Bridget E. Baker

Finally we get to the villain of the piece - Inara the sister who seems the most supportive and understanding of them all. Of course she has her own story and many of her choices are understandable, but ultimately she is selfish and destructive. This is the book the introduces the idea of berserkers. I don't buy the "insta-love" and especially the person Inara falls in love with has got to be the least worthy of her love. This book certainly fills in missing pieces throughout the series and show more all the nagging clues I had noticed turned out to lead to this book. show less

Chancery spends much of this story discovering that there are a lot of layers to the world she has grown up in. Her friend is not who she thought she was, her relationship with her sister and mother is not what she thought it was, even she is not who she thought she was. Ms. Baker has created a world of interesting contrasts - a society hidden in plain sight of people who are more than human. I quite enjoyed the ride and look forward to reading the next books in the series.

What if there were some descendants of Adam and Eve who were more long lived and stronger and what if they ruled the world... and what if the inheritor was displaced because of a ring and prophecy and skulduggery and that heir was a teen. Yeah, messy, complicated politics with a teen trying to survive both in their own and the real world and trying to reckon with messy lives. The two sisters really did not like each other and it was quite messy how they were pitted against each other, but it show more was overall an interesting read. show less

Melina is introduced as a crazy person and Judica's abduction by her doesn't change that narrative at all. But just like the second book in the series, when the reader gets a chance to get inside Melina's head and experiences, this sister is also sympathetic and understandable. This storyline gives needed back story to the late queen's life and the pressures that the heir is subject to.