Hello, friends. Today I’d like to share one dear friend’s wonderful review of another dear friend’s amazing novel. These two authors are pillars in our writing community, and it’s my pleasure to highlight both of them here. I hope you enjoy Joni Caggiano’s review of Diana Wallace Peach’s new book, Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver.…..

Joni’s Review

D. Wallace Peach has crafted a prologue in an exquisitely breathtaking setting– a winter forest marked by the harshness of an extreme mix of challenges.  She weaves an enchanting tale rich with every imaginable metaphor and color.  With a thrilling introduction to various creatures we will come to know throughout the chapters, Peach triumphantly guides us to each new page in this captivating adventure.

We also quickly realize that humans struggle to feed their families during what seems to be an interminably long winter. We learn that some creatures in the woods are dangerous and exist on an island where a Winter King resides. What we understand to be the beginning of the book may signify the dissolution of the human world as they know it. The hunters commit an unforgivable mistake, and their desperate actions will lead to severe consequences.  With this information, we delve into the ethereal yet fragile world that a young woman must learn to navigate.  She is tasked with weaving the seasons of their world onto her tapestry as we follow her through twists and enchantments that only the wildest imagination could conjure.

As lovers of nature’s seasons, all creatures, and the immeasurable beauty that the living world brings to all our lives, we often held our breath during the reading of Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver.   (I buddy read this book with my husband, which was our treat at the end of the day.)

The main character is “The Seasons’ Weaver,” who is called Erith.  Everything about Erith was remarkable.  I loved the coziness of her woodsy abode and the visionary creatures that lived with her.   She was half charmed and half human.  Within Erith’s force of personality, I saw a lot of myself.  Much of what made her such a lovable, captivating, and disarming character was, in many ways, the challenges we all deal with in life.  Many unanswered questions about what happened to her and her family and the great expectations inflicted upon such a young woman made her anxious, untrusting, and often unsure of herself.  I found a lot of today’s world in this captivating book.

Throughout the chapters, we meet extraordinary characters, some of whom we come to adore, but many of whom we know are foreshadowing.  The entirety of the book is written imbued with mystical and dangerous quests.  D. Wallace Peach’s ability to write with such ease and flow, with her formidable use of creative description in each sentence, is particularly noteworthy.  Her imagination is found while building a world that is both in trouble and one in which the protagonist, Erith, has many secrets to which she is not privy.

As a poet who does not often read fantasy, I found a considerable amount to be learned from reading this genre if you find a writer with a vision that lights a spark on every page.   I will quote a few lines to show you an example of D. Wallace Peach’s sensational descriptive vein of writing.

“Gynnessett’s corona of buttercup curls bounced below a circlet of golden pansies. Her silk apparel boasted a garden of embroidered irises, and despite the wintery weather, living flowers trimmed her neckline and the hem of her ruffled skirt. She was as light as sunshine, as mercurial as a butterfly, and when she passed by me, the scent of lilacs lingered in the air. I wondered if she tucked wings beneath her finery.”

Peach, D. Wallace. Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver (p. 16). (Function). Kindle Edition.”

“Wind clattered through the bare branches. Twigs chafed like eager fingers. A banshee swept into the clearing and whipped the falling snow into funnels that raced into the blue fire and spat cold sparks at the sky. Nelithi drifted from the evergreens, a phantom spirit of murder and mercy, crystal irises peering at me above a seductive smile.”

Peach, D. Wallace. Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver (p. 177). (Function). Kindle Edition.

“Your true strength lies here.” He rested two fingertips on my temple and then tucked a stray hair from my face with a touch as light as a galiwhig’s wings, the gesture so tender I leaned into his hand. “Your magic far exceeds the limited illusions of the charmed. You must believe it, welcome it.”

Peach, D. Wallace. Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver (p. 250). (Function). Kindle Edition.

The last quote is one from a particularly spectacular character in every way.  A member of the charmed.  Even though many possess staggering powers, one such person remains a true gentleman in every sense.   He is a man every woman would love to know who holds her heart most valuable, even more than life itself.  A tender romance added to the tension and fear felt while reading each time they headed into the night.

There has to be a hero in every story, and in this book, I saw a community of heroes in the end—people who wanted to conduct themselves morally. This was another inducement to my sheer delight in reading this book. An individual with an overwhelming sense of humanity wrapped this enthralling story with every aspect of the challenges one eventually encounters.

This book is a gift to those who love nature and find its very fabric something we need in which to exist – oh wait, we do, don’t we!   D. Wallace Peach is a treasure to read, and if you are a writer of poetry or prose you may learn a lot while enjoying every page.  I know I did.

At the end of the book is a poem that will touch your heart and speak to your soul through the visuals of the earth’s beauty and riches. The author chose to end with a poem called “Wisdom” by a brilliant poet, Michael Utley.  I don’t think she could have picked anything that would have summed up this fantastical journey to preserve the earth’s natural bounty than by listening to the love of nature pour out so splendidly by Michael Utley.

I highly recommend Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver.  I can honestly say I enjoyed every page and appreciate the love of nature the author herself must cherish.

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Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver is available in Kindle and paperback formats at Amazon.

Visit Diana’s blog at Myths of the Mirror to view her complete library of extraordinarily brilliant fantasy novels.

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Joni Caggiano’s blog is Rum and Robots, and features her exquisite and deeply moving poetry and prose.