Review: The Rise of the Iliri: Volumes 4-6 by Auryn Hadley

The Rise of the Iliri: Volumes 4-6 by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Superb Box Set Continuing An Engrossing Series

This isn’t a review of the books in the set, but of the box set as a whole. I’ve already reviewed the individual books and am happy for people to check those reviews out, but wanted to leave a review again after reading this box set, rather than the separate books.

The reviews for each book can be found here:

Inseparable - Book 4
Tenacity - Book 5
Resilience - Book 6

The second time of reading this series has not diminished my enjoyment in any way. This series is one that can be enjoyed over and over again because it is written so well.

The characters are fascinating, the world building is superb and the plot is captivating beyond words. When you start reading this box set, be prepared to want to spend every free moment reading it and be ready for tired eyes come morning.

This volume covers how Sal is treated on her return from her Anglian mission with Jase. There is a lot of ground covered and the plot twists are many, so it’s hard to describe what happens without giving any spoilers. Essentially the volume is about how the treatment of the Anglian humans changes the way Iliri are treated by others and how they view themselves.

There are some tear jerking moments in this volume and it is impossible not to feel for Sal and the rest of her pack, but Iliri are too strong to stay put down for long, no matter how horrific the things they encounter.

As well as all the trauma involved in this box set there is much attention to detail with the way humans respond to challenges and crises and alternatively how another species might handle the same.

Once again, I recommend this series wholeheartedly and wish more people would read it because it is brilliant. I also recommend getting the box sets because I’m pretty sure they save you money. I wouldn’t know because I always read in Kindle Unlimited, but I am really tempted to buy all these books because I know I will re-read them.

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Review: The Rise of the Iliri: Volumes 1-3 by Auryn Hadley

The Rise of the Iliri: Volumes 1-3 by Auryn Hadley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing Fantasy With Strong Female Protagonist

I originally read these books as individual volumes and fell in love with Sal and the Black Blades. When the latest book came out I decided to re-read the books to enjoy the build up once again. This box set was a great way of doing that, as it keeps the story flowing. These first three volumes work brilliantly as a set because they follow seamlessly into each other and end at a distinct pause in the story.

Sal is a purebred Iliri female, possibly one of the last. This race is often enslaved in the CFC, the land where she was born. There is very little excuse needed to conscript Iliri into the army, where they are still treated as slaves. Sal was conscripted into the army two years ago and as soon as she got promoted she applied to join any Elite Unit she could. She was finally given a chance to join the Black Blades, the best of the best. When she arrived she discovered that Iliri were hiding a lot from the outside world; their culture, their strength and their abilities. As a dominant purebred female Iliri she draws men to her and the Black Blades are the first people to make her believe this could be a good thing.

Sal was raised by humans and as such has no knowledge of the Iliri culture or language and her time with the Black Blades teaches her a lot, not only about her people, but about herself too. She grows stronger and helps tie the Black Blades tighter together, something that can only get them noticed and not always for good reasons.

This author is superb at world building. She weaves together clever strands of culture, history, geography and language together to craft a complete world in which the plot and characters can stand. Not only does she do this for one country, but several. Then on top of phenomenal world building, she crafts characters that we can bond with immediately, not just because we like them but because we can understand them. There are not just one or two characters created to bond with this in this series, but dozens of them of several different races. Then the plot, which glides along, forcing you to turn one more page even as your eyes start to close at 2am. I am unable to stop reading these books until forced to by the outside world or the end is reached. I get so wrapped up in Sal’s adventures I can never seem to pull myself away. As you might expect from an author who carefully constructs a complex world, the plot is flawlessly built, with politics, army tactics and social interactions all building on each other.

I cannot rate this book highly enough. If you like fantasy books, or strong female characters of any kind, I would be very very surprised if you didn't love this as much as I did.

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Review: Fighting Fate (Finding Fate Series Book 2) by SM Olivier

Fighting Fate by S.M. Olivier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tough To Read In Parts

This book goes for the throat. If you are looking for a nice easy Reverse Harem I would suggest you walk away from this series, because it has real guts and emotions. This author really doesn't shy away from difficult situations for her characters and SM Olivier puts Peyton through the mill even more in this book. She's had a difficult childhood with a man she thought was her father, beating her regularly, so you can imagine how bad it is if I say this book has worse stuff happening to her.

