The Court War

 

The Court War (The Godstone #2)- Violette Malan

DAW/Penguin Group

Release Date: July 25, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: The second book in this epic fantasy saga spins a tale of magic and danger, as a healer finds herself pulled deeper into a web of secrets and world-ending magic.

With innovative worldbuilding, witty banter, and world-ending magic, The Court War is epic fantasy at its best and most compelling.

Fenra Lowens, with her partner Elvanyn Karamisk, has already faced the Godstone. Now she has a different, simpler getting the stick-in-the-mud practitioners of the White Court to return to the old ways of practice, the ways that keep the World healthy.

But before she has a chance to present her case, the uneasy balance of power between the practitioners of the White Court and the mundanes of the Red Court—in existence since the World itself began—suddenly erupts into open warfare.

Fenra is torn between helping her friends and fellow practitioners and moving ahead with the demands of an increasingly impatient World. Though she has help from unexpected allies, Fenra begins to suspect that this conflict isn't just about politics. The hand of an old enemy may be at work here....

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After the events of The Godstone, Fenra Lowens goes to the council of the White Court of magic practitioners to encourage them to return to the old ways, when practitioners traveled through the different Modes and kept the World healthy. But the council is set in its ways and sees its job as keeping power for themselves at the expense of others- and is happy to make Fenra the scapegoat when things start to go wrong. When the Red Court nonmagical council declares war on the White Court to try and take the White's power for itself, chaos descends. The average people are the ones in danger. The World is not happy and is ready to create chaos to prove it. And Fenra is caught in the middle of all of the battles.

Fenra is in the unenviable position of knowing how to save the World and has pretty much no one in power who is willing to listen. Fortunately, she's incredibly stubborn and determined and has the dogged instincts of a healer who will fight to the end for her patient. And her allies are as stubborn as she is, particularly Elva. I quite liked that about both of them. It was never a question of "if" something could be done with them, but "how". They were also smart enough to question who they could trust, but once someone had earned their trust they would do whatever it took to rescue them if needed. Which happened often because there were plenty of backstabbing politicians and others out only for themselves!

Once again, Violette Malan shows her incredible talent as a world-builder in The Court War. She builds not one world but multiple ones (personally, I hope we get to spend more time exploring the New Zone if there's a third book- there sounds like a lot that could be done with a world and different magic there!) as well as the sentient World itself; there are a variety of belief systems that fit together; magic with carefully constructed rules that we never feel we're being lectured over but discover in often unique ways. From the very food and drink to the clothes and architecture around our heroes, Malan seems to effortlessly create her wonderful worlds. Yet she never forgets that the most important thing, perhaps the most grounding thing, of the story are the human beings. Humans in all their extremes, both good and bad, are what make the world go round, and that is certainly true here.

I definitely recommend reading The Godstone before reading The Court War, since the events of book 1 lead directly to book 2. You can start with book 2 and catch up, but you'll enjoy it more reading them in order. 

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Into the West

 Into the West (Founding of Valdemar #2) - Mercedes Lackey

Rating: 📚📚📚

Release Date: December 13, 2022

Synopsis: Baron Valdemar and his people have found a temporary haven, but it cannot hold all of them, or for long. Trouble could follow on their heels at any moment, and there are too many people for Crescent Lake to support. Those who are willing to make a further trek by barge on into the West will follow him into a wilderness depopulated by war and scarred by the terrible magics of a thousand years ago and the Mage Wars. But the wilderness is not as empty as it seems. There are potential friends and rapacious foes....

....and someone is watching them.

