Book Reviews

Book Blurb

What begins as Constable Dallin Brayden escorting the prisoner Wilfred Calder back to Putnam quickly turns into a flight for both their lives. Political betrayal and malicious magic lurk behind every bush and boulder as Dallin becomes more protector than jailer, fostering a growing connection between him and his charge. Haunted by dreams not his own and pursued by just about everyone, Dallin begins to understand that he’s not just protecting Wil out of duty anymore.

As the shadow of Wil’s previous life as a captive and tool continues to loom, the lurking spectre of the man who kept him prisoner looms larger. Forced into a terrifying battle of both will and magic for not only his life but his soul, Wil discovers that the Aisling is sought by more powerful enemies than the Guild and the Brethren: ancient gods and soul-eating spirits seek what lives inside him as well. And it seems his only salvation may well be Dallin and his goddess, the Mother, against whom Wil has been warned all his life.

First edition published by Torquere/Prizm, 2011.

Second edition published by DSP Publications, October 2017.

 

Book Review

Confession time. I have Aisling Book 1: Guardian in print (signed copy occupying a place of honor on my bookshelf), so decided to get a print copy of this sequel. All well and good until its actual release. Impatient to read the next chapters in Wil and Dallin's lives, I also bought it in ebook. And finished it. I will re-read when my print copy arrives.

Oh, my! What an exquisitely written book! Carole Cummings takes words I'd never think to put together and weaves them into a riveting tale that I couldn't put down. The characters are as real as they come, with world building so intense you can almost smell the campfire and peer at the two protagonists across its glow.

How is it possible for someone to write interaction between two characters in which they're simply crossing a wood, stretch it out for pages, and hold my rapt attention to every little twig-snap or horse nicker? As this novel is classified as young adult, the intimate details are kept mostly off-page, and yet what I saw is as hot as it gets. Wil and Dallin's first kiss had me IMing a friend who has already read this just to share my joy.

The writing is starkly beautiful through and through, and I couldn't recommend Aisling 2: Dream any higher. Bravo Carole Cummings, for creating a book that reminds me why I was such an avid reader in my teens.

My only disappointment is that now I have to wait to read the conclusion. Oh well, I'll have re-read books one and two several times by then, I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 394 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	30-June-2020
Price	$6.99 ebook, $17.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Aisling-Trilogy-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0891YMZ5Z