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It was good! There was some pretty epic world building and some tense, action moments, though I still felt there were some issues. Set in the future and reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, this novel dramatizes a story of vengeance, warfare and the quest for power. Pippa DaCosta books are urban fantasy, and are essentially M/F (there's a reverse harem thing going on in one series which is totally divine, but I digress). Suffice it to say Pippa's UF books are amazing.
Reading this series is one of the biggest highlights of my reading experience, and I look forward to each new release with eager anticipation. Each book has stood on its own two legs for different reasons, and this one was no exception. I won't review it thoroughly except to say that my favorite aspect of this book was (as is usually the case for me with any book) the development of the characters. Taylor writes his characters exceptionally well (okay, let's be honest... he writes all elements exceptionally well), but in this installment, there is a fantastic payoff for those of us who love character development. The secondary characters are equally lovable and after the life Dom has had? I think he deserves all the love and cake in the world. Like I'd personally hand him a rainbow cake stuffed of happiness and peace. Definitely has the found family troupe. All the characters, though, have a past that is either traumatic or has some event in it with enough dark mojo going on, which shaped them into what they are today, but wait until y'all get to know what makes an object an artifact. That's just messed up. What I loved about this book was the element of mystery and intrigue. Yes, the romance was kinda cute, but there wasn't a lot of it, which frankly, was ok with me. I don't know how much more of Hollywood; a trigger happy, latent-killing, blonde, I could handle. :3 The magic system — or is it magic, hmm? — had me a wee bit dubious at times, but then I'm more into science fiction than fantasy, so I'm probably not the best judge. There is one very non-magical thing I have a question about, though: Hey, Londoners, is a fall into the Thames normally assumed to be fatal? Like, can y'all not swim? The water can't be *that* toxic, can it? 🤔Before the final time jump to try and save Lucy, Joe and Vinny research Frankie's gangster history, now some 60 years in the past. Frankie was eventually arrested, confessed to numerous crimes, including strangling his mother because she turned the family crime business over to his brother Tommy and finally Frankie hung himself while in prison. Joe arrives on a December night in 1962 when London is choked in smog and a big bank heist is already underway. Frankie and company have dug a tunnel from a nearby house over to the bank and up inside the vault, where they are bagging cash, breaking into safety deposit boxes and finding incriminating evidence on politicians and members of the royal family. And there's Kage "Hollywood", who seems to pop up whenever Dom is in trouble, saving him more than once (but sadly very trigger-happy). Anything with a heartbeat hardly registered on Kempthorne's radar, but give him an artifact to riddle out and he was in love". It’s a little disconcerting living in this version of his future, stepping into what he calls “Other Joe’s life”, where he’s having to fake amnesia to cover for the fact that he knows virtually nothing about himself. He is almost suffering a form of survivor guilt. The worst thing is that his budding relationship with hypnotherapist Alexia Finch isn’t. He is dismayed to learn what Other Joe has been up to… I found my way to Ariana Nash by way of her 'alter ego', urban fantasy author Pippa DaCosta. Actually, that probably should be the other way around, but you get my drift! 😊.
Mr Taylor has created a different story for Louise de Kerouaille, a version in which she is more victim than anything else. If you can't see your way out of the situation then taking what you can for your own benefit is pretty much all that's left you. As she says in the book how would she be as a humble nun in France? It just wouldn't do and she would be a stone in the abbess' shoe for sure. I have read and loved the previous 5 novels involving the story of Cat Lovett/Hakesby and Marwood. This novel is set about six years after the Great Fire of London and Cat is working on the restoration of some ancient almshouses. She is working with Brennan her partner having taken over her husband’s business following his death. Cat has gained some interesting commissions as an architect and is developing her reputation. Joe is now living in a posh loft above his antique shop and woke to noises downstairs where he surprised a burglar who left behind an odd radio before she rushed out the door. The radio, a red Roberts radio, was turned on and the volume increased. When Joe reached for the dial he was instantly transported to London in 1963, in his pajamas, holding his iPhone. Believing this to be the notorious work of W.P. Brown, Joseph suspects the old cane-toting time traveler just couldn't take no for an answer. Ariana Nash doesn't disappoint with her new foray into M/M urban fantasy set in London, where magical artifacts and those who would do harm with them are hunted by the Kempthorne & Co. Artefact Retrieval Agency. The atmosphere is eerie and scintillating; it's a world where magic can be both very dangerous and alluring. The is the latest in the Ashes of London series, and if you have not encountered it before, you are in for a treat.
Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!
It shouldn’t matter that Kempthorne’s world is full of deadly secrets. It shouldn’t matter that the billionaire is sexy as sin, and it really shouldn’t matter how there’s an American agent stalking Dom, an American who knows more than he should about Dom’s case, including the real reason Alexander Kempthorne hired Dom. Marwood empties himself on behalf of those not worthy of his loyalty and faithfulness, and in so doing he descends into darkness, is used up in the wash cycle of power. My favorite quote in the book was "I had found my way to the heart of power, only to discover that the heart was rotten to its core." I won't write any spoilers here to tip off what his journey was about specifically, but it was satisfying. There was one other very satisfying character development loop alongside this one, but I can't say more without spoiling it.
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