she has maintained since 1985.
Beth is owned by three cats, and lives in the Northwest Territory, on the outskirts of the Black Swamp, along Mad Anthony's Trail on the banks of the Maumee River.
Elizabeth A. Vaughan is the author of the Chronicles of the Warlands, a fantasy romance trilogy from Tor Books: Warprize (her first novel), Warsworn, and Warlord..
She's always loved fantasy and science fiction, and has been a fantasy role-player since 1981. By day, Beth's secret identity is that of a lawyer, practicing in the area of bankruptcy and financial matters, a role she has maintained since 1985.
Beth is owned by three cats, and lives in the Northwest Territory, on the outskirts of the Black Swamp, along Mad Anthony's Trail on the banks of the Maumee River.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
July 6, 2008
This book was not horrible! Well, that's not high praise, but it was shelved with 'Romance' and marketed as 'romantic fantasy' in the blurbs, and in my experience, when that happens, the fantasy gets pretty neglected for the 'romance' and often the romance isn't all that great either.
However, I only smacked myself in the face with the open paperback once, which is a pretty good record.
Red Gloves, our heroine, is a mercenary. She is, red gloves aside, an intensely practical and no-nonsense woman, who is not much impressed when the goatherd she and her mercenary friend take shelter with tells her that her birthmark means she's prophesied to be the one who takes the kingdom back from the corrupt regent. (The birthmark is under her breast, not above, as depicted on the cover, but the cover appears to depict someone trick-or-treating as 'sexy pirate wench', so.)
The mystery of the red gloves was revealed in chapter twenty-four, and was the occasion for my smacking myself in the face with the open paperback.
There is romance, naturally, and sex, but it's subordinate to the plot, which was rather a relief, and the plot doesn't ever detour through idiocy to create more romantic tension. There are magic goats, plenty of adventure, and a scene where someone tries to decide if his companion is lovesick or constipated.
I need to mention one scene which was completely gratuitous: Once Red agrees to lead the charge, it is decided that some armour that allows her to bare her birthmark discreetly might be a good idea, but the armourer is a teenage boy, and the armour produced appears to be a more fetish-y Xena Warrior Princess outfit. I might have let it go, but that the armour includes high heels, which I'm sorry, but your random generic medieval kingdom has not invented high heels. It hasn't even invented different shoes for left and right feet.
However, the point of the scene was to poke fun at impractical and fetish-y lady-warrior outfits, which I admit, I am always okay with, so I groaned and let it go.
I'm not saying this is the best book ever, go out right now and buy two, put one in mylar! But it's a decent romance, and a decent fantasy, and it's sort of hard to find those two genres well combined. I enjoyed it.
However, I only smacked myself in the face with the open paperback once, which is a pretty good record.
Red Gloves, our heroine, is a mercenary. She is, red gloves aside, an intensely practical and no-nonsense woman, who is not much impressed when the goatherd she and her mercenary friend take shelter with tells her that her birthmark means she's prophesied to be the one who takes the kingdom back from the corrupt regent. (The birthmark is under her breast, not above, as depicted on the cover, but the cover appears to depict someone trick-or-treating as 'sexy pirate wench', so.)
The mystery of the red gloves was revealed in chapter twenty-four, and was the occasion for my smacking myself in the face with the open paperback.
There is romance, naturally, and sex, but it's subordinate to the plot, which was rather a relief, and the plot doesn't ever detour through idiocy to create more romantic tension. There are magic goats, plenty of adventure, and a scene where someone tries to decide if his companion is lovesick or constipated.
I need to mention one scene which was completely gratuitous: Once Red agrees to lead the charge, it is decided that some armour that allows her to bare her birthmark discreetly might be a good idea, but the armourer is a teenage boy, and the armour produced appears to be a more fetish-y Xena Warrior Princess outfit. I might have let it go, but that the armour includes high heels, which I'm sorry, but your random generic medieval kingdom has not invented high heels. It hasn't even invented different shoes for left and right feet.
However, the point of the scene was to poke fun at impractical and fetish-y lady-warrior outfits, which I admit, I am always okay with, so I groaned and let it go.
I'm not saying this is the best book ever, go out right now and buy two, put one in mylar! But it's a decent romance, and a decent fantasy, and it's sort of hard to find those two genres well combined. I enjoyed it.
September 6, 2022
posted on Addicted To Romance
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Dagger Star has been a book I have been meaning to get to for quite a while now. I was able to have the opportunity to actually buddy read this one last night with a fellow bookstammer that also loved her “Chronicles of the Warlands” series. I have to say that I was impressed with this one here. Now it wasn’t exactly a perfect read, but it was such a thrilling adventure and I love how easy and quick it was to read here. There is something so unique about the way that Elizabeth Vaughan writes her fantasy romance, and I was having a blast with this one because it had such a unique dynamic that I haven’t seen from this author before and not super common in epic or high fantasy romance, at least not in my experience anyway. So I was so intrigued to see where she would take this one. It was also interesting to see the set up of the series and how it related to the Chronicles of the Warlands (which is a more distant connection). Although we may see stronger connected in the next two books.
Summary
The story starts off with our heroine, Red Gloves, who is a traveling mercenary alongside with her friend, Bethral. They come across sanctuary as they and their horses are in need of rest. They receive sheltar from a man who has a wounded soul by the name of, Josiah. Red Gloves is instantly drawn to Josiah, who is much more than he seems and there is an instant attraction. When he notices a mark on her torso, that signifies that she could be the hope for restoring Palin to its greatness and free the people from abuse and slavery. Josiah, was once a powerful influencer within Palin, but then he was betrayed and his territory was decimated and his people either taken or slaughtered. He was the only survivor and has lived a life of seclusion ever since. But then comes along Red Gloves, who awakens his passions and also his fire to fight. But will their destiny’s clash or will they be able to find common ground to work their way towards their own HEA?
What I Loved
I absolutely adored this one, and it was such a fun adventure and it was so interesting to see Red Gloves and Josiah as a pair. Red Gloves is such a fiery spirit, she is strong willed, shameless, and goes after what she wants. She has no regrets and faces challenges head on and is a brilliant fighter. Then we have Josiah who is a tortured soul, still grieving for his people and failing them. I really found that Red Gloves and Josiah were just right for each other. They truly fit the “Yin Yang” and bring balance in just the right way. They each push each other in what they need. Red Gloves encourage Josiah to keep living and fighting and not let what happened in the past defeat him. Then Josiah teaches Red Gloves the power of embracing emotion and love. They each teach each other and encourage one another in different but profound ways. I found the journey that Red Gloves goes on to be so interesting. We are also interesting to most of the main characters in the other books and I am so intrigued by their stories and see where this author plans on taking the series. I found the ending sweet and endearing.
What I Struggled With
I won’t say that this book was absolutely perfect, but biggest issues was the romance connection. There is a ton of chemistry between Red Gloves and Josiah but my largest issue was not fully feeling the actual heart of their romance. I just wanted a bit more of the emotional intimacy and felt like it was all casual sex type of stuff and not enough emotion that I have come to expect from this author. I still enjoyed the story so much, but I just needed a bit more and it would have been a five star read.
Overall View
I found Dagger Star to be a brilliant beginning to what I imagine is a action packed series. I found this installment to be a powerhouse of a read, it sparkles in such unique ways, it delivered in a way that seemed to work so well for the story as a whole. Its a page turner of a fantasy read that will only leave you more intrigued in needing more!
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Dagger Star has been a book I have been meaning to get to for quite a while now. I was able to have the opportunity to actually buddy read this one last night with a fellow bookstammer that also loved her “Chronicles of the Warlands” series. I have to say that I was impressed with this one here. Now it wasn’t exactly a perfect read, but it was such a thrilling adventure and I love how easy and quick it was to read here. There is something so unique about the way that Elizabeth Vaughan writes her fantasy romance, and I was having a blast with this one because it had such a unique dynamic that I haven’t seen from this author before and not super common in epic or high fantasy romance, at least not in my experience anyway. So I was so intrigued to see where she would take this one. It was also interesting to see the set up of the series and how it related to the Chronicles of the Warlands (which is a more distant connection). Although we may see stronger connected in the next two books.
