The Blue Flame Reviews.
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The Blue Flame is the first book in the Daradawn Series. This book introduces the reader to Daradawn. Daradawn is an alternate dimensional world filled with magic, elves, dwarves, dragons, and unicorns. As the story starts, the reader meets Kelsey Cafferty, her allies, and her enemies.
Kelsey Cafferty is not originally from Daradawn. She is actually a photographer from our world, a former resident of San Francisco. Kelsey had accidentally stumbled upon a magical gateway from our world to Daradawn seven years earlier. Kelsey had stayed in this magical world to lead as Queen's Commander to fight the evil Dirkk. With the ongoing threat by Dirkk and his allies, Kelsey needs help that only her sister Regan can provide. Unfortunately, Regan is still in San Francisco and Kelsey has to wait until the gateway from Daradawn to our world reopens, for seven days once every seven years.
The Blue Flame is a beautifully written action filled fantasy adventure. The author brings the land of Daradawn, the magic, the adventure, and all of its inhabitants to life in full color. The reader can't help but be completely drawn into this world. "
8 out of 10, Tami Brady
"This is one great fantasy story . . . The visions invoked by the descriptive powers of Ms. Hodges are so vivid that I wanted to reach out and touch the unicorn . . . A beautifully written book . . . And to think that this is Ms. Hodges' first published work. Just think of all the worlds to come. Ah, bliss."
Five Roses, Irene Marshall for Escape to Romance http://www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/hodges-blue.html
"Ms. Hodges’ compelling fantasy is a magical treat. She swiftly draws in the reader with emotional dialogue and persuasive characters."
4 Stars, Kelly Rae Cooper for Romantic Times Magazine
"Ms. Hodges does an excellent job of showing the trouble of people from disparate backgrounds attempting to survive in each other's worlds . . . a gripping and involving story".
Highly Recommended, Jennifer Dunne for Science Fiction Romance
"Blood calls to blood" and all, including you the reader, will be fully engaged until the very last seconds . . . This author creates images in the reader's mind full of colors and special effects that will long remain after the last page has been turned. What a movie this would make!"
Highly Recommended, Viviane Crystal for The Write Lifestyle
The Emerald Dagger
The Emerald Dagger is the second book in the Daradawn Series. In the first book of this series,
The Blue Flame, the reader is introduced to the magical world of Daradawn and its inhabitants. The reader is also introduced to four visitors to Daradawn: Kelsey Cafferty, her sister Regan, Regan's friend Ben Sampson, and Maggie the dog. These four visitors have traveled to Daradawn to our world through a magical gateway between the two dimensions. These four outsiders join forces with Queen Tessa and her allies to defeat the evil power hungry mage Dirkk.
In
The Emerald Dagger, the evil mage Dirkk comes out of hiding and readies his plans for world domination once again. This time, through a powerful demon confined within a magical dagger, Dirkk intends to enslave various races and use them against Queen Tessa and her allies. With this plan accomplished, Dirkk then intends to take Regan as his Queen, with the two of them ruling all of Daradawn. Once again, the inhabitants of Daradawn call upon their allies from our world, those living in Daradawn, and those coming to visit the magical world as the mystical rift between our worlds opens once again.
The Emerald Dagger, like the preceding book
The Blue Flame, is beautifully written, contains wonderfully well developed characters, and so action filled that it defies the reader to put down the book before the story is read. If anything, the reader will find
The Emerald Dagger is better and even more compelling than the first book of this series, mainly due to the fact that the reader has already bonded with the characters and already understands the nature of this magical world. Though I highly recommend reading
The Blue Flame before reading
The Emerald Dagger, book two of this series is completely self-contained and the reader need not read the first book to comprehend what is happening.
8 out of 10, Tami Brady
Regan and Kelsey are take-charge, passionate heroines with riveting storylines. An added treat is a beguiling cast of secondary characters, all with their own stories. The mixture of spellbinding romance and dark adventure left me eagerly anticipating the third tale.
4 1/2 Stars Susan Mitchell for Romantic Times Book Club Magazine
Fans of powerful sword and sorcery tales will want to read the tremendous
The Emerald Dagger, a descriptive epic fantasy...This second tale avoids the middle book syndrome due to the villain, a brilliant but evil strategist who makes this a winner for sub-genre fans.
