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akjohn90's review against another edition
4.0
First 30% I wasn't sure think I just needed to get used to the world but after that it picked up. And I really liked the ending.
amym84's review against another edition
5.0
So far this is probably my favorite of the series. I think it was because Ellie and Rain's relationship was finally established enough for there to be more to the story besides them working out their relationship. Don't get me wrong, their bond is still not complete, but they still felt more solid. In the second book when he found out about her marks and left, that was their true test, and they made it through that, after that I feel there's really not much more that could split them apart.
While reading other reviews about the book / series in general and one thing that I read was how C.L. Wilson doesn't do any catch-up from one book to the next. It's like reading one long story. I actually like this. I sometimes find myself becoming bored with re-reading information in a series over and over again just to recap for people who've already read the series or to pull in people who are just starting the series but for some reason not starting at the beginning. This series of books by C.L. Wilson definitely demands that you read the whole thing from beginning. Really each novel flows right into the next one like the whole series is just one long story. I don't think I've read another series that has done this before, but it's surprisingly a nice way to write the series.
Anyway, back to this particular story in the series. I liked that we finally got away from Celeria where we had spent the last 2 novels and we get to go to the Fading Lands and meet other Fey and the Tairen. In the last novel I particularly liked the addition of Gaelen to the character list, and in this novel i liked Steili (sp?) the Tairen. I especially liked her motherly protectiveness of Ellie. I can say that in this book I liked the Tairen more than the Fey. They were much more accpeting of Ellie whereas the Fey clearly were waiting for her mess up to have an excuse to banish her from the Fading Lands. The Fey just seemed, not really corrupt, but power hungry maybe. By the end, however, it seems like the power hungry Fey will not be getting what they want.
I was glad that the trouble with the Tairen kitlings was solved and wasn't something that took to the end of the series to find a solution. And I liked that Ellie was able to save them and not have her magic go terribly wrong at that moment. I think that she's been through so much with the Fey thinking she's evil and having the Mage marks. I know that she's performed "miracles" before, but a part of me was just waiting for something to go wrong because we've all seen that her magic has been spotty at times. But I'm glad this is not the case.
Something I really look forward to hopefully happening before the end is Ellie saving her parents and finally getting to meet them.
I thought that the battle scenes towards the end were written very well. It was difficult to see characters that we've grown to love get put in that situation and for some of them we won't discover their fate until the next book.
I look forward to continuing the series. And even though each story flows right into the next they don't end on cliffhangers which is a good thing. As stated above there are threads that are left open to find out what happens in the next book, but it truly ends it seems more on a path. Rain is on the path to finish the war that the Eld started.
While reading other reviews about the book / series in general and one thing that I read was how C.L. Wilson doesn't do any catch-up from one book to the next. It's like reading one long story. I actually like this. I sometimes find myself becoming bored with re-reading information in a series over and over again just to recap for people who've already read the series or to pull in people who are just starting the series but for some reason not starting at the beginning. This series of books by C.L. Wilson definitely demands that you read the whole thing from beginning. Really each novel flows right into the next one like the whole series is just one long story. I don't think I've read another series that has done this before, but it's surprisingly a nice way to write the series.
Anyway, back to this particular story in the series. I liked that we finally got away from Celeria where we had spent the last 2 novels and we get to go to the Fading Lands and meet other Fey and the Tairen. In the last novel I particularly liked the addition of Gaelen to the character list, and in this novel i liked Steili (sp?) the Tairen. I especially liked her motherly protectiveness of Ellie. I can say that in this book I liked the Tairen more than the Fey. They were much more accpeting of Ellie whereas the Fey clearly were waiting for her mess up to have an excuse to banish her from the Fading Lands. The Fey just seemed, not really corrupt, but power hungry maybe. By the end, however, it seems like the power hungry Fey will not be getting what they want.
I was glad that the trouble with the Tairen kitlings was solved and wasn't something that took to the end of the series to find a solution. And I liked that Ellie was able to save them and not have her magic go terribly wrong at that moment. I think that she's been through so much with the Fey thinking she's evil and having the Mage marks. I know that she's performed "miracles" before, but a part of me was just waiting for something to go wrong because we've all seen that her magic has been spotty at times. But I'm glad this is not the case.
Something I really look forward to hopefully happening before the end is Ellie saving her parents and finally getting to meet them.