Summary
The story starts off with our heroine, Red Gloves, who is a traveling mercenary alongside with her friend, Bethral. They come across sanctuary as they and their horses are in need of rest. They receive sheltar from a man who has a wounded soul by the name of, Josiah. Red Gloves is instantly drawn to Josiah, who is much more than he seems and there is an instant attraction. When he notices a mark on her torso, that signifies that she could be the hope for restoring Palin to its greatness and free the people from abuse and slavery. Josiah, was once a powerful influencer within Palin, but then he was betrayed and his territory was decimated and his people either taken or slaughtered. He was the only survivor and has lived a life of seclusion ever since. But then comes along Red Gloves, who awakens his passions and also his fire to fight. But will their destiny’s clash or will they be able to find common ground to work their way towards their own HEA?
What I Loved
I absolutely adored this one, and it was such a fun adventure and it was so interesting to see Red Gloves and Josiah as a pair. Red Gloves is such a fiery spirit, she is strong willed, shameless, and goes after what she wants. She has no regrets and faces challenges head on and is a brilliant fighter. Then we have Josiah who is a tortured soul, still grieving for his people and failing them. I really found that Red Gloves and Josiah were just right for each other. They truly fit the “Yin Yang” and bring balance in just the right way. They each push each other in what they need. Red Gloves encourage Josiah to keep living and fighting and not let what happened in the past defeat him. Then Josiah teaches Red Gloves the power of embracing emotion and love. They each teach each other and encourage one another in different but profound ways. I found the journey that Red Gloves goes on to be so interesting. We are also interesting to most of the main characters in the other books and I am so intrigued by their stories and see where this author plans on taking the series. I found the ending sweet and endearing.
What I Struggled With
I won’t say that this book was absolutely perfect, but biggest issues was the romance connection. There is a ton of chemistry between Red Gloves and Josiah but my largest issue was not fully feeling the actual heart of their romance. I just wanted a bit more of the emotional intimacy and felt like it was all casual sex type of stuff and not enough emotion that I have come to expect from this author. I still enjoyed the story so much, but I just needed a bit more and it would have been a five star read.
Overall View
I found Dagger Star to be a brilliant beginning to what I imagine is a action packed series. I found this installment to be a powerhouse of a read, it sparkles in such unique ways, it delivered in a way that seemed to work so well for the story as a whole. Its a page turner of a fantasy read that will only leave you more intrigued in needing more!
October 8, 2009
Dagger-Star starts out with mercenaries Red Gloves and her sword-sister Bethral knocking on a stranger's door in the middle of the night. They were lost for a while, it's raining heavily, and they are exhausted. They need shelter and finally found someplace to ask for help. A man opens the door and let's them stay but Red finds herself attracted to him. She makes a move towards him but he resists and puts Red in a bad mood. However, earlier the strange man accidentally walked in on her naked and saw a dagger shaped birthmark on her. He is in shock because to his people that birthmark is the sign of the Chosen. The Chosen is said to deliver his people from their hardships and take the throne back from those who stole it. The man finally tells the two women his name is Josiah and the significance of Red Gloves birthmark. Red Gloves doesn't want anything to do with Josiah's claim and just wants to find a bit of work. They leave without telling Josiah and go into town to look for jobs. They see slaves being led around and rescue one of them from it's owner. When the owner changes his mind and wants the slave back they flee back to Josiah's house and try to save him. Josiah's calls his cousin Evie to help heal the slave and..... it's already ONE HUNDRED pages! That's like 1/3 of the book.
The opening sounded interesting and I liked Red Gloves and Bethral. But aaaall they did was talk. Talk to Josiah about leathers and bean soup and how mad Red Gloves was at Josiah for turning her down. And then they stayed there another day just talking too. Finally they leave Josiah's house and enter town and there's a little bit of action when they have a fight in the inn and rescue the slave. Buuuut then they're right back at Josiah's house to do MORE talking. I don't mind a lot of dialogue but I was so bored. Nothing happened and it was already 100 pages into the book. I also really didn't care for Josiah. He has his little farm full of goats and makes his soup and bemoans his existence every time it changes to his perspective. Not really romantic hero material to me anyways. It wasn't terrible and the writing was fine, but I wasn't going to sit through another 200 pages of them talking.
The opening sounded interesting and I liked Red Gloves and Bethral. But aaaall they did was talk. Talk to Josiah about leathers and bean soup and how mad Red Gloves was at Josiah for turning her down. And then they stayed there another day just talking too. Finally they leave Josiah's house and enter town and there's a little bit of action when they have a fight in the inn and rescue the slave. Buuuut then they're right back at Josiah's house to do MORE talking. I don't mind a lot of dialogue but I was so bored. Nothing happened and it was already 100 pages into the book. I also really didn't care for Josiah. He has his little farm full of goats and makes his soup and bemoans his existence every time it changes to his perspective. Not really romantic hero material to me anyways. It wasn't terrible and the writing was fine, but I wasn't going to sit through another 200 pages of them talking.
June 28, 2008
I loved this author's Chronicles of the Warlords trilogy, but was very disappointed in this book. Per the author's website, this one takes place around the same time period as the Warlords Trilogy with different characters and setting(s). Having just finished this book, the only thing remotely related to the Warlords Trilogy was the drinking of Kavage; otherwise, they are completely unrelated and as for occurring at the same time period...how could that be determined?
This was not a romance.
The spine of the book indicates it is a paranormal romance. It's a fantasy.
I found the main character, Red Gloves, to be too hard, cold and (well) loose. She did mellow out as the book progressed, but I never cared for her character. The connection between the two main characters was missing the emotional chemistry necessary to build a relationship. Josiah's character needed to be stronger (think doormat) and Red Gloves needed to be toned down (she was a mercenary with no inhibitions). As it was, Red Gloves was the one who called all the shots.
There was all this buildup with the "red gloves" and I was very disappointed when that "secret" was finally revealed. This book had zombies, magic (good and bad) and portals, etc. I had a hard time maintaining interest as there was a lot of retelling to new characters scenes that I just read about. Most of the book was geared toward preparing for the final battle. Boring.
One more thing, the dagger-star mark was UNDER her breast and the cover shows it over.
This was not a romance.
The spine of the book indicates it is a paranormal romance. It's a fantasy.
I found the main character, Red Gloves, to be too hard, cold and (well) loose. She did mellow out as the book progressed, but I never cared for her character. The connection between the two main characters was missing the emotional chemistry necessary to build a relationship. Josiah's character needed to be stronger (think doormat) and Red Gloves needed to be toned down (she was a mercenary with no inhibitions). As it was, Red Gloves was the one who called all the shots.
There was all this buildup with the "red gloves" and I was very disappointed when that "secret" was finally revealed. This book had zombies, magic (good and bad) and portals, etc. I had a hard time maintaining interest as there was a lot of retelling to new characters scenes that I just read about. Most of the book was geared toward preparing for the final battle. Boring.
One more thing, the dagger-star mark was UNDER her breast and the cover shows it over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2025
June 2025: 2.5/5; 3 stars. I gave this 2 stars the first time through and added half a star this time. I still did not like the psychotic ‘red gloves’ angle but appreciated the story overall.
January 2018: So, I kind of hated a few things about this book but enjoyed other aspects. This is by far the weakest in the Warprize/Palins story set. The character of Red Gloves was so obnoxious in the beginning and her whole psychotic behaviour around the Red Gloves was not an asset to the story in any way. The last half of the book was better.