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In the sequel to BEYOND, Mercedes Lackey picks up pretty much where Book 1 left off. Baron Kordas and his people have fled the Empire and are now looking for a new home where they aren't going to dispossess anyone already living there. Most of the book felt very much like a 'bridge' book, that awkward book between where things start and how things end that doesn't quite know how to keep up the pace. It is character driven, alternating between Kordas and Delia as each of them becomes used to their new lives on the move, how best to do what needs to be done in order to survive, and what their new role really is in everything. I liked seeing behind Kordas' facade: seeing his concerns and flaws and how very human he is, how unsure he is of what he's doing and how much trouble he has delegating things to others because of how much responsibility he feels. If you've read other trilogies in the Valdermar cannon you know that the myth of the first King is him being pretty much perfect, so it's good to see the human truth behind that myth. Delia was a bit more annoying for me. Her crush on Kordas felt forced, especially since he's married to her sister. But I liked seeing her growing up and coming into her own with her Gift.

The pace was really slow for about 3/4s of the book, with little side quests and plenty of repetitious speeches about who they should strive to be as a people along the way. Then, right when I didn't think I could handle anymore, BANG!, everything changed and I couldn't put the book down.

*Warning: Mild spoilers ahead*

A touch of 'deus ex machina' suddenly makes anyone familiar with the cannon reevaluate everything they've been reading when the HawkBrothers arrive with the perfect place for our refugees to live. If you haven't read the others, that's ok, you're mostly just missing 'Easter eggs'. Now things go from plodding to the more interesting how-to-turn-a-Vale-into-a-city, meeting people who use amazing amounts of magic, different sentient species, and you see how Valdemar is going to start coming together. 

I admit, I am still not a fan of Lackey's 'newer' style of writing, which uses a more relaxed writing style, more rambling and tangents, plenty of 'now's and 'well's, as if we are listening to someone talking or thinking out loud even when we aren't. But it has been her style for long enough now that I've learned to deal with it, even though I prefer her older writing style better. The basic plot is still interesting enough that I want to find out what happens and how it will happen.

I definitely recommend reading BEYOND first, as Book 1 in the series will help you get invested in the characters and their journey beforehand.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Godstone

 The Godstone- Violette Malan

DAW/Penguin Group

Release Date: August 3, 2021

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Fenra Lowens has been a working Practitioner, using the magic of healing ever since she graduated from the White Court and left the City to live in the Outer Modes. When one of her patients, Arlyn Albainil, is summoned to the City to execute the final testament of a distant cousin, she agrees to help him. Arlyn suspects the White Court wants to access his cousin's Practitioner's vault. Arlyn can't ignore the summons: he knows the vault holds an artifact so dangerous he can't allow it to be freed.

Fenra quickly figures out that there is no cousin, that Arlyn himself is the missing Practitioner, the legendary Xandra Albainil, rumored to have made a Godstone with which he once almost destroyed the world. Sealing away the Godstone left Arlyn powerless and ill, and he needs Fenra to help him deal with the possibly sentient artifact before someone else finds and uses it.

Along the way they encounter Elvanyn Karamisk, an old friend whom Arlyn once betrayed. Convinced that Arlyn has not changed, and intends to use Fenra to recover the Godstone and with it all his power, Elvanyn joins them to keep Fenra safe and help her destroy the artifact.

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In this world of magical Practitioners and mundanes, Fenra Lowens is a Practitioner with a gift for healing who prefers living in a small village far from the politics of court in the City. When her patient Arlyn must go to the City to deal with a false will naming him heir to a distant, ancient, cousin Fenra agrees to go with him to help. But it doesn't take long before she understands the truth: the man she knows as Arlyn, a man with no magic, was once the "cousin" Xandra Albainil- known as one of the most powerful Practitioners ever before he disappeared. Turns out, when he made a Godstone and discovered what most sensible people would have guessed (namely that using or creating anything with enough power to be called a Godstone is a BAD idea), he did have the sense to know he couldn't control it. Xandra sealed the Godstone away in his vault, but it took all of his power to do it.  Now people are looking for it to finish what he started and he needs Fenra's help to stop it. 

