by Savannah White

“…Swayed by her passion, the Creator granted her wish. The star was born in human form and lived a human life. All who knew her were dazzled by her passion. She gave generously, loved deeply and lived vigorously. But a star is not made to take human form, for it burns too bright, and though she was still young, her body failed. Despite his warnings, the Creator saw how she had touched and transformed many human lives. On her death he returned her to the heavens, made more dazzling because she had experienced what it is to burn with human emotions.” – Mina, Columbine’s Tale.

Rachel Nightingale writes of Tarya, a place all who immerse themselves in the creative arts have experienced. Tarya is a place of unimaginable and unlimited creativity; a place where words leap of the page, paintings come to life and music floats through the air the ease.

Columbine’s Tale continues the story of Mina, on the quest to find her brother, Paolo. The story follows two sides to storytelling; the stories told to give something to the reader, and the other, the Players, those who steal peoples’ and give them back to the audience as entertainment. The contrast between the two forms of storytelling is only the beginning of the complexity behind this beautiful novel.

Following the success of Nightingale’s debut novel Harlequin’s Riddle, she writes to invite us to follow, once again, the dreamy path of Mina and the Artisan Players, exploring a world immersed in beauty and endless imaginative possibility. Columbine’s Tale is rich with passion and divinity, making Nightingale’s Tales of Tarya  the best fantasy book series of 2018.

I had the pleasure to attend the launch of Columbine’s Tale,and to see Rachel talk with such powerful emotion and intensity about her novels is truly inspiring. Her emotion resonates throughout the pages of her stories, captivating her readers, creating a world that young women and lovers of fantasy everywhere can become immersed in.