A review by snarkymotherreader
House of Cards by C.E. Murphy
5.0
After battling dragons and djinns and gargoyles, oh my! Margrit Knight thinks she is up for any challenge, even convincing her former gargoyle protector to step out of the shadows and back into her life. It is not an easy task – more difficult even than battling the powerful Eliseo Daisani. If only she could stumble into a dangerous situation and prove just how vulnerable she was…
Opportunity knocks on several fronts. If a death at the workplace, a new career opportunity with a mysterious and deadly employer, and a debt owed to a dragon weren’t enough to send Margrit running to a land far, far away, the reemergence of a race formerly thought to be depleted just may do the trick. With this new discovery comes an upset in the balance of the Old Races, an upset that Margrit inadvertedly caused. Now Alban, the gargoyle whose name she cleared from murder charges, has no choice but to swoop back into her life and do what he can to keep her safe. With so many lives hanging in the balance, how can he hope to defend one lone human from the coming civil war among the Old Races?
Rarely do I encounter a sequel that not only lives up to but also exceeds the expectations created by the first book. House of Cards pleasantly shattered those expectations and raised the bar to an unreachable height. It was gritty, dangerous, sensual, and thrilling from page one to its startling conclusion. C.E. Murphy outdid herself when creating this magical world in which the characters must struggle to survive by any means necessary.
Admittedly, I tend to root for the bad guys. They do, after all, propel the plot and force the protagonist to grow and succeed or remain static and perish. In the Negotiator trilogy, it is difficult to pinpoint who the bad guys really are. Daisani, a ruthless killer in his own right, hides secrets of opportunities lost with a mortal woman. Janx, not one to hide his own ruthless nature, has indeed built a house of cards. Unfortunately, it is one easily tumbled. In its fall, his outer shell is shattered and the dragon within released. Both beings have shown their extent of influence and their ability to exact revenge if necessary, but they do so under a code of honor that supersedes human understanding. Margrit herself, driven by a need to right all wrongs and protect those she doesn’t think can protect themselves, does more harm than good in her meddling.
There are so many unanswered questions following House of Cards that I’m anxious to have explained. The fate of the Old Races, with whom Margrit will end up, and the backlash from the attempted overthrow of Janx’s domain will all be decided in the final installment of the Negotiator trilogy, Hands of Flame. I don’t want the journey into this world to end, but if it must, I’m sure I will be blown away in the aftermath.
Opportunity knocks on several fronts. If a death at the workplace, a new career opportunity with a mysterious and deadly employer, and a debt owed to a dragon weren’t enough to send Margrit running to a land far, far away, the reemergence of a race formerly thought to be depleted just may do the trick. With this new discovery comes an upset in the balance of the Old Races, an upset that Margrit inadvertedly caused. Now Alban, the gargoyle whose name she cleared from murder charges, has no choice but to swoop back into her life and do what he can to keep her safe. With so many lives hanging in the balance, how can he hope to defend one lone human from the coming civil war among the Old Races?
Rarely do I encounter a sequel that not only lives up to but also exceeds the expectations created by the first book. House of Cards pleasantly shattered those expectations and raised the bar to an unreachable height. It was gritty, dangerous, sensual, and thrilling from page one to its startling conclusion. C.E. Murphy outdid herself when creating this magical world in which the characters must struggle to survive by any means necessary.
Admittedly, I tend to root for the bad guys. They do, after all, propel the plot and force the protagonist to grow and succeed or remain static and perish. In the Negotiator trilogy, it is difficult to pinpoint who the bad guys really are. Daisani, a ruthless killer in his own right, hides secrets of opportunities lost with a mortal woman. Janx, not one to hide his own ruthless nature, has indeed built a house of cards. Unfortunately, it is one easily tumbled. In its fall, his outer shell is shattered and the dragon within released. Both beings have shown their extent of influence and their ability to exact revenge if necessary, but they do so under a code of honor that supersedes human understanding. Margrit herself, driven by a need to right all wrongs and protect those she doesn’t think can protect themselves, does more harm than good in her meddling.
There are so many unanswered questions following House of Cards that I’m anxious to have explained. The fate of the Old Races, with whom Margrit will end up, and the backlash from the attempted overthrow of Janx’s domain will all be decided in the final installment of the Negotiator trilogy, Hands of Flame. I don’t want the journey into this world to end, but if it must, I’m sure I will be blown away in the aftermath.