Secrets of Dalgaard Castle

Brenna is an ice dragon whose family rules the kingdom of Taydaryn in Norwegia. With her mother, the queen, dying, Brenna will soon have to take her mother’s place. Still, with a booming clothing business in Chicago, Brenna isn’t exactly looking forward to being a queen. And the worst part is that, even if she accepts the responsibility of the crown, she’ll still have to compete with her sister, Eldra, who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the crown for herself. 

“Secrets of Dalgaard Castle” is a book that holds a lot of potential, but ultimately falls short. The plot is great, and the main character, Brenna, is intriguing, especially considering her heritage. The love interest, Tirdon, assistant to the Prime Minister of Brenna’s kingdom, is a complicated character too, flawed in his own way, and although he makes a good match for Brenna, it takes a long while for both of them to realize that, especially with an ancient secret looming over their relationship. Despite the interesting plot and characters, the writing is flawed and could definitely do with another round of editing. The major stumbling block is that all the writing is telling, not showing. The emotions in a characters’ minds are described in a rather bland, dull fashion, rather than being brought to life by showing the reader actual emotions. Still, Still, readers shouldn't let the writing put them off.

Majanka Verstraete