January 2018: So, I kind of hated a few things about this book but enjoyed other aspects. This is by far the weakest in the Warprize/Palins story set. The character of Red Gloves was so obnoxious in the beginning and her whole psychotic behaviour around the Red Gloves was not an asset to the story in any way. The last half of the book was better.
December 17, 2008
Red Gloves, like Elizabeth Vaughn's other works, is billed as a romance. And like her other works, this is a "kissing" (and then some) book.
But make no mistake - this is a rousing fantasy tale. While this story takes place in the same world as the Warlands trilogy, it is far removed geographically and tonally.
In the Warlands books, Lara, while willful, was still socialized in a patriarchal society. It took extraordinary events for her to buck the system. Red Gloves - the heroine of this book - on the other hand, is a free spirit. She starts off unafraid of confrontation, and does not look back. She is a strong, independent, and beautiful woman - and knows it. Red is not "perfect"; she errs, and has her own weaknesses. That said, Red starts more forceful than Lara ended up being, and goes from there. If you prefer your heros more like Xena or Buffy, then you'll enjoy Red's adventures. The romance bits are a lot more intense here as well; the action heats up quickly and does not let up. Yet Ms. Vaughn has mastered the ability to write steamy sex scenes without dropping into cheesy overwrought prose.
I have two minor issues with the book; when the point of view changes between characters, sometimes the timeline would back up a few moments. This was vaguely disconcerting a few times, but I was able to adapt to it. Secondly, some of the battle scenes and warfare happen offstage. Ms. Vaughn can write battles well; one in the bog had me on the literal edge of my seat. Yet they are glossed over in an almost cinematic style. I have to suspect that this is due to the book being published under a romance imprint; rather than concentrate on both the battles and the characters, the decision was made to focus more on the characters. This isn't a bad thing, but I would have liked to actually see Red Gloves in action a bit more.
All in all, this book is a good fit for fans of both fantasy and romance. Due to the sex (and Red Gloves' attitude towards such), it's not recommended for immature and prudish types.
But make no mistake - this is a rousing fantasy tale. While this story takes place in the same world as the Warlands trilogy, it is far removed geographically and tonally.
In the Warlands books, Lara, while willful, was still socialized in a patriarchal society. It took extraordinary events for her to buck the system. Red Gloves - the heroine of this book - on the other hand, is a free spirit. She starts off unafraid of confrontation, and does not look back. She is a strong, independent, and beautiful woman - and knows it. Red is not "perfect"; she errs, and has her own weaknesses. That said, Red starts more forceful than Lara ended up being, and goes from there. If you prefer your heros more like Xena or Buffy, then you'll enjoy Red's adventures. The romance bits are a lot more intense here as well; the action heats up quickly and does not let up. Yet Ms. Vaughn has mastered the ability to write steamy sex scenes without dropping into cheesy overwrought prose.
I have two minor issues with the book; when the point of view changes between characters, sometimes the timeline would back up a few moments. This was vaguely disconcerting a few times, but I was able to adapt to it. Secondly, some of the battle scenes and warfare happen offstage. Ms. Vaughn can write battles well; one in the bog had me on the literal edge of my seat. Yet they are glossed over in an almost cinematic style. I have to suspect that this is due to the book being published under a romance imprint; rather than concentrate on both the battles and the characters, the decision was made to focus more on the characters. This isn't a bad thing, but I would have liked to actually see Red Gloves in action a bit more.
All in all, this book is a good fit for fans of both fantasy and romance. Due to the sex (and Red Gloves' attitude towards such), it's not recommended for immature and prudish types.
August 7, 2011
Hmm. Red Gloves. I'm getting a bit less tolerant of books with beginnings that don't grab me - my time is precious, so I am tending to leave books unfinished if I'm finding them dull or badly written. Red Gloves almost got put back on the shelf after a few pages. It started well, and I was intrigued by the character of Red Gloves from the start as she was good and tomboyish in her mannerisms and speech. I like tomboys, being one myself.
But I lost patience when after a few pages she was trying to seduce the first bloke offered up in the story, and I was disappointed that a perfectly good book could potentially be ruined by smut. But I persevered because I wanted to see if there would be more to the story - surely a book with such instantly vivid characters would not be just full of filth? I also hoped that I wasn't going to be expected to like Red just because she was physically strong, sexually independent and confident, and emasculated.
It turned out that I wasn't expected to like her for those things. And it also turned out that I was rewarded for my perseverance. There was much more to Red than sex. What a great character, full of conflict, moody, transparent, complex, challenging. She was a real treat actually. She was also very easy to like. Having said that I don't think she would be to everyone's taste. And there was a history to the world that Vaughan had created. I could well imagine more stories and more characters.
I've only one criticism really, though it is quite a big one. With a story so well thought out as this one, and with so many interesting characters, I would have liked this book to have been three times as long, or even part of a series. I felt as though the story was just getting going, and then it was over. The end was rushed, the battle was too vague and was fought at a distance, and also was won too easily, and the conclusion was too obvious and a little too much on the sentimental and mushy side for my liking. This book had tremendous potential, but it did not quite fulfill it. I wanted more from this book, but I felt as though I had to fill in the detail for myself. There were so many secrets - practically every character had one - but almost none of them were revealed and explained fully or satisfactorily. The secrets of the two main characters were told, but I'm nosy and I wanted to know why everyone had a shifty look and a guilty manner. If the booked had been stretched out a bit, these secrets could have become the integral parts of the story that I had expected them to be.
Actually I did have another criticism, and that was that the writing was sometimes a bit lazy. I remember screwing my nose up at one particular sentence: 'Jonas just stood there'. What? Are you kidding? The dialogue is often lyrical in its efforts to place itself in the high fantasy category, and then we get 'just stood there'. Hmm. Stood where? Hmm. A little bit first drafty, if you ask me; a sentence that was missed in the edit, perhaps. Now, don't get me wrong, there was no peppering of lazy sentences in this book, and goodness knows my own writing is full of them. But these kinds of sentence just helped to give the book a feeling of not being finished.
So in short, testing beginning, good middle, rushed end. Maybe it's just that I like an epic: three or four books make a right good story for me. A book of 300+ pages only whets my appetite, really.
And so here, I think we have learned something about different tastes ... err, they all ... different. Mmm.
But I lost patience when after a few pages she was trying to seduce the first bloke offered up in the story, and I was disappointed that a perfectly good book could potentially be ruined by smut. But I persevered because I wanted to see if there would be more to the story - surely a book with such instantly vivid characters would not be just full of filth? I also hoped that I wasn't going to be expected to like Red just because she was physically strong, sexually independent and confident, and emasculated.
It turned out that I wasn't expected to like her for those things. And it also turned out that I was rewarded for my perseverance. There was much more to Red than sex. What a great character, full of conflict, moody, transparent, complex, challenging. She was a real treat actually. She was also very easy to like. Having said that I don't think she would be to everyone's taste. And there was a history to the world that Vaughan had created. I could well imagine more stories and more characters.
I've only one criticism really, though it is quite a big one. With a story so well thought out as this one, and with so many interesting characters, I would have liked this book to have been three times as long, or even part of a series. I felt as though the story was just getting going, and then it was over. The end was rushed, the battle was too vague and was fought at a distance, and also was won too easily, and the conclusion was too obvious and a little too much on the sentimental and mushy side for my liking. This book had tremendous potential, but it did not quite fulfill it. I wanted more from this book, but I felt as though I had to fill in the detail for myself. There were so many secrets - practically every character had one - but almost none of them were revealed and explained fully or satisfactorily. The secrets of the two main characters were told, but I'm nosy and I wanted to know why everyone had a shifty look and a guilty manner. If the booked had been stretched out a bit, these secrets could have become the integral parts of the story that I had expected them to be.