Malan's characters are multilayered and nuanced, we discover them slowly even though they are the ones telling us the story. The facet they show the world is never more than the first layer to a person full of strengths and flaws, untapped bravery and stubbornness. Fenra in particular wants her quiet life, but by the end is willing to do whatever it takes to deal with the Godstone. Arlyn is a brilliant character-or characters. He is the mild-mannered, quiet, brilliant woodworker the village children like; the stubborn man Fenra helps as a patient and slowly befriends. But there is also Xandra- the brilliant, stubborn Practitioner who believes he can never be wrong and knows better than anyone else, and who Fenra is pretty sure she's glad she never met. How did Xandra become friends with the levelheaded and loyal Elva? Elva is a case of someone who seems a completely open book, what you see is what you get. But watching the other characters develop makes you wonder what more of Elva's layers are.  We don't get to see them all here, but maybe in the future? Along with maybe more than the hint of romance we get here? Then there's the Godstone itself- a sentient being on some levels, Xandra on other levels, and something else in between. 

The Godstone doesn't end as a cliff hanger, but there are enough hints of future books that we can hope for a nice long series in this new world of Malan's. So many aspects still to explore, the reader will want to dip back into this world(s) again and again to see what they missed the first time.  

If you haven't read Violette Malan's books yet (Gift of Griffins, Halls of Law, The Sleeping God series), you are missing a master's class in brilliant world building and nuanced characters. The Godstone is another perfect example of Malan's talents.  Fantasy lovers will be thrilled and addicted.

Give Way To Night

 

Give Way To Night (Aven Book 2)- Cass Morris

DAW Publishing

Release Date: December 29, 2020

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Latona of the Vitelliae, mage of Spirit and Fire, is eager to wield her newfound empowerment on behalf of the citizens of Aven--but societal forces conspire to keep her from exercising her gifts, even when the resurgence of a banished cult plots the city's ruin. To combat this threat, Latona must ally with Fracture mage Vibia, the distrustful sister of Sempronius Tarren.

While Latona struggles to defend their home, Sempronius leads soldiers through wartorn provinces to lift the siege of Toletum, where Latona's brother Gaius is hemmed in by supernatural forces. Sempronius must contend not only with the war-king Ekialde and his sorcerers, but with the machinations of political rivals and the temptations of his own soul, ever-susceptible to the darker side of ambition.

Though separated by many miles soon after their love affair began, Latona and Sempronius are united by passion as they strive to protect Aven and build its glorious future.

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In Give Way To Night, book two of Cass Morris' fantastic Aven Cycle series, Morris weaves together the continuing trials of Latona, Sempronius, and their families. In Aven, Morris' fantasy version of ancient Rome, Latona is beginning to step out of the shadows and assert her identity, developing her magical abilities and confidence. On the other side of the continent her brother Gaius is trying to withstand a siege by the war-king Ekialde, who is using dark magics to destroy those who stand against him.  Attempting to rescue Gaius, Sempronius is leading three legions of troops to lift the siege and runs into the dark magic himself.  Coincidentally (or not), Latona is discovering similar dark magic in Aven, and she and her allies are the only ones willing to root it out.

Latona continues as the main character in Night, and she is in some ways more sure of herself while in other ways more conflicted than before.  Thanks to Sempronius' support she now believes in her talents, and is willing to not only continue experimenting with her abilities but using them.  She has a sense of duty that rivals any soldier, but sees her duty as standing for the citizens who need assistance through magic.  Interestingly, although we got rid of the Dictator Ocella in the beginning of the first book, his shadow continues to be felt throughout this book.  The reader gets more of an idea of what happened to individual citizens, like Latona, here. I appreciated how some characters like Vibia, who thought she knew Latona because of rumors, discover how wrong they were and who the person behind the rumors truly is. Night is full of strong female characters who are continuing to discover and use their strength here: Vibia, Aula, and Alhena all get more page time and are wonderful to get to know further.

