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lolasreviews's review against another edition
3.0
After I finished the Horse Mistress books I couldn't wait to continue this series with the Lion Mistress books. And I loved being able to return to this world again. My expectations were quite high and sadly this book ended up being a bit mixed for me. There were parts I really enjoyed and parts I struggled with a bit. It's more of a 3.5 star rating, but didn't quite feel like a 4 star
While the Lion Mistress follows a different set of main characters than the ones in the first four I still think it would work best to start there, but for those who prefer to start here that definitely works too, you just miss a bit of backstory of the side characters. And for me seeing the characters I had grown to know from the first four books again in this book was so fun.
The Lion Mistress Book 1 follows the story of Kathrael. She was a slave and then a prostitute. Then she got burned and now she has no way to make a living. She has lost everyone close and dear to her and the only drive left is to get to the north and kill the wolf patron who ruined her life. It's told mostly from her point of view, but there are also some chapters from Favian and Ithric's point of views too.
I admit that I found Kathrael hard to like at first. Her only drive seems to be revenge and she is quite hardened because of the life she had. I felt sorry for her with how she had lived, lost and also how she thought of sex. I found it hard to really care for her, but I did like seeing how character development over the course of the book. It really feel like the first step to a better life for her. And by the end I did find myself warming up to her slowly.
I did like Favian right away. We already have seen a lot of Favian in the horse mistress books and he was one of my favorite side characters there. I also liked seeing how he grew closer to Kathrael and cared for her and helped her recover. I had more trouble with his relationship with Ithric as he seemed almost hostile when he talked about him, but his actions spoke of a deep bond. A bond that was formed before this book. Which is when I regret not starting with the prequel as I think that would've given me a better insight in their relationship.
Favian and Ithric's romance is almost combustible. They love each other, but also seem quite argumentative with each other. Eventually they get to the heart of the matter and I found I understood both of their points. I just didn't care for the way they acted at first and was happier when they made up, which isn't till the end of the book tough. Ithric and Kathrael have a bit of a bond too, but not as deep yet, but I think that will develop in the next book. I am curious to see their relationship progress as toward the end it's still very much in the beginning stages.
I am not quite sure what it is, but something about this book failed to fully pull me in. I loved being back in this world and there is some great character focus and interactions. The story felt like it moved a bit slowly at times and lacked direction, but I still enjoyed myself while reading. It just lacked that feel that I wanted to keep reading and was immersed in the story that the horse mistress books had.
I was happy to return to this world and see glimpses of how the character we followed in the horse mistress book were doing now. It's also great to see how the world has changed in the meantime. How some parts are more stable and more unrest in other parts. I am quite curious to see how this will develop in future books. This book also expands on the world building with Kathrael's spirit gift and some twins she meet who have an unusual gift too.
To summarize: I was happy to return to the world of Eburos and this time follow a new set of characters. Kathrael is the main character of this one, with some chapters from Favian and Ithric's point of view. I had a bit of a hard time warming up to Kathrael, she has had a hard life and is a bit better and revengeful when the book starts. I felt sorry for her, but didn't quite like her at first. I like seeing her character development over the course of the series and I began to like parts of her characters. I was happy to see Favian again, although I felt like I missed part of his background with Ithric as I didn't start with the prequel first. I also didn't care for their attitude at first were he acted like Ithric didn't matter to him and I was happy once they talked things through and resolved it. The romance between Favian and Thric is already more established and in this book Kathrael joins their relationship in a way as well, but it's still very much in the beginning stages. All in all it was a good start of the series and while it didn't pull me in as much as the Horse mistress books, it has a lot of potential and I am excited to see where the story goes next.
While the Lion Mistress follows a different set of main characters than the ones in the first four I still think it would work best to start there, but for those who prefer to start here that definitely works too, you just miss a bit of backstory of the side characters. And for me seeing the characters I had grown to know from the first four books again in this book was so fun.
The Lion Mistress Book 1 follows the story of Kathrael. She was a slave and then a prostitute. Then she got burned and now she has no way to make a living. She has lost everyone close and dear to her and the only drive left is to get to the north and kill the wolf patron who ruined her life. It's told mostly from her point of view, but there are also some chapters from Favian and Ithric's point of views too.
I admit that I found Kathrael hard to like at first. Her only drive seems to be revenge and she is quite hardened because of the life she had. I felt sorry for her with how she had lived, lost and also how she thought of sex. I found it hard to really care for her, but I did like seeing how character development over the course of the book. It really feel like the first step to a better life for her. And by the end I did find myself warming up to her slowly.
I did like Favian right away. We already have seen a lot of Favian in the horse mistress books and he was one of my favorite side characters there. I also liked seeing how he grew closer to Kathrael and cared for her and helped her recover. I had more trouble with his relationship with Ithric as he seemed almost hostile when he talked about him, but his actions spoke of a deep bond. A bond that was formed before this book. Which is when I regret not starting with the prequel as I think that would've given me a better insight in their relationship.
