Hopefully the end of Imriel's tough journey
587661
This book concludes the second Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey which features Imriel as the lead character. This book was a perfect conclusion to this trilogy. It's a long book, very long. Imriel's journey in this book is just as immense as in the last book. This book felt like it encompassed more than one story, it could have (again) been more than one book. Unlike the last book, I feel that that worked for this book. This book wasn't a struggle to get through. It flowed beautifully, was action packed, and had you holding your breath until the very end.

Imriel and Sidonie confront Ysandre about their relationship; which threatens to tear the realm apart. Sidonie stands to inherit the throne and her relationship with Imriel is less than appreciated considering his mother was a traitor to the crown. When confronted Ysandre says only one thing will sway her into allowing their relationship; Imriel must find his traitorous mother and bring her back to Terre d'Ange for execution. As Imriel starts this difficult task, there is an unexpected entourage from Carthage. The visit from Carthage sets events into motion that no one could have imagined.

I really enjoyed this book. I was sad that the characters were put through so much torment. There is no one in this book who is left unscathed in the end. As usual Imriel and Sidonie take the brunt of it. One again Carey does an excellent job of character development. We really see Imriel and Sidonie grow into adults and it is wonderful to watch them become comfortable with who they are.

The writing is beautiful and perfect, as with the rest of this series. I thought that the pacing of this book was much better than the last book. The action stays consistent throughout. The only point at which I found myself wanting something to happen was when Leander and Sidonie were spending time in Carthage together. I think this was done for a purpose though and did a good job in conveying the helplessness of their situation there.

Some wonderful new characters were introduced in the way of Leander and Kratos. I am always amazed at Carey's skill in making even minor characters have depth and history.

SPOILER ALERT*********
I have to mention this because the skill with which it was executed amazed me! When Imriel took on Leander's self, the style of writing totally changed to reflect Leander's thoughts and actions. Then as Imriel's love begins to break down the spell that makes him Leander, you slowly see Imriel's personality revert back to Imriel's. I thought it was very cool that Carey could make this personality change so subtle and realistic.
SPOILER ENDED************

I really did love this book. Even though it was lengthy, I was a bit sad when it was over. Then ending was perfect and beautiful as it the rest of the book. I am beginning to wonder if we will see a trilogy focused around Sidonie's sister Alais next. Carey seemed to be hinting that Alais is going to go through some struggles in the future. Hopefully the two catch phrases in that book "Love as thou wilt" and "All knowledge is worth having" will carry on to any future work she does.
karissabooks.blogspot.com
2091388
I joined the world of the light, little more than a year ago. From the moment that Moirane and Lan, absconded from Emonds Field with the youngsters,and the village Wisdom in pursuit, I have been, for the first time, a self-proclaimed, "FAN". Yes, I agree that the earlier books were of more magical content. But give this true storyteller, and Veteran a break! Only He has lived in this world from the time of the Creator, and "The Wheel Weaves As The Wheel Wills" after all.  O.K. So yes a little less retro. To truly immerse oneself in this epic one must start from book one.  But as for me "Winters Heart" is a very good read. With the cleansing of Saidin I see a plethora of directions this saga can take. So I do hope we get to the end before that last nail is driven into Mr. Jordans Coffin.
2623446
This book wraps up The Dred Chronicles series nicely.  In keeping with the other books in this series, it is extremely dark with some rays of hope shining through.  I found myself really rooting for the main characters and it ended very satisfactorily.
2580402
I have really loved this series and to know that this is the penultimate novel is depressing!
Although there are paranormal events constantly taking place, this is a character drive story in which we are invited to love, hate, laugh and cry with them. In this novel we see how each character has evolved, but Stacey Marie Brown leaves grey areas; no character is entirely good or evil. We read this wishing that it will lead to a happy ending for Ember, Eli, their friends and family, but unsure whether this will happen because of the constant drama they face.
Dwellers of Darkness begins four years after the end of Fire in the Darkness, although for Ember it only feels like days. Her disappearance has changed Eli, whose behaviour has become dangerous and erratic, but after Lorcan's exposure of him at the end of book two, Ember finds being around him painful. After Gabby locks them in a room to resolve their differences they realise the depth of their feelings for one another. As their romance develops, Ember's feelings for Torin are questioned; he refuses to deny their bond and this forces her to make a decision.
It is just as Ember is finding happiness that Lars chooses to assert his control over her, calling in his favour and giving her an ultimatum. Although he tries to dominate her, Ember fights against this, forgetting his power. We see several different facets of Lars' personality in Dwellers of Darkness; his temper, his magic and even a vaguely emotional quality! I admit that I had the same feelings about his identity as Ember does and though he contradicts this, I am still hopeful!
I think the pace of Stacey Marie Brown's writing is slower throughout this book, but it does not mean that the reader is any less captivated by events. If anything we want to read faster, just to find out where the group's journey will take them.
The end of Dwellers of Darkness is more emotive and climatic than in the previous installments and I am gutted that I now have to wait for Blood Beyond Darkness!!
I received this as a complimentary review copy, but this has had no influence on my opinion.
3346324
An okay ending to the Ori plot arc. Would've preferred a more final end for Adria (even though I loved her character) instead of rehashing the Oma vs. Anubis plot from season 8.
3651599
"Child of dust, will you be My servant?"

