Author Note: this book is no longer available on any retailer
Captain Arama Dzornaea thought she was just supposed to transport Crown Prince Vistaren Doth'Mara to meet his contracted bride. As the king's top privateer, she thinks she can handle anything. What Arama doesn't anticipate is storms out of season, an unruly stormwitch, and a strange witchery echo that puts Arama, her ship the Dawn Star, and everyone aboard smack in the middle of a mystery.
Stephanie A. Cain writes epic and urban fantasy. She lives in Indiana and works at a small liberal arts college. She enjoys hiking, reading, singing, and general geekery. She has three cats, which she is well aware puts her firmly in crazy cat lady territory, and way more dice and painted miniatures than she needs.
Super cute, and exciting, and so damn intriguing. I LOVE Arama and Lo and I need them to be H.E.A. There's a gay main character, which is awesome. It's set on A SHIP which is my favourite setting of all the settings. Plus it has a really unique sea creature. And it's a quick read. And it's free!! (as of 05.06.16) Excited to read more books!
This was a fascinating book, especially in that it feels more like a prequel than a full book, and yet it still had this amazingly rich world full of detailed and nuanced characters. There were no unimportant or side characters, each person introduced their own thoughts and fears, as well as their own plans for this voyage. As individual plans conflicted with the whole, each person had to help out in the way they knew how and allow the voyage to finish. It was an amazing opener and I am very interested to see a full book in this richly detailed universe!
This short story is a wonderful introduction to the series and world. Although there's not a real plot, there is enough going on for it to feel complete as an intro story, and I'm intrigued by the characters and the larger context. I was impressed by how much personality the author managed to give all four of the focal characters in such a short space. I will definitely be picking up the other books in this series!
For a short story there’s a lot of drama within multiple characters in the story. Very well written and enjoyable to read. I would hope that Mz Cain takes this story And add more chapters to create a very dramatic and realistic story that you will not be able to put down.
A neat short story prequel that does a good job of melding theme and world building, something too few modern fantasy authors are mindful of. Has me interested in the main series for sure.
For a random free book I got on Amazon, it was better than I expected and a decent start to the series. I wasn't intending at all to read the series, but now I might be interested.
Wow! This is such an amazing read. Fast-paced, with a diverse and interesting cast that I immediately connected with, and an intriguing world.
Arama is strong, touch, and competent. She has an air of mystery that made me want to read on about her. Her complicated relationship with Lo has me longing to see them both again, and hoping for a happily ever after between them at some point.
I loved seeing a gay prince, even if he was on his way to an arranged (het) marriage. His commitment to doing what's right for his country is admirable, and he has a good head on his shoulders. I hope to read more of him as he makes decisions that are not only right for his country, but also right for him.
My favourite character is the deaf stormwitch Kinnet. She is such an interesting and complex character and I loved reading her role in the plot. The author gives just enough glimpse into her past to make her as mysterious as Arama and I can't wait to learn more about her!
This story just flew by and it's made me an avid fan of Stephanie Cain. I'm going out to buy book two right now...this series is just too good to pass up!
A short novella introducing a world of woman privateers, gay princes forced to marry and unexperienced stormwitches tasked to bring the ship safely through their sea voyage... sounds good, doesn't it? And it makes for good reading as well. S. A. Cain is a talented storyteller; she has a way with words and descriptions. I like the characters she introduces in "Stormsinger", even though about seventy pages don't very much space for intense personality representation. Means, I'll have to go and get the next book in this series, "Stormshadow", to spend a longer vacation in a faszinating world with interesting people. One thing I need to criticize: If an ebook only provides a 73 pages novella, it's pretty damn disappointing to have the story end at 73 percent, followed by a sneak peak into the next, full sized novel. In a book I'd paid for this marketing trick would make me angry. Since the novella is free, I can deal.
A short, fast read about a privateer escorting a prince by sea to meet his arranged bride and an unexpected danger that only the stormwitch aboard can stop. I liked the weather magic quite a bit, but unfortunately most of the page space was taken up by the will-they-won't-they romance between the privateer and the general escorting the prince and the prince's anxiety about meeting his bride and whether she'll understand that he's exclusively attracted to men, neither of which are resolved in this story. Overall the story felt a little thin, but I'm curious enough to read on to the next volume, which seems to be from the POV of the princess of another country who is to marry the prince.
"Whenever that particularly disconcerting [romantic] desire hit her, she went looking for a Strid ship to attack. Blowing things up always made her feel better."
And that's when I decided I would enjoy reading about Captain Arama Dzornaea.
This novelette manages to weave several stories together as Arama, a stormwitch, a young prince, and a singer wrestle individually and together with their conflicting longings. There are hints of a much greater world than we see, which I expect will be explored further in other books.
(As a writer, I have to say that I was particularly impressed with the fact that this was an 8-Hour Challenge book. Like a piece of Kinnet's sea glass, this is rough and yet polished.)
Disguised as a fantasy short story, what we get here is an apparently casual snapshot of a short time lapse in the life of four characters plus one creature.
There is nothing particularly new nor original: every detail of setting and characterization has been read several times before and yet the author manages a tight, compelling plot with characters caught in the middle of their own relatable struggles. The captain, who is by far the most complex one, could have used a little more shading: her reluctance to accept a love freely offered seemed more a whim than the fear it really is.
Mind you, I know this is a short story, but something about this tale seemed rushed through. Like there were tons of parts skipped over. Or maybe I just want to read a longer version of it. But the world itself sounded interesting and I'm a sucker for love stories that don't just begin with happily ever after so awesome and lovely read altogether.
Quick, cute freebie but I don't really see it as having a high re-read potential for me. It seemed more like a prequel short than a full, complete story.
Pirates and princes and witches and stormsingers--oh, my! This charming short story/novella is a compelling tale of its own and a wonderful introduction to a series that I can't wait to read.