If you haven't read Cass Morris' first book, From Unseen Fire, you are missing out on a fantastic new voice in the fantasy realm. Give Way To Night proves that she intends to continue writing intricate plots, with layers upon layers of political, personal, and magical threads woven together into a brilliant whole.  Her world building skills only develop further here, with detailed descriptions that make the reader feel as if they are marching with Sempronius' armies, or walking Aven's streets with Aula and Latona.  Morris has clearly done a lot of careful research to bring ancient Rome to life and clearly thought carefully about what she wants to change for her own world, and the end result is nothing short of spectacular.

While a reader could pick up Give Way To Night without having read From Unseen Fire, it would definitely be helpful to have read Fire first to get to know some of the characters and their conflicts from the beginning.  Readers should also be warned that Night ends on a cliff hanger, leaving us more desperate than usual to read the next book and discover how Morris will get her characters through the problems she's gotten them into. 

Unlike many sequels, Give Way to Night stands equal to From Unseen Fire and will charm fantasy lovers completely.

     

Bartered Brides

The Bartered Brides (Elemental Masters)- Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books/Penguin Group
Release Date: October 16, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: The threat of Moriarty is gone—but so is Sherlock Holmes.

Even as they mourn the loss of their colleague, psychic Nan Killian, medium Sarah Lyon-White, and Elemental Masters John and Mary Watson must be vigilant, for members of Moriarty’s network are still at large. And their troubles are far from over: in a matter of weeks, two headless bodies of young brides wash up in major waterways. A couple who fears for their own recently-wedded daughter hires the group to investigate, but with each new body, the mystery only deepens. 

The more bodies emerge, the more the gang suspects that there is dangerous magic at work, and that Moriarty’s associates are somehow involved. But as they race against the clock to uncover the killer, it will take all their talents, Magic, and Psychic Powers—and perhaps some help from a dearly departed friend—to bring the murderer to justice.

________________________________________________________________

Returning to the world of Elemental Magicians, psychics, and Sherlock Holmes, The Bartered Brides takes the series to its next logical step: what if Professor Moriarty had a necromancer in his organization and, after Reichenbach Falls, that necromancer tried to bring Moriarty back in a new body?  With Holmes in hiding to keep up the presence of being dead so he can track down remaining members of Moriarty's crew, it is up to the Watsons, Nan Killian, Sarah Lyon-White, the parrot Grey and the raven Neville to deal with a case Sherlock wouldn't be able to handle anyway.  But can they track down the villain who is murdering innocent girls to power seriously dark magic before he can bring the Napoleon of Crime back from the dead?

The idea behind The Bartered Brides is a classic, and fits perfectly into Lackey's Elemental/Holmes universe.  It also provides a good showcase for John and Mary Watson, who get overshadowed in the more 'traditional' Holmes world.  As Elemental Masters, John and Mary have always worked to deal with the cases Holmes couldn't, and to try to provide magical insight when his own cases seemed to need it.  Here they are recognized as powerful Masters in their elements, willing to take risks when needed and devoted to hunting down the man responsible for headless corpses turning up in the Thames.  Brides in particular also celebrates the close bond between them.

While John and Mary shine here, Nan and Sarah- the theoretical heroines of the series- fade a bit.  Unless they are using their particular talents (Nan as a mind reader, Sarah a medium) the two girls are pretty interchangeable in Brides.  They think the same way, act the same way, plot the same way, and half of the time I could only remember who was who because of the birds.  As brave and dedicated as all the heroes were, Brides pretty much stars the necromancer Spencer.  Our heroes chase leads and dead ends while Spencer gets all the action.  The reader is horrified by what Spencer is doing, and cheers his (eventual) failure, but he is still the stand out in the book.  I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen.  Which was also what our heroes were doing for most of the book.  With what seemed to me a rather uncharacteristically hurried ending, I didn't feel like I got quite the payoff I was hoping for.

