CBR18 Book 43: "Prince of Storms" by Kit Rocha

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for this ARC. This book is on sale now.

Naia, Einar and Aleksi return to the ice queen's island to figure out who tried to kidnap them and are soon joined by all the other deities of the High Court of the Sheltered Lands, concerned about them and wondering exactly who is behind this most recent plot. As Naia's powers keep growing and she needs to use them to protect the innocent residents of the island from dangers, it becomes clear that she is, in fact, the ancient goddess of Rahvekya reborn. She can remember an entirely different lifetime, as well as her relationship with the first Kraken.

However, Einar doesn't seem to remember his former life, and Aleksi sees the closeness between the other two and grows concerned about a future where he must let his lovers go, for their own good. Because of dangers from old foes arriving on the island, bent on revenge, Aleksi may not have long to worry about the future of himself or his lovers. The Betrayer wants the power of Rahvekya for himself and to kill Aleksi and now he may have the chance to achieve both. 

I tried to read this so I could finish and review it before the release date, but since NetGalley would only allow me to read the ARC in their own app, which doesn't save your progress, as well as forces me to read on my phone (something I only do in utmost emergencies, if I am stuck without one of my two e-readers or a physical book. It doesn't happen often). So in the end, I waited to start it until after release day, when my pre-ordered digital copy was available to download on my Kindle. Based on how uncomfortable it was to read in the NetGalley app, I may reject any future ARCs that are only available to read in that format. 

I read for pleasure, and for escapism, and I don't like when books feel like homework. Unfortunately, since I really do try to read all the ARCs I am granted and leave honest reviews for them, I had to get through this, but it took me far longer than it should have for a book this length. While I pretty much devoured books in the Bound to Fire and Steel duology in no time at all, this felt like a slog for the first two thirds of the book, and I for a lot of it, I was pretty much reading it out of obligation, not because I was particularly enjoying it.

The action does pick up in the last third, because that's when it basically becomes one very long action sequence, with SOO many different battles and near death-experiences for our heroes. Before that, the plot is very slow, and can't seem to move away from Aleksi worrying that the other two are better off without him, while they keep trying to reassure him that no, they aren't and they don't want him to nobly slink off somewhere to nurse his heartbreak for centuries. There's also the whole Naia and Einar are the reincarnated versions of Rahveyka's goddess and her lover, the god of Storms. I found it very hard to care about any of it. Things did get cooler when both Naia and Einar were fully able to embrace their new powers and truly kick the asses of their supernatural enemies. But with the first two thirds of the book being so boring, I cannot in good conscience rate this higher than 3.5 stars. 

Under the circumstances, though, considering the dystopian hellscape the authors who make up Kit Rocha live under, and the strides they've made to fundraise for democracy and help Americans offer resistance, it's laudable that they were able to finish this novel at all. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

CBR18 Book 40: "Daugther of Tides" by Kit Rocha

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Defeat the Goblin TBR: has a dark/stormy vibe

Naia is a very young water nymph, born directly from the Dreaming, but she has the memories and experiences of so many who have lived before her who had any connection to the sea. Einar was once a mortal man before he became the immortal pirate lord known as the Kraken, tied to his magical ship and his equally immortal crew. Aleksi is the most charming and beloved of all the gods; he is literally The Lover. After the events in Queen of Dreams (a book I read and very much enjoyed, but apparently didn't have the energy to fully review, Aleksi is feeling strange and unsettled. He keeps having strange visions, he doesn't instantly heal when he is injured, and he's started to worry that he is dying.

These three individuals are sent on a diplomatic mission to an icy kingdom, trying to broker a peace with Gwynira, the Ice Queen, who was previously one of the now imprisoned Sorin the Betrayer's allies. Einar has secrets he's keeping from the other two about his connection to the icy island kingdom they find themselves in, Naia is welcomed as a reborn version of the old goddess of the natives there, while Aleksi just wants to enjoy himself for as long as possible by hiding his impending death from the other two. 

I loved both the books in the Bound to Fire and Steel duology. I loved the world-building, I loved the pantheon of interesting deities (of which Aleksi and Einar both belong), and I found the tension between Ash, Sachielle and Zanya both interesting and sexy. Since I knew this was going to be a duology, I held off on reading this until close to the release date of the sequel, Prince of Storms (I have an ARC and need to read and review it by the end of this week). Unfortunately, whatever magic made the first two books in this world so incredibly appealing and immersive to me seems to have faded. I found this book slow to start, I found it difficult to really care about the characters or the mission they have been sent on. In addition, I found myself rather exhausted by how horny the three protagonists constantly are for each other. Maybe it would have been more exciting if they actually acted on their feelings until pretty much the very end of the book. Instead, it just felt annoying. 

