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Of Darkness & Dragons #1
Winds of Darkness
Darkmoon is an assassin, the best in Argdrion, but he holds a dangerous secret that could cost him everything. When a seer approaches him with a tale of death and fire, he scoffs at her revelation that he is one of those who will save the world. For even if he did care enough about Argdrion to save it, he would never risk his secret coming to light.
Queen Azkanysh has taken the throne after her husband’s murder, making her the sole ruler in a kingdom ruled by men. Struggling for control, she seeks freedom for the women of Zarcayra while simultaneously waging war against the kingdom who hired her husband’s murderer.
Hathus has sat in prison for three and a half years and has little hope that he will ever see the light of day again. But then a mysterious rescuer approaches him with the promise of his freedom if he embarks on a dangerous quest to a mythical otherworld.
Nathaira has lost her clan and her freedom. She is forced to fight in a human arena. A skinchanger such as her can expect only one end: death. But Nathaira will not accept that fate and seeks to escape and find her captured younger brother.
As war starts between two kingdoms, visions of the future are given to a few. A darkness is coming to Argdrion, a darkness that will change the lives of everyone.
Queen Azkanysh has taken the throne after her husband’s murder, making her the sole ruler in a kingdom ruled by men. Struggling for control, she seeks freedom for the women of Zarcayra while simultaneously waging war against the kingdom who hired her husband’s murderer.
Hathus has sat in prison for three and a half years and has little hope that he will ever see the light of day again. But then a mysterious rescuer approaches him with the promise of his freedom if he embarks on a dangerous quest to a mythical otherworld.
Nathaira has lost her clan and her freedom. She is forced to fight in a human arena. A skinchanger such as her can expect only one end: death. But Nathaira will not accept that fate and seeks to escape and find her captured younger brother.
As war starts between two kingdoms, visions of the future are given to a few. A darkness is coming to Argdrion, a darkness that will change the lives of everyone.
- GenresFantasy
624 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2019
6 people are currently reading
1861 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca L. Snowe
2 books88 followersWINDS OF DARKNESS IS PUBLISHED!!!! Go to this link amazon.com/author/rebeccalsnowe.amazon to buy a copy!
Rebecca L. Snowe is a epic fantasy writer .
Her love for fantasy began at age fifteen when she read the Lord Of The Rings, and her fascination for all things fantasy has not been quenched since.
Rebecca loves the dark and gritty in her writing as well as the books that she reads. Some of her favorite authors include: J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, and Mark Lawrence.
When she's not writing, Rebecca enjoys traveling, playing piano, and racing cars.
Rebecca L. Snowe is a epic fantasy writer .
Her love for fantasy began at age fifteen when she read the Lord Of The Rings, and her fascination for all things fantasy has not been quenched since.
Rebecca loves the dark and gritty in her writing as well as the books that she reads. Some of her favorite authors include: J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, and Mark Lawrence.
When she's not writing, Rebecca enjoys traveling, playing piano, and racing cars.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 21, 2021
Winds of Darkness by Rebecca L. Snow opened my eyes to the wonderful world of fantasy novels.
I normally despise fantasy novels. I have a slew of reasons why they don't normally vibe with me, yet this book proved to me that maybe it's just the book and not the genre. Why? Because this book was incredible, kept me hooked and wasn't confusing.
Seriously, this book made me love fantasy! This kind of book makes me realize why people love digging into these books. There are so many characters, so much world building and yet it didn't feel like it was all that long. This book is over 600 pages but you wouldn't know it! Rebecca L. Snowe has a real talent and I hope she continues using it with the sequel to this book (because it left on a massive cliffhanger and MAN do I hate cliffhangers).
Rebecca also does an excellent job with making me enjoy most of the characters. There are always going to be characters you don't like, but having them all weave together somehow in the story was truly fun and interesting! I loved the Queen (Azkanysh) and the plot line there. The cliffhanger it left for her... Ooh, I need the next book as soon as possible! Rebecca is so mean leaving us hanging there! I also enjoyed Dark Moon and Nathaira. I didn't expect so many worlds to collide so quickly, but I loved every second of it!
Shapeshifters, Queens taking the thrones over the males (when women aren't respected), a headstrong Princess trying to make a name for herself, an assassin and more are all apart of this truly mesmerizing book. I highly recommend it if you love fantasy or are just starting out! This is what I hoped Game of Thrones would have been. So, yeah, by my standards this is better than Game of Thrones. With a great, fast paced environment with lots of descriptions and character development, this book is a winner!
Four out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I normally despise fantasy novels. I have a slew of reasons why they don't normally vibe with me, yet this book proved to me that maybe it's just the book and not the genre. Why? Because this book was incredible, kept me hooked and wasn't confusing.
