I liked it a lot but could use less tragedy and torture. Another character with amputated limbs, why? I think Maliha needs to work harder at her love life. Now, it seems she doesn't trust anyone anymore. ( )

Absolutely mind-blowing book! Dakota Banks writes one of the best urban fantasy series I've ever read, fast, brutal, unapologetic, with a very unique mythology and a delightful main heroine who reminds me a female version of Indiana Jones.

Maliha Crayne was born centuries ago and burned as witch, however a Summerian demon offered her vengeance in exchange for her soul and agreement to do his bidding for all eternity.

In 21 century she lives as a famous noirish writer, trusts very few people around and decides that she wants out, refusing to kill in the name of her demon ever again. Her immortality and supreme strength are taken from her, and to redeem her soul she needs to save the same amount of people she killed. Every time she saves someone she is ageing, so there isn't much time to complete her task.

To make her life even more difficult, Maliha is searching for shards of an ancient tablet around the world. If she makes it whole again she'll be able to seal the demons away from the intervention into our world forever.

A Herculean task and a very few friends to help her. Now one of her dearest friends is kidnapped by a ruthless and evil ancient villain. His time is running out, and the villain keeps sending Maliha his fingers so she agrees to assassinate high profiled people for her.

It's a very tense, gripping, dark book, a lot of pain and a lot of awesomeness from Maliha who manages to rise up to all the challenges.

I cannot stress enough how truly EPIC this series is. It has everything I love about urban fantasy, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end of each book. If you like Adrian Phoenix and Lilith Saintcrow, Mortal Path series is definitely for you.

Highly recommended.

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You may also read my review here; http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/03/early-review-deliverance-mortal-path-3-by-d...

The Mortal Path series is one of the most fun urban fantasy series out there, so I was more than ready to dive into Deliverance. Maliha’s story is a heartbreaking one, and there were quite a lot of changes in her life in book 2, so I was eager to see how book 3 explores these new paths. For one, Maliha is no longer Ageless. However, in order to break free from the demon that has enslaved her for so long, she must balance the scales and save the lives of innocents in order to make up for the many that she has killed as an assassin. Of course, her demon is convinced she can’t do this, but Maliha is determined to be free. She’s also ready for some normalcy in her life, and eager to explore a possible future with the man she loves, Jake. Jake has a secret, though, and that’s just one of the complications Maliha will have to deal with. A dear friend has been kidnapped, and a woman older and more dangerous than Maliha could ever imagine will have to be dealt with, even if it means Maliha’s life.

Maliha is a favorite character of mine, and she’s never hesitated to kick some serious butt. Deliverance is no exception, and the fight scenes are fast paced and brutal. Let’s just say that Maliha is very talented with a sword, and doesn’t hesitate to use it. When a member of her team gets kidnapped, all of her talents will come into play, and she’ll have to balance whether or not the rest of her team is in too much danger. Maliha’s got some guilt in this one, more so than in the first two books. No doubt this is because she’s now on the Mortal Path, and killing indiscriminately is no longer in her playbook, so a lot more thought has to be put into her methods. There’s also some serious tension between Maliha and her lover Jake, especially when a trusted friend tells her that there may be more to Jake than she thinks. Ms. Banks brings it with the villain in this one, and a lot of readers will recognize her as a very real figure from history, one that will certainly make you cringe. A big part of the fun of these novels are Maliha’s toys (cars, swanky condos, etc), and they’re at her disposal, as usual. I appreciate a girl who likes a nice sports car, but I digress… Fans of urban fantasy involving fun gadgets, fast cars, and internationat destinations will enjoy these always entertaining adventures, alongside a heroine that never ceases to be fascinating. Lots of revelations in this one will keep you glued to the pages and eager for the next book! ( )

Maliha Crane leads a complicated life. She was a Sumerian demon's immortal assassin for about 300 years before realizing the error of her ways and choosing to go rogue and walk the mortal path. Her task? To balance the scale, saving enough lives to atone for the ones she took in the demon's name before she dies. Now, she only has some of her previously abilities and she ages a random amount of time every time something happens to her scale, which is literally burned onto her stomach so that she can feel the lives walking from one side of the scale to the other. (No one said the mortal path is easy.)

Thankfully, Maliha has a small team that knows what she is and helps her with her mission: Hound, a Vietnam vet she saved during the war who works as a PI; Amaro, a street kid she saved who's now a wunderkind in the hacker world; and Yanmeng, a spiritual man she saved during the revolution in China. (See a theme yet?) She's also had some interesting men in her life: Jake, a DEA agent from MORTAL PATH, the first book, and Lucian, an Ageless centurion she met in SACRIFICE, the second book.

If you read my PAF interview with Dakota, you know that she's really upped the stakes in DELIVERANCE. She mentions doubling down on the danger/drama/stress and I think that may be an understatement! DELIVERANCE is filled with action, suspense, raw honesty, and great drama. It's definitely the most high-stakes instalment in the series yet and I couldn't put it down. Dakota has done a marvellous job of creating an untenable situation and forcing Maliha to deal with it. I'm sure you all know how much I love characters who suffer at their creator's hands and Maliha does a lot of suffering, in addition to some serious butt-kicking.

As you know from the cover blurb, Maliha and her friends are being manipulated by another Ageless, one who revels in violence and bloodshed. It's a position that is extremely uncomfortable for Maliha, who's forced into a reactionary position similar to the one she occupied when she worked for Rashibu (her demon), as opposed to being her usual woman of action Her opponent is truly evil and is another great example of how well the author incorporates history into her narrative.

There's so much good stuff in DELIVERANCE it's hard for me to say what I liked best about it. If forced, though, I think I'd say it's the fact that we get to see how much Maliha's relationships mean to her and how important her team have become, even though she knows she'll outlive them all. Her bond with Yanmeng, in particular, is touching. We see just how much she's will to do to save her people when they're threatened and it's a testament to how much Maliha's evolved since she was Ageless.

Overall, DELIVERANCE is a satisfying slice of urban fantasy, sure to please fans of the genre. I strongly encourage you to check out this book and series!

P.S. You can read more about the series mythology on Dakota's website.

http://www.tyngasreviews.com ( )

DELIVERANCE is book 3 in the Mortal Path Series. As with the previous books there is plenty of Action, drama and suspense in Maliha's life as she continues to fight for redemption. One of her closest most loyal friends is kidnapped and Maliha is working against time to please the kidnappers and find him before he is lost forever.

Maliha has a real hard time in DELIVERANCE. She is over thinking everything and double guessing herself, what she wants out of life and her friendships. She doesn't want her friends hurt so she starts pushing them away and trying to deal with everything on her own. Lucky for her her friends aren't about to go anywhere and are as loyal as they come. I honestly always liked Jake so seeing him show his true colors was shocking, I never saw the events with him coming. Wow what a scumbag.

Dakota's books are filled with unique adventures that leave your mind turning. With every book comes more understanding of Maliha's situation and what she might deal with in the future. One thing I would really love is for a drawing of Maliha's scales in the beginning and the end of each book to reflect what they look like before and after the books adventures. Dakota does a great job of describing them but I think a visualization would be awesome. *wink wink* I would recommend starting from book 1 DARK TIMES if your new to the series. ( )