Dreadmarrow Thief


Young Adult - Fantasy - General
254 Pages
Reviewed on 01/03/2018
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Marjory is a produced screenwriter and novelist. The indie films based on her scripts have screened at major international film festivals, including Santa Barbara, Woodstock, San Diego, Nashville, and Cinequest. Her screenplays have won First Place awards at the Slamdance Film Festival, Table Read My Screenplay, the International Horror & Sci-fi Film Festival, and the Harlem International Film Festival, and have been recognized by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. She co-wrote the feature film, SLANDER, a political thriller adapted from Christopher Bram’s novel, GOSSIP, currently in pre-production.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

“Today, my fifth time as a russet sparrow, I felt as if I’d been flying all my life. My wings flapped according to instinct and carried me toward Sorrenwood’s outer edge, over rows of broken shelters.” Dreadmarrow Thief (The Conjurer Fellstone, Book 1) by Marjory Kaptanoglu is filled with conjurers and the monopoly of magic. Sixteen-year-old Tessa Skye found her mother’s amulet, the windrider, when she left the family years ago. It gives her the gift of flight by turning her into a sparrow, and flying gives Tessa a sense of freedom. Unfortunately for Tessa, it comes with a hefty price; her father’s life. Calder, a fortuneteller, convinces her that a wand called the dreadmarrow can restore her father to life if they can steal it from the tyrant Lord Fellstone.

Dreadmarrow Thief has an interesting premise and I like the world building. The story is well-paced and the clear-cut prose helps boost the clarity of the narrative, the description of the settings and the action. On the other hand, the different POVs might not be the right cup of tea for some readers, but I think this is just a small dent in the narration. Even though I could guess the direction of the plot in terms of romance, it’s well-structured. For characterization, I related more to Calder Osric and Ash Kemp. These two share strong resoluteness that I like. As for the villains, Lord Fellstone and Ratcher have enough complexities that define them more than just cardboard antagonists. All in all, a good coming-of-age read from Kaptanoglu and a nice debut for the series.