Favian and Ithric's romance is almost combustible. They love each other, but also seem quite argumentative with each other. Eventually they get to the heart of the matter and I found I understood both of their points. I just didn't care for the way they acted at first and was happier when they made up, which isn't till the end of the book tough. Ithric and Kathrael have a bit of a bond too, but not as deep yet, but I think that will develop in the next book. I am curious to see their relationship progress as toward the end it's still very much in the beginning stages.
I am not quite sure what it is, but something about this book failed to fully pull me in. I loved being back in this world and there is some great character focus and interactions. The story felt like it moved a bit slowly at times and lacked direction, but I still enjoyed myself while reading. It just lacked that feel that I wanted to keep reading and was immersed in the story that the horse mistress books had.
I was happy to return to this world and see glimpses of how the character we followed in the horse mistress book were doing now. It's also great to see how the world has changed in the meantime. How some parts are more stable and more unrest in other parts. I am quite curious to see how this will develop in future books. This book also expands on the world building with Kathrael's spirit gift and some twins she meet who have an unusual gift too.
To summarize: I was happy to return to the world of Eburos and this time follow a new set of characters. Kathrael is the main character of this one, with some chapters from Favian and Ithric's point of view. I had a bit of a hard time warming up to Kathrael, she has had a hard life and is a bit better and revengeful when the book starts. I felt sorry for her, but didn't quite like her at first. I like seeing her character development over the course of the series and I began to like parts of her characters. I was happy to see Favian again, although I felt like I missed part of his background with Ithric as I didn't start with the prequel first. I also didn't care for their attitude at first were he acted like Ithric didn't matter to him and I was happy once they talked things through and resolved it. The romance between Favian and Thric is already more established and in this book Kathrael joins their relationship in a way as well, but it's still very much in the beginning stages. All in all it was a good start of the series and while it didn't pull me in as much as the Horse mistress books, it has a lot of potential and I am excited to see where the story goes next.
lolasreviews's review against another edition
4.0
I was curious to see how this series would get wrapped up and eagerly started reading this book. Book 3 was a great ending to this series. We see the main characters join the slave rebellion and fight for what they believe in and we see some other familiar faces as well. It was a story focused read with quite some tension and build up as we come closer to the moment they storm the palace. There's still some room for the romance as well and to see how the characters deal with this together.
The Lion Mistress Book 3 is a bit more story focused than the previous two books. A lot of the character development and relationship building has been done in the previous books and with the slave rebellion gaining strength and moving forward a lot of the story focuses on that. I liked that earlier in the book there's still a great scene of the three of them relaxing when they visits some ancient stones and the accompanying hot springs it was a nice break from the tension and more story focused pace. As for the rest of the book until the end there aren't many of those moments. I kinda missed seeing them just be together, but it made sense with the focus and scope of the story.
It was exciting to see how this goal that Kahtrael always worked toward finally come true. It did at times feel more like her quest than that of the others. And in some way I could relate the most to Favian's perspective who at first mostly goes along with it because of the others. While the whole slave rebellion was a great goal it just wasn't able to make me care as much as the battle for north Eburos did at the end of the horse mistress. Nevertheless I was still plenty invested in the story and these characters even if I cared less for the city of Rhyth than Dreabard.
I liked how later in the story Favian takes a more active role in the rebellion and we see how spread his faith among the people of Rhyth. I also appreciated how the events and way things happen felt quite realistic. This book also has quite some focus on Favian, who has seen a vision of the future and knows what's going to happen to him and knows that he can't tell anyone. Favian is one of my favorite characters in this series and I was afraid to find out what would happen to him, but tried to trust there would be a happy ending of some sort. I just couldn't see how. All I can say is that I thought it was handled well. Although the whole vision and spirit world thing still stays a bit vague at times.
There are some interesting developments toward the end of the series, some big events and some exciting twists I hadn't expected. There is also an interesting twist or actually two surrounding Kathrael's spirits, but one of those felt a bit late. While it made sense given the events, I still would've liked to see things develop a bit more there as it felt a bit sudden now. It felt slightly off this way for me somehow.
It's definitely a great ending to the series. It kept my attention and I was both exciting and a bit afraid to see how everything would play out. The big plot points are wrapped up, but still enough details are left open so you can image what will happen next. The ending is great and there is a bonus epilogue story in the box set that shows another sex scenes and a glimpse of the future. I like seeing how these three stuck together and are there for each other, even with the more story focused plot it's still clear how close they are.
I also was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces form the Horse Mistress series again. It was a nice touch and I like how closely these series are intertwined and I would recommend to start with the horse mistress series.
