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kathydavie's review against another edition
3.0
Third and last in the Crescent City arcanepunk fantasy series and revolving around Augustine Robelais, the fae Guardian of New Orleans in 2068.
My Take
It's a lesson in why betrayal doesn't work, why politicians are the scum of the earth…and that your karma will catch up with you. Bwa-ha-ha… Now, helping others is a whole 'nother thing.
I had thought Garden of Dreams & Desires was third-person subjective (from Augustine's point-of-view), but I suspect it's more third-person omniscient since we do get a glimpse into the heads of some of the other characters. Now and again. It's a surface-ness that is consistent with how shallow the story is. Shallow you may ask, as you want to scream with frustration at the power-mad moves made by the bad guys in this? But Painter has made them so stupidly bad with so little finesse that…yeah…shallow.
My biggest problem(s) with Garden of Dreams & Desires is that it was all too easy. Pellimento's power within the city makes no sense. Augustine's mother. Prime Loudreux's situation. What? Was Painter in a hurry to tidy everything up?
Yes, I enjoyed settling in to how everyone ends up, but it's almost as if Painter had a checklist with a quick sense of how the characters were supposed to end up, which made it unsatisfying.
The Story
Detective Grantham gives Augustine the heads-up about tourists disappearing in New Orleans, and Senator Pellimento is the only reason Augie gives it any thought.
His biggest concern is Harlow, and the evil twin who possesses her.
Until Harlow is kidnapped and Augustine discovers where all those souls are going and the threat it poses to all the fae.
The Characters
Augustine Robelais is shadeux/smokesinger fae and Guardian for the city of New Orleans. His mother despises him and lives in the Ursuline Convent.
Harlow Goodwin has finally accepted those fae abilities she's been using. The preening, self-absorbed Ava Mae is her dead twin, possessing Harlow. And she has her own agenda. Tulalie "Lally" Hughes is both housekeeper and best friend to Olivia — and keeper of the lightning tree. Olivia Goodwin was their mother, haerbinger fae, and a movie star, now trapped on the fae planes. Joseph Branzino was Harlow and Ava Mae's nasty father.
The Elektos is…
…the ruling council for the fae in New Orleans with the Codex their law book. The Pelcrum in Lafayette Cemetery Number One is their headquarters. The council includes Fenton Welch, liaison to the Guardian; Yanna Quinn, an ignus fae; and, Salander Meer, a saboteur fae. Cylo Greaves, an ethos fae, has a thing for Star Alliance; Dulcinea is a mix of fae and varcolai; and, Sydra, part saboteur fae, are Augustine's lieutenants. Rat and Guz are a couple of goblin fae who help out on an as-needed basis. Dr. Carlson is a fae medic.
Hugo Loudreux is the Prime, leader of the Elektos, and he despises Augustine. Blu is his bodyguard and Augie's half-sister. Rue is the daughter Harlow rescued.
Beatrice is the pregnant widow of the last Guardian. Nekai is a weaver fae. Renny is a gator shifter, Dulcinea's sometime boyfriend, and a bartender at Belle's. The Claustrum is a horrible fae prison on the fae plane.
Detective Jeremiah "J.J." Grantham works often with Augustine. Mawmaw is J.J.'s great-great-grandmother and Lally's grandniece, Queen Jewelia Grantham, a voodoo mambo.
Giselle Vincent, a crystal-empowered witch, is the new high priestess of the witches of New Orleans, the Coven of Thirteen…now that she's killed her father, Evander. Zara Vincent is her sister, a green witch who gains her power from plants. Ian Dufrene is a witch who uses pain as his source of power, so it makes sense that he's a tattoo artist with his own shop, the House of Pain.
Trent is the latest foreman Giselle hired to redo her father's house.
Father Rufus Ogun is the leading voodoo practitioner in New Orleans.
Robbie Pellimento is the spoiled son of the rabidly bigoted Senator Irene Pellimento who will do anything to destroy the fae. Sutter is the unprincipled head of her security guard. Nguyen is in charge of the cinematography.
The ruina vox was the chaos spell, the Vincents' mother died trying to use, to destroy the fae. Varcolai are animal shifters.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a fantasy all itself with its blue waters and the purple haze rising up to a lilac veil over the full moon that is centered between the gateposts of a wrought iron gate. Purple flowered vines rise up the sides, framing the red-haired Giselle, as she drops into those waters.
The title is Giselle's plans for her sister's Garden of Dreams & Desires.
My Take
It's a lesson in why betrayal doesn't work, why politicians are the scum of the earth…and that your karma will catch up with you. Bwa-ha-ha… Now, helping others is a whole 'nother thing.
I had thought Garden of Dreams & Desires was third-person subjective (from Augustine's point-of-view), but I suspect it's more third-person omniscient since we do get a glimpse into the heads of some of the other characters. Now and again. It's a surface-ness that is consistent with how shallow the story is. Shallow you may ask, as you want to scream with frustration at the power-mad moves made by the bad guys in this? But Painter has made them so stupidly bad with so little finesse that…yeah…shallow.