Actually I did have another criticism, and that was that the writing was sometimes a bit lazy. I remember screwing my nose up at one particular sentence: 'Jonas just stood there'. What? Are you kidding? The dialogue is often lyrical in its efforts to place itself in the high fantasy category, and then we get 'just stood there'. Hmm. Stood where? Hmm. A little bit first drafty, if you ask me; a sentence that was missed in the edit, perhaps. Now, don't get me wrong, there was no peppering of lazy sentences in this book, and goodness knows my own writing is full of them. But these kinds of sentence just helped to give the book a feeling of not being finished.
So in short, testing beginning, good middle, rushed end. Maybe it's just that I like an epic: three or four books make a right good story for me. A book of 300+ pages only whets my appetite, really.
And so here, I think we have learned something about different tastes ... err, they all ... different. Mmm.
June 19, 2009
Red Gloves is a mercenary that together with her friend Bethral laves their country to go to Palins to find some work. This land is in turmoil after an usurper to the throne killed the royal family and tried to kill the high lords too. There has been some fighting but for now everything just stands still, an unsteady truce that will rupture at any moment. After buying a half dead slave the return to the barn and goat herder they had sheltered with. Josiah is living with his 5 goats in a burned out country, a land that fell hard in the beginning of the war and it's people are gone. But he has seen her birthmark and he will not leave that alone. She could be what he has been waiting for, and he is not either what he seems to be.
I read and reviewed book 2 back in March and then I got this one, thanks Amy! :D Now some things started to make sense, like where those elves came from. The tricky question about red Gloves and why everyone talked about Josiah. Still book 2 can still easily be read before, you will just know certain things then when you read this one. But that doesn't matter at all since I was mostly wondering if they would end up together.
Red Gloves can sure kick some ass, that is for sure. She is the big strong warrior in this book (though with a haunting past). Josiah is sad and vulnerable, and Red Gloves takes charge in this kind of relationship. Which is refreshing. Bethrael, well I really don't know about her, she is a side-kick, and she and the slave she rescued gets their story in book 3, so I guess it's there we would learn more about her. And I think that is needed. Of course we also meets the heroine from book 2, and I must say that those looks giving at the end would have had me curious about the next book.
What I do end up thinking about is a certain high lord elf and his wife. I would so love to know their story since Evie And Josiah has some things to say about him. That is what leave me wanting, their story. It feels like she is teasing me and then ripping it out from under me.
But in the end, this book has the romance, war, evilness and zombies (oh those zombies so had me in book 2, they are just creepy). I liked reading it and it made me wonder, if i enjoy this, then for sure I have to enjoy her war series since everyone says they are so much better.
I am really getting into the whole romance fantasy genre, I mean there is romance, which I love. And fantasy and some fights. But in the end my heart belongs to high fantasy, I like the big fights, darkness, and everything. But you just can't compare them in the end, and I will love both. I just have to read more, this is only like my second book.
I read and reviewed book 2 back in March and then I got this one, thanks Amy! :D Now some things started to make sense, like where those elves came from. The tricky question about red Gloves and why everyone talked about Josiah. Still book 2 can still easily be read before, you will just know certain things then when you read this one. But that doesn't matter at all since I was mostly wondering if they would end up together.
Red Gloves can sure kick some ass, that is for sure. She is the big strong warrior in this book (though with a haunting past). Josiah is sad and vulnerable, and Red Gloves takes charge in this kind of relationship. Which is refreshing. Bethrael, well I really don't know about her, she is a side-kick, and she and the slave she rescued gets their story in book 3, so I guess it's there we would learn more about her. And I think that is needed. Of course we also meets the heroine from book 2, and I must say that those looks giving at the end would have had me curious about the next book.
What I do end up thinking about is a certain high lord elf and his wife. I would so love to know their story since Evie And Josiah has some things to say about him. That is what leave me wanting, their story. It feels like she is teasing me and then ripping it out from under me.
But in the end, this book has the romance, war, evilness and zombies (oh those zombies so had me in book 2, they are just creepy). I liked reading it and it made me wonder, if i enjoy this, then for sure I have to enjoy her war series since everyone says they are so much better.
I am really getting into the whole romance fantasy genre, I mean there is romance, which I love. And fantasy and some fights. But in the end my heart belongs to high fantasy, I like the big fights, darkness, and everything. But you just can't compare them in the end, and I will love both. I just have to read more, this is only like my second book.
October 29, 2014
I was underwhelmed by this novel.
Whilst I liked the characters of Red Gloves and Josiah, I wasn't overly impressed with most of the (poorly utilised) secondary characters and I couldn't stand the smug "I know best" attitude of Ezren (especially because he didn't). I thought the plot wasn't too bad, the standard "saviour saves the people" type thing, but all the hard, dirty parts of getting a rebellion together were either already done before the start of the book or woefully glossed over in favour of the romance. Unfortunately at the end the focus switches to the completion of the plot elements to the detriment to a truly compelling conclusion to the romance. Pretty much the worst of both worlds there.
Generally I got the impression that this book was really just setting the scene for the next two in the series, unfortunately I wont be reading those because I absolutely don't care about the boring Lady High Priestess and her love interest (and how is that going to work when I had the impression she's supposed to be chaste). and though I quite liked the little we learnt about Bethral, I absolutely hate her love interest (Ezren). It's really a pity this novel wasn't stretched out in to at least two books so that all the details and tension we didn't get in this one could have been included.
Whilst I liked the characters of Red Gloves and Josiah, I wasn't overly impressed with most of the (poorly utilised) secondary characters and I couldn't stand the smug "I know best" attitude of Ezren (especially because he didn't). I thought the plot wasn't too bad, the standard "saviour saves the people" type thing, but all the hard, dirty parts of getting a rebellion together were either already done before the start of the book or woefully glossed over in favour of the romance. Unfortunately at the end the focus switches to the completion of the plot elements to the detriment to a truly compelling conclusion to the romance. Pretty much the worst of both worlds there.
Generally I got the impression that this book was really just setting the scene for the next two in the series, unfortunately I wont be reading those because I absolutely don't care about the boring Lady High Priestess and her love interest (and how is that going to work when I had the impression she's supposed to be chaste). and though I quite liked the little we learnt about Bethral, I absolutely hate her love interest (Ezren). It's really a pity this novel wasn't stretched out in to at least two books so that all the details and tension we didn't get in this one could have been included.
October 29, 2013
I adore stories with medieval / fantasy women who wield swords. A friend of mine recommended I try Dagger-Star. It's set in a Lord of the Rings style fantasy world, complete with elves who make lighter-than-normal armor. In general I enjoyed the story and details.
Red is a woman with a troubled past. She and her female friend Bethral are out taking jobs as mercenaries when they run across the farm of Josiah, a man raising goats. Soon they're also rescuing a male slave and getting embroiled in the power struggle of the whole kingdom.
So, first, the good. They story got me hooked fairly early on. I liked that all the characters have their flaws. There isn't the "perfect-arms handsome strong" male encountering the "perfect-breast beautiful wise" woman. These people are definitely "real". They each have their own quirks and personalities.
Elizabeth Vaughan clearly did her research into horses. I think I saw more horse-detail in here than in any other medieval / fantasy book I've read in a long while. This also goes in the editing-needed category, though. It's the *secondary* character, Bethral, who was into horses. And Bethral is the focus of the third book in this trilogy. So all of that heavy-horse-info should have been trimmed out here and used fully in that book about the horse-woman. This book here is focused on the feisty-all-about-battle woman.
