Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

 First Lines:  "Where in Malek is he going? I hurry through the tunnels beneath the quadrant, trying to follow but night is the ultimate shadow and Xaden blends seamlessly into the darkness."

Of course, Onyx Storm would end in a cliffhanger. Now I want to read the 3 books in the Empyrean series again, knowing that there is a fourth and fifth book that will be coming out in the future.

So Onyx Storm drops right in where the last one ended. I didn't remember as much as I thought I would and it took me a few chapters to get back into the groove of the story. 

I've heard a lot of complaints that the actions going from fast to nothing happening real quick and I realized most folks don't know how the military works. I'm a military brat so know there is a lot of waiting around between battles, between negotiations. The story reflected how the real life military works in some ways. 

Long story short, without giving away any spoilers, the tale is full of battles. The dark wielders Venin, politically, with authority, attempts to win over other islands leaders to fight with Navarre, as well as her battle to keep hidden Xaden's infection by the venin.   In the process of trying to find Andarna's kin, we learn more about Violet's history with her dad. Plus throw in the life of a cadet as she trains and bonds more with Tairn and Andarna, and her fellow classmates, and it makes for one hell of a story. 

527 Pages

Entangled Publishing, 2025

Fantasy

Book Review: A Starless Crown by James Rollins

 

I just finished James Rollins newest fantasy novel, The Starless Crown.  I love his writing.   As I was getting closer to the end and the characters were still in peril,  I told my hubby I hope this doesn't end in a cliffhanger. Happily it didn't. How to describe without giving anything away. They live in an alternative world in which several characters come together over the course of the book to join together in a quest to save the world. An abandoned baby found in a swamp, bats, prophecies, darkness, a thief, a bronze statue, a fallen prince, wolves, horrible villains who will do anything including burning entire towns to get what they want, sky ships and battles. Our poor characters given no time to rest, hunted and chased, from peril to peril. A thrilling story I couldn't put down. 

"A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death. Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts: 

A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home. A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own. An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe. On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.

But with each passing moment, doom draws closer."

Definitely a reread when the rest of the series comes out.  

Fantasy, Alternative world, 560