Book Review: Final Heir by Faith Hunter

 

Final Heir by Faith Hunter is the 15th and final installment of the Jane Yellowrock series.  It was so, so, so good. 

I did my usual read it once, fast, fast, fast on the ipad, then turned around and read it again, slow, slow, slow on paperback. It's not a story that's meant to be read fast because you'll miss a lot and it is so complex and action packed. It's the last book of the series, yet it was a great finale and answered so much. There are so many moments. Moments that made me sad, moments that were so powerful. Moments that were amusing or scary. I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't read yet, so... Jane and Beast, the I/We. Jane taking charge and also learning to let go and let others handle things. Leo and how he found a way to let Jane know what needed to be known. Angie, such a little girl but so powerful. Jane's relationship with the witches. The big bad who is trying to take over and how everyone teams up to fight him. I'm sad to see it end, but happy I can read the series over and over.  

"The stakes couldn’t be higher in the newest novel in the New York Times bestselling, pulse-pounding Jane Yellowrock series.

Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.

With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her."

Recommend starting with book 1 - Skinwalker. You'll be glad you did. 

March Reading Wrap up

 

My reading slowed way down this month and I completed six books, sort of  finished one, and stopped halfway through another.  

1. Super Powereds Year Four - Drew Hayes (Science Fiction, 1019)
2. Daughter of Time (#5 Inspector Grant) - Josephine Tey (HF, 206)
3. Hidden Palace #2 Golem & the Jinni - Helene Wecker (H Fantasy, 472)
4. Leviathan Wakes - J.A. Corey (Science Fiction, e)  
5. Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin (Science fiction, dnf)
6. Bookshop at Water's End - Patti Callahan Henry (Literary Fiction, e)
7. Bookshop of Second Chances - Jackie Fraser (Contemporary Romance, e)
8. The Starless Crown (#1 Moon Fall) - James Rollins (Fantasy, 560)

Super Powered is a great series and however much I'd like to compare it to Harry Potter, there really is no comparison. These are college age kids, each with a special super power, no wands, who learn how to use their powers amidst the angst of college and real life battles.  It will be well worth reading again. 

Tey's Daughter of Time is a unique story involving history and how it can be perceived or easily wrong, depending on the book telling the tale.

The Hidden Palace is a wonderful tale interwoven with several different narrators and is full of history, drama, and magic. I loved escaping into their world and will definitely read it again at some point.

In The Bookshop at Water's End, everyone down to the children had baggage of some sort and it was an emotional story which I usually wouldn't enjoy but the writing was so well done, it pulled me into the characters lives, rooting for them all the way. 

The Bookshop of Second Chances was set in Scotland and  Edward, a curmudgeonly bookseller who is 40 ish and Thea, a 40 + woman on the verge of divorce, both with lots of baggage, who may or may  not like each other, lives become intertwined more than they imagine and makes for a beautiful story.

James Rollins has done it again and this time with Fantasy 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, a broken soldier, horrible villains who will do anything including burning entire towns to get what they want, sky ships and battles. Our poor characters are given no time to rest, hunted and chased, from peril to peril. A thrilling story I couldn't put down. Definitely a reread when the rest of the series comes out

How do you sort of finish a book?  I unfortunately didn't enjoy Corey's Leviathan Wakes as the characters rubbed me the wrong way and I read halfway, lost interest, skipped to the ending to see what happened.  I also didn't enjoy Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, decided life is too short to keep reading when the writing isn't grabbing me and decided to shelve the book.  Happily, the rest of my reads were excellent. 

I'm still reading more science fiction and fantasy with a historical fiction thrown in. I seem to be getting more into emotional contemporary fiction so we'll see how long that lasts.  At least I cleared some dusty books from both my physical and eshelves. Looking forward to seeing what April brings as I'm in the midst of several books at the moment.