Hello friends! I have not hosted a blog tour in a long time and I am excited to get back into tours with this book. Coincidentally, the first blog tour I ever did was with Tomorrow Comes Media and it is exciting to get back into promoting books on tour with them again! I shared about Rayden in Prowling the Darkness and today I am going to tell you about another novella featuring her: Darkness Enthroned. Take a look at the synopsis below:
In the heart of a frigid northern winter, Rayden Valkyrie takes refuge in the lands of the Sarvan people when a mounted column of Attun warriors is seen passing along the outskirts of their territory heading west.
Far from their steppe domain in the east, the Attun warriors are journeying into a remote, unpopulated wilderness, drawing great alarm from the Sarvans about their purpose. Learning of the situation, Rayden joins with a band of warriors from the area’s villages to investigate.
Following the tracks of the Attun warriors, they are led to the base of an enormous, ancient burial mound, where the trail vanishes abruptly. A mystery looms, and Rayden seeks to discover the nature of the burial mound and the reason why the Attuns have traveled so far from their homelands to enter it.
Darkness Enthroned is a stand-alone adventure that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
Content Notes: Depiction of violence, death, human and animal sacrifice, animal harm.
Thoughts on Darkness Enthroned
I loved Rayden from Prowling the Darkness and it did not take me long to get reacquainted with her in Darkness Enthroned. As always, she is her smart and knowledgeable shelf, helping those who are in need. If you like stories with mythology and mysteries of old burial sites and tombs, you’ll likely enjoy this one. I did feel at one point through the plot that Rayden came out as a bit overconfident but she is such a good protagonist and it is ok for her to have flaws.
Here are three things I loved about this book:
# 1 Rayden
As one of my favorite characters in Fantasy, Rayden is a strong character that others look up to. It is impossible to deny her curious and cautious nature and without her, getting answers would be much more dangerous. With her wealth of knowledge from her travels, she is a great resource for people and cultures. Stephen Zimmer is quite tactful in presenting her as an authority with few words – he uses the format of the novella really well and does not need a whole book to set her up. I haven’t read his full novels with Rayden and this only excites me as I would spend more time with her there.
# 2 The Tomb
Stumbling upon a random tomb with some shady business going on in there is quite creepy. Though this is not horror, the sheer power of the entity that might be upon them if Rayden does not do something is portrayed well. A novella has to be a fast paced story and I felt that the tomb offered the perfect backdrop for a historical and mysterious story. The world building was vivid and I thought I was with Rayden and the warriors.
# 3 Horses
This is my second book with Rayden and her love for animals shone in this one as well. While Prowling the Darkness had panthers, Darkness Enthroned had horses. Rayden has a unique connection with animals and her empathy for them, whether they are dead or alive, comes naturally. I enjoy this side of her.
Novellas are great for reading, especially when days are busy: they help us make reading progress when we think it is not possible. Darkness Enthroned is a nice story that will keep you engaged and introduce you to an unforgettable character.
** Darkness Enthroned is now available for download. **
Amazon Kindle
Check out the rest of the lineup for the tour on this page. I will be back with my review for The Awakening and interview with Stephen Zimmer in the next few days!
Many thanks to Tomorrow Comes Media for providing me a complimentary digital copy of the book for an honest review.
Cover image: Cover Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
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