To summarize: This was a great ending to the lion mistress series. It was with both excitement and a bit of fear that I followed the three main characters as they prepare to battle for the freedom of the slaves. This book is a bit more story focused than the previous two, which makes sense given the focus. There is a great scene with the three of them relaxing early on toward the start, but besides that it's more story focused. I like how close these three are and how much they care about each other and that's clear throughout the whole book. I liked how this book wrapped things up and the ending was great. It was fun to see some familiar faces from the horse mistress books as well. This was a great series and I am excited for the Dragon Mistress series which comes next!
The Lion Mistress Book 3 is a bit more story focused than the previous two books. A lot of the character development and relationship building has been done in the previous books and with the slave rebellion gaining strength and moving forward a lot of the story focuses on that. I liked that earlier in the book there's still a great scene of the three of them relaxing when they visits some ancient stones and the accompanying hot springs it was a nice break from the tension and more story focused pace. As for the rest of the book until the end there aren't many of those moments. I kinda missed seeing them just be together, but it made sense with the focus and scope of the story.
It was exciting to see how this goal that Kahtrael always worked toward finally come true. It did at times feel more like her quest than that of the others. And in some way I could relate the most to Favian's perspective who at first mostly goes along with it because of the others. While the whole slave rebellion was a great goal it just wasn't able to make me care as much as the battle for north Eburos did at the end of the horse mistress. Nevertheless I was still plenty invested in the story and these characters even if I cared less for the city of Rhyth than Dreabard.
I liked how later in the story Favian takes a more active role in the rebellion and we see how spread his faith among the people of Rhyth. I also appreciated how the events and way things happen felt quite realistic. This book also has quite some focus on Favian, who has seen a vision of the future and knows what's going to happen to him and knows that he can't tell anyone. Favian is one of my favorite characters in this series and I was afraid to find out what would happen to him, but tried to trust there would be a happy ending of some sort. I just couldn't see how. All I can say is that I thought it was handled well. Although the whole vision and spirit world thing still stays a bit vague at times.
There are some interesting developments toward the end of the series, some big events and some exciting twists I hadn't expected. There is also an interesting twist or actually two surrounding Kathrael's spirits, but one of those felt a bit late. While it made sense given the events, I still would've liked to see things develop a bit more there as it felt a bit sudden now. It felt slightly off this way for me somehow.
It's definitely a great ending to the series. It kept my attention and I was both exciting and a bit afraid to see how everything would play out. The big plot points are wrapped up, but still enough details are left open so you can image what will happen next. The ending is great and there is a bonus epilogue story in the box set that shows another sex scenes and a glimpse of the future. I like seeing how these three stuck together and are there for each other, even with the more story focused plot it's still clear how close they are.
I also was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces form the Horse Mistress series again. It was a nice touch and I like how closely these series are intertwined and I would recommend to start with the horse mistress series.
To summarize: This was a great ending to the lion mistress series. It was with both excitement and a bit of fear that I followed the three main characters as they prepare to battle for the freedom of the slaves. This book is a bit more story focused than the previous two, which makes sense given the focus. There is a great scene with the three of them relaxing early on toward the start, but besides that it's more story focused. I like how close these three are and how much they care about each other and that's clear throughout the whole book. I liked how this book wrapped things up and the ending was great. It was fun to see some familiar faces from the horse mistress books as well. This was a great series and I am excited for the Dragon Mistress series which comes next!
bunnerz's review against another edition
4.0
Ratings - completed series:
#1 The Lion Mistress: Book 1: ★★★★☆
#2 The Lion Mistress: Book 2: ★★★★☆
#3 The Lion Mistress: Book 3 (this book): ★★★★☆
#1 The Lion Mistress: Book 1: ★★★★☆
#2 The Lion Mistress: Book 2: ★★★★☆
#3 The Lion Mistress: Book 3 (this book): ★★★★☆
moonmist80's review
5.0
Finally
This seiries is amazeballs and I have been waiting for this book. So good did not want to put down (late for work this morning) I love the relationships between the characters. Read read read get them all.
This seiries is amazeballs and I have been waiting for this book. So good did not want to put down (late for work this morning) I love the relationships between the characters. Read read read get them all.
freya_amber's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage and Slavery
vailynst's review against another edition
3.0
Notes:
#12 on Read All the Books on Audible Escape Before It Poofs
I enjoyed the story but it was too much like the Horse Mistress. There's definitely a formula for the stories that the author is writing and I wish it's so apparent.
#12 on Read All the Books on Audible Escape Before It Poofs
I enjoyed the story but it was too much like the Horse Mistress. There's definitely a formula for the stories that the author is writing and I wish it's so apparent.
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Notes:
#21 on Read All the Books on Audible Escape Before It Poofs
Satisfying wrap up. There are plenty of plot holes that come across as hand wavy but I've come to expect that in the series. The strong points are the relationships and how they evolve.
#21 on Read All the Books on Audible Escape Before It Poofs
Satisfying wrap up. There are plenty of plot holes that come across as hand wavy but I've come to expect that in the series. The strong points are the relationships and how they evolve.
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