The Story Peddler by Lindsay A Franklin

Title: The Story Peddler

Author: Lindsay A. Franklin

Publisher: Enclave Publishing

Pages: 332

Length: 10 hrs & 24 min

ISBN: 9781683701361

Publication Date: May 1st, 2018

About the Book:

Tanwen doesn’t just tell stories–she weaves them into crystallized sculptures that sell for more than a few bits. But the only way to escape the control of her cruel mentor and claw her way from poverty is to set her sights on something grander: becoming Royal Storyteller to the king.

During her final story peddling tour, a tale of treason spills from her hands, threatening the king himself. Tanwen goes from peddler to prey as the king’s guard hunts her down…and they’re not known for their mercy. As Tanwen flees for her life, she unearths long-buried secrets and discovers she’s not the only outlaw in the empire. There’s a rebel group of weavers…and they’re after her too.

My Thoughts:

For the last year, my daughter and I have been reading (audiobooks) together on the communite. We have already read through several series she was interested in. It was my turn to pose a few suggestions. The Weaver Trilogy has been on my radar for a little while and when the kiddo said, "Yes!" to this series, we jumped right in. Goodness, I'm sad I haven't read it sooner!

The Story Peddler is book one in the Weaver Trilogy. Lindsay Franklin really knows how to build a fantasy world and very deep characters that just catch up and carry you through. 

We are introduced to Tanwen as she tells her stories and creates works of arts with her story weaving talent. She loves telling stories, maybe not the "crowned approved" stories, but she loves sharing her gifts, but also selling her art to make a living. But it isn't all fun with the mentor she travels with. Her mentor is a very surley and mean lady, but she is just one of the few people Tanwen has in her life. Traveling around the country side, Tanwen has dreams of moving away from the farming town she has known and move to the capital city where the king lives and to maybe one day become the royal storyteller. 

However in her storytelling journey, she deals with some issues along the way, these issues confuse her and slowly start to draw attention of others. This wasn't the attention Tanwen was hoping for and now she must use her mind for other things like survival. On the run, Tanwen is thrown into a whole new world.

This story is so rich in detail. The landscapes, the animals, the people, everything is intracitly woven through that just make this story pop a little bit more. Lindsay has such a talent to spin a story and carry you in a direction you had no idea it would go. When you think you will turn left, you spin, do a handstand, and flip to the right, and think, "Holy cow! How did that happen?" Then you keep reading going what else is going to happen. 

As soon as we finsihed The Story Peddler, we jumped right on into The Story Raider. That review will follow shortly.This has just been a fabulous read. 

4 out of 5

Kid's Rating

5 out of 5