★★★★★ @KristenAshley68 #TheDawnoftheEnd
During a dark time of my life, a friend of mine, Candace Blevins introduced me to the Rock Chicks. I loved the books and I found that Kristen Ashley just does something for me. From there, I have read through some of her backlists and I never wanted to try her paranormal. On a lark, in the 1001 Dark Nights collections, I read a Fantasyland Novella. I LOVED IT. I quickly read through her entire Fantasyland series. When the last book was read, I fell into a low as I wanted more in this universe. I found her Rising series which covers the continent of Triton. This is book three in the completed quartet and it is imperative to read the books in order.
I am reviewing this book in more depth because I actually bought it and can post it on Amazon. :) First of all, these books are thick. We are talking lengthy novels with a lot of action happening. The tying thread is a prophecy of 4 couples to defeat the beast. Instead of having a book a couple, this is a multi-protagonist book from the viewpoints of at least 12 different people if not more. Honestly, at times it was hard to keep up with who was talking. This meant I actually had to pay attention to some of the chapter titles with the name and location to orient myself in the right place. This helped me immensely.
Normally I am not a fan of multiple POV in a book. In this series, it works really well for me. Yes, there were times I couldn't remember which woman was hitching up with which man, but by this book I was pretty sure I kept them straight. Let's just not quiz me on it. HAH. I do like the continuity of the storyline from one book to the next. This overarching story arc may be about love between 4 power couples and conquering the beast, but it is so much more. Specifically I find the love of friends and the desire to serve/protect there people is amazing. This review doesn't do this book or series justice. Suffice to say, it contains all the elements I love:
Creating a better world for everyone
One of the societies is matriarchal
Justice is brutally served
Villains seeing the light and changing to support the good fight
An ENTIRE society of MERPEOPLE!
Magic
Dragons
Sexy times!!!
I found this book to be amazing and recommend it to fantasy readers who want great characters and a difficult quest.