Unlike Lackey's earlier books (The Black Gryphon for example) Brides spends most of its time wandering.  Loosely written, with largely mediocre and forgettable characters (although I greatly enjoyed meeting Caro!), this was not one of Lackey's best efforts.  Devoted Mercedes Lackey fans will be willing to spend an afternoon with these familiar characters and in this familiar world, but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for those new to the works of a usually stellar author.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Gift of Griffins

Gift of Griffins- V.M. Escalada
DAW/Penguin Group
Release Date: August 7, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: Kerida Nast and her companions have succeeded in finding Jerek Brightwing, the new Luqs of Farama, and uniting him with a part of his Battle Wings, but not all their problems have been solved. Farama is still in the hands of the Halian invaders and their Shekayrin, and it's going to take magical as well as military strength to overcome them. 

Unexpected help comes from Bakura, the Princess Imperial of the Halians, whose Gifts have been suppressed.  As the Voice of her brother the Sky Emperor she has some political power over the Halian military, and she will use it to aid the Faramans, if Kerida can free her from what she sees as a prison. But whether Kerida can help the princess remains to be seen. If she succeeds, Bakura may prove their salvation. But should Kerida fail, all may be lost....

__________________________________________________________________

In Gift of Griffins V. M. Escalada continues to show her talent in world building, weaving together well crafted characters and a beautifully textured, intricate, magically real world. You feel the wind in your face and the ground beneath your feet.  Her characters continue to be entirely believable- imperfect people in a far from perfect world, learning what they are capable of in overwhelming circumstances.  Kerida Nast and the Princess Imperial Bakura are especially well-written- watching them grow into strong, confident women who are willing to stand up to adversity even when they are terrified made it easy to forget how young they are in pure years.  They have had to grow up quickly and are the equal to any of the more experienced adults by the end of the book.

Unlike many second books in a series, Griffins didn't disappoint after Escalada's amazing first book, Halls of Law.  The emphasis has shifted from mere personal survival to the overthrowing of the Shekayrin determined to control the people, but the story is still told through the personal experiences of a few people.  We also got to see a lot more of the griffins here than in Halls, which was a lot of fun.  I thought Escalada did a great job giving us a griffin's point of view of things, and having the griffins and their way of thinking and prioritizing being very different from that of humans.  I also appreciated how nuanced the motivations among the humans themselves were- we don't get a generalized 'good' versus 'evil', but layers of loyalty and betrayal that will keep the reader guessing until the very end.    

Gift of Griffins is a must read for fantasy lovers looking for a new series to enjoy. You may first be drawn to Griffins because of the beautiful cover art, but you'll stay immersed in this wonderful fantasy world thanks to Escalada's beautiful writing style and amazing characters.  I hope to see many more books to come in this series!

 I would recommend starting with Halls of Law, since Gift of Griffins is very much a sequel instead of a stand alone book.

Black Gryphon

The Black Gryphon (Mage Wars Book 1)- Mercedes Lackey
DAW/Penguin Group
Release Date: January 1, 1995

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Skandranon Rashkae is perhaps the finest specimen of his race, with gleaming ebony feathers, majestic wingspan, keen magesight and sharp intelligence. Courageous, bold, and crafty, Skan is everything a gryphon should be. He is the fulfillment of everything that the Mage of Silence, the human sorcerer called Urtho, intended to achieve when he created these magical beings to be his champions, the defenders of his realm--a verdant plain long coveted by the evil mage Maar. 

Now Maar is once again advancing on Urtho's Keep, this time with a huge force spearheaded by magical constructs of his own--cruel birds of prey ready to perform any evil their creator may demand of them. And when one of Urtho's Seers wakes from a horrifying vision in which she sees a devastating magical weapon being placed in the hands of Maar's common soldiers, Skandrannon is sent to spy across enemy lines, cloaked in the protective of Urtho's powerful Spell of Silence.