In addition to the horse-heavy content, many other issues should also have been edited. We have situations where two people are in a room, a line of dialogue is given without attribution, and we have no idea who said it. There are continuity issues with a person doing something, then doing it again. I'm not counting the times that we go between the minds of characters and time "rewinds" in between. The moving between characters is sometimes fairly clunky. The way chapters are broken is sometimes disconnected. Word use is sometimes not handled well. I am changing the context so I don't give away spoilers, but a sentence will read "Lisa's heart leaped to see the cat leap out." or "Jeff scowled. Lisa turned and scowled ..." It's one thing if it's done for effect, to mirror a situation. That is done several times and that's fine. But in other places it simply seems the author forgot she just used a certain word.
We go quite a way into the story before we have any idea at all what the heroine looks like. It makes it hard to have the story visualized in one's head while reading. If one went by the cover, they'd be completely wrong about a KEY item. On the cover, Red's birthmark is above her left breast, i.e. fairly easy to see in many outfits. But in the story it is clearly BELOW her RIGHT breast. It's part of why it's not noticed normally.
Some of the names of characters / places are a bit heavy handed. Blackhart? For a villain? There are also pacing issues. Some scenes which are minor are covered in great detail. Other scenes which are incredibly important, and which directly relate to the heroine's "area of interest", are completely skimmed over. We get far more details about horses - again, not her area of interest - and not that lovely detail about her fights. Instead we get generic "she hit him in the groin" types of comments.
Still, again, these are things that a good editor should have polished up for her. It can be hard for an author to catch some of these types of issues even on multiple re-reads. So I give the author great credit for the underlying story, and it's the editing team I fault for many of these problems.
I do have a final comment, and that is about the actual character traits of the four main characters. We have Red, a woman swordfighter, and Josiah, a farmer. We have Bethral, also a woman swordfighter, and Ezren, the slave she rescues fairly early on (I'm avoiding spoilers in my review, so this all is known fairly quickly). I am clearly all for alpha females :). I love stories with them. And I enjoy male characters of all shapes and styles. However, the two males here are EXTREMELY passive. It is one thing to be a calm, steady supporter. I definitely love males who fall into that category. But these males are passive to the point of flaccid. It's hard to give examples without giving spoilers, and I suppose it's already sort of a spoiler to say they are at the earthworm level of activity. I just don't find that appealing at all. I always want a partnership where each person is actively providing SOMETHING to the relationship (and not just sex!). This issue almost drags the review down to three stars for me - but I also accept that some readers might not mind how passive the men are. That issue is more of a "my personal attitude towards relationships" one and not a "poorly written one". She wrote Josiah, accurately, to be broken, weak, unsupportive, and unmotivated. That's the way he is. It's just not a guy I would ever have any interest at all in being with.
So in summary, if this had been edited well it could be a five star book that's perfect for readers who enjoy that type of super-beta male character. Even if it was edited well, though, it just wouldn't be a book I would personally want to re-read, because I don't find the draw of that type of character. So in the end it would depend on what type of male characters you enjoy reading about.
Red is a woman with a troubled past. She and her female friend Bethral are out taking jobs as mercenaries when they run across the farm of Josiah, a man raising goats. Soon they're also rescuing a male slave and getting embroiled in the power struggle of the whole kingdom.
So, first, the good. They story got me hooked fairly early on. I liked that all the characters have their flaws. There isn't the "perfect-arms handsome strong" male encountering the "perfect-breast beautiful wise" woman. These people are definitely "real". They each have their own quirks and personalities.
Elizabeth Vaughan clearly did her research into horses. I think I saw more horse-detail in here than in any other medieval / fantasy book I've read in a long while. This also goes in the editing-needed category, though. It's the *secondary* character, Bethral, who was into horses. And Bethral is the focus of the third book in this trilogy. So all of that heavy-horse-info should have been trimmed out here and used fully in that book about the horse-woman. This book here is focused on the feisty-all-about-battle woman.
In addition to the horse-heavy content, many other issues should also have been edited. We have situations where two people are in a room, a line of dialogue is given without attribution, and we have no idea who said it. There are continuity issues with a person doing something, then doing it again. I'm not counting the times that we go between the minds of characters and time "rewinds" in between. The moving between characters is sometimes fairly clunky. The way chapters are broken is sometimes disconnected. Word use is sometimes not handled well. I am changing the context so I don't give away spoilers, but a sentence will read "Lisa's heart leaped to see the cat leap out." or "Jeff scowled. Lisa turned and scowled ..." It's one thing if it's done for effect, to mirror a situation. That is done several times and that's fine. But in other places it simply seems the author forgot she just used a certain word.
We go quite a way into the story before we have any idea at all what the heroine looks like. It makes it hard to have the story visualized in one's head while reading. If one went by the cover, they'd be completely wrong about a KEY item. On the cover, Red's birthmark is above her left breast, i.e. fairly easy to see in many outfits. But in the story it is clearly BELOW her RIGHT breast. It's part of why it's not noticed normally.
Some of the names of characters / places are a bit heavy handed. Blackhart? For a villain? There are also pacing issues. Some scenes which are minor are covered in great detail. Other scenes which are incredibly important, and which directly relate to the heroine's "area of interest", are completely skimmed over. We get far more details about horses - again, not her area of interest - and not that lovely detail about her fights. Instead we get generic "she hit him in the groin" types of comments.
Still, again, these are things that a good editor should have polished up for her. It can be hard for an author to catch some of these types of issues even on multiple re-reads. So I give the author great credit for the underlying story, and it's the editing team I fault for many of these problems.
I do have a final comment, and that is about the actual character traits of the four main characters. We have Red, a woman swordfighter, and Josiah, a farmer. We have Bethral, also a woman swordfighter, and Ezren, the slave she rescues fairly early on (I'm avoiding spoilers in my review, so this all is known fairly quickly). I am clearly all for alpha females :). I love stories with them. And I enjoy male characters of all shapes and styles. However, the two males here are EXTREMELY passive. It is one thing to be a calm, steady supporter. I definitely love males who fall into that category. But these males are passive to the point of flaccid. It's hard to give examples without giving spoilers, and I suppose it's already sort of a spoiler to say they are at the earthworm level of activity. I just don't find that appealing at all. I always want a partnership where each person is actively providing SOMETHING to the relationship (and not just sex!). This issue almost drags the review down to three stars for me - but I also accept that some readers might not mind how passive the men are. That issue is more of a "my personal attitude towards relationships" one and not a "poorly written one". She wrote Josiah, accurately, to be broken, weak, unsupportive, and unmotivated. That's the way he is. It's just not a guy I would ever have any interest at all in being with.
So in summary, if this had been edited well it could be a five star book that's perfect for readers who enjoy that type of super-beta male character. Even if it was edited well, though, it just wouldn't be a book I would personally want to re-read, because I don't find the draw of that type of character. So in the end it would depend on what type of male characters you enjoy reading about.
June 6, 2021
Synopsis- After captivating readers with her Chronicles of the Warlands trilogy, Elizabeth Vaughan now returns to that world with a beguiling tale of daggers and destiny. . .
She is a mercenary trained in the ways of war and the blade--nothing more. A woman known only as Red Gloves has come to the land of Palins in search of work. What she finds, however, is the torched fields and razed farms of a land defiled.
If you see her without the gloves, run... This is all Josiah knows about the mysterious woman--until he catches a glimpse of the dagger-star birthmark, a sign that she is destined to free his people from a ruthless usurper's reign of terror.
But she is more dangerous when following her heart... Red doesn't believe in gods. Nevertheless, she finds herself drawn into the rebellion--not by the prophecy or the chance to win the throne, but by the pain of untold loss in Josiah's eyes...
Review- This book was not what I expected. I saw the cover and thought it was going to be a high fantasy warrior story a la Mark Lawrence style. And it was that, but that was secondary because more than high fantasy fighting it was a romance. I'm a sucker for a high fantasy romance and this one did not disappoint.
I will carry on at some point but I'm not in a rush. Hence, the three stars.