I thought that the battle scenes towards the end were written very well. It was difficult to see characters that we've grown to love get put in that situation and for some of them we won't discover their fate until the next book.
I look forward to continuing the series. And even though each story flows right into the next they don't end on cliffhangers which is a good thing. As stated above there are threads that are left open to find out what happens in the next book, but it truly ends it seems more on a path. Rain is on the path to finish the war that the Eld started.
kelsey3's review against another edition
3.0
Overall: 3
Book Breakdown —
Characters: continued to love them all, but Elly graded on my nerves.
Pacing/ length: slow. So slow. This was the slowest one. It reminded me of book 1; there’s a lot of build up and prep for the upcoming war.
Interesting Plot?: yes, but this book was the weakest in the series.
Reading Medium: audio.
Spice (?/5): 2 - there wasn’t a lot. It’s not the focus of the story, or even a main aspect of it, but what was there was good.
Detailed Review—
I honestly didn’t have many thoughts on this installment so this should be a very quick review. But here are my couple of thoughts:
The villain is really, really bad. The Eld in general are really terrible, but the high mage is worst of all. Most of it takes place off the page, thankfully, but there is still quite a bit of torture and other difficult scenes to get through. Plus even though it takes place off page, it’s still hard to listen to. I am excited to see how the villain is defeated because he is pretty darn terrible. He pretty much does a lot of very bad things, and has been for centuries, yet he doesn’t necessarily strike me as one dimensional.
As for Elly, she was just a little annoying. She seems to have regressed in her confidence and agency. We got some growth in the previous installment and I was thrilled but then in this book she went back to fearing herself and lacking any sort of confidence whatsoever. She started to grade on my nerves in this one because of the regression. I saw little to no character development on her part.
There was a lot of building up and prepping for war. A lot of unanswered questions and slow plot points. Honestly Book 3 & 4 should’ve been combined to cut out some of this slow plot development. I found myself waiting and waiting for something big to happen. But not much ever did. This was kind of a midway slump for the series.
We get some revelations towards the end but nothing so earth shattering that I remembered it clearly while writing this review a month later.
Character List—
see previous Tairen Soul series reviews
Steli: a Tairen of white fur and blue eyes. Adoptive mother of Elly. Fiercely protective and mischievous.
Memorable Quotes—
When it came to sorrow, warriors preferred their news served on a sharp blade. A clean cut hurt just a little less.
His body twisted, and four sel’dor spears raked deep cuts in his side as he swept by. Sel’dor nets fired from another two portals, and the weighted wire mesh wrapped tight around him and dropped him to the ground. His attempt to Change to escape the net ended in writhing agony as dozens more sel’dor arrows thunked into his side. Eld surrounded him, brandishing black metal pikes and barbed blades. A deafening roar drowned out the cacophony of battle. Bright, boiling clouds of flame burst from the Faering Mists, heralding the arrival of eight great tairen. With screams of fury, they dove towards the battlefield of Lower Orest. Steli led the way, white and fierce, and on her back she carried a slender, shining figure clad in studded scarlet leathers.
Flaming cyclones of Air and Fire shot from Ellysetta’s fingertips, driving back the Eld circled brandishing black metal pikes and barbed blades. A deafening roar drowned out the cacophony of battle. Bright, boiling clouds of flame burst from the Faering Mists, heralding the arrival of eight great tairen. With screams of fury, they dove towards the battlefield of Lower Orest.
Steli led the way, white and fierce, and on her back she carried a slender, shining figure clad in studded scarlet leathers. Flaming cyclones of Air and Fire shot from Ellysetta’s fingertips, driving back the Eld circled around her mate.
Rain closed his eyes as tairen flame poured over him in searing jets. The heat and fire enveloped him, burning the sel’dor net and barbed ends of the arrows from his body without raising so much as a blister on his tairen hide. Moments later, he sprang into the sky.
«You should not be here, Ellysetta,» he chided as he circled close to Steli’s fierce form.
«Where else do I belong if not by your side?» Ellysetta tossed her head and gave him a blinding smile.
Wearing her studded scarlet leathers, the Fey’cha belts full of bloodsworn blades criss-crossing her chest, Ellysetta stood straight and proud and watched with unblinking eyes as her shei’tan shed his leathers and steel. Her bloodsworn quintet surrounded her, and Steli crouched behind them, wings spread in a show of protection and might.