My biggest problem(s) with Garden of Dreams & Desires is that it was all too easy. Pellimento's power within the city makes no sense. Augustine's mother. Prime Loudreux's situation. What? Was Painter in a hurry to tidy everything up?
Yes, I enjoyed settling in to how everyone ends up, but it's almost as if Painter had a checklist with a quick sense of how the characters were supposed to end up, which made it unsatisfying.
The Story
Detective Grantham gives Augustine the heads-up about tourists disappearing in New Orleans, and Senator Pellimento is the only reason Augie gives it any thought.
His biggest concern is Harlow, and the evil twin who possesses her.
Until Harlow is kidnapped and Augustine discovers where all those souls are going and the threat it poses to all the fae.
The Characters
Augustine Robelais is shadeux/smokesinger fae and Guardian for the city of New Orleans. His mother despises him and lives in the Ursuline Convent.
Harlow Goodwin has finally accepted those fae abilities she's been using. The preening, self-absorbed Ava Mae is her dead twin, possessing Harlow. And she has her own agenda. Tulalie "Lally" Hughes is both housekeeper and best friend to Olivia — and keeper of the lightning tree. Olivia Goodwin was their mother, haerbinger fae, and a movie star, now trapped on the fae planes. Joseph Branzino was Harlow and Ava Mae's nasty father.
The Elektos is…
…the ruling council for the fae in New Orleans with the Codex their law book. The Pelcrum in Lafayette Cemetery Number One is their headquarters. The council includes Fenton Welch, liaison to the Guardian; Yanna Quinn, an ignus fae; and, Salander Meer, a saboteur fae. Cylo Greaves, an ethos fae, has a thing for Star Alliance; Dulcinea is a mix of fae and varcolai; and, Sydra, part saboteur fae, are Augustine's lieutenants. Rat and Guz are a couple of goblin fae who help out on an as-needed basis. Dr. Carlson is a fae medic.
Hugo Loudreux is the Prime, leader of the Elektos, and he despises Augustine. Blu is his bodyguard and Augie's half-sister. Rue is the daughter Harlow rescued.
Beatrice is the pregnant widow of the last Guardian. Nekai is a weaver fae. Renny is a gator shifter, Dulcinea's sometime boyfriend, and a bartender at Belle's. The Claustrum is a horrible fae prison on the fae plane.
Detective Jeremiah "J.J." Grantham works often with Augustine. Mawmaw is J.J.'s great-great-grandmother and Lally's grandniece, Queen Jewelia Grantham, a voodoo mambo.
Giselle Vincent, a crystal-empowered witch, is the new high priestess of the witches of New Orleans, the Coven of Thirteen…now that she's killed her father, Evander. Zara Vincent is her sister, a green witch who gains her power from plants. Ian Dufrene is a witch who uses pain as his source of power, so it makes sense that he's a tattoo artist with his own shop, the House of Pain.
Trent is the latest foreman Giselle hired to redo her father's house.
Father Rufus Ogun is the leading voodoo practitioner in New Orleans.
Robbie Pellimento is the spoiled son of the rabidly bigoted Senator Irene Pellimento who will do anything to destroy the fae. Sutter is the unprincipled head of her security guard. Nguyen is in charge of the cinematography.
The ruina vox was the chaos spell, the Vincents' mother died trying to use, to destroy the fae. Varcolai are animal shifters.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a fantasy all itself with its blue waters and the purple haze rising up to a lilac veil over the full moon that is centered between the gateposts of a wrought iron gate. Purple flowered vines rise up the sides, framing the red-haired Giselle, as she drops into those waters.
The title is Giselle's plans for her sister's Garden of Dreams & Desires.
arshas's review against another edition
2.0
I love this writer and I loved the other 2 books, however this book lost chemistry for me. I found myself forcing myself to finish. Others might have like the authors choices and where the story and characters went, not me.
booklovinmamas's review against another edition
3.0
Full Review posted at Book Lovin' Mamas
I give this book 3.5 stars and I do recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there and readers that enjoyed Kristen Painter’s other UF series, House of Comarre.
Although, this is not my favorite of the trilogy, I still enjoyed reading how it all ended. Seriously…I’m really going to miss Auggie…my sexy smoky Guardian.
I give this book 3.5 stars and I do recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there and readers that enjoyed Kristen Painter’s other UF series, House of Comarre.
Although, this is not my favorite of the trilogy, I still enjoyed reading how it all ended. Seriously…I’m really going to miss Auggie…my sexy smoky Guardian.
tanyad74's review against another edition
3.0
We pick right up where City of Eternal Night ends with Harlow's ridiculous decision. This character has gone from years of denying her heritage to embracing it with both hands. Now we need to deal with her consequences. Augustine is determined to fix the position Harlow has gotten herself in.