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Before Valdemar, there were the mages.  Urtho, the Mage of Silence, created wonderful new creatures like gryphons and seeks knowledge to help others. The Mage Maar seeks power above all things.  Slowly Maar has taken over lands and people, until only those who stand with Urtho are left.  The Black Gryphon takes place at the end of this war, as people and gryphons try to claim small moments of joy and peace among the relentless grind of war and death. Skandranon, the Black Gryphon, and his close friend Amberdrake serve in Urtho's armies in their own ways.  Skan on the front lines, fighting the enemies and getting into and out of impossibly dangerous situations; Amberdrake among the Healers, working to keep mind, body, and soul together for the fighters. But among those loyal to Urtho are traitors, and even the Black Gryphon and the Mage of Silence may not be enough to stop Maar's terrible forces.

 Focusing on those trying to create lives in the midst of death, Black Gryphon shows both the best and the worst humans have in them.  Amberdrake in particular is a deeply sympathetic character, trying to bear his own emotional burdens as well as those others have confided in him, working to remain strong when grief or exhaustion overwhelm him. Seeing behind the facade Amberdrake and Skan show the world, you see how true leaders and good people are forged in the heart of adversity. 

 The Black Gryphon is a fast-paced, deeply emotional, and tightly written adventure. A fantasy novel both high fantasy lovers and those new to the genre will appreciate, and a book that stands up to many re-readings and the test of time.  Among Lackey's best! 

Halls of Law

Halls of Law- V.M. Escalada
DAW
Release Date: August 1, 2017

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Kerida Nast has always wanted a career in the military, just like the rest of her family. So when her Talent is discovered, and she knows she'll have to spend the rest of her life as a psychic for the Halls of Law, Ker isn't happy about it. Anyone entering the Halls must give up all personal connection with the outside world, losing their family and friends permanently. 

But just as Kerida is beginning to reconcile herself to her new role, the Faraman Polity is invaded by strangers from Halia, who begin a systematic campaign of destruction against the Halls, killing every last Talent they can find.

Kerida manages to escape, falling in with Tel Cursar, a young soldier fleeing the battle, which saw the deaths of the royal family. Having no obvious heir to the throne, no new ruler to rally behind, the military leaders will be divided, unable to act quickly enough to save the empire. And with the Halls being burned to the ground, and the Talents slaughtered, the Rule of Law will be shattered.

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Halls of Law begins a thrilling new series by V.M. Escalada.  Invasion is tearing apart the Faraman Polity, the royal family is dead, the military scattered and trying to decide who they should take orders from.  The Talents, who have always served Faraman as agents of the law, are being killed- their Halls burned, their powers outlawed, and any suspected of helping them killed alongside them.  Kerida Nast escapes the destruction of her Hall and joins young soldier Tel Cursar in journeying to a remaining military outpost.  But on the way they become a part of a far larger plan, one that might save not only their own lives, but their entire world.

Book One in the Faraman Prophecy skillfully creates and shatters an established world, leaving the survivors to find their way in the wreckage.  Escalada has a talent for world building while at the same time not explaining the world as if to an outsider.  The reader is immersed in a new world, one whose sights, scents, and sounds are as organic as the people who populate it.  All of the characters, especially Kerida, are multidimensional and complex. They have their strengths and weaknesses, their talents and blindspots.  Escalada is excellent at making sure none of her characters is fully "just" one thing or another.  Just when you are sure you can classify all the invaders as "evil"- and my skin crawled with some of the scenes when the invader mages "purify" and "pacify" locals- you find some level of sympathy, or at least humanity, in the main enemy as embodied in Shekayrin Svann.  There are Faraman men on willing to join the invader Halians without considering what that means for their world, particularly the women, and then right at the end Escalada gives a surprise twist among the Halians that promises more complications, uneasy alliances, and gray areas to come in Book Two.  

Halls is a fast-paces, intense, and absorbing story and I was sorry when I reached the end and had to leave it and the characters I'd come to know and love behind. I loved how we learned things through the characters, not ahead of them, and that those characters were not the leaders but more of the 'everyday' or lower level people dealing with the upheaval after it happens.    