The book picks up in the second half, but I never got the feeling of not wanting to stop reading, which was frequently the case with the first two books in this world. Maybe it's just that it was hard for me to feel any worry about Aleksi, since it's incredibly obvious that he's not actually going to die. He's part of the triad at the centre of this duology, which is a romance first and foremost, and the next book won't end with him actually dying and leaving the other two to grieve. While the various stakes were really high in the previous two books, I find it hard to get particularly invested this time around. It made me very sad, because I really had been looking forward to revisiting this world. 

I'm crossing my fingers that the sequel, which I will be starting soon, is better and that the duology as a whole works better for me once it's been completed. 

Judging a book by its cover:

We've got the churning sea, we've got a whole lot of tentacles. They seem to belong to more than one creature, so maybe the cover designer thought Einar had a bunch of friends to help him when he goes all Kraken-y?

CBR15 Book 81: "Consort of Fire" by Kit Rocha

Page count: 398 pages

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer! This was an ARC from Netgalley (but I have also paid to buy the book myself, after reading it). My opinions are my own.

Every one hundred years, the king of the Sheltered Lands has to send one heir to serve as consort to the ancient dragon god who acts as its protector and guardian. The previous consort went mad with fear not long after bonding with the Dragon, and Ash, the Dragon, worries that history will repeat itself. Ash has lived for over three thousand years, and even with successful unions, his consorts, being mere mortals, grow old and die. Yet the tradition must continue or the protective spells on the land can't be renewed.

The consort is obviously supposed to be of royal blood, but this time, the king has sent an impostor. Sachielle and her handmaiden Zenya were orphans, adopted, and trained to be the perfect weapons. Sachi has been trained to seduce and beguile, Zenya to be a ruthless and highly efficient assassin. Both young women have faced a very harsh and torturous upbringing, with the safety of the other used to keep them under control during training. Their secret mission is to murder the Dragon when he is most vulnerable, and they have only five weeks to complete their task. If they fail, the king's high priest has placed a curse on Sachi. She will die painfully and her soul will be consumed. Zenya has never known love in her life, except from Sachi, and will do anything and everything to keep her safe - even something as impossible as murdering a living god.

Of course, Ash turns out to be nothing like what the young women have been led to expect, nor are the other living gods of the pantheon, all of whom do their best to make the young women feel welcome. The Dragon is not the ruthless tyrant that they feared, he is beloved of his followers and treats both of them with kindness and solicitude. Nor is he even vaguely threatened when he discovers that his bonded bride and her handmaiden are lovers - he just becomes determined to seduce both of them. The more time they spend together, the more willing Sachi is to just give up on the assassination plot, but Zenya isn't going to let her beloved be consumed by the curse, no matter how charming and hot the Dragon is.

I've only read one previous book by Kit Rocha, and while it was entertaining, it was nothing like this. The Mercenary Librarians is a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, this is pure fantasy. I found the world-building intriguing and loved pretty much all the characters (except the dastardly high priest - but he was clearly supposed to be pond scum). All the living gods were once mortals who did something great and self-sacrificing to protect the land and/or their people, and now they're like a big, vaguely incestuous family who tease each other and hang out at each other's palaces. The other gods are all aware of Ash's melancholy and worries about his new union. Sachi and Zenya are not the first to try to assassinate him either, so none of them are too worried until it becomes clear that if she gets her hands on the right weapon, Zenya could actually present a real threat.

If you are a fan of clean romance, this is not the book for you. This book is so steamy that it should possibly be kept in the freezer when you're not reading it. So many sex scenes, including an actual orgy at one point. Yet as is the case with good writers, every sex scene also furthers the plot in some way.

I wasn't expecting to be so completely engrossed by this. The second I finished the book, I went online to order the sequel, which sadly isn't out until August. I think the series was originally going to be a trilogy, now it looks like it may just be a duology. I'm not complaining, as long as I get more smexy fantasy in this world. I would love sequels featuring others in the pantheon as well. 

Judging a book by its cover: As covers go, there is little here to suggest how steamy (and fun) the contents are. The hourglass with the red sand is very central to the plot, however. Each moment of Sachi's remaining life until the curse takes her is shown in a magical hourglass that Sachi and Zenya carry with them. Sachi prefers not to look at it too often, Zenya is almost obsessed with it. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read