About the Book

After helping King Ghyll to his victory in Zihaen, the beastmasters Uwella and Damion turn their attention to their own country of Vavaun.

High time, too, for the rumors have been persistent. There is something wildly amiss in the Gray Order, the temple protecting Vavaun from the Dar’khamorth’s machinations.

When Uwella DeGry, herself a wikke of the Grays and the heir to the throne of Vavaun, returns home with Damion DeAsharte, her mate and main competitor, they find their country in dire straits. Vile sorcerers and their beastmen roam the land, killing and ravaging at will and the Gray Order has almost been wiped out.

With only two very young fire warriors to help them, the ducal beastmasters vow to liberate their country, defeat the Dar’khamorth and bring peace between their competing Houses of Gry and Asharte.

Will even their mighty feline alter egos be strong enough to survive against the dark magic of the Revenaunt’s minions?

Vavaun is a tale of struggle, friendship and bravery against an enemy who plans total annihilation.
It is a stand-alone ‘Shadow of the Revenaunt’-adventure, running parallel to book 3, Ordelanden, and it starts after the final battle at the Owan Abai in Zihaen.

Review

I'll admit that I have and have always had a strong penchant for stories involving shape shifters, my favorite book growing up was about werewolves, and into my adulthood, very little has changed. Therefore, it seems only natural that I would find myself pulled forward into the world of Uwella and Damion.

This novel is a lovely excursion into another world, one with a deep, fully fleshed out history with cultures as intriguing as those on our own earth. Medieval fantasy gives us such great possibility of further looking into life and creativity, and this novel does an excellent job at doing just that. The writing style is curt and too the point, never overburdened by excessive description and unnecessary dialogue, which is something I find very desirable in novels like this.

As this was my first read in this series, I didn't find myself too confused by terms or concepts, which can become difficult when being thrust into another world. Best to just go with the flow and not wonder too much about words, you'll find out sooner rather than later what's being talked about.

I thought all the characters stood out from each other. I felt real sympathy for some and very real repulsion for others. I didn't find that it was too drenched in tropes of the genre, but it also wasn't a jarring departure.

Overall: if you're like me and into shape shifting and medieval fantasy, this is an easy choice. I poured through it in less than a day, which probably means it was a good one.