Seriously, this book made me love fantasy! This kind of book makes me realize why people love digging into these books. There are so many characters, so much world building and yet it didn't feel like it was all that long. This book is over 600 pages but you wouldn't know it! Rebecca L. Snowe has a real talent and I hope she continues using it with the sequel to this book (because it left on a massive cliffhanger and MAN do I hate cliffhangers).
Rebecca also does an excellent job with making me enjoy most of the characters. There are always going to be characters you don't like, but having them all weave together somehow in the story was truly fun and interesting! I loved the Queen (Azkanysh) and the plot line there. The cliffhanger it left for her... Ooh, I need the next book as soon as possible! Rebecca is so mean leaving us hanging there! I also enjoyed Dark Moon and Nathaira. I didn't expect so many worlds to collide so quickly, but I loved every second of it!
Shapeshifters, Queens taking the thrones over the males (when women aren't respected), a headstrong Princess trying to make a name for herself, an assassin and more are all apart of this truly mesmerizing book. I highly recommend it if you love fantasy or are just starting out! This is what I hoped Game of Thrones would have been. So, yeah, by my standards this is better than Game of Thrones. With a great, fast paced environment with lots of descriptions and character development, this book is a winner!
Four out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
February 5, 2020
Big book, but don't let that scare you! It reads like one half it's size because it's almost impossible to put down.
An Epic Fantasy story, which is actually Epic! In fact, everything about this fantastic novel is Epic! The plot, the characters, the world building, the fight scenes, with all of it, this author does it right.
I read it twice and will probably read it again before the next novel comes out.
It's the first book in the series, so all of the different characters storylines are not tied up in a nice and neat little package at the end, but I'm excited to see what Ms. Snowe has in store for them in the next book. It's definitely worth reading and I believe the rest of the series will be worth it too!
Tired of waiting on George R.R. Martin to finish the Game of Thrones series?
Give Rebecca Snowe a try!
You want Queens? She writes Queens. You want Assassins? She writes Assassins. You want Seers? She writes Seers.
You get the point.
Seriously Epic!
An Epic Fantasy story, which is actually Epic! In fact, everything about this fantastic novel is Epic! The plot, the characters, the world building, the fight scenes, with all of it, this author does it right.
I read it twice and will probably read it again before the next novel comes out.
It's the first book in the series, so all of the different characters storylines are not tied up in a nice and neat little package at the end, but I'm excited to see what Ms. Snowe has in store for them in the next book. It's definitely worth reading and I believe the rest of the series will be worth it too!
Tired of waiting on George R.R. Martin to finish the Game of Thrones series?
Give Rebecca Snowe a try!
You want Queens? She writes Queens. You want Assassins? She writes Assassins. You want Seers? She writes Seers.
You get the point.
Seriously Epic!
June 23, 2020
This book is my kind of (epic) fantasy read, I absolutely enjoyed the heck out of this book (and I cannot wait for the next book) and I absolutely loved all of the characters (whether good/bad/shady... it was just so well done). Apart from the first book not really going anywhere overall (I mean: all the characters do make progress in their own ways, I just felt like more could have happened before the "ending"--maybe this is just me so eager for more of the story). The pacing is marvelous and the writing is stellar from my point of view--particularly the plot. I will definitely check out the next book (is it an intended trilogy or series, I don't know?)!
I don't freely give out 4 or 5 star ratings because I believe most books don't achieve above an average score of 3 (loads of books I've read turn out to be 2s). However, books I love and thoroughly enjoy reading easily hit the mark... and this book should TOTALLY earn 5 stars. In fact, it would easily earn 5 stars from me if it wasn't for all the errors (typos, grammatical mistakes, etc).
This is the only real negative remark I have to say about this book (and the only reason for the 4 star rating): all of the errors knocked my review down a star because they kept increasing as the book went on (so many errors in the last half). I really feel like some more editing could have drastically helped (I mean, these kinds of errors really distract me from a story and I so enjoyed the immersion and escape from reality that whenever an error jarred me, it annoyed me... a few errors overall isn't so bad but the version I read was plagued with error after error). I didn't want to deduct too much from the review, especially if this author is an indie author and did most of the work and editing herself (I'm not really sure if this is the case or not) and it still turns out to be a wonderful book (even with the errors).
I don't freely give out 4 or 5 star ratings because I believe most books don't achieve above an average score of 3 (loads of books I've read turn out to be 2s). However, books I love and thoroughly enjoy reading easily hit the mark... and this book should TOTALLY earn 5 stars. In fact, it would easily earn 5 stars from me if it wasn't for all the errors (typos, grammatical mistakes, etc).
