The second book in the series definitely kept my interest and moved the story along at a good pace. I didn't know what I thought I knew from the first book, which is great! On to the last book in the series! ( )

I struggled with this book in that I got bored about half way through and put it down for a few days. I did go back to it and it improved a lot toward the end and got more interesting. There is an unexpected twist right at the end which bodes better for the final book. But I didn't find myself caring for any of the characters much. ( )

Definitely a mid-series read, this tells the story of Odalisque Ana and her finding a place in the Harem of Boaz. She has to watch herself as there are forces who can see that she has charisma and intend to ensure that she is controled.

She thinks her true love is dead but he isn't he's recovering from the dreadful punishment he has. His past is coming to reap it's revenge and he has to do what he can to survive.

Meanwhile the demon is finding his place, and trying to discover who has reincarnated as Lysana this time.

This was quite a slow starter for me and it's more about character growth than much happening, still I found it interesting. ( )

This book skips ahead more or less a year from the end of Odalisque. This allows Boaz to grow wiser, Maliz to ingratiate himself with Boaz and Lazar to recover, at least mostly, from the poison.

Ana continues to rebel in the harem, but is beloved of Boaz. The Valide and Chief Eunuch conspire to remove her, seemingly successfully. Everything is thrown into disarray by the arrival of two emissaries from Galinsea, here to check whether Lazar is really dead, and if he is to declare war.

Under all of this, and often overlooked by several of the people that are going to be key players you suspect, although in the forefront of Pez's mind all the time, is the upcoming battle for the return of Lyana. He is sure that it's Ana, and it seems so, but Maliz can't sense Lyana in her which casts doubt on it.

There is a frantic, and dangerous, trip across the desert to end the book, which ends with Ana captured and Lazar protecting Hezerah and Maliz somehow... a choice that is the first one I'm not sure I can see him making.

As I commented about her last book, the underlying story is quite familiar, although the world and the setting is still nicely developed. This avoids most of the clichés of a middle book, and handles the remaining ones smoothly and skillfully and leaves me looking forward to the final book in the series.

As a complete aside, I've come back to "traditional" fantasy after a splurge of "urban fantasy" and it's nice to come back to the longer books, the bigger scale, and the potentially world changing stories rather than the somewhat cramped, local and personal scale of the latter genre. ( )

In the world of popular fantasy fiction, Fiona McIntosh is a street-smart enchantress. With a background in PR, marketing and travel, McIntosh knows who her readers are and what they want: thrilling, fast-paced reads.

Her third trilogy is the Percheron series, set in a fictionalised Ottoman empire, with a hero seemingly modelled on Colin Firth's Mr Darcy. Its first book, Odalisque, was included in the 2006 Books Alive Great Read Guide and this, the second, was published in December 2006, with series rights sold in Britain, the US and Canada.

Odalisque Ana is resigned to life in Percheron's famed harem and has little more than a blood–soaked veil to remind her that Spur Lazar, the man she loves, is dead. She is closely watched by the scheming Grand Master Eunuch, Salmeo, and the cunning and cruel Valide Herezah. The Valide, unhappy at Ana's influence over the young Zar, contrives a shrewd plan to bring about the beautiful young woman's demise. But greater forces are at work. The demon Maliz has taken the guise of Percheron's Grand Vizier in order to stalk Iridor, the traditional accomplice of the Goddess. And a war is brewing. A long–time enemy, Galinsea, intends to exact a vicious blood price for the death of its crown prince, Lucien, at the hands of the Percherese. However, the only person in the Stone Palace who can undertake the dangerous journey to Galinsea and negotiate for peace is about to die.

McIntosh has once again delivered an un-put-downable read. I flew through this one in two days - and I've already ordered my copy of book 3! ( )