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whitneykelley's review against another edition
5.0
Fantasy romance with no steam
Cam is adorable and has always been one of my favorite heroes. This was my first true romance series and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart
Cam is adorable and has always been one of my favorite heroes. This was my first true romance series and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart
aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
THIS BOOK MADE ME SO HAPPY. *This review may be slightly less coherent than my usual fare due to my fangirlish rhapsodizing; if so, I apologize.*
(*Spoilers in this paragraph!*) As regards the main romance, I think it kept me in the most suspense out of all the books. Cammon and Amalie are an impossible match, but also impossible not to root for (unlike Kirra and Romar in book two, whose romance was possibly even more impossible, but also really dislikable—and unlike Senneth/Tayse, Kirra/Donnal, Justin/Ellynor, and even Darryn/Sosie, whose romances were all quasi-implausible, but not as insanely lopsided as this). Also, Cammon is by far my favorite character (although I'm unsure I like him as narrator as much as I liked him as a secondary character). I am über excited that they were actually able to marry, and not end up brokenhearted or even just secret lovers. (I'd also been thinking for some time that Cammon would make a great king for all the reasons everyone [except Amalie, apparently] thought he couldn't be.)
Also, Justin with a baby? Absolutely irresistible.
I love these characters dearly and will be sorry to see them go, although I'm keen to read Fortune and Fate (the last book, which focuses on former King's Rider Wen).
The plot was, save for a minor twist here and there, really rather predictable. It was a pretty decent climax for all that Shinn has been building up to over the course of the last three books. She choreographs battle sequences with sufficient energy and variety, and paces them quite well. Although it was fairly obvious where all the political intrigue was going, it was equally clear that the plot was mostly a background for Shinn to showcase her fantastic character development. And for me personally, that is often (within reason, of course) what makes or breaks a novel like this one. I think Shinn nailed it. While the (ahem, extramarital) sex which dogs the romance in this series is not to my taste, I did mostly enjoy the series. Not much about Shinn's plot crafting is outstanding, but her character development is, and I would recommend some of her books on that basis alone.
(*Spoilers in this paragraph!*) As regards the main romance, I think it kept me in the most suspense out of all the books. Cammon and Amalie are an impossible match, but also impossible not to root for (unlike Kirra and Romar in book two, whose romance was possibly even more impossible, but also really dislikable—and unlike Senneth/Tayse, Kirra/Donnal, Justin/Ellynor, and even Darryn/Sosie, whose romances were all quasi-implausible, but not as insanely lopsided as this). Also, Cammon is by far my favorite character (although I'm unsure I like him as narrator as much as I liked him as a secondary character). I am über excited that they were actually able to marry, and not end up brokenhearted or even just secret lovers. (I'd also been thinking for some time that Cammon would make a great king for all the reasons everyone [except Amalie, apparently] thought he couldn't be.)
Also, Justin with a baby? Absolutely irresistible.
I love these characters dearly and will be sorry to see them go, although I'm keen to read Fortune and Fate (the last book, which focuses on former King's Rider Wen).
The plot was, save for a minor twist here and there, really rather predictable. It was a pretty decent climax for all that Shinn has been building up to over the course of the last three books. She choreographs battle sequences with sufficient energy and variety, and paces them quite well. Although it was fairly obvious where all the political intrigue was going, it was equally clear that the plot was mostly a background for Shinn to showcase her fantastic character development. And for me personally, that is often (within reason, of course) what makes or breaks a novel like this one. I think Shinn nailed it. While the (ahem, extramarital) sex which dogs the romance in this series is not to my taste, I did mostly enjoy the series. Not much about Shinn's plot crafting is outstanding, but her character development is, and I would recommend some of her books on that basis alone.
kpbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marymary91's review against another edition
5.0
You really do fall in love with the characters in this series and it is so hard to close the final book. I will love having this series as a permanent part of my bookshelf and going back to read it if I’m ever in a book slump! I loved that this book was a look into Cammon and back with Senneth as well like the books went full circle! Such a beautiful ending for a beautiful series!
melindamoor's review against another edition
4.0
Highly recommended to fans of the sword & sorcery / romantic fantasy genres.
It was a lovely & exciting concluding novel for the Twelve Houses series, well for the story arch of rebellion/succession anyway, as I am happy to see that there is a 5th book. Yaaaaaaay! This is awesome for as I was getting to the end of the book I found it hard to have to say goodbye to this particular circle of friends whom I came to love.