V.M. Escalada creates a world of swords and magic, griffons and soldiers, heroes and everyday people trying to get along, harsh difficulties and the warmth of friends becoming family.  Readers who enjoyed Class Moss' From Unseen Fire, David Weber's Honor Harrington series, and Mercedes Lackey's world of Valdemar, will love the new world of Halls of Law and be waiting eagerly for the next book in the series (Gift of Griffins, release date August 7, 2018). 

       

From Unseen Fire

From Unseen Fire- Cass Morris
DAW? Penguin Group
Release Date: April 17, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: The Dictator is dead; long live the Republic.

But whose Republic will it be? Senators, generals, and elemental mages vie for the power to shape the future of the city of Aven. Latona of the Vitelliae, a mage of Spirit and Fire, has suppressed her phenomenal talents for fear they would draw unwanted attention from unscrupulous men. Now that the Dictator who threatened her family is gone, she may have an opportunity to seize a greater destiny as a protector of the people—if only she can find the courage to try.

Her siblings—a widow who conceals a canny political mind in the guise of a frivolous socialite, a young prophetess learning to navigate a treacherous world, and a military tribune leading a dangerous expedition in the province of Iberia—will be her allies as she builds a place for herself in this new world, against the objections of their father, her husband, and the strictures of Aventan society.

Latona’s path intersects with that of Sempronius Tarren, an ambitious senator harboring a dangerous secret. Sacred law dictates that no mage may hold high office, but Sempronius, a Shadow mage who has kept his abilities a life-long secret, intends to do just that. As rebellion brews in the provinces, Sempronius must outwit the ruthless leader of the opposing Senate faction to claim the political and military power he needs to secure a glorious future for Aven and his own place in history.

As politics draw them together and romance blossoms between them, Latona and Sempronius will use wit, charm, and magic to shape Aven’s fate. But when their foes resort to brutal violence and foul sorcery, will their efforts be enough to save the Republic they love?

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I can't lie, it was the cover that first caught my attention for this book.  It made me want to read the synopsis, which made me want to read the book- which led to one of the best fantasy books I've read in quite some time.  A book that lives up to its potential, From Unseen Fire takes place in an alternate, fantasy, version of ancient Rome.  The cruel dictator who governed the empire and terrorized its people is dead and now it is time to pick up the pieces- socially, politically, personally, and militarily.  

Latona of the Vitelliae is one of those who suffered under the dictator in order to protect her family.  Now freed from his shadow, she finds she cannot fit easily back into the life she led before.  No longer can she hide herself or her talents, or her wish to do more to rebuild the Republic and help its people.  All her life Latona has been held back by other people: her parents, who worried that unscrupulous men would use her and her magic; her husband who wants only a quiet life in the country focusing on his business; and Aventan society itself, which says that a woman who is not a priestess should focus her life and her magic only on her family.  Then she meets Sempronius Tarren, an ambitious man who hates to see talent wasted, and sees in Latona huge potential- if only she can find the courage to reach for it.  Sempronius is the first person to see Latona as she is, not as he wants her to be, so it can be no surprise that their friendship grows into a magnetically compelling attraction.

Sempronius is among those who want to rebuild Aven, and he joins the political clash on what the Republic should look like.  He hopes to break down barriers and allow people to thrive as their talents allow, without being trapped by class or citizenship restrictions.  Others want to return to the glory days of the old Aven, and the ways of the city's founders hundreds of years ago.  Some want to focus only on home while others worry about growing disturbances in the provinces.  Iberia becomes a hotbed of chaos with Aven's allies threatened by a new war-chief determined to protect his land and his people.  