Apart from how harrowing this book is, it is also quite beautiful. Peyton has lots of love to give and needs to receive it in return, and her group of guys are well set to provide it. All her men have also had difficulties in their lives, so they understand how important love and loyalty can be. As well as having trials, her men have all been loved, even if it wasn't by their parents, it was from Mam and Da, who adopted them either legally or metaphorically. I love how in this book we get to see more of the characters of Mam and Da who brought real happiness to so many people despite not being in the book at all, except as a memory. I also love how Peyton seems to want to take up the mantle of Mam and look after her guys and the children left behind after Mam and Da's death.

Though Peyton is young, she is also someone who had to take on a lot of responsibilities at home very early on, as her mother worked two jobs to keep them afloat. She is great with the little ones, which in part can be explained by working with classes of youngsters at her old dance school and dance camps. But it is also explained by her need for family, because her own is so lacking.

This really is a very moving book and it's hard to convey how gripping it is without going in to more detail, which I don't want to do, to spare you from spoilers. You really should read this series. I can't wait for the next book. I'm also going to look at her other works because I enjoyed this series so much.

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Review: Peyton's Path (Finding Fate Series Book 1) by SM Olivier

Peyton's Path by S.M. Olivier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Angsty NA Reverse Harem

I do love a good Reverse Harem and this is a very slow burn RH book. The characters are all unique and interesting with very colourful pasts that are revealed slowly throughout the book. They all have their issues and those issues affect their relationships with each other. As the main characters are in their senior year at high school there all the shenanigans that go on at that tumultuous time of life, but there are also family histories that play into current difficulties.

Peyton has just found out that the man she think is her father isn't, he's actually her biological uncle. This comes as somewhat of a relief because he's an horrendous parent. Peyton was given this information as part of an explanation as to why they uprooting and travelling to another part of the country to live in a cottage on the grounds of her grandfather's house. Her biological father and his father live in her grandfather's house. Apparently her after her grandmother's death, her grandfather decided that he wanted to bring the family back into the fold by offering her step-father a job in the family firm, something he desperately needs as he has a rubbish employment record.

This situation is pretty awful with resentment coming from her biological father and his new family. Her step-father isn't happy about raising his brother's child all these years and being cut off from the family money. Peyton's mother is a doormat and Peyton has spent most of her life trying to protect her mother.

Starting at a new school has meant losing her dance scholarship at a prestigious dance school, the support of her best friends and their families, and her job at the dance school. Peyton knows that people are going to gossip about her and she has no support. Then she meets a group of friends and things start to look better.

There are quite a few triggers in this book, so be aware if you wish to avoid talk of suicide attempts, death of a family member, abuse of spouse or child and bullying.

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Review: Fate of Draga (The Draga Court Series Book 6) by Emma Dean

Fate of Draga by Emma Dean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing Finish to a Fantastic Series

This book was the perfect ending to this marvelous series. It was the culmination of all the wonderful plot strands and intriguing characters. It kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through and satisfied my soul at the end.

This book covers the battles to free the Hai system and then the Khara System. Their numbers are limited and the odds seem overwhelming but the Queen keeps making allies that help in the fight.

We see multiple POV throughout the book, as in the rest of the series, and this gives us the full picture of the action taking place through the final weeks of the war. I like that we get to see what happens to the ones left behind waiting, as well as those on the front lines.

Adelina is a fantastic character. Throughout the series she has blossomed from a shy submissive to the most dominant member of her race. She has taken the lessons taught by her loved ones and applied them ruthlessly. She shows only her strength to the outside world, but with her mates she allows herself to be comforted by their love. At the same time as being a dominant force, she is compassionate and honest. She shows real signs of being a wonderful Queen.

This book has so many surprising twists you will never predict how the ending is achieved. This author is very talented at crafting a story, and weaving the characters and world around it, in a way that makes you forget everything other than the book you are reading. You will lose chunks of your life to this series, but it is worth it!

You really should read this whole series because the journey is wonderful and the ending is perfect.

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