Rating - Three enjoyable high fantasy romance stars. ⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
She is a mercenary trained in the ways of war and the blade--nothing more. A woman known only as Red Gloves has come to the land of Palins in search of work. What she finds, however, is the torched fields and razed farms of a land defiled.
If you see her without the gloves, run... This is all Josiah knows about the mysterious woman--until he catches a glimpse of the dagger-star birthmark, a sign that she is destined to free his people from a ruthless usurper's reign of terror.
But she is more dangerous when following her heart... Red doesn't believe in gods. Nevertheless, she finds herself drawn into the rebellion--not by the prophecy or the chance to win the throne, but by the pain of untold loss in Josiah's eyes...
Review- This book was not what I expected. I saw the cover and thought it was going to be a high fantasy warrior story a la Mark Lawrence style. And it was that, but that was secondary because more than high fantasy fighting it was a romance. I'm a sucker for a high fantasy romance and this one did not disappoint.
I will carry on at some point but I'm not in a rush. Hence, the three stars.
Rating - Three enjoyable high fantasy romance stars. ⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
August 19, 2017
This spin off series is in the same universe as "Warprize", but in a different part of the world, perhaps a different time period, as well. "Warprize" took place in the Plains (and the kingdom of Xyian), this book the Palins. So no familiar characters, and a different set of cultures.
Unlike the initial "Warprize" trilogy, the spin off series is written in third person and is loosely coupled. Meaning you hop to a different "couple" with each book. This first book focuses on Red Gloves and Josiah. The second on Evelyn and a yet unmet character named Orrin. And the third focuses on Bethral and Ezren.
Slight spoiler? (The kind you get from reading the blurbs off all three books at once.) ... The third book brings Bethral and Ezren back to the Plains from the "Warprize" trilogy.
Okay, back to this book. Red Gloves and Bethral are swords for hire. They get caught in the rain and are sheltered in an apparent goat herder's barn. The goat herder, Josiah, walks in on Red Gloves bathing. And beyond the physical attraction, he is shocked to see a birthmark that has been predicted to mark the Chosen who will save their kingdom from an usurper to the throne.
Red Gloves is a bit of a ball buster. Brazen with her sexuality. She spends much of the book flashing her breasts at people. (The magic birthmark is below her breast.)
There is also the mystery of why she never removes her red gloves. That mystery persists for most of the book. And, to me personally, it was getting a bit strained before the reason behind it was revealed.
Back to the series comparison. There was a bit of paranormal extra in the "Warprize" trilogy, as far as the ancestors staying with them until the solstice, but this series includes more direct magic and god-blessed healing abilities. Not good or bad, just different.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and will pick up book 2 momentarily. My biggest personal complaints were dragging out the glove mystery, and an initial turn off when it comes to how in your face Red Gloves is with her sexuality. (Which makes sense by the end of the book.)
Unlike the initial "Warprize" trilogy, the spin off series is written in third person and is loosely coupled. Meaning you hop to a different "couple" with each book. This first book focuses on Red Gloves and Josiah. The second on Evelyn and a yet unmet character named Orrin. And the third focuses on Bethral and Ezren.
Slight spoiler? (The kind you get from reading the blurbs off all three books at once.) ... The third book brings Bethral and Ezren back to the Plains from the "Warprize" trilogy.
Okay, back to this book. Red Gloves and Bethral are swords for hire. They get caught in the rain and are sheltered in an apparent goat herder's barn. The goat herder, Josiah, walks in on Red Gloves bathing. And beyond the physical attraction, he is shocked to see a birthmark that has been predicted to mark the Chosen who will save their kingdom from an usurper to the throne.
Red Gloves is a bit of a ball buster. Brazen with her sexuality. She spends much of the book flashing her breasts at people. (The magic birthmark is below her breast.)
There is also the mystery of why she never removes her red gloves. That mystery persists for most of the book. And, to me personally, it was getting a bit strained before the reason behind it was revealed.
Back to the series comparison. There was a bit of paranormal extra in the "Warprize" trilogy, as far as the ancestors staying with them until the solstice, but this series includes more direct magic and god-blessed healing abilities. Not good or bad, just different.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and will pick up book 2 momentarily. My biggest personal complaints were dragging out the glove mystery, and an initial turn off when it comes to how in your face Red Gloves is with her sexuality. (Which makes sense by the end of the book.)
December 1, 2013
I loved Warprize but this book is not so good. It felt like a reworked trunk novel that should have been left in the trunk. Lesson to all us authors, leave those forgotten children alone. I moved on to Warcry which was clearly written after the Warprize series and I liked that better.
May 7, 2013
Boring!! It didn't get interesting until the end!!
October 22, 2019
Oh I liked this book. In fact... https://twitter.com/Limecello/status/... see? I recommended it as soon as I finished it. Then I immediately started on book 2.
Book 2 and book 1 SLIGHTLY overlap - but in a "this makes sense and is what the story needed" way - not in a "HA HA THIS IS A HOOK AND JUST DEAL WITH IT" way.
Red Gloves and Josiah.
Yes.
It's ALMOST a role reversal. Red Gloves is the heroine - she's the mercenary. She's the sexual aggressor. She's the "chosen one." She leads the people into battle.
Josiah is ... >.> I mean they kinda go with "just a goat herder" but "ohright he ALSO so happens to be a High Baron and basically ...
oh shoot. Stupid migraine brain - whoever used to rule city states ... and then a bunch of city states form the kingdom?
It's a little bit like that system but more peaceful. ... >.> until it wasn't.
Elanore or something? Fuck her. Good on Red Gloves.
Man - Red Gloves and Josiah do NOOOOOOT TALK. NO TALKING, NO RELATIONSHIP DISCUSSION OR DEFINING. It's very ... high fantasy/ "old school" in a way - although there's also no uncertainty. It's obvious for them ... they're just not good with emotions. Neither of them - though Josiah is marginally better.
Also, actually their "relationship" starts out as pure sex. I was kinda amused it was like the "old timey" version of a "hookup/booty call FWB that becomes more." ... I low key hate myself for writing "FWB" but self loathing is totally in brand for me so I'm leaving it.
>.> - but it reminds me of that HoNY post, with a young couple, and the first person starts talking about at first they were just hooking up and "having fun" and then finally they decided to pursue a relationship but the speaker is like "omg this is making me sound like an asshole - ask him" and it's kinda awesome because the post is adorable in and of itself, but it's also extra great because ADMIT IT WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE DUDE WHO WAS THE FIRST SPEAKER NOT THE CHICK.
Anyway. This reminded me of that.
I did for a hot second think about whether or not the relationship with coercive. Red Gloves is "the chosen one" - only come to find out [it SEEMS at least] that like every other freaking kid born is potentially chosen/has "the mark of the chosen" ... and I don't think that's a real spoiler since it's something that's pretty clear early in ...
ANYWAY - so she lays out her cards and is like "hey so I'll do the chosen thing and lead the army if you'll [also] be my fuckbuddy" - though they've OBVIOUSLY already been attracted to each other prior to her proposition.
And she ALSO says she wouldn't force him - it's against her religious/moral code.
And from there they're all in, in relationship-town, honestly.
I'm a bit curious about ... shoot Ezran? (The storyteller?) Like WTAF with the wild magic and the "shard" dagger - and well that was convenient.
I also want to see more of Red Gloves and Josiah. I actually literally can't
Seriously - shout out to the animals. To Beast, RIP Steel, the MAGICAL GOATS, and you know, Bessie too.
I was also glad there wasn't some major betrayal from Gloriana or [Venmar, was it?] - what happened at the shrine at the beginning which ... it was all so well thought out.
I REALLY wish there was a vignette showing us how Red and Josiah are doing/did. <3 I like them so much <3
Anyway I'm already like halfway through book 2.
C+ maybe B-
Book 2 and book 1 SLIGHTLY overlap - but in a "this makes sense and is what the story needed" way - not in a "HA HA THIS IS A HOOK AND JUST DEAL WITH IT" way.