This is the only real negative remark I have to say about this book (and the only reason for the 4 star rating): all of the errors knocked my review down a star because they kept increasing as the book went on (so many errors in the last half). I really feel like some more editing could have drastically helped (I mean, these kinds of errors really distract me from a story and I so enjoyed the immersion and escape from reality that whenever an error jarred me, it annoyed me... a few errors overall isn't so bad but the version I read was plagued with error after error). I didn't want to deduct too much from the review, especially if this author is an indie author and did most of the work and editing herself (I'm not really sure if this is the case or not) and it still turns out to be a wonderful book (even with the errors).
December 30, 2019
Rebecca Snowe has a gift for keeping the attention of her readers in the Winds of Darkness. Although there are many characters introduced and different story lines (that have not intersected by the end of the book), each story line captures the imagination of the reader.
This is a dark, gritty fantasy of kingdoms in turmoil, a ruthless assassin, endangered magical creatures, and strong willed women. The tension of the fights and confrontations in the novel are so well developed, that you find yourself sighing in relief at the end of a chapter, not realizing that you've been slowing down your breathing in anticipation of the next sentence you're going to read.
Only disappointment is that this is not a stand alone book, and you'll have to read the sequel to find out what happens to the main characters.
This is a dark, gritty fantasy of kingdoms in turmoil, a ruthless assassin, endangered magical creatures, and strong willed women. The tension of the fights and confrontations in the novel are so well developed, that you find yourself sighing in relief at the end of a chapter, not realizing that you've been slowing down your breathing in anticipation of the next sentence you're going to read.
Only disappointment is that this is not a stand alone book, and you'll have to read the sequel to find out what happens to the main characters.
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January 5, 2021Ratings - 4.8/5
Fantasy is something which can virtually take you to a world which is created by a human/ author. For me Game of thrones, Vikings and The Witcher are those fantasies which confuses me of what exactly is the reality. Now it's time to add one more title to it. It's called "Winds of Darkness (Of Darkness and Dragons Book 1)"
Starting with the title of the book "Winds of Darkness (Of Darkness and Dragons Book 1)". What do visualize when you read the title, let me tell you what I saw. I saw a silent land, winds blowing, clouds bringing the darkness and some dark music in the background. Woaah! What was that? It was just a glimpse. The title is definitely a relevant one and is a nice fit for the place. Cover on the other hand compliments the title and the story of the book. I would say the outer appearance of the book is really appealing and would definitely attract readers towards it.
Talking about the plot of the book, the story is a long and detailed read which takes reader to a journey and forces ones brain to visualize all the scenes happening. Here's the plot glimpse, A queen, An assassin, a skin changer, a seer these are some character which will hook you up to the story. After the murder of her husband, Queen Azkanysh took the throne, rendering her the sole ruler of a kingdom ruled by men. The assassin Darkmoon Argdrion's strongest assassin and he holds something that is a dangerous secret that could cost him all. Hathus had been in jail for three and a half years, and he had no hope of ever seeing the light of day again. But then, if he embarks on a risky search for a magical otherworld, a mysterious rescuer meets him with the hope of his freedom. You know what, I'll be very honest to sum up such a book in few words is nearly impossible. From story to character, from world building to narration, from details of a scene to a fight scene, the book just hit all of it and I am so very impressed with the skill set of the author. The best part is yet to come. While reading there are only quite a few books where while reading the reader experiences the emotions while reading and this is one of them. That's really difficult to achieve and I would like to thank the author for giving me such an experience through the book and congratulate her on this achievement and trust me I am a fan. I would definitely recommend it read and also advise the author ot get it onto screens people are going to love it and I am sure about it.
Talking about the words and the language used in the book, in terms of difficulty the language used was quite an easy one whereas the choice of words is something that I would appreciate because that's responsible for a smooth flow while reading the book and triggering the emotions. So yeah the books is a perfect read but just some editing errors make it a little off in the last section but that's okay when you get to read such an amazing story. So if you haven't read it yet what are you waiting for?
Fantasy is something which can virtually take you to a world which is created by a human/ author. For me Game of thrones, Vikings and The Witcher are those fantasies which confuses me of what exactly is the reality. Now it's time to add one more title to it. It's called "Winds of Darkness (Of Darkness and Dragons Book 1)"
Starting with the title of the book "Winds of Darkness (Of Darkness and Dragons Book 1)". What do visualize when you read the title, let me tell you what I saw. I saw a silent land, winds blowing, clouds bringing the darkness and some dark music in the background. Woaah! What was that? It was just a glimpse. The title is definitely a relevant one and is a nice fit for the place. Cover on the other hand compliments the title and the story of the book. I would say the outer appearance of the book is really appealing and would definitely attract readers towards it.
