Wind's Aria by Tess Stockton - Virtual Review tour and Giveaway

(Short, fantasy romance)

This review is done in conjunction with the author's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions.

Tessa will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win an awesome prize!



Elected as the Songstress, Aria takes her place on the sacred platform to sing before every dawn. As long as she does so, peace and abundant life belong to her people. One morning, amidst a strange wind that brings with it a curse in its eerie howl, Aria loses her ability to make music. But the encroaching death that transpires isn’t her biggest tragedy. It’s that she adores the cause of her blunder, for he’s a magnificent winged creature who’s stolen more than her voice.

With evocative imagery and clear description, author Tessa Stockton takes us to a world where the sun rises in a cloudless sky every day and there is never drought, thanks to the songstress, Aria.  But then, one day she stutters in her song and everything changes.

Aria was a simple, sweet girl who didn't seem strong enough to do the tasks eventually given her.  She was focused and pure, was never to marry and would live her life to sing to the Sacred One.  That she begins to question things makes her an enemy of the state, and that she believes her behavior is the cause of the destruction of her land is a heavy burden of guilt to bear.

The Il Bora is a fallen angel, follower of the serpent and tasked with Aria's destruction.  But he, too, begins to question and he, too, doesn't discharge his duty as charged.  Instead he gets to know Aria, and he falls in love.

The change from idyllic to dark is rapid and frightening for Aria.  Everything she believes and understand changes.  I admired her fortitude for stepping up to do what needs to be done, no matter her fear and worry.  She is stronger than she appears.

The Il Bora never felt evil, despite his origins (and his master).  There was never a question that he'd do what was right which, had he been written differently, might have made the conflict stronger.

Still, Wind's Aria is an eloquently written fantasy that had enough story to have been a much longer work. I think, had there been just a few more pages,  it would have better met its potential, as some parts felt a bit rushed.

I did truly admire the author's writing skills, though, and would be most willing to read work by her again.

4 Flowers - This was a very good book! I'd recommend it to my friends.



Now enjoy an excerpt:

Fog continued to dance around them covering most of his body, to her dismay. Just curious, she convinced herself. She closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose to concentrate . . . something that seemed hard to do at that moment.

“Feeling better?” The smooth notes of his words swam through her ears.

“Mmm.” She nodded. “I guess.”

He continued to stare.

Aria cleared her throat. “Um . . . can I ask you a question?”

“You may ask . . .”

“But will you answer?”

“That depends.”

“Oh. Well. How did you get to be so huge when all the Meleyans are rather small? And why haven’t I seen you before?”

“That’s two questions.”

“S-sorry.”

He exhaled a steady stream of air, adding to the mist, as if deliberating.

Aria felt the strength of his breath, blowing strands of her hair across her face.

Slow, yet with precision, he lifted a lock from the curve of her mouth and rubbed the strands between his fingers. He murmured, “Soft and orange, like the petals of prairie-tails.” Then he bent and smelled her hair, closing his eyes. “And sweet like the honey of bees.” Again he held her gaze. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Do you have a sting?”

“I asked you a question first—”

“Two,” he corrected. Then he smiled.

A veteran of the performing arts and worldwide missions, Tessa Stockton also contributed as a writer/editor for ministry publications, ghostwriter for political content, and she headed a column on the topic of forgiveness. Today she writes romance and intrigue novels in a variety of genres. In addition to her fantasy romance, WIND’S ARIA, she’s the author of suspense/thriller, THE UNSPEAKABLE, political intrigue/romance, THE UNFORGIVABLE, and a literary short story, LOVE AND LULL, with more in the works.

www.TessaStockton.com
https://twitter.com/TessaStockton
https://www.facebook.com/tessastockton

Publisher's Bookstore: http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/winds-aria/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winds-Aria-ebook/dp/B00B1FEC2A/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358431989&sr=1-4&keywords=tessa+stockton

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winds-aria-tessa-stockton/1114146612?ean=2940016000206