mylastromancenovel's review
3.0
I always find Linsey Hall's books to be intriguing and enjoyable. Every now and then, one is particularly good, but I always know I'm going to enjoy the book. Some stand out more than others, but in general, they are fun quick reads. I prefer her Shadow Guild and later works to these series, but they are still enjoyable.
errantdreams's review
4.0
The formula holds true, of course. Our heroes set off on a major task or two (finalize Rowan’s powers; take out the Titans). They have to prove themselves worthy to various gods and other creatures. Since it’s the final book in the series heading up to a huge fight, the heroes collect new allies along the way who offer to show up to said final battle. The positive thing is that this tried-and-true Linsey Hall formula enables some great stuff. The worthiness tests allow Hall to explore an insanely wide variety of challenges, escapes, and trials that aren’t all straight-out fights. Rowan, like her sisters, gets a fun new form she can assume and gets to use that.
The one thing Rowan has had that her sisters did not (nor the Fire Souls) is her ‘darkness’ that she retained from her time being controlled by the Rebel Gods. It’s been obvious from the start that the question of how she’d deal with this darkness would be important to the finale. The problem is, the darkness has been largely abstracted. It’s a force that every now and then threatens to get free and gives Rowan a few dark thoughts. When it isn’t rumbling to get out, it’s nowhere to be seen at all. Because of this, the climactic moments in which she inevitably has to fight off the worst of the darkness are neither tense nor believable. If instead the darkness had contributed to a buildup of darker behavior and emotion on the whole, it would have been easy to buy into the idea that Rowan really was getting called to the dark side.
One of the real payoffs in this volume, of course, is the climactic battle of The Amazon sub-series. It’s a little on the short side for what I’d expect from book 30, but on a par with some of the others from other sub-series endings. It also had some lovely emotional moments and there might have been a tear or two in my eye. Just for a minute there, anyway.
This is a solid climax to the series, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Hall does next!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/02/review-power-of-magic-linsey-hall/
The one thing Rowan has had that her sisters did not (nor the Fire Souls) is her ‘darkness’ that she retained from her time being controlled by the Rebel Gods. It’s been obvious from the start that the question of how she’d deal with this darkness would be important to the finale. The problem is, the darkness has been largely abstracted. It’s a force that every now and then threatens to get free and gives Rowan a few dark thoughts. When it isn’t rumbling to get out, it’s nowhere to be seen at all. Because of this, the climactic moments in which she inevitably has to fight off the worst of the darkness are neither tense nor believable. If instead the darkness had contributed to a buildup of darker behavior and emotion on the whole, it would have been easy to buy into the idea that Rowan really was getting called to the dark side.
One of the real payoffs in this volume, of course, is the climactic battle of The Amazon sub-series. It’s a little on the short side for what I’d expect from book 30, but on a par with some of the others from other sub-series endings. It also had some lovely emotional moments and there might have been a tear or two in my eye. Just for a minute there, anyway.
This is a solid climax to the series, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Hall does next!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/02/review-power-of-magic-linsey-hall/
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