Talking about the plot of the book, the story is a long and detailed read which takes reader to a journey and forces ones brain to visualize all the scenes happening. Here's the plot glimpse, A queen, An assassin, a skin changer, a seer these are some character which will hook you up to the story. After the murder of her husband, Queen Azkanysh took the throne, rendering her the sole ruler of a kingdom ruled by men. The assassin Darkmoon Argdrion's strongest assassin and he holds something that is a dangerous secret that could cost him all. Hathus had been in jail for three and a half years, and he had no hope of ever seeing the light of day again. But then, if he embarks on a risky search for a magical otherworld, a mysterious rescuer meets him with the hope of his freedom. You know what, I'll be very honest to sum up such a book in few words is nearly impossible. From story to character, from world building to narration, from details of a scene to a fight scene, the book just hit all of it and I am so very impressed with the skill set of the author. The best part is yet to come. While reading there are only quite a few books where while reading the reader experiences the emotions while reading and this is one of them. That's really difficult to achieve and I would like to thank the author for giving me such an experience through the book and congratulate her on this achievement and trust me I am a fan. I would definitely recommend it read and also advise the author ot get it onto screens people are going to love it and I am sure about it.
Talking about the words and the language used in the book, in terms of difficulty the language used was quite an easy one whereas the choice of words is something that I would appreciate because that's responsible for a smooth flow while reading the book and triggering the emotions. So yeah the books is a perfect read but just some editing errors make it a little off in the last section but that's okay when you get to read such an amazing story. So if you haven't read it yet what are you waiting for?
December 28, 2019
Darkmoon is an assassin, the best in Argdrion, but he holds a dangerous secret that could cost him everything. When a seer approaches him with a tale of death and fire, he scoffs at her revelation that he is one of those who will save the world. Queen Azkanysh has taken the throne after her husband’s murder, making her the sole ruler in a kingdom ruled by men. Struggling for control, she seeks freedom for the women of Zarcayra while simultaneously waging war against the kingdom who hired her husband’s murderer.Hathus has sat in prison for three and a half years and has little hope that he will ever see the light of day again. But then a mysterious rescuer approaches him with the promise of his freedom if he embarks on a dangerous quest to a mythical otherworld.Nathaira has lost her clan and her freedom, forced to fight in the Crystoln arena. A skinchanger such as her can expect only one end: death. But Nathaira will not accept that fate as she seeks to escape and find her captured younger brother.The Unknown Voice knows that immortality is not only obtained in the next life. He seeks life-eternal. But the consequences of his path to everlasting-life will not only change the lives of everyone in Argdrion, but bring an ancient and uncontrollable darkness to the world.
January 28, 2020
I really enjoyed this book! I won it in a Goodreads giveaway and am very pleased I did because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own. It was a little slow to start, but I find that most epic fantasy novels with detailed worlds and characters take a little bit to get the ball rolling. And the world and characters were very lush and thought out! It was gritty and realistic and well written. I did have a hard time pronouncing some of the names which made it a little difficult in the beginning to keep track of things. Another thing that would have helped is a more detailed map. I LOVE being able to follow characters along a map and, although there was a map in the front, it was not very detailed and the center was between the centerfold of two pages so things got lost. My favorite characters were Nathaira and Darkmoon; I found myself eagerly awaiting their chapters in the book. I can’t wait for the sequel and really hope I don’t have to wait too long!
April 30, 2020
Winds of Darkness was filled with realistic characters and interesting plot twists. The author did so well on the cliff-hangers that she had me wanting to read more and more to find out what was going to happen next! Each chapter jumps around in the perspective of multiple characters-- usually I do not prefer this style but this book I enjoyed for it was done well. The descriptive passages were enjoyable to read and I particulary liked the character developement. The only thing I can say that was a turn-off, was that it was a bit on the long side. But the story is paced so quickly and so much stuff happens in it that it didn't seem as long as it was. Looking forward to sequels!
December 19, 2019
I was very lucky to win this book from a GR contest. Snowe does a wonderful job building an immersive and detailed world for the reader. Her writing brings the different environments and lands to life. Unfortunately, the multiple characters and alternating chapters make it somewhat difficult to connect to one character, but the story itself makes it well worth the read!
February 12, 2020
A very good read where you get to know a huge world with a variety of different characters. (More different than one may first anticipate) with great plot twists and really a fantastic world. The forest folk are my favorite part of the world, they make a small entry but just so wholesome. Glad they were included
December 11, 2019
I wasn't expecting much but I really ended up enjoying this.
December 20, 2019
Excellent book!!!
January 31, 2020
I like it so much that I read it a couple of times! If you get the chance to read this book don't pass it up.
February 9, 2023
Note: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I had a vested interest in the different main characters early on. I did feel like there was some more editing that needed to be done in the last 100 or so pages. Sad to see that the second book in the series hasn't been written yet!
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I had a vested interest in the different main characters early on. I did feel like there was some more editing that needed to be done in the last 100 or so pages. Sad to see that the second book in the series hasn't been written yet!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews