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Anne Elisabeth StenglBethany House / 2014 / Trade PaperbackOur Price$14.994.5 out of 5 stars for Shadow Hand, Tales of Goldstone Wood Series #6. View reviews of this product. 20 ReviewsAvailability: In StockStock No: WW210284
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imblestAge: Under 18Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5The Most Complex Tale of Goldstone Wood Yet!February 18, 2014imblestAge: Under 18Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Goldstone Wood is not for the ignorant nor the faint of heart.
If this is your first time entering Goldstone Wood...go and read the first five books of the series first! They will help prepare your mind for the most complex Tale of Goldstone Wood yet by far.
Anne Elisabeth Stengl again weaves a compelling tale of love, sacrifice, courage, despair, darkness, hope, and triumph. Readers will be boggled by the vast and bizarre array of the denizens of the Wood, but even more so, by the way Time is handled. Once again, the author astonishes...first by taking the cold, often cruel, Daylily and the unremarkable Foxbrush as her main characters. But they are not the only characters, oh no. This story might hold the largest cast yet, drawing in beloved figures from all the books and setting them to their own important role.
Mysteries left hanging will be answered. What happened to Lionheart after Moonblood? What is the Cren Cru, really? What happened to Sun Eagle after he vanished into the wood? Did Alistair ever find Mouse? Did the sylph ever get to grant Lionheart a wish? Why do Eanrin and Imraldera seem more distant 1500 years after Starflower than closer?
Oh yes, it gets exciting.
We have no lack of heroes or villains. The Cren Cru is a truly disturbing force. But the complications of each character and the depth they have is incredibly compelling.
It is a dark tale, possibly the darkest in the series yet. There were times when "one didn't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy?" (-Samwise Gamgee) But do not fear, gentle reader! For a new dawn will come, and the sun will shine the brighter!
This is a story of revealment. Showing that even the most simple of people are much more complex than we could think. That who we see a person as is not necessarily who they are. That our true selves are most free in service To The One Who Names Us. That even the part of us we most fear can be transformed by our Prince into something beautiful.
For all fans of Goldstone Wood, here is a tale from Here and There that you cannot miss!!! -
LaurinBColoradoAge: 35-44Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5Absolutely wonderful!February 27, 2014LaurinBColoradoAge: 35-44Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5In Shadow Hand we pick up the stories of Prince Lionheart, Foxbrush - Prince Lionheart's straight-laced cousin, and Daylily - Lionheart's former betrothed. Due to previous events, Lionheart has been deposed as the crown prince and future king of the Southlands and has been replaced by the coddled, bookish, rather boring Foxbrush, who is set to marry Daylily and thus forge the alliance with the wealthy and powerful Baron of Middlecrescent. But things go seriously awry when Daylily runs away. Lionheart appears at the same moment, handing his cousin a scroll reputedly from the mystical Dame Imraldera herself. A long-held secret love for Daylily sends Foxbrush after Lionheart, who has promised to try to find Daylily. They travel into the Faerie Wood and their adventure quickly begins, where each must fight monsters, both inside and out, to find the Path set for them.
Every time I pick up another of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, I find myself happily sucked into worlds so deftly drawn that I feel myself a part of them. I am so impressed with how Stengl weaves so many threads from so many storylines back and forth into a fabulously rich tapestry. Shadow Hand is no different. I found myself unmoved by Foxbrush in previous Tales, but Stengl does an amazing job of picking up his thread and demonstrating how someone who may be thought of as, or even consider themselves, insignificant or unworthy can be used by God for mighty works.
And I love the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey-ness of Shadow Hand — how Foxbrush and Daylily end up in their own ancestral world, setting up those things that are so important to their existence in their own time. Each moment I thought I knew what was going to happen next, another surprise was thrown in that made me go, "What? No way! Really? That's so cool!" (Even my inner dialogue was left practically speechless!) As I read, I smiled effusively, and I even found myself tearing up! Beautiful!
If you even remotely like fantasy and you haven't tried Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Tales of Goldstone Wood, you are seriously missing out and must remedy the situation immediately! Go! Now!
I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own! -
Liz RHartselle, AlAge: Under 18Gender: Female5 Stars Out Of 5July 13, 2014Liz RHartselle, AlAge: Under 18Gender: FemaleAnne Elisabeth Stengl has become a staple of fantasy as far as I'm concerned. Every time I read one of her Goldstone Wood novels I'm more blown away by how intertwined her characters and legends become. Unfortunately, I got a little out of order reading the series and while I was still able to appreciate the central story, I would recommend starting at the beginning and going in order.
Shadow Hand tells the story of Crown Prince Foxbrush and Lady Daylily, whose ill fated wedding days starts the novel. Daylily is being pushed into this marriage by her father, Baron Middlecrescent, who wants control of Southlands. Hiding a darker side that no one could imagine, Daylily decides to flee into the Wood Between. Foxbrush impulsively decides to follow her and ends up far out of his time on an adventure he could not be less thrilled about.
I loved Foxbrush as the hero of this story. He is quiet, immaculate and very timid, which made for a different and refreshing character arc. Daylily is a powerful female lead that more than makes up for any strength and bravery Foxbrush may lack. She has spent so many years attempting to hide her true self that she has forgotten who she really is which leaves her vulnerable to a sinister plot that has all of Southlands hanging in the balance.
This is my second trip into Goldstone Wood and I am so eager to read the rest of the series. Stengl has gained another lifetime reader and I will recommend her every chance I get!
***I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. *** -
FranNorfolk, VAAge: 55-65Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5A Tale of the Goldstone WoodJuly 4, 2014FranNorfolk, VAAge: 55-65Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5A note from her betrothed, sends Lady Daylily fleeing on her wedding day. She never wanted to wanted to marry Foxbrush — Lionheart was her love........
In her latest book "Shadow Hand" Anne Elisabeth Stengl takes you to a fantasy world full of creatures big and small from mortal loving sylphs to dragons with poison.
The homelands have been torn apart by a dragon. Many did not survive the dragon's poison and the land will take years to heal.
Lady Daylily is dressed for her wedding to Foxbrush — not her true love Lionheart. A note arrives for Lady Daylily and as she reads it, she realizes she cannot carry out her father's wish to marry Foxbrush.
Off she runs from her homeland torn apart by the dragon to try and disappear forever in the Wilderlands. But in the Wilderlands looks can be deceiving, nothing is as it seems........
Elisabeth Anne Stengl's creative writing in this fantasy novel is the best I have ever read. How she is able to create this fantasy with all the twist and turns, creatures great and small and the wide range of characters is beyond me. I am sure with this level of writing, we will be seeing much more from her in the way of novels and awards won for creative ability.
Anne Elisabeth Stengl is the winner of the following Awards:
2011 Christy Award for Debut Novel
2012 Christy Award for Visionary Novel
2013 Clive Staples Award for Speculative Fiction
I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. -
Mrs ARS5 Stars Out Of 5Goldstone Wood keeps getting betterMay 27, 2014Mrs ARSQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Shadow Hand is another written masterpiece by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. A word of caution though, this is number 6 in the series. I do not know how the story would be as a standalone without some knowledge of the world she has created. To me, these books read as one large story. I have read Heartless and Veiled Rose, I own but have not read Moonblood, Starflower, and Dragonwitch. There were some things that happened in those previous books that I missed and I will be going back and reading those. This is an amazing world, and I enjoyed getting to revisit these characters that I had met in Veiled Rose. Daylily runs away from her marriage to Foxbrush, who goes after her to tell her what he has decided and to prove himself, if to no one else but to himself. Lionheart (Daylily's former betrothed) is back from exile not to make fun of his cousin Foxbrush this time, but to help him. This is a dark fairy tale and is a little bit creepy at times. We are reacquainted with previous characters and meet some memorable new ones. I absolutely enjoyed the descriptions of the worlds and the faerie beasts. And in the words of Dr. Who, there is some "timey wimey" storytelling going on. This is also a story of true love and sacrifices. I absolutely enjoyed how she unfolded this story and how it ended. I recommend this whole series for the young adult and up. I received my copy from The Book Club Network, Inc. and the opinions are my own.
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