taisie22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
This has been a wonderful series. The setting is unusual, in Tamar, which seems to take influences from Turkey or the Ottoman Empire. I love the references to that culture in clothing, food, etc. And this book finally gave us more about the Republic, which is distinctly Roman in flavor.
The premise is that the Sultana of Tamar wants to find the Charahs, or heads, of each spoke of the Wheel, a different type of magic for each. In the previous books, she's found some of the necessary mages, but now she sends the water mage off to find a missing branch of magic. Amara is powerful though she fears her magic also. She has to go into Republic territory, free slaves, and find more mages to help Tamar in the coming war. Cassian is a criminal, the son of a Republic senator, but has also been helping free slaves. While there's an attraction between the two, Amara has also been promised a betrothal to the Sultana's cousin, an ice mage, mostly for the power such an alliance will bring.
I love the magic system here and the world-building. This is the last book published but I think two or three more should be coming and I can't wait.
The premise is that the Sultana of Tamar wants to find the Charahs, or heads, of each spoke of the Wheel, a different type of magic for each. In the previous books, she's found some of the necessary mages, but now she sends the water mage off to find a missing branch of magic. Amara is powerful though she fears her magic also. She has to go into Republic territory, free slaves, and find more mages to help Tamar in the coming war. Cassian is a criminal, the son of a Republic senator, but has also been helping free slaves. While there's an attraction between the two, Amara has also been promised a betrothal to the Sultana's cousin, an ice mage, mostly for the power such an alliance will bring.
I love the magic system here and the world-building. This is the last book published but I think two or three more should be coming and I can't wait.
jksteach's review against another edition
5.0
These books are so good! At the beginning, Amara is ambitious, mercenary and has a core of ruthlessness. I didn’t take to Amara as quickly as I did to Aysel or Naime, but she cares deeply about helping others and I became sympathetic to her pretty quickly. And Cassian is an adorable rogue who just gets better and better throughout the book. But there are lots of secrets and danger between them.
Amara makes a deal with the Sultana -in exchange for a betrothal to the prince she will go to the Republic in search of the lost and endangered mages of the third house. But the Republic enslaves and murders mages, so Amara will have to hide her magic and work with an abolitionist smuggler who has been helping slaves escape.
Each of the books in this series has been great (really so, so great!) and they’re clearly and closely connected, but they’re also very different from one another. The first book included a lot of political intrigue, the second was funnier and more action-oriented with cool chase sequences, and this third has more introspection and internal conflict. Nearly all of the characters are dealing with surviving trauma and the story explores different ways people do that. The book also has a greater sense of found family and their relationships are terrific. I also love how the steamy scenes are integral to both the plot and character development- really masterfully done.
This has become one of my very favorite series ever!
seasonedreadings's review against another edition
3.0
This is definitely the weakest link in the series so far. It doesn’t have the political intrigue that R+R had going for it and the relationship doesn’t have the snap crackle pop that Storm + Shield had going for it (my hot take is that Bashir and Aysel have the best/most chemistry out of everyone so far, but I digress), so it’s lowkey falling short on a lot of fronts. I respect what Cassian and Amara have going on here and no one appreciates a soft caring king more than I do, but I found myself bored at times even though I can admit that their relationship was very romantic and sweet. There is a found family aspect in Siren + Siren that’s v cute.
We also get to see the Republic in this one which is just a not even thinly veiled analog for the Roman empire, and there’s also the introduction of the Suloi who have a little bit of magic and are like distant cousins to the Tamar mages and it’s like….ok. I want to be back in Narfour!
DESPERATELY want to know who the couples for the next 3 (5, if we’re including the side novels) books are
We also get to see the Republic in this one which is just a not even thinly veiled analog for the Roman empire, and there’s also the introduction of the Suloi who have a little bit of magic and are like distant cousins to the Tamar mages and it’s like….ok. I want to be back in Narfour!
DESPERATELY want to know who the couples for the next 3 (5, if we’re including the side novels) books are
random_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
alexen's review against another edition
4.0
Such a lovely, beautifully written and artistically crafted series! I love the worldbuilding and the (classical) magic system. The writing is thoroughly engaging and stunningly lyrical at times. All the (main) characters are likeable, unique and authentic. The romance in every book is always very sweet and intriguing in a new way every time. I love seeing the main chars of the previous books making appearances in the current installment. Oh, the feels! This is surely going to be one of my favorite series of this year! Cannot wait for the next installment! Highly recommended.
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