Shoot the Messenger

This was a really good read and I found it well worth my time. It’s scifi-fantasy-thriller with a dash of romance. It stands well enough as a stand alone and I recommend reading it as such, since I found each book that follows is a step down from the one before in this 5 book series. It’s worth noting that there is a decent amount of cussing and graphic imagery which I’m aware isn’t for everyone.

While the premise of people being genetically engineered to be attracted to another set of people is a very lazy and fan fiction way to get them to bang, it wasn’t center stage and the plot more than made up for it. There is, however, some queerbaiting and I question the logic of masters giving slaves collars that make them less susceptible to magic. Still, Kesh is a very empowering character and following her journey, her fall and rise, was captivating.

As far as the rest of the series goes, however, Kesh gradually transforms into a victim of forces beyond her control as almost all the agency that made her awesome in book 1 is stripped from her or given to other characters as the story shifts to a “chosen one” narrative. Her streams of consciousness repeatedly recaps information to the point where I felt I was reading the same thing over and over, and by the end she seemed less 26 and more 18. Everything in general gets closer to fan fiction.

Having said that, if you’re looking for a polyamorous romance it might be worth the read, since it focuses heavily on it, though I remain unimpressed.

I loved it from the first word to the last. Can’t afford the rest but I bet they are just as great.

I read the previous reviews, so I kind of understood what I was getting into. I loved the first half and was super excited and interested and thought it was going to be a really good book. I was super into the characters and all of Kesh’s secret past life.

Until the second half.

I had to re-read essentially the entire second part and I still have no idea what’s happening. For a book that was supposedly professionally edited, it didn’t feel like that. I understand that it’s not supposed to be super clear with Larsen/Eldeon’s abilities but it was extremely hard to follow. Then with a sudden plot twist that I didn’t see coming (there was literally no foreshadowing so it felt kind of forced,) I got even more lost. There also was this weird threesome dynamic between Kesh and Kellee and Talon, which is fine if you like that, but personally is not my cup of tea and I didn’t appreciate. Also with Talon it felt forced/kind of rape-y with their powers. Needless to say it was weird.

The ending I don’t get and it was extremely easy to get lost. I genuinely don’t understand what was real and what was a dream. I don’t understand how Kesh suddenly was pulled out of dreamland. I didn’t get the point of Natalie, why was she even in the story? And you’re telling me somehow there was a fae well?

It was a hot mess for me, I don’t think it was written well, although the author clearly has talent, I won’t be re-reading this or reading any of the others, not because I’m poor, but because I don’t think it’s worth the time or the money. If it would have stopped after the first half with a nice conclusion, I would’ve easily rated this a 5/5, but it kept going and it was a dumpster fire.