SENNETH, TAYSE, JUSTIN, KIRRA, DONNAL, CAMMON - I love You all!
Whether you were together or apart, your strong bond of friendship and camaraderie made me feel warmly, fuzzily content: this is how the world should be.
The rest of my review will be hidden, because I find it hard to remain unspoilerish.
- We finally learn the full story of Queen Valri and Princess Amali
- Senneth and Kirra go shopping and do some girly things together *giggling happily/guiltypleasureface*
- Senneth’s indignation at Cammon for becoming attached to Amali – Senneth, a true vagabond, turning out to be a conservative – very entertaining.
- Amali bonding with the Riders & learning self-defense from female Riders such as Janni and Wen.
- Will (Senneth’s younger brother) & Casserah’s wedding and the ensuing siege of Dannan Hall
- All the Marlords are bound to their lands by magic (although it is never explained whether they have magic and are thus bound to their lands or becoming marlords gives them some kind of magic)
- Senneth and Tayse „meeting halfway” in relation to magic: She starting to be afraid of using it & Tayse appreciating it (as a weapon)
- „Redemption” of the Moon goddess (Pale Mother): how Ellynor tells Amali that she can only give back what she receives from her followers
- Amali & Coralinda Gisseltess turning out to be mystics, both of them possessing the same kind of thieving magic of the Pale Mother – this is priceless!
- Ariane Rappengrass pretending that Cammon is the son she thought to have lost forever so that he can claim noble lineage and marry Amali.
- Tayse killing Halchon Gisseltess.
- Mava Nocklyn coming into her own. Way to go Girl! We are all very proud of you!
Things I did not like / were nor clear to me (in no particular order):
- Cammon was always such a free soul, his pairing with Amali was questionable for me. I also found Amali's selfishness off-putting: Thousands had just died to keep her on the throne, but that doesn't matter because there is no way she will violate her principle of love.
Somehow this made me respect Kirra even more: she gave up Romar Brendyn, even though no fate of the realm depended on their affair & healed his wife from a lethal illness, though she could have waited until she died & taken Romar as her own. Yet, she listened to her friends' advice and made the sacrifice. Sharon Shinn was not afraid to serve us an unhappy love story in [b:The Thirteenth House|97962|The Thirteenth House (Twelve Houses, #2)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388350576l/97962._SY75_.jpg|94421], so I would have thought she would not shy away to give Cammon's/Amali's story a different ending.
- We still don't know anything about Donnal.
- the mystics' magic not working on people outside from Gillengaria even when they were on Gillengaria soil. This was not very well explained & hard to believe even though crucial from the point of view of the plot.
- the fight bw Coralinda - Senneth/Amali & all the mystics. I am not sure I understood how it worked. If Coralinda has thieving magic (like Amali) and she won over Senneth by stealing her magic and turning it against her, why couldn't she do that in the fight with Amali when all the mystics were feeding their power to the Princess?? Was that more magic than she could have handled? Or if she could not steal magic from Amali because they had the same kind of magic, was she so much stronger that all the mystics' power and then some was needed to overcome her? Although the fight is described in details, the "technicalities of the how and why" still remained unclear to me.
- Even though Coralinda was seen as the personification of evil and her blind fanatism was probably incurable, I still would have welcomed her being publicly humiliated in front of the whole of Gillengaria (an especially in front of her followers in the Lumanen Convent) by forcing her to admit / by proclaiming her to be a mystic. After all the killing and persecution of other mystics, this would have been the fitting punishment. She was let off the hook rather easily for all the damage she had done.
- We never learn whether Halchon Guisseltess was a thieving mystic, like his sister, or how else he managed to douse Senneth's magic so completely.
...
It was a lovely & exciting concluding novel for the Twelve Houses series, well for the story arch of rebellion/succession anyway, as I am happy to see that there is a 5th book. Yaaaaaaay! This is awesome for as I was getting to the end of the book I found it hard to have to say goodbye to this particular circle of friends whom I came to love.
SENNETH, TAYSE, JUSTIN, KIRRA, DONNAL, CAMMON - I love You all!
Whether you were together or apart, your strong bond of friendship and camaraderie made me feel warmly, fuzzily content: this is how the world should be.
The rest of my review will be hidden, because I find it hard to remain unspoilerish.
