Firebrand

I have so many million feelings about this book I feel like it's impossible hold them entirely still, and that's why when I finally got to talk to a friend about it after finished the last pages a few weeks ago, we ended up talking about the book, series, direction, choices for almost two hours straight after a party had cleared from her house.

I love the direction this book is headed, and I love that a lot of it feels like it's all natural progression. Revelations about the far past, and about the current goings on everywhere. I love the romances, and how they are noble, tangled in duty, family, character growth, gain, and loss, well fitting to all the positions all the people are in. I love the new sides of the Elt and magical show more creatures we got.

I feel like there are so many things I want to say and too many of them are spoilers that were just *So Well Done* in the book. I can't stop recommending this series more and more, especially the further on in it gets and how beautiful this woman's writing continues to grow. show less

Firebrand is the sixth book in Britain’s Green Rider series. So: There are going to be major spoilers for the previous five books in this review. I will also say that you probably don’t want to dive into this book without having read the previous ones. If you haven’t read any of the Green Rider Series, stop reading this review right now and click here to find out where to start.

__________________________________________________________

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way: it’s wonderful to be reading a Green Rider book again! Britain averages about three and half years between books, and the wait for a new one always seems interminable. Add that to the rather disappointing Mirror Sight (the last book in the series, show more not bad on its own merits but not really a Green Rider book), and it has been seven years since we last got to travel to Sacoridia.

This book takes place shortly after the events of Mirror Sight, and five years after the first book. Karrigan G’ladheon (one of my original favorite badass female characters) has returned from the dark future time with a shard of looking mask embedded in her eye. The Second Empire, led by creepy and cunning Grandmother, still threaten Sacoridia’s northern border. To prepare for war with the Second Empire, King Zachary and his Eletian allies decide to send a party to seek out the legendary P’ehdrose people and convince them to fight at their side. Though not yet recovered from her past ordeals, Karrigan is chosen to make the perilous journey. Meanwhile, Grandmother has unleased an elemental force against the Kingdom, one that puts the royal family in grave danger.

As a fan of the series, I must say that this was a very satisfying book. It was wonderful to enter back into Sarcoridia again, and to take up all the treads that had been left dangling in Blackveil (the fourth book), and not addressed at all in Mirror Sight. The events of this book mainly revolve around heroine Karrigan (naturally), her friend Estral the bard, and an Eletian named Enver (briefly introduced in the first book). Grandmother returns, as does her frankly disturbing granddaughter, Lala. the book unfolds in typical Green rider fashion, with disaster and happenstance radiating off the main storyline. Nothing in Kristen Britain’s universe ever goes as planned.

Britain’s main strength is, as always, her ability to create worlds and characters that resonate. The setting she has created in Sacoridia is vivid and believable, with a wondrous amount of depth, and layers enough to provide for many more novels. Her characters, especially her female characters, have grown and evolved through the events of five previous books. I am constantly amazed at the organic way Karrigan and her counterparts grow and change through the Green Rider novels. Even with characters like Queen Estora, who would be easy to turn into a two dimensional foil, or Grandmother, who could simply become another raving villain, are given a depth and breadth of character that is rare in any genre. Even those characters you don’t like, you wind up at least understanding.

If you have read and enjoyed the previous books in this series, you will more than likely enjoy this latest book. In light of that, if you haven’t read any in this series, this book is not for you. There is simply too much back story, and too much intricacy lost without having read the previous five novels. However, if you tend to enjoy fantasy, and are looking for a series with a plethora of strong female characters, and you want to edge away (sometimes far, far away) from the young adult genre, then this series will appeal to you. I highly recommend you pick up Green Rider and get started.

An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Firebrand will be available for purchase on February 28th, 2017. show less

**Some light Spoilers**
Recap - In the 5th book of the series (Mirror Sight) Karigan wakes up in a future time where the realm has lost to the empire. The entire book, while entertaining and well written, had numerous flaws that made it the worst book so far. Not the least of which was its irrelevance to the story and plot. However, Karigan experiences great loss when she loses her lover (who came out of nowhere) and that loss and Karigan's inability to recover feature heavily in the 6th book.

In Firebrand, Karigan's losses just continue. The book is a little darker but has many positive attributes. Karigan has returned to the Sacoridia of her time and we are again immersed in the characters we know and some new characters like Anna Ash. show more Karigan, her friend Estral, and an Eletian named Enver journey north to attempt to establish contact with the lost race of the p'ehdrose in anticipation of the escalating fights with the second empire. I enjoyed the opportunity to continue Estral's part of this story but was rather disappointed with its conclusion or lack thereof.

In Sacor city, we are introduced to Anna Ash, a maid/servant who shows bravery and seems to have a future tied to the green riders. She manages to protect the Queen during several attacks by elements etc. Meanwhile, Zachery is kidnapped first by an elemental creature and then by the second empire when he escapes the elementals clutches.

Instead of finding the P'ehdrose, Karigan and Estral find themselves captured by the second empire as well. Karigan endures extreme torture during their captivity. Through the aid of her friends and others she escapes and they manage to save the king. A final confrontation ensues where losses occur on both sides. The torture that Karigan was subjected to becomes a main focal point of the series as it grows introspective and adds realistic elements of trauma. Karigan was already weakened by her losses and continued focus on them before the torture and now grows even more withdrawn and depressed. This continues (annoyingly) for quite some time and takes up a significant focus of the next book. For those that enjoy a grungier more realistic take on trauma, this might be a good portrayal.