Summary—
Borrowed and edited from here.
The Fey, alongside King Rain and Queen Ellysetta, make their way back to the Fading Lands. First they must make a pit stop at Teleon to leave Ellie’s family under the protection of the fey warriors, Kieran and Kiel. Then, they must cross the Faering Mists towards their home where Ellie must find a way to cure the illness that is killing the Tairen kittens and Rain must start preparing for the war against the Eld that is brewing in the horizon. Meanwhile, the High Mage carries on with his plan to breed babies. Elly learns of the mages plan in her attempt to heal the Tairen kits. She discovers that with each child born in the high mages breeding program, he sneaks into a portal of souls to collect the unborn Tairen kits soul to bind to his children which causes the Tairen to die before birth and his children to be more powerful. Through this Elly is able to protect the unborn Tairen and understand how she is Tairen herself.
Book Breakdown —
Characters: continued to love them all, but Elly graded on my nerves.
Pacing/ length: slow. So slow. This was the slowest one. It reminded me of book 1; there’s a lot of build up and prep for the upcoming war.
Interesting Plot?: yes, but this book was the weakest in the series.
Reading Medium: audio.
Spice (?/5): 2 - there wasn’t a lot. It’s not the focus of the story, or even a main aspect of it, but what was there was good.
Detailed Review—
I honestly didn’t have many thoughts on this installment so this should be a very quick review. But here are my couple of thoughts:
The villain is really, really bad. The Eld in general are really terrible, but the high mage is worst of all. Most of it takes place off the page, thankfully, but there is still quite a bit of torture and other difficult scenes to get through. Plus even though it takes place off page, it’s still hard to listen to. I am excited to see how the villain is defeated because he is pretty darn terrible. He pretty much does a lot of very bad things, and has been for centuries, yet he doesn’t necessarily strike me as one dimensional.
As for Elly, she was just a little annoying. She seems to have regressed in her confidence and agency. We got some growth in the previous installment and I was thrilled but then in this book she went back to fearing herself and lacking any sort of confidence whatsoever. She started to grade on my nerves in this one because of the regression. I saw little to no character development on her part.
There was a lot of building up and prepping for war. A lot of unanswered questions and slow plot points. Honestly Book 3 & 4 should’ve been combined to cut out some of this slow plot development. I found myself waiting and waiting for something big to happen. But not much ever did. This was kind of a midway slump for the series.
We get some revelations towards the end but nothing so earth shattering that I remembered it clearly while writing this review a month later.
Character List—
see previous Tairen Soul series reviews
Steli: a Tairen of white fur and blue eyes. Adoptive mother of Elly. Fiercely protective and mischievous.
Memorable Quotes—
When it came to sorrow, warriors preferred their news served on a sharp blade. A clean cut hurt just a little less.
His body twisted, and four sel’dor spears raked deep cuts in his side as he swept by. Sel’dor nets fired from another two portals, and the weighted wire mesh wrapped tight around him and dropped him to the ground. His attempt to Change to escape the net ended in writhing agony as dozens more sel’dor arrows thunked into his side. Eld surrounded him, brandishing black metal pikes and barbed blades. A deafening roar drowned out the cacophony of battle. Bright, boiling clouds of flame burst from the Faering Mists, heralding the arrival of eight great tairen. With screams of fury, they dove towards the battlefield of Lower Orest. Steli led the way, white and fierce, and on her back she carried a slender, shining figure clad in studded scarlet leathers.
Flaming cyclones of Air and Fire shot from Ellysetta’s fingertips, driving back the Eld circled brandishing black metal pikes and barbed blades. A deafening roar drowned out the cacophony of battle. Bright, boiling clouds of flame burst from the Faering Mists, heralding the arrival of eight great tairen. With screams of fury, they dove towards the battlefield of Lower Orest.
Steli led the way, white and fierce, and on her back she carried a slender, shining figure clad in studded scarlet leathers. Flaming cyclones of Air and Fire shot from Ellysetta’s fingertips, driving back the Eld circled around her mate.
Rain closed his eyes as tairen flame poured over him in searing jets. The heat and fire enveloped him, burning the sel’dor net and barbed ends of the arrows from his body without raising so much as a blister on his tairen hide. Moments later, he sprang into the sky.
