Sunday, June 21, 2015

Melanie's Week in Review - June 21, 2015




Happy summer solstice.  I hope you are having a great longest day of the year. I would love to be able to tell you about all the fantastic books I have read this week but I only managed to finish 2 and one I am writing a full review of so can only give you the headlines. Anyway, what did I read?

The final book of Lindsay Buroker's Dragon Blood series was released last week. The Blade's Memory starts immediately after the events of book 4 - Patterns in the Dark - where the 'crew' saved Tolemek's sister and the dragon who the Cofah were using as a source of fuel/power. This final book finds them back in Irksandia, in the capital trying to avoid getting arrested, finding the king who has been kidnapped while at the same time trying to find a way to protect the kingdom from an invasion of the Cofah. Sardelle continues to face the prejudice of being a sorceress and the loneliness of being the last of her people. This theme has been prevalent from the very first book and really isn't resolved to any satisfactory end. Joining Sardelle and Ridge on their missions is the sentient sword Jaxi who is busy making smart alec comments while trying to save the day. There is only a limited amount of time before the Cofah attack using the dragon blood they have stored over the years. The big question is whether Ridge and Sardelle and their friends can exploit magic in order to save the day.

I only thought this book was OK. The king has been kidnapped, the military is being run by someone who is bully and a bigot, a covert group of magic haters are hunting anyone with dragon blood and executing them but yet Ridge, Sardelle and Jaxi exchange one inane quip after another. I felt like this book had been written for a much younger reader but quite clearly wasn't. It was a bit of a tedious read until the final chapters when all the action happened.

The other book I finished this week was the second in  Susan and Clay Griffith's Crown and Key series - The Undying Legion. I am writing a full review of this book (and must get it written!) so I can't tell you much about it other than I thoroughly enjoyed it. Keep your eyes peeled.

Apologies for the relatively brief WIR. I am hoping to have more to tell you about next week. It is my last week in my current job before 6 weeks of gardening leave so I am a bit hesitant about making promises about how much I will be able to read when I don't have a big commute. I have my fingers crossed for some really good books. Keep yours crossed for me. Until next week  - Happy Reading.

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