Lots of progress in the story-lines
340420
This is one series that has a complete hold on me right now.  Each book in this series follow a different brother in the Black Dagger Brotherhood but there is a reason why I picked the above quote.  This particular installment follows Phury's story and love interest.  But I think the many side stories took over this book and it didn't feel like Phury's book.  The relationships and troubles in Quinn, John Mathews, and Blay's lives take a huge turn.  Tohrment's story makes some progression.  More insight is gained into Rehvenge's secret dilemma.  We meet a fallen angel.  Oh and all hell breaks loose in the Vampire community.  Is that enough for you?  Sounds like there is a lot going on but it worked because there was really no need to spend mroe time with Phury and the side stories were much more interesting.  I enjoyed this one because it made me excited about the books to come.  I loved the progression of Quinn, John Mathews, and Blay.  It re-energized my interest in this series.  Overall, a great installment if Phury doesn't interest you too much.
1834172
Things are coming together.  Adrian and crew are forging ahead with the assistance of the Warden.  We get some glimpses of the Lacuna and how this whole thing is working.  Abby's insights of Adrian through her eyes provides a more well rounded character.  Shit is getting good at Bastion.
3248038
Another good chapter in the new series with new attributes.
3305787
Okay, I know the grammar and use of incorrect tenses is distracting (as so many have already pointed out), but if you persevere through Book 1.5 and on to Book 2, you will find that the author makes huge improvements.  The continuing story (each book is complete in itself) is well worth the effort of editing-as-you-read.

I'm really looking forward to Book 3.  There has to be a Book 3.  I need to know what happened to the other women in Book 1 and the sister of one of the main characters in Book 2.
1819345
Yes, there's a huge cliffhanger at the end that I can't wait to see resolved, but the book still felt as though there was an evolution and a lot happened.
I'm looking forward to the next book and hope that it ties up most of the story lines in this book and then moves on to new ones.

Very good read.  Definitely worth spending the time on.
2991814
The story line follows both Jess and James on their different missions. Jess to get repairs and James to find the Apex forces. I am happy to say this book is an improvement over the first. There is more action, more information about the Apex and their weapons being discovered. There are some very disconcerting moments, birds shooting guns with their beaks? I didn't follow. The author also seems to be setting these birds up as unbeatable. They have advanced technology, better guns, controlling saliva, better, more advanced ships. Very little hope remains for the human and Hroom and the escapes these races are starting to pull off are stretching it. Still reading though, so I have to recommend it just as a step to the end.
3405949
The latest in the Chronicles of Elantra picks up with Kaylin looking for a new place to live, and finding that the search is complicated due to roommate issues. As with most books in this series, a few innocent-seeming events turn into catastrophic chaos.

No new significant characters are introduced in this book, but we do get to see further development of characters introduced in the last book.

This book is solid, but it does bring up an issue that I've had with the series as a whole - Kaylin ends up dashing from one disaster to the next at a speed that is unrealistically sustained. The entire in-world duration of the series to this point is measured in months, and most of the books involve a world-threatening event with Kaylin in the middle.

In the end, I look forward to reading the next installment in this series, but I don't find myself desperately craving it. Which is probably a good thing, since it will be another year, and I get tired of reading series that leave me on the edge for multiple years at a time.
3437817
Phew! Finally getting to the good stuff here. It's critical to read the first two books in the series before you've read this one, so do your work, kiddos!

Content: We finally get some great plot moving in the third book. I mean, the last half of the second book was already exciting, but A Royal Rebellion really takes it into over drive. I feel like we finally are getting into great characterization for Reynard and Mason, but then also Arianna, too. This alternating perspectives thing really gives us a good glimpse into their thoughts and feelings, and I finally understand how they all fall into the story. Percy, too, has finally grown into his own. He's still got that sweet and innocent thing going on, but now he's also got a backbone and some personality, and it's great. The setting was great, the tension was real, and the unveiling of the seriousness of the situation seemed legitimate (though I will admit I questioned whether Hawthorne planned this in the beginning, because it felt a bit retcon to me).

Also, can I just send out a request for a book about Mason and Reynard? I'd buy it. I feel like I need more about these two because they're excellent.

The only thing I'd say bothered me was how at one point they have this plan to cross the border, and it's great, and then suddenly they decide to switch that plan and stay at the estate. That felt a little bit like a last minute change, not because of the decision itself, but because of how it was decided. Also, we need more explanation with Lucius and his harem because I'm still not sure I completely understand his character.

Quality: This book was a little worse than the others grammar wise. There were more mistakes, more missed words, and more typos, but none of it was ever so bad or so back-to-back that I got frustrated. Again, very compelling and the sex scenes felt appropriate when they happened, so that was nice.

Should you buy it? Yes, please buy this book and the first two. I'm waiting for the fourth and I'm going to burst.
3051246
Slow start. But once things get rolling, it all comes together nicely.
I am anxious to see where the story goes next!
Keep up the good work!  :)
3649042
the story continues...I like this one-- action happening and moving the story along
4786495
The Nate Temple series has teetered for the first three books just on the edge of being great, and this one finally tipped the scales in favor of that. My main issue with the series had been the fact that the women amongst the crew of characters have had interesting introductions, but then quickly fell to the wayside afterwards or in books that followed. Here the women of the Temple crew finally get to shine as interesting characters again and actually have character development rather than acting as stock fighting support during events.

