Firstly, this is not a stand-alone book, it must be read as part of the BeMo's series. It's a wonderful lil' interlude for Jex's h-u-u-u-u-ge fan-baseFirstly, this is not a stand-alone book, it must be read as part of the BeMo's series. It's a wonderful lil' interlude for Jex's h-u-u-u-u-ge fan-base while they're waiting for the 4th book in this series to be released. It's hard to believe it's just on 18 months since the first book, Captive was consumed in a reading frenzy, and we are now at 3.5 and eagerly awaiting number 4, Blood Prince, which is due out early-ish 2018.
Stone Sentinel, though just a short story, is as brilliantly written and detailed as the previous books in the BeMos series. It's packed with teasers and snippets of information for readers of the Beautiful Monsters books, to mull over and then fit into the amazing world Jex has created for us. Written in the entirely alien point of view of Jet; a gargoyle and minor character in the series; this story deftly weaves further intricate detail into an immense alternate, paranormal reality.
This series is incredibly complex, brilliantly so, and Stone Sentinel; with the deft twist of the gargoyle's tale (pun intended); the hidden, rocky strata of the Earth Mother's world has now been thrust into a paranormal mailstrom. These battles certainly won't be shadowed by those of Mordor or Westeros....more
Errrmmeerrrrrgerrrdd! That cliff hanger is killing me.
There have been some amazing reviews here that sum up perfectly anything I could say or add regErrrmmeerrrrrgerrrdd! That cliff hanger is killing me.
There have been some amazing reviews here that sum up perfectly anything I could say or add regarding how scintillating brilliant I, personally, found Sire.
Captive BeMo#1 started this epic journey where the world building and character development is so detailed and exquisite. However Sire raised the bar for complexity and reader emotional involvement....hence why everyone is sooooo aghast at having to wait for the third installment in this series.
One thing I will mention, which I love, is the amazing plot bunnies that are introduced then travel through to satisfying conclusions EXCEPT, them thar damn bunnies breed into further possible plot lines requiring answers. Yes, we now know the Sire, Yes, we now know who the mother is.... 1. but who was the 'father'? 2. why did one of the characters become a traitor? 3. will there ever be any redemption for those incubus arseholes. 4. I swear there has to be some unplumbed depths and facets to Tarrick...he is (deliberately) too 2 dimensional and superficial for me so far. 5. One major protagonist has now come out of the wings but there is still (at least) one major player to come forward. 6. I'm watching Hiroto closely. He's one of my tidy answers to several questions I haven't mentioned here.... 7. What's the ultimate plot foil for the pit monsters? Who's pushing those puppies outa the pit? 8. A betrayal has opened up some questions for me. 9. Damn...what have I missed????
Jex Lane, in such a finite period of time, has become one of my all time favorite authors. How can someone suddenly burst upon the scene and make such an impact in such a finite period? I find several things very refreshing in these books; not the least of which is the surprises woven into the story. Yes, there are the same-ol' same-ol' elements of the supernatural but the new twists