Once again, Ms. Hodges has a winning story. Even more complex and magnificently detailed than the first in the series, The Emerald Dagger is exciting, heart-rending, and enchanting. Characters maintain a continuity and heroism that makes the entire world she has created logical and reasonable. Love and heartbreak intertwine with action and magic. The lead to a sequel is left open in a very realistic, not at all forced, manner. This is a world readers will be happy to visit again and again. Amanda Kilgore for Huntress Reviews
The first novel,
The Blue Flame, was a strong epic fantasy that had the reader believe in Daradawn and the once in seven-year bridge between worlds. This tale is an even greater book as Barbara M. Hodges paints a vivid picture of her magical realm, but Dirkk seems more genuine as a clever but malevolent strategist. Fans of deep sword and sorcery tales will appreciate this fast-paced story that connects Earth with Daradawn.
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner Posted July 31,2003
The Silver Angel
Angel Silverthorne Sampson is half elf, the daughter of human, Delilah, and elf Darrien Silverthorne. In the six years Angel has lived on earth, she has aged much faster than the norm and now appears in her mid teens. The rift which allows travel between earth and Daradawn is opening soon and her mother and grandfather are bound to take her back to meet her paternal grandparents and claim her heritage. Angel does not want to go, because she would rather stay on earth and dance ballet.
She is not permitted that choice and once the party arrives on Daradawn, they all quickly become embroiled in an epic struggle between good and evil forces, which threatens to destroy the heart of the elven world. She adapts to her heritage and learns her place in the complex elven society, serving in her appointed role and using the powers she inherited.
For fans of the series, this is a great continuation of the tale. The world of Daradawn is fascinating with all manner of strange and marvelous creatures and the human-elf mix creates a cast of intriguing characters. Although The Silver Angel stands alone as an absorbing fantasy tale, it is best read in sequence after the previous volumes on the Daradawn series. Taken as a whole, the series is on a par with the best of the well-known fantasy works such as The Lord of the Rings. The Silver Angel is a worthy member of the group. 5 cups, Alegria, Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance; Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books
The Silver Angel is the third book in the Daradawn Series. In the first two books of this series, The Blue Flame and The Emerald Dagger, the reader is introduced to the magical world of Daradawn, its inhabitants, and its allies originally from our world. In the past, Queen Tessa and her allies have worked together to overcome the evil power hungry mage Dirkk and his minions. With Dirkk dead and buried, our heroes had thought Daradawn safe from evil doings. They all felt that perhaps this visit from across the rift between our world and Daradawn would be a peaceful vacation filled with wedding plans and plans for future children. Boy, are they in for a shock.
After reading the author's first two books of this series, The Blue Flame and The Emerald Dagger, I didn't believe the author could top these beautifully compelling adventure filled fantasy stories with wonderful three-dimensional characters. However, The Silver Angel offers a good number of expertly interwoven twists and turns that continue to draw the reader wholeheartedly into the story. Though The Silver Angel is fully self-contained and can be completely enjoyed without having read the first two books of this series, I highly suggest reading The Blue Flame and The Emerald Dagger before reading the third book of this series. In fact, I suggest finding a comfy place and spending the weekend reading the entire series. 8 out of 10, Tami Brady
Every once in a while a new voice comes along in the fantasy field that just makes a reader sit up and take notice. Barbara M. Hodges is such a voice. I just finished her newest novel, THE SILVER ANGEL, and it's an exciting continuation of her multi-part DARADAWN series. Rich in characterization and filled with action, THE SILVER ANGEL is sure to please fantasy readers. Daradawn is a fascinating, well-envisioned fantasy world, wonderfully evocative and beautifully imagined, filled with dragons, unicorns, wizards, elves, humans and much more. Ms. Hodges' skills as a writer and storyteller just get stronger with each volume, and I look forward to more adventures with Regan, Kelsey, Angel, and the rest of Daradawn's colorful inhabitants. Robin Wayne Bailey, author of Dragonkin, iBooks, Inc.