We see development and even some minor resolution to events or losses regarding some of the female cast in previous books, and it does so without screwing around with dramatic twists and turns in the story and making them only come at the cost of huge sacrifices. It re-establishes the characters as more than just Nate's entourage and does a fair bit to return some much needed status quo of normalcy to the story after a near over-saturation of highs and lows coming one after another in the books previous. Rather than remaining as a series of sporadic events just chained together within a time frame and by happenstance, it's establishing a new overall pace for the characters and story to progress it and the world around them, and finally fully resets the stage with Nate regaining his footing and marking his baseline to progress from at this point onwards into the rest of the series.
2647026
I wanted more from this book in the series - more story that is. There are so many moving parts to this book and I really hoped for some conclusions. The storyline continues to get better and the character development just keeps growing. Please hurry with the next book in this series. So until the next book -  read, enjoy, learn, and save some food.
433185
I'm really enjoying this series, despite the often-mentioned need for editing. There were much fewer spelling, tense, and grammatical errors in this book and the story flowed a lot better. Honestly, just one it two more volunteer editors could eliminate most of the remaining issues.

The references to extra-book characters are still one of my biggest issues. They were more subtle in this book but Hechtl still likes to beat them to death. Where's Waldo - I got it the first time, no need to keep drawing it out.

I enjoyed that Hechtl keeps finding new things to do yet still has opportunities to fix things and rebuild - he keeps making progress despite the set backs.

If you got through the first book in the series, you probably don't need any additional encouragement to read this, but I think this book is the most solid so far in the series.
1557229
There are several story lines taking place so you have to pay attention to keep up.  The story only last the stretch of the games, but there is so much packed in, it seems like so much more time has passed.  We are starting to see some of Sera's full potential in this book and some relationship development between her and Kai.  The games are intense but the fight scenes aren't drawn out.  I thought I wouldn't, but I really ended up interested in what transpired in the pit.
3520642
This story continues on at a great pace with lots of action, drama, and twists and turns. It's certainly exciting. The author has increased the tension and the stakes, which is excellent to see. The characters are definitely growing and changing due to events in the book, relationships are evolving (although some too quickly to really be believable), and it's clear that the story is rushing onwards towards a smashing climax.

However, the writing still has some issues that knocked me out of the story a lot. There were several editing errors, missing words, etc. Most painfully, the author seems incapable of using the past perfect tense. When a character is reflecting on something that already happened in the story it should be written using the past perfect instead of the simple past to avoid confusion with what is currently happening at that moment. That is basic English grammar that anyone who considers themselves a writer should know how to use. I could always figure out what the author meant, but having to stop and figure it out every time was tedious, annoying, and interfered with my immersion in the story.

I also noticed one time in the second book (I didn't leave a review there) that a griffin's hooves were mentioned. Does the author know what a griffin is? Perhaps it was just a mistake, but if an author is going to use a well-known fantasy creature, it is his or her responsibility to research it. Otherwise, describe the creature and give it a different name.

The writing also has some issues with repetition, but not so much as in earlier books.

If the author could just get on board with the past perfect tense for the fourth book, it would make the writing much easier to read and I would look forward even more to it. I will certainly buy #4, since I've come this far, and I look forward to watching this author grow and mature. Certainly, one to keep an eye on for future novels.
1237009
Multiple disparate story lines converging to a satisfying conclusion.
3125322
King's Cage succeeds in advancing Mare's story as well as filling in many blanks with respect to the politics and social constructs of the culture. The closing chapters advance the story significantly and rearrange many of the alliances and enmities that had developed through three novels. Some characters that had seemed largely irredeemable become more sympathetic, and others who had seemed unstable become more mature.

And yet, it sometimes seems that achieving these things takes far longer than it should. Long sections of the book, particularly those involving Mare's long captivity, seem to bog down the narrative. Over many chapters, it appears that we learn only that Mare hates Maven, and Maven is obsessed with Mare. Those are important facts, but we pretty much knew them already. I do not mean to be overly critical, inasmuch as other parts of the novel pick up the pace immeasurably, but it did lead me to rate King's Cage at four stars rather than five.

One aspect of the overall story raises questions that existed from the beginning but are now becoming more central to the plot. From the start, reds are reds, and silvers are silvers, and never the twain shall meet. As far as I recall, there is not a single instance of mating between a red and a silver anywhere in the series. Marriage would presumably be taboo, and the reader wouldn't expect to see it, but what of short term "hook-ups" or long term relationships? The only clue we get is that no one seems particularly surprised or appalled by the growing relationship between Mare and Cal. Clearly, they have seen such affairs before. But where? Given the near slavery nature of the relationships between silver nobles and their red servants, it would seem that some such relationships might not be fully consensual.

And yet, we have no indication that mixed-race children exist. We have no idea what sort of role they play in society, or the nature of their social status. Or, of course, the color of their blood. This is not easily explained, as they would certainly be an important factor in such a bifurcated society. The obvious answer is that reds and silvers cannot procreate. But, if that is the case, they would appear to be more distinct species than distinct races, and would raise numerous new questions about relationships such as those between Mare and her silver princes.

Perhaps these questions will be addressed in the next volume. We shall see!