«You should not be here, Ellysetta,» he chided as he circled close to Steli’s fierce form.
«Where else do I belong if not by your side?» Ellysetta tossed her head and gave him a blinding smile.
Wearing her studded scarlet leathers, the Fey’cha belts full of bloodsworn blades criss-crossing her chest, Ellysetta stood straight and proud and watched with unblinking eyes as her shei’tan shed his leathers and steel. Her bloodsworn quintet surrounded her, and Steli crouched behind them, wings spread in a show of protection and might.
Summary—
Borrowed and edited from here.
The Fey, alongside King Rain and Queen Ellysetta, make their way back to the Fading Lands. First they must make a pit stop at Teleon to leave Ellie’s family under the protection of the fey warriors, Kieran and Kiel. Then, they must cross the Faering Mists towards their home where Ellie must find a way to cure the illness that is killing the Tairen kittens and Rain must start preparing for the war against the Eld that is brewing in the horizon. Meanwhile, the High Mage carries on with his plan to breed babies. Elly learns of the mages plan in her attempt to heal the Tairen kits. She discovers that with each child born in the high mages breeding program, he sneaks into a portal of souls to collect the unborn Tairen kits soul to bind to his children which causes the Tairen to die before birth and his children to be more powerful. Through this Elly is able to protect the unborn Tairen and understand how she is Tairen herself.
emhinton's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.75
While the second book was much more engaging than the first, overall I find this series to be quite tedious. The plot is extremely slow moving, none of the characters are engaging, and the romance leaves much to be desired. I love a good epic fantasy, and I love romance, but this just didn't hit the right buttons for me.
tani's review against another edition
3.0
After procrastinating on this series for years, one of my goals for this year was to try and finish this series. I really enjoyed the first two books, so was expecting something pretty decent from this one. I was a bit unpleasantly surprised, to be honest. I felt like I slogged through about 90% of this book, with only the last 10% or so really capturing my interest. Admittedly, the ending was exciting enough that I thought about upgrading this to 4 stars, but still.
Of course, I will admit that I've been distracted. Real life is interesting for me right now. In a couple days, I will be getting married and then setting out on my honeymoon, so perhaps you'll forgive me for a bit of distraction. I actually thought that this book would be a good choice for a time like this. I remember the earlier books as being fun romps with just enough danger to keep things interesting. I wasn't counting on the disconnect that I instantly felt. I had forgotten just how over-the-top these books are. Everything is epic. Everything is a matter of life and death. Souls are sworn and forsaken and things are always a big deal. I struggled mightily with this, and I spent about 100 pages at the beginning of the book complaining about it.
I had thought I had settled into the style after the first hundred pages, and things went OK for a while, but I felt like not a lot was happening. And when things did happen, it was the enemy making moves, and not our hero and heroine. Wilson spends a lot of time with Vadim Maur in the first half of the book, and I did not enjoy it. I can get down with a villain, but only if he's actually somewhat sympathetic. If you've read the the other books, you know that Vadim Maur is as irredeemable as they come, and I would have been much happier if the book had been edited down to exclude some of the sections that feature him. Villains are more fun, in my opinion, if you're actually surprised by what they do. Also, I will admit that I get really annoyed by the good guys when they don't act on all this knowledge of the villain's plans that I've been given. Never mind that they don't actually know everything I do. It's just annoying to me. Too much knowledge is not a good thing, sometimes.
Other than that, I'd say there are some pacing issues here. In some ways, the book felt like the first book of a series, because Ellysetta spends a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. I appreciate that the problem is a difficult one, but it didn't make this any more interesting to read. The middle part of the book felt pretty stagnant. I actually didn't read for about a week, to be honest. I got a little over halfway through and just put the book down, without any urge to pick it back up again. It was my impending honeymoon that prompted me to pick it up again. I'm traveling light, so I only intend to bring my Kindle for reading material, and I didn't want this book sitting around for more than a week, waiting for me to come home. Despite my lack of concentration, I forced myself through 100 pages last night, and then finished it up tonight. Finally!
As I said in the beginning of the review, the last part was definitely the strongest. Wilson can write a good action scene, and she was quite deft in unleashing all of the build-up that she'd put into place. Things got really exciting! And then the book ended, because of course.
