Welcome to my tiny station on the Nightspell blog tour. I hope you enjoy your time here today and come back to visit.

I’m excited to participate in the blog tour. I really enjoyed Mistwood when I first read it earlier this year. I enjoyed it even more when I reread it after bringing Nightspell home with me. They are considered companion novels, meaning at least to my understanding, that while there is potential reoccurrence in world, time, or character, one does not need to read them in any particular order to fully enjoy them.

I have a hard time writing reviews of fiction. That is partially why I challenged myself to reply to Leah Cypess‘s tweet putting out a call for participants. I enjoyed these stories so much that I had to overcome my fears and write this review. I’m nervous to write reviews of fiction, because I worry that I’ll inadvertently give away a detail that ruins the delight of discovery for another reader.

I’m a firm believer in discovering for yourself all the twists and turns of a story while you are reading it. Why else were book lights invented if not so you could stay up hours past your bedtime to find out what happens next?

Please, read both books, and if you read them as an adult you might not even need to turn on the book light. That’s a good thing I think. You enjoy a great story and still get to go to bed on time!

Why did I enjoy these books?

In general, what draws me into a novel is not really the main character or the plot. Yes, a story should be written well. Yes, plot matters. Yes, main character development and interaction are important, but it’s the secondary characters that add to a story and give it depth and life that would otherwise be missing. If after the final words have been read and the cover closed and I’ve walked away from the story and find myself still thinking about those characters who are only hinted upon, then I deem a story successful.

Furthermore, if the author has drafted enough to give me enough of a framework of the world to finish it with my imagination I think it an even richer story.

I first read Mistwood in April. Here it is December and I can still close my eyes and wonder about Ven. His appearance was brief but important. I often wonder what drew him to want to study the Seeker in the first place. I wonder how he collected all the volumes on the history of the seeker and if he went around the country and castle collecting stories. There is enough of Ven to spark my imagination and upon that I can build further and wonder what scraps the Cook actually fed to a certain cat.

Nightspell by contrast has more characters who weave in and out of the story.  Callie and Darri are important, but so are Varis, Prince Kestin, Clarisse, Jano, the Defender, and the Protector. It is the flow and ebb of trust, truth, love, friendship and family that drew me in to all of the characters.

Nightspell is more than just Darri’s quest and Callie’s struggles. At first I was fascinated and horrified by Jano and his actions. As I got to know more about him I wondered how some of Callie’s early conversations with him went. Prince Kestin fascinated me because of who and what he is, of course, but I stopped many times while rereading, in order to wonder what he was thinking while shut up in his litter during a hunt before he followed Varis. Clarisse is Clarisse and always fascinating.

That said, what I found most fascinating in Nightspell that is only hinted in Mistwood is something I can’t understand. It is a topic that fascinates me to no end; it is the bond of siblings.

I am purposely vague. I’m afraid of spoilers. I hope that I’ve given enough to tease you and entice you to read these books. Another sign I believe a book is a good one and a worthwhile read? If after returning it to the library, I purchase it. It might not happen immediately, but if a book sticks in my head enough, I will. I did that this summer. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mistwood, and the hold queue for Nightspell was torturously long.

Thank you for stopping by on the Nightspell book tour. If you comment on this post you will be entered to win a very special one-of-a-kind annotated copy of Mistwood. I’m very envious and if I had known that would be an incentive, I probably wouldn’t be writing as a stop on the tour. I love marginalia! Furthermore, if you comment on any of the other tour posts that will be another entry into the giveaway. Sorry, only one entry per post!

In addition, I am hosting a small giveaway of my own. I have a few bookmarks signed by the author to give away to two lucky people. To choose winners, I’ll pick random numbers. If there are more than 10 individuals commenting on this post, as an additional gift, one lucky commenter will receive an embroidered bag that is similar to ones that will soon appear in my shop, filled with a small notebook in which to record notes while reading, a signed bookmark, and some small sticky-note flags to mark pages you like best if marginalia are not enough for you.

You have until 11:59:59pm EST on Thursday December 22th, 2011 to enter in both my little giveaway and the giveaway for the author annotated copy of Mistwood. Please make sure you include a working email address. If you haven’t commented on this site before I will need to moderate your comment. I’ll do that as quickly as I can.

To enter, please answer this question: From any book you have read, which secondary character fascinates you the most? Briefly, please tell me why they interest you? Please include the book title and author.