Overall, I'm happy to at least be back in the main storyline and in a novel where the plot progresses (barely). However, this book introduces us to many new facets of the world and magic that seem to come out of nowhere and while they are entertaining, it seems like lazy writing and just a continuation of the ongoing filler material. Examples include the P'ehdrose, some weird plot line with Eletion unfoldings, Cats that are not cats, and personified elementals holding millennia-old captives. show less

Another engaging installment to the Green Rider series. As we dig further into this series the books get thicker with slower pacing due to the weaving of the many threads. I appreciated Karigan's struggle with her trauma and keeping busy with a diplomatic mission. (She is a Chosen One whether she knows it or not so of course she has all the surreal experience of being selected for all the missions.) It was great getting some time with Karigan and Estral together and seeing their friendship as well as watching Estral's own journey of growth after being quite sheltered. As usual, Grandmother's machinations caused truly interesting arcs for Estora and for Zachary especially.

Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2017/02/20/review-firebrand-by-kristen-britain/

Just a quick reminder that while my review is spoiler free for Firebrand, there are likely spoilers for the previous books.

There is something about returning to read a new book the Green Rider series that just makes me happy. Maybe it is because I this is one of the first series I read in the fantasy genre, but I just find them to be very addictive, comfort reads that make me want to curl up with it until I finish. This one was no exception.

With Firebrand, Karigan returns to her own time, so it includes many of our favorite characters from books past. I know not everyone was thrilled with the change in setting/characters/time show more period with the last book, though I personally really enjoyed it. For those that were less than thrilled, fear not, this book is much in line with the first 4 books in the series.

Karigan is distraught and heartbroken over leaving Cade behind. She misses him deeply and feels guilt over leaving him, not knowing if he is still alive or not. In some ways, it was overwhelming, and impacted her personality a bit. But not so much that I felt it overdone or a departure from how she should be. Poor Karigan finally found love with someone where there were no restraints, it was wonderful for her. At least not until she returned to her time.

For readers who may have found Karigan whiny in past books (not my word, but one I have seen mentioned), you may feel some of the same issues with this one. I can’t say for certain as I have always enjoyed Karigan, so it felt like a reasonable amount of upset. But this is Karigan, so you know she won’t let it keep her from doing her duty. She always finds a well of strength when needed, and it’s why I enjoy her so much. I also loved that with this book, she earns a new level of distinction amongst her peers. (Sorry, I won’t tell you what it is exactly, you’ll have to read it to find out)

It is not long until a mission comes up that requires Karigan and her unique abilities, which seems a good way to get her to focus on something other than her loss. This journey takes her toward enemy lines and is a mission that no one is sure can be completed. It’s a long-shot, but isn’t that what Karigan does best?

In the mean time, Grandmother is back and sets her evil, necromancy hands to work trying to upheave Sacoridia. The creature she resurrects is far more evil and destructive than is first apparent. It’s abilities cause serious upset in the palace. I have to admit, I was not expecting the twist that came from this and found it to be a great read. We also got to see King Zachary taken out of his element, pushed to new limits and be tested in ways he has never been before.

Speaking of Zachary, there was the continued romantic tension between Zachary and Karigan, you could feel his heart ache for her as she was aching for the loss of Cade. One of these days, I really hope that Britain allows Karigan to finding lasting happiness with someone, because I just don’t think her heart can take more heartbreak. King Zachary is the one I felt frustrated with at times as I wished he could just stop reopening old wounds and let her move on.

While bad things happen in the book, as usual, over all I leave the book feeling positive, even if I know there is more trouble ahead for the characters (which, yes, there is more trouble coming for Book 7. We got a very interesting glimpse of it in the end), but it’s never overwhelming, and it seems like there is always enough positive achieved that it overshadows everything else. Again, I am left waiting for the next installment so I can curl up again and enjoy the ride. show less

I love this series! Is it the most revolutionary fantasy series? No. Does the author kill off all of your favorite/important characters? No. Do characters undergo trials and tribulations? Yes. Do they end up happily ever after? No. It's a great balance from the fluffy, HEA end of the fantasy spectrum and the GRRM end.

Didn't realise I'd missed one in the middle of this series and went straight on to this last book. That wasn't a real issue, but it would have been better for someone starting out to pick the series up from the beginning. Firebrand is the Eletian name for King Zachary, just as they call Karigan 'The Galadheon'. In this book, we learn a little more about this spiritual, immortal race which is [very much based on Tolkien's Wood Elves - right down to the drawing on the cover, which is straight out of Lord of the Rings, the movies. Although they were Sacoridia's allies in the war against Mornhavon, they have always remained an enigma. Karigan has never entirely trusted them, always suspecting a hidden agenda, and at the end of the book we show more see why.
Karigan and Zachary both suffer at the hands of Second Empire in this story and the whole Zachary/Karigan/Estoria thing continues unresolved.
By the end of the book there are enough loose threads to indicate this second trilogy is not the end - how long must we wait for book 7? show less