I kind of feel like Augustine is taking advantage of his position a little bit. He was pushed into this position to protect the city and now he is totally running things the way he wants. I don't understand what he was so against this position in the first place. So, Augustine is spending all this time and resources trying to find a way to fix Harlow while the witches are silently putting their plans into place.
I knew the witches were going to start making a power play, especially Giselle. Finding out about the lightning tree has just upped her plans. Now mistakes are being made and her plans are starting to get some attention.
Garden of Dreams and Desires was a whirlwind of different threads. Some that obviously tied together and then others I wasn't really sure where they were going. This definitely could have been broken down into at least another book. There seems like a lot more we could wrap up. However, I still felt some adrenaline rushes and anxiety over the characters during some of their harrowing situations.
This book is the end of the Crescent City series and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. There definitely could have been more meat to it. However, I wasn't invested enough in the side characters to be truly annoyed by how things were wrapped up and ended.
Overall, Garden of Dreams and Desires was a good read, and I'm happy I got my HEA.This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict
I kind of feel like Augustine is taking advantage of his position a little bit. He was pushed into this position to protect the city and now he is totally running things the way he wants. I don't understand what he was so against this position in the first place. So, Augustine is spending all this time and resources trying to find a way to fix Harlow while the witches are silently putting their plans into place.
I knew the witches were going to start making a power play, especially Giselle. Finding out about the lightning tree has just upped her plans. Now mistakes are being made and her plans are starting to get some attention.
Garden of Dreams and Desires was a whirlwind of different threads. Some that obviously tied together and then others I wasn't really sure where they were going. This definitely could have been broken down into at least another book. There seems like a lot more we could wrap up. However, I still felt some adrenaline rushes and anxiety over the characters during some of their harrowing situations.
This book is the end of the Crescent City series and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. There definitely could have been more meat to it. However, I wasn't invested enough in the side characters to be truly annoyed by how things were wrapped up and ended.
Overall, Garden of Dreams and Desires was a good read, and I'm happy I got my HEA.This review was originally posted on Rantings of a Reading Addict
elephant's review against another edition
4.0
This is the last book in the trilogy and it gives the story a satisfying ending. Harlow struggles to be free of Ava Mae, her dead twin sister who is possessing her, while trying to keep the secret that dwells within her house. Augustine is working to free her and find out why tourists are disappearing and Giselle, the witch is trying to get rid of Augustine and get the witches out from under the rule of the fae.
timofeev's review against another edition
4.0
Man, there was a lot going on in this book but I still loved it. It was nice to see Harlow coming into her own and awesome to Gisel finally get what was coming to her. At first, I wasn't too sure because there was a lot going on, but by the end it wrapped up nicely. Still one of my favorite series so far.
franjessca's review against another edition
3.0
Full Review posted at Book Lovin' Mamas
I give this book 3.5 stars and I do recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there and readers that enjoyed Kristen Painter’s other UF series, House of Comarre.
Although, this is not my favorite of the trilogy, I still enjoyed reading how it all ended. Seriously…I’m really going to miss Auggie…my sexy smoky Guardian.
I give this book 3.5 stars and I do recommend it to Urban Fantasy readers out there and readers that enjoyed Kristen Painter’s other UF series, House of Comarre.
Although, this is not my favorite of the trilogy, I still enjoyed reading how it all ended. Seriously…I’m really going to miss Auggie…my sexy smoky Guardian.
eloiseinparis's review
2.0
Unfortunately this series is not getting any better. Although the character who started this spin off series is Augustine he is not the lead. So far every book has been focused on Harlow, even though her story isn’t that interesting and she isn’t a very active character. So far in all three books she’s been at the whim of the bad guys. Her powers are inactive, and the abilities she does have are helpful they are no more so than any of the lesser characters.
At least this time the story wasn’t driven by lies by omission told to Harlow, and Lally also mostly dropped her runaway slave act. But Giselle’s stint as head bad guy was laughable. She was written as a complete idiot and it made no sense how she was able to get as much power in the coven as she did. All of her his deeds left a quick and easy trail to her door. And when she was finally defeated she behaved like a spoiled 16 year old instead of a resourceful witch.
This series is just on disappointment after another. Its nothing like House of Comarre even though it takes place in the same universe. I may read the next book in the series, but it would be out of sheer boredom.
At least this time the story wasn’t driven by lies by omission told to Harlow, and Lally also mostly dropped her runaway slave act. But Giselle’s stint as head bad guy was laughable. She was written as a complete idiot and it made no sense how she was able to get as much power in the coven as she did. All of her his deeds left a quick and easy trail to her door. And when she was finally defeated she behaved like a spoiled 16 year old instead of a resourceful witch.
This series is just on disappointment after another. Its nothing like House of Comarre even though it takes place in the same universe. I may read the next book in the series, but it would be out of sheer boredom.
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