When both Kien Lantec and the prophet Ela Roeh of Parne receive messages from the Infinite, they will each be called to do His will in different ways and in different lands. For Kien Lantec, it is usually through the voice of Ela the Prophet that the Infinite speaks His words to the people, but now, Kien has heard His voice to journey to the land of ToronSea like the biblical prophet Jonah to bear witness and seek to deliver a message to repent and turn from their evil ways. If they refuse, the Infinite will pour forth his wrath upon their land and destroy them. Kien sets out on his journey to the sea and thinks that he will only be gone for six days. But like the prophet Jonah from the Bible, Kien sets out to deliver the Infinite's message in his terms and without His guidance and suddenly finds himself being disciplined and cast over a cliff into the sea. Ela had warned him that he needed to follow the Infinite's commands and somehow he failed. Now faced with being swallowed by a giant sea beast, Kien wonders if Infinite will hear his pleas of repentance and forgive his foolishness.

Ela of Parne has received a devastating vision of her home of Parne. If her people will not turn back from their idol worship of the goddess Atea and return their faith back to the Infinite their kingdom will be overrun by their enemies from other lands and they will all be destroyed. Along with their precious gold, their enemies have discovered various ores that have been mined in Parne and with them the ability to weld weapons that will wreck havoc on all who come against them, allowing them to become the dominant kingdom and rule all other lands. But when Ela heads to her home, she finds she is not welcomed as one who has the favor of the Infinite. They are even now plotting to kill her and refuse to turn their wicked hearts away from the desires of their evil hearts. Will Ela also face the same vision she has had of her own death in Parne or will somehow the Infinite seek to save her like the lost cities of Sodom and Gomorrah of the Old Testament?

I received, Judge by R.J. Larson compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review. Having read the first book in the Book of the Infinite Series which became with the story of how Ela became the Prophet, I couldn't wait to see where R.J. Larson would take the series next. Armed with some serious biblical historical facts, the author weaves such a magical story you are completely captivated until the very end. If you love biblical fiction with a bit of fantasy thrown in for some added flavor and excitement, please consider this series. I think my favorite parts of the book deal with the Destroyers, an overly large horse that senses danger in those in protects and can understand their human owners commands. Oh how I would LOVE to see these beasts in picture. That is my only criticism of the books is they lack pictures of how wonderful the world is that R.J. Larson creates but then again, that's what imagination is for. This one rates a stellar 5 out of 5 stars and has me completely looking forward to the next book, King due out soon!
3060945
Not only was this an awesome journey with Prince Maric, Loghain, Rowan and everyone else involved, but what I REALLY loved about it is how it puts a very clear, interesting and even understandable perspective on Loghain's reactions/actions in Origins. I despised him in the game even while knowing in the back of my mind there were reasons for his paranoia and extreme behavior. Now we have a very clear picture of just what Ferelden faced (and he, Maric and the woman he ultimately loved) in the hands of the blood-sucking Orlesians. It honestly made me a little uncomfortable at first to feel that understanding and compassion towards Loghain simply because of my strong hatred of him from Origins, but what it comes down to is this: just like in "real life", we are all shaped and formed by the experiences we go through - whether we want to admit it or not. Our thoughts, views, opinions and actions are VERY RARELY based on blind reasons. Once we understand that about ourselves and each other, perhaps more compassion can occur and, ultimately, more change. With all of that being said, I loved this book. I can't wait to jump into the following ones and gain even further insight into the characters, Ferelden, Orlais and perhaps all or a majority of Thedas.
199495
The end was a big disappointment. The arcs of the previous books are coming to an end. Finally, we found out what happened to Jonas and Gabe after the ending if The Giver which leaves the reader frustrated. The four books combine in a surprisingly good way. I wasn't expecting Jonas life to end up like that, but at least I got my suspicion from The Message confirmed. The story needs an epilogue, preferably one where Claire goes back to Einar or gets him to come with her. A mother and son reunion would have also been great.