At first glance, these seem like too many different story lines to work, but Morris weaves them together into a brilliant, seamless novel.  From Unseen Fire kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering what would happen next, if favorite characters would succeed in their personal quests. I was constantly worried that the book would end on a cliffhanger and I'd be left waiting desperately to find out what happened next.  True, the book doesn't wrap everything up in a neat bow- this is the start of a series.  But neither does Morris leave her readers yelling "How could you end it there!?" when they reach the last page.  I was struck throughout the entire book by how each of the characters believes completely that their actions are for the good of their land and their people.  Looking at it like that, none of them can be really considered 'villains', although some are more willing to take questionable paths to reach their idea of the greater good.

Although a debut novel, From Unseen Fire reads like it was written by a veteran author.  I greatly look forward to Cass Morris' next Aven book, both to keep following these characters and this world, and to see if Morris can keep to the high bar she set for herself here. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Closer to the Chest

Closer to the Chest (The Herald Spy #3)- Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Release Date: October 4, 2016

Rating (Out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Herald Mags, the King of Valdemar’s Herald-Spy, has been developing a clandestine network of young informants who operate not only on the streets of the capital city of Haven, but also in the Great Halls and kitchens of the wealthy and highborn.  In his own established alternate personas, Mags observes the Court and the alleys alike, quietly gathering information to keep Haven and the Kingdom safe.
 
His wife Amily, is growing into her position as the King’s Own Herald, though she is irritated to encounter many who still consider her father, Herald Nikolas, to be the real King’s Own. Nonetheless, she finds it increasingly useful to be underestimated, for there are dark things stirring in the shadows of Haven andup on the Hill.  Someone has discovered many secrets of the women of the Court and the Collegia—and is using those secrets to terrorize and bully them.  Someone is targeting the religious houses of women, too, leaving behind destruction and obscene ravings. 
 
Mags and Amily take steps to minimize the damage while using both magic and wits to find the evildoer.  But just as they appear to be on the verge of success, the letter-writer tires of terror and is now out for blood.  Mags and Amily will have to track down someone who leaves few clues behind and thwart whatever plans have been set in motion, and quickly—before terror turns to murder.

_______________

Closer to the Chest follows Herald Mags and his wife Herald Amily as they grow into their roles within the King's Court.  The roles of not only Heralds, but Herald-Spy and King's Own.  They are thrown out of their depth with a new mystery: someone writing Poison Pen letters to women at Court.  Things get even more serious when it seems that the same mysterious writer is destroying religious houses devoted to women.  Will they catch the mysterious villain before things escalate to murder?

People who have read Lackey's Collegium Chronicles in the Valdemar series (Foundation, Intrigues, Changes, Redoubt, and Bastion) will already be familiar with almost all of the characters.  That series followed Mags and his friends as they came to the Collegia for school and, in Harry Potter-like fashion, had adventures that shaped them into the adults we see in The Herald Spy series.  That said, there are definitely references to events that a reader starting off with Closer to the Chest will not get.  I don't think it would affect enjoyment of the story, although probably going back and reading the Collegium Chronicles series (as well as the first two Herald Spy books) would enhance Closer to the Chest.

The Valdemar series continues to have everything a fantasy reader would want to see: magic and mystery; royalty, nobility, and peasants working together (or not!); and, of course, the magical, horse-like Companions.  Closer to the Chest is a bit slower paced than Lackey's usual books and has a more relaxed style of writing than her earlier works.  I find I still prefer her earlier books to these later ones with the different writing style, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them.  Chest contained more repetition than I think was necessary- there are only so many times I need to be told that this was the hottest heat wave in memory for instance.  

However, Closer to the Chest was a fun, light read.  I enjoyed following characters I already knew and watching them grow into their new roles as adults and their new responsibilities, and when the mysterious Poison Pen letters begin to escalate to worse and worse things the mystery picked up and got interesting.  Fans of Mercedes Lackey will enjoy returning to the world of Haven.  Fantasy lovers and Harry Potter fans looking for their next series will enjoy a good introduction to Mercedes Lackey- and hopefully get hooked into reading the rest of the Valdemar saga! 

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.