I did enjoy the character growth that we get in this book, despite feeling like there wasn't a lot of action. Rain and Ellysetta grew both separately and together, and that was much appreciated. I hope that they will be much more impressive in the next book. I also hope that we see more resolution to the threads that Wilson has been weaving throughout these books. In particular, I want to see something done about Ellysetta's parents, who I've grown quite fond of. I just hope that the next book moves a bit quicker than this one did!
Of course, I will admit that I've been distracted. Real life is interesting for me right now. In a couple days, I will be getting married and then setting out on my honeymoon, so perhaps you'll forgive me for a bit of distraction. I actually thought that this book would be a good choice for a time like this. I remember the earlier books as being fun romps with just enough danger to keep things interesting. I wasn't counting on the disconnect that I instantly felt. I had forgotten just how over-the-top these books are. Everything is epic. Everything is a matter of life and death. Souls are sworn and forsaken and things are always a big deal. I struggled mightily with this, and I spent about 100 pages at the beginning of the book complaining about it.
I had thought I had settled into the style after the first hundred pages, and things went OK for a while, but I felt like not a lot was happening. And when things did happen, it was the enemy making moves, and not our hero and heroine. Wilson spends a lot of time with Vadim Maur in the first half of the book, and I did not enjoy it. I can get down with a villain, but only if he's actually somewhat sympathetic. If you've read the the other books, you know that Vadim Maur is as irredeemable as they come, and I would have been much happier if the book had been edited down to exclude some of the sections that feature him. Villains are more fun, in my opinion, if you're actually surprised by what they do. Also, I will admit that I get really annoyed by the good guys when they don't act on all this knowledge of the villain's plans that I've been given. Never mind that they don't actually know everything I do. It's just annoying to me. Too much knowledge is not a good thing, sometimes.
Other than that, I'd say there are some pacing issues here. In some ways, the book felt like the first book of a series, because Ellysetta spends a lot of time trying to figure out what to do. I appreciate that the problem is a difficult one, but it didn't make this any more interesting to read. The middle part of the book felt pretty stagnant. I actually didn't read for about a week, to be honest. I got a little over halfway through and just put the book down, without any urge to pick it back up again. It was my impending honeymoon that prompted me to pick it up again. I'm traveling light, so I only intend to bring my Kindle for reading material, and I didn't want this book sitting around for more than a week, waiting for me to come home. Despite my lack of concentration, I forced myself through 100 pages last night, and then finished it up tonight. Finally!
As I said in the beginning of the review, the last part was definitely the strongest. Wilson can write a good action scene, and she was quite deft in unleashing all of the build-up that she'd put into place. Things got really exciting! And then the book ended, because of course.
I did enjoy the character growth that we get in this book, despite feeling like there wasn't a lot of action. Rain and Ellysetta grew both separately and together, and that was much appreciated. I hope that they will be much more impressive in the next book. I also hope that we see more resolution to the threads that Wilson has been weaving throughout these books. In particular, I want to see something done about Ellysetta's parents, who I've grown quite fond of. I just hope that the next book moves a bit quicker than this one did!
scrants19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
emsy_'s review against another edition
2.0
The characters all behave very unrealistically. The romance feels performative and unbelievable. A lot of the time it feels as though the characters are caricatures of masculinity and femininity
lifeand100books's review against another edition
5.0
SO much development occurs in this book. Rain finally becomes the king we knew he could be - recognizing that the Fey's ways need to change in order to ensure their continued survival.
Ellie also continues to discover more and more about herself. Not only through her magical discoveries, but also from her relationship with Rain. I've enjoyed seeing the two of them butt heads in this book illustrating that even relationships between soul mates have their issues at times.
And thumbs up for the minor characters who are winning my heart over page by page: Gaelen, The Tairen, Bel, and Kiel & Kieran. <3
Ellie also continues to discover more and more about herself. Not only through her magical discoveries, but also from her relationship with Rain. I've enjoyed seeing the two of them butt heads in this book illustrating that even relationships between soul mates have their issues at times.
And thumbs up for the minor characters who are winning my heart over page by page: Gaelen, The Tairen, Bel, and Kiel & Kieran. <3
esthergreenwoodx's review against another edition
5.0
"How could he lay claim to a soul that already belongs utterly to you? There is nothing I would not give, no part of me I would not sacrifice, no law I would not break if it meant keeping you from harm. Kem'reisha sha ver. My soul is yours. Do with it what you will."
sobbing
sobbing