Red Gloves and Josiah.
Yes.
It's ALMOST a role reversal. Red Gloves is the heroine - she's the mercenary. She's the sexual aggressor. She's the "chosen one." She leads the people into battle.
Josiah is ... >.> I mean they kinda go with "just a goat herder" but "ohright he ALSO so happens to be a High Baron and basically ...
oh shoot. Stupid migraine brain - whoever used to rule city states ... and then a bunch of city states form the kingdom?
It's a little bit like that system but more peaceful. ... >.> until it wasn't.
Elanore or something? Fuck her. Good on Red Gloves.
Man - Red Gloves and Josiah do NOOOOOOT TALK. NO TALKING, NO RELATIONSHIP DISCUSSION OR DEFINING. It's very ... high fantasy/ "old school" in a way - although there's also no uncertainty. It's obvious for them ... they're just not good with emotions. Neither of them - though Josiah is marginally better.
Also, actually their "relationship" starts out as pure sex. I was kinda amused it was like the "old timey" version of a "hookup/booty call FWB that becomes more." ... I low key hate myself for writing "FWB" but self loathing is totally in brand for me so I'm leaving it.
>.> - but it reminds me of that HoNY post, with a young couple, and the first person starts talking about at first they were just hooking up and "having fun" and then finally they decided to pursue a relationship but the speaker is like "omg this is making me sound like an asshole - ask him" and it's kinda awesome because the post is adorable in and of itself, but it's also extra great because ADMIT IT WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE DUDE WHO WAS THE FIRST SPEAKER NOT THE CHICK.
Anyway. This reminded me of that.
I did for a hot second think about whether or not the relationship with coercive. Red Gloves is "the chosen one" - only come to find out [it SEEMS at least] that like every other freaking kid born is potentially chosen/has "the mark of the chosen" ... and I don't think that's a real spoiler since it's something that's pretty clear early in ...
ANYWAY - so she lays out her cards and is like "hey so I'll do the chosen thing and lead the army if you'll [also] be my fuckbuddy" - though they've OBVIOUSLY already been attracted to each other prior to her proposition.
And she ALSO says she wouldn't force him - it's against her religious/moral code.
And from there they're all in, in relationship-town, honestly.
I'm a bit curious about ... shoot Ezran? (The storyteller?) Like WTAF with the wild magic and the "shard" dagger - and well that was convenient.
I also want to see more of Red Gloves and Josiah. I actually literally can't
Seriously - shout out to the animals. To Beast, RIP Steel, the MAGICAL GOATS, and you know, Bessie too.
I was also glad there wasn't some major betrayal from Gloriana or [Venmar, was it?] - what happened at the shrine at the beginning which ... it was all so well thought out.
I REALLY wish there was a vignette showing us how Red and Josiah are doing/did. <3 I like them so much <3
Anyway I'm already like halfway through book 2.
C+ maybe B-
May 14, 2020
I have a very hard time with this book because I can't tell if the author was mocking writing and the fantasy/romance tropes or if she was writing a serious book.
If it's a mocking story it is done very, very well.
She has a character in the story that is a story teller and he feels compelled to keep referring to the different aspects of writing. Checking to see what stage they are on in the Heroes journey and discussing the arch-types of characters.
She plays around a lot with the 'Chosen One' trope including dozens of people with the birthmark that makes them 'chosen'.
She makes fun of how stupid the warrior garb is for women when she is put in specialty armor and she can't breathe, her breasts all but flop out, and she can't walk all so that the men can enjoy the view.
Even the main character's name 'Red Gloves' is a mockery. Giving her a silly symbol to make her recognizable with a back story to it that makes no sense and just seems comical when it should be serious and shocking. The back story takes away some of the humor of the story teller saying as a woman character she can have 1 of 3 arch types because it puts her firmly in the 2nd type.
Red Gloves was sold to a brothel when she was young and she did things with her hands now she can't bear to see them. But that doesn't make sense because one would assume if that's where she was sold she would have more likely become red mask or red panties.
The magic goats were a nice touch.
If the story was trying to be serious, I'm sorry, this book was awful.
If it's a mocking story it is done very, very well.
She has a character in the story that is a story teller and he feels compelled to keep referring to the different aspects of writing. Checking to see what stage they are on in the Heroes journey and discussing the arch-types of characters.
She plays around a lot with the 'Chosen One' trope including dozens of people with the birthmark that makes them 'chosen'.
She makes fun of how stupid the warrior garb is for women when she is put in specialty armor and she can't breathe, her breasts all but flop out, and she can't walk all so that the men can enjoy the view.
Even the main character's name 'Red Gloves' is a mockery. Giving her a silly symbol to make her recognizable with a back story to it that makes no sense and just seems comical when it should be serious and shocking. The back story takes away some of the humor of the story teller saying as a woman character she can have 1 of 3 arch types because it puts her firmly in the 2nd type.
Red Gloves was sold to a brothel when she was young and she did things with her hands now she can't bear to see them. But that doesn't make sense because one would assume if that's where she was sold she would have more likely become red mask or red panties.
The magic goats were a nice touch.
If the story was trying to be serious, I'm sorry, this book was awful.
April 23, 2023
Series: Epic of Palins #1
Rating: 3 stars - I liked it
I apparently read this series years ago, but I remember none of it. Red Gloves is a mercenary and extremely practical woman. She may be attracted to the goat herder Josiah but also isn’t amused by the belief that she is the prophesied one who will save their corrupted kingdom.
Red Gloves and Josiah’s story was enjoyable but not as romantic as I was expecting. Red and Josiah have an instant attraction and spend the nights together but the majority of this story is focused on her being the chosen and saving the kingdom. I still enjoyed these two and especially liked that Josiah fights for Red and their future together. Red’s reasoning for wearing gloves was heartbreaking, but also a weird choice for what happened to her, but PTSD works that way sometimes.
The whole prophecy was interesting and I enjoyed seeing Red save the kingdom. I also enjoyed the fact that while this story does take place over a month or so we have a lot of time skips so it didn’t drag out. I know this is set in the same world as the Chronicles of the Warlands and I wonder if there will be contact with Xy or the Plains in this series. Overall, this was good and I enjoyed it. I look forward to learning more about this world.
Trigger Warnings: slavery, torture, PTSD, rape; kidnapping; death
Rating: 3 stars - I liked it
I apparently read this series years ago, but I remember none of it. Red Gloves is a mercenary and extremely practical woman. She may be attracted to the goat herder Josiah but also isn’t amused by the belief that she is the prophesied one who will save their corrupted kingdom.
Red Gloves and Josiah’s story was enjoyable but not as romantic as I was expecting. Red and Josiah have an instant attraction and spend the nights together but the majority of this story is focused on her being the chosen and saving the kingdom. I still enjoyed these two and especially liked that Josiah fights for Red and their future together. Red’s reasoning for wearing gloves was heartbreaking, but also a weird choice for what happened to her, but PTSD works that way sometimes.
The whole prophecy was interesting and I enjoyed seeing Red save the kingdom. I also enjoyed the fact that while this story does take place over a month or so we have a lot of time skips so it didn’t drag out. I know this is set in the same world as the Chronicles of the Warlands and I wonder if there will be contact with Xy or the Plains in this series. Overall, this was good and I enjoyed it. I look forward to learning more about this world.
Trigger Warnings: slavery, torture, PTSD, rape; kidnapping; death
April 14, 2020
I'm still trying to figure out the correct order to read this series along with the Warlord series. I started by reading the first three of the Chronicles of Warlands (aka Warprize) series and moved on to this one, but so far it's not clear why this is the recommended order. I’ll keep plodding along, for science.
A more romance-heavy series than Vaughan's first, but also more fantasy elements, which are slow to emerge, but do come out full force as the book progresses.