Spoiler
Things I liked (in no particular order):- We finally learn the full story of Queen Valri and Princess Amali
- Senneth and Kirra go shopping and do some girly things together *giggling happily/guiltypleasureface*
- Senneth’s indignation at Cammon for becoming attached to Amali – Senneth, a true vagabond, turning out to be a conservative – very entertaining.
- Amali bonding with the Riders & learning self-defense from female Riders such as Janni and Wen.
- Will (Senneth’s younger brother) & Casserah’s wedding and the ensuing siege of Dannan Hall
- All the Marlords are bound to their lands by magic (although it is never explained whether they have magic and are thus bound to their lands or becoming marlords gives them some kind of magic)
- Senneth and Tayse „meeting halfway” in relation to magic: She starting to be afraid of using it & Tayse appreciating it (as a weapon)
- „Redemption” of the Moon goddess (Pale Mother): how Ellynor tells Amali that she can only give back what she receives from her followers
- Amali & Coralinda Gisseltess turning out to be mystics, both of them possessing the same kind of thieving magic of the Pale Mother – this is priceless!
- Ariane Rappengrass pretending that Cammon is the son she thought to have lost forever so that he can claim noble lineage and marry Amali.
- Tayse killing Halchon Gisseltess.
- Mava Nocklyn coming into her own. Way to go Girl! We are all very proud of you!
Things I did not like / were nor clear to me (in no particular order):
- Cammon was always such a free soul, his pairing with Amali was questionable for me. I also found Amali's selfishness off-putting: Thousands had just died to keep her on the throne, but that doesn't matter because there is no way she will violate her principle of love.
Somehow this made me respect Kirra even more: she gave up Romar Brendyn, even though no fate of the realm depended on their affair & healed his wife from a lethal illness, though she could have waited until she died & taken Romar as her own. Yet, she listened to her friends' advice and made the sacrifice. Sharon Shinn was not afraid to serve us an unhappy love story in [b:The Thirteenth House|97962|The Thirteenth House (Twelve Houses, #2)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388350576l/97962._SY75_.jpg|94421], so I would have thought she would not shy away to give Cammon's/Amali's story a different ending.
- We still don't know anything about Donnal.
- the mystics' magic not working on people outside from Gillengaria even when they were on Gillengaria soil. This was not very well explained & hard to believe even though crucial from the point of view of the plot.
- the fight bw Coralinda - Senneth/Amali & all the mystics. I am not sure I understood how it worked. If Coralinda has thieving magic (like Amali) and she won over Senneth by stealing her magic and turning it against her, why couldn't she do that in the fight with Amali when all the mystics were feeding their power to the Princess?? Was that more magic than she could have handled? Or if she could not steal magic from Amali because they had the same kind of magic, was she so much stronger that all the mystics' power and then some was needed to overcome her? Although the fight is described in details, the "technicalities of the how and why" still remained unclear to me.
- Even though Coralinda was seen as the personification of evil and her blind fanatism was probably incurable, I still would have welcomed her being publicly humiliated in front of the whole of Gillengaria (an especially in front of her followers in the Lumanen Convent) by forcing her to admit / by proclaiming her to be a mystic. After all the killing and persecution of other mystics, this would have been the fitting punishment. She was let off the hook rather easily for all the damage she had done.
- We never learn whether Halchon Guisseltess was a thieving mystic, like his sister, or how else he managed to douse Senneth's magic so completely.
...
stephs_bookshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Such a great book! Just finished it today and I loved it as much if not more than the others. Even though the other books have been in the perspective of different people each time I still love Senneth the best and I make sure to look and see if her name is there. I love seeing her and Tayse together, and seeing their relationship progress and strengthen. I hope she gets pregnant in the next book, since Ellynor already is, and I want Kirra and Donnal to get married; that would make the conclusion the best. And Cammon and Amalie! It's hilarious that Justin was right about Cammon falling in love with the unlikeliest person but they're so great together! I can't wait to get the next book and finish the series; I'm hoping the others will be in this book too even though it's about someone not from they're original group.
hollylynna's review against another edition
4.0
If these characters were real, I would totally love to spend a weekend with them. After reading all the Twelve Houses series, I feel like they are old friends!
maecave15's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book! It really is a great culmination of the story formed in the previous three books. I wish there were more to read in the lives of these great characters. I know there is a fifth nook but it is a spin off of Wen and I don't know if these main characters will be in her book. I can't wait to find out though.