I heard the whole series so it was hard to miss the word meticulously. The author has a thing for this word. I think that meticulously is one of the most written words in the book.
3308306
Mr. Feist at times got too technical and wordy attempting to explain some of the characteristics of the void. Otherwise the story is well told,we get a long goodbye to all of our favorite characters. I hope that he finds a way to continue the series...The world that has been created and the people are so real, the adventures so epic that I long for the mythology to continue.
2545820
I love this series , and I'm not sure if I have ever been more disheartened or soul-sick that Matthew has suffered so much and has yet to triumph and be rewarded with his hea. The ending of this book gives me hope. I love the stories, but sometimes the torture is hard for me to endure. I'm wishing for a resolution and appropriate closure with positive outcomes for Matthew and his two favorite men in the next book-PLEASE!!!  Icing on the cake would be seeing Malarath nicely beheaded. A girl can dream.
4323339
The builders of Ember realized that after two hundred years underground the Emberites would need to have some help restarting above ground life.

So the builders decided to give the people of Ember some help.  Outside of the city they built a vault. In the value the builders placed a valuable piece of technology (the diamond) along with the instructions for using it.

Unfortunately, someone not of Ember discovered the technology first.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Spark. Spark is where the people of Ember and the People of Spark learned to live together.

Life is hard and dangerous.  Eventually our main characters, Lena and Doon, are reminded of all of the things they had in Ember.  They decide to return to Ember to see is there are any things left that might help the people of Spark.

They find that a family of roamers have taken up residence in the underground city.  The roamers are using books from the library to fuel their fires.  And they are looting the city for items they could use or sell.

Eventually, the roamers are chased off.  Lina and Doon learn how to use the diamond.  And, the people from Spark salvage what they can from the underground city.

With the items they recover from Ember, life becomes a little bit easier.

In the end the author provides a wistful happy ending, and a tie-in to the third book of the series.  It is a weak and unimportant connection.

I liked this book.  It is very much like the first two.  I suggest reading the books in order.

P.S. I keep thinking about all of the boats the Emberites used to escape from Ember.  They could have made a killing in the boat business!
2225584
Morgan Rice finally concluded the Sorcerer's Ring series in this tale.

I have mixed feeling about the conclusion. On one hand I'm thrilled she finally killed it because the last several books felt like the same thing regurgitated over and over again (like beating a dead horse).

That said, I appreciated her review of all that she brought us and her characters through in the series. Her brief mentions had me recall momenteous events in the characters lives. This made me realize how much growth each of the characters experienced since the beginning, several years ago.

My only objection to how she concluded the series was many of the events conveniently fell in place too conveniently. ***SPOILER*** I'm glad she reunited everyone at the end, but life just doesn't happen that cleanly, especially when the rest of the series was about exactly the opposite. ***END SPOILER***

Overall, I give this 4 stars out of 5
1567050
I have really enjoyed this series and was kind of sad to see that this is the final book in the series.  While I did love a lot of things about this final book, I was also disappointed with how much this book doesnt wrap up.  It looks like Tom Wards story is going to be continued in a trilogy called the Starblade Chronicles (which I got just last week for review).  So while this was a great read, don't expect a lot of the story to actually be resolved.

Tom Ward finally has to face the thing he has been dreading, he has to defeat the Fiend by sacrificing Alice.  Gregory is there to help, but he is feeling his age.  Grimalkin thinks she may have found a way to defeat the Fiend without sacrificing Alice.  When Grimalkin and Alice go off to work on that plan, a new Mage appears and he derails everyones plans.

This was an engaging and interesting story.  The story is expanded quite a bit and some new characters are introduced.  The main one is a Mage that is evil and mysterious.  His appearance in the story starts the next storyline that will be dealt with in The Starblade Chronicles.

I enjoy Tom as a character, he has more and more powers appearing as he unlocks his heritage both as the son of a lamia and as a 7th son of a 7th son.  He does get a bit whiny at points in this story though, something that was new for him and not at all fun to read.

My favorite character of the novel continues to be Grimalkin.  She is super tough and really fights for what she believes in, she is just such an awesome character to read about and she is in the story quite a bit.