This book doesn't play with ideas of language or culture like her first series, either. If you're looking for some standard, solid fantasy romance, this is a decent option. Nothing mind-blowing,but some of my favorite very minor characters introduced early in the book. There is also some serious #feminism happening in these pages. How does that affect the characters? Well, you can decide if it does.
I enjoyed it, but only recommending to my romance fans who also enjoy some fantasy elements. (I personally could do with more fantasy, less romance, but I'm still reading the next book!)
A more romance-heavy series than Vaughan's first, but also more fantasy elements, which are slow to emerge, but do come out full force as the book progresses.
This book doesn't play with ideas of language or culture like her first series, either. If you're looking for some standard, solid fantasy romance, this is a decent option. Nothing mind-blowing,but some of my favorite very minor characters introduced early in the book. There is also some serious #feminism happening in these pages. How does that affect the characters? Well, you can decide if it does.
I enjoyed it, but only recommending to my romance fans who also enjoy some fantasy elements. (I personally could do with more fantasy, less romance, but I'm still reading the next book!)
July 23, 2017
The author tried to make a badass heroine and failed miserably. The characterization of the heroine was not good at all. I was hoping to see the character grow as the book progresses but it didn't happen at all.
I understand that a person can be a fighter, a warrior but that doesn't mean the warrior can actually lead. I never saw even a glimpse of Red gloves as a leader.
Many of the leaders seemed to be immature. The characters age didn't fit in at many places. For example the rebel was started 5 years ago yet the age of the babe saved became 15 when red gloves came.
I think the author didn't track the time line of her characters.
The book was loosely built and I never expected the author of such high standard to deliver such a disaster.
I understand that a person can be a fighter, a warrior but that doesn't mean the warrior can actually lead. I never saw even a glimpse of Red gloves as a leader.
Many of the leaders seemed to be immature. The characters age didn't fit in at many places. For example the rebel was started 5 years ago yet the age of the babe saved became 15 when red gloves came.
I think the author didn't track the time line of her characters.
The book was loosely built and I never expected the author of such high standard to deliver such a disaster.
April 5, 2021
An off shoot of the Chronicles of the Warlands (Warprize et al) - but in a different period/area of the universe. Red Gloves is a mercenary who falls for a down at heel Lord who has lost his magic. There's a lot packed into one book: battles are fought and kingdoms are won by Red Gloves and her sister in arms Bethral (aka Brienne). The role reversal is a bit clunky, as is the mystique about the red gloves, but it's a fair bit of pandemic escapism, featuring fantasy with romance thrown in. Personally I liked the fact that the worlds are interconnected, but not everything was explained and I became quite fond of the magical goats.
(Postscript:
...and I've just connected Warna (of Farentell) and the Verice from the Barony of Tassinic (Fate's Star) - who make a guest appearance in the final chapters - I guess Red Gloves must take place some 6 months after events in Fate's Star, but essentially they are stand-alone novels).
(Postscript:
...and I've just connected Warna (of Farentell) and the Verice from the Barony of Tassinic (Fate's Star) - who make a guest appearance in the final chapters - I guess Red Gloves must take place some 6 months after events in Fate's Star, but essentially they are stand-alone novels).
January 17, 2022
This is a very enjoyable epic fantasy set in the same universe as the "Warprize" trilogy, but in a different part of the world. It was entertaining with action, adventure, and a bit of magic! The heroine of the story, Red Gloves, is a free spirit who is strong, independent, and unafraid of confrontation. And she reminded me a lot of Xena Warrior Princess, but with more romance thrown into the storytelling.
Susan Ericksen narrated this audiobook and the Warprize trilogy. She was simply amazing, clearly differentiating between male and female voices and exhibiting varying emotions with aplomb. Brava!
Susan Ericksen narrated this audiobook and the Warprize trilogy. She was simply amazing, clearly differentiating between male and female voices and exhibiting varying emotions with aplomb. Brava!
September 7, 2018
A Warlands Universe Novel Set Outside of Xy or The Plains.
And possibly, this novel is set centuries after the stories of Keir, Xylara and their cohorts. Magic is a well known and commonly used resource among the characters of _Dagger-Star_. Red Gloves, the protagonist of this novel is a mercenary of great skill, hot temper, and haunted past finds herself facing down mages, bandits, and odium (zombies, as near as I can discern) in her attempt to earn a profit and avoid the machinations of politically motivated allies and a particular prophesy.
And possibly, this novel is set centuries after the stories of Keir, Xylara and their cohorts. Magic is a well known and commonly used resource among the characters of _Dagger-Star_. Red Gloves, the protagonist of this novel is a mercenary of great skill, hot temper, and haunted past finds herself facing down mages, bandits, and odium (zombies, as near as I can discern) in her attempt to earn a profit and avoid the machinations of politically motivated allies and a particular prophesy.
December 16, 2022
I can’t get over what a wasted opportunity there was in this book. SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!!!!
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Here we’re have Josiah who is immune to magic, and a woman who wears gloves in perpetuity for a secret reason. The natural conclusion: she has harmful magical powers that she tries to conceal with her gloves, but he is immune. I was very disappointed by the reveal for why she wears gloves. Also, this felt very meander-y. IMO the story could use some whittling. But I’ll always love Vaughan for creating Lara, Keir, and their world together
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Here we’re have Josiah who is immune to magic, and a woman who wears gloves in perpetuity for a secret reason. The natural conclusion: she has harmful magical powers that she tries to conceal with her gloves, but he is immune. I was very disappointed by the reveal for why she wears gloves. Also, this felt very meander-y. IMO the story could use some whittling. But I’ll always love Vaughan for creating Lara, Keir, and their world together
May 16, 2020
A fine fantasy romance tale, but not quite as good as Vaughan's Warprize series - the characters feel underdeveloped and there are a few cases that lean too heavily on telling rather than showing. The resolution also feels a bit too easy, particularly after the establishment of a powerful and far-reaching magic system.
June 22, 2020
Red and Josiah are wonderful main characters in this fantasy world where a Chosen challenger must rise up against the usurper of the crown. I loved Red, the mercenary turned savior, especially when she .
February 22, 2021
Me gustó esta novela. En general muy buena, con acción y romance por doquier, con magia y conspiraciones. El personaje de Red es mi preferido. Me gustó su consistencia, creo que nunca había leído sobre una mercenaria como protagonista buscando el beneficio en cada trabajo. Hubo momentos donde se volvió un poco lenta la historia pero me gustó mucho el final.
March 6, 2021
Nice world building. A great adventure. Witty and likeable characters. Sometimes over simplistic in its descriptions of the big events of the book, but I love dagger-star for its complicated and imperfect protagonist and her efforts to do something good in the world. This is my type of fantasy book.
October 5, 2021
I read eleven chapters of this book. I could not continue.
After the Warlands, I had such high expectations of this book. That was my mistake.
I found the plot non-existent, main characters that make me roll my eyes and so bored I had to force myself to continue. I will do this to myself no more.
Maybe someday I will read this story. That day is not today.
After the Warlands, I had such high expectations of this book. That was my mistake.
I found the plot non-existent, main characters that make me roll my eyes and so bored I had to force myself to continue. I will do this to myself no more.
Maybe someday I will read this story. That day is not today.
March 10, 2018
What a story!
This story is so different from anything I read. So fresh. And this writer is amazing. So easy to read and follow the thoughts. Perfect amount of characters with easily distinguished characteristics.
This story is so different from anything I read. So fresh. And this writer is amazing. So easy to read and follow the thoughts. Perfect amount of characters with easily distinguished characteristics.
September 24, 2018
I went into Dagger-Star not quite knowing what to expect. I came out of Dagger-Star in love with Red and more than ready to read more by Elizabeth Vaughan. This book gave me high fantasy without giving up having a good romantic plot.
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