Alice isn't in the story a lot and she was one of the biggest disappointments for me in this book.  Her character takes a turn that I didn't enjoy and I was disappointed in the direction things took with her and Tom.  I won't say a whole lot more of that because of spoilers.

This book is much darker than the rest of the series (more along the lines of I Am Alice, which was also darker).  It is very violent and there is a lot of heartbreak and betrayal.  I continue to really enjoy the epic struggle between light and dark that takes place in these books.  This book really shows some shades of grey as well, since some dark characters are forced to band together with the good in order to fight an even greater evil.

Some people have complained about the simplicity of the writing style, I don't think that has really changed.  Delaney has always had a somewhat stark and simplistic writing style...at times the dialogue between characters has felt forced or stilted.  I believe all the books in the series have been like this though and I enjoy it because its a style that makes for good classic storytelling, which is something Delaney excels at.

Although I still love the characters and the story, my biggest disappointment was the lack of resolution.  Yes, the main plotline (the destruction of the Fiend) is wrapped up.  However, so many new elements are thrown into the story that the Fiends destruction felt a bit anti-climatic.  The reader is really pushed towards new things (mainly story elements that were revealed in the earlier book Slither) and isn't given a whole lot of resolution for any of the characters.

Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot but there were a few disappointments too.  I was really disappointed in the lack of resolution and in the direction Alice is taking as a character.  I continue to enjoy Delaneys excellent storytelling, the illustrations throughout, the interesting characters, and the epic struggle between light and dark.  I will definitely be reading The Starblade Chronicles as it releases.you pretty much have to if you are going to get any closure for these characters.
775807
A very good way to end that part of the journey for Drizzt, his family, and friends. Opens up some really interesting possibilities for future adventures as well
970764
"Fighting each other. It makes no sense, but that is what this senseless quest has brought us. From the time we stopped following the star we have been doomed to this."

The stars over the Arabian sands have heralded the coming of a new world ruler, and ambition, tension, desperation, and violence heighten on the race to secure power in Star of Night by author Tracy Higley.

The significance of the strife that unfolds here is rooted in the book that precedes this one, and it's necessary to read The Incense Road trilogy in order. Necessary, and in my eyes so far, worth it. I'll admit there seemed to be a missing link in the chain of emotion somewhere in the first quarter or third of this book, but I didn't feel lost for long.

As the adventure that still reminds me of Aladdin and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark continues, the human story develops further as well. This time, it goes deeper into the conflicted and questioning heart of Reza, a general of the Persian king, unsure of the revolution he's leading, struggling in his friendship with Misha, the young mage who can hear the star that beckons toward Jerusalem.

Sure, I already know something about where this perilous and spiritual journey of epic import must be leading. (Thank you, Christmas!) But the growing weight of the personal stakes the characters have in this has intrigued me all the more to see how the story will ultimately culminate. On to Book Three...
4227474
Reviewed by Francesca by Under the Covers Book Blog

Its always a pleasure to immerse myself in this world.  What Ive noticed after several books is the fact that this second trilogy with Imriel as the narrator is definitely different for me as a reading experience than Phedres.  That not necessarily a bad thing, but I think what I struggle is the fact that Im missing that deep level of despair that Phedre was going through.  Imriel is a younger character and while hes still going through a lot of serious things and wow has he matured in two books with what life has thrown at him, hes not Phedre.  And I keep waiting for that same feeling to come to me.

So putting that aside and just thinking about this book, I definitely enjoyed this one more than the first.  Imriel doesnt start out as a spoiled child (and I say that loosely because he really never was that bad).  We now understand his love for Sidonie and you hurt along with him when they are torn apart not knowing what their future will be.  Imriel grows into his sense of honor and responsibility.  Which I was proud to see.  There was introspection and a level of self awareness that he reaches that wasn't an easy task for him to achieve and Ms. Carey did a wonderful job at taking us on that journey with him.  And of course, any cameos of Joscelin and Phedre always put a smile on my face and we got some of that in this book as well.

If you haven't read this epic story and are looking for something to transport you out of this world, then I highly suggest these books.  Lush world building, lyrical writing and compelling characters will keep you turning the pages.
4947170
Your soul will grieve over sin as you see the atrocities that King Ahaz commits. It is a terrible thing to see a priest of Yahweh turn corrupt. The book ends right where you desire to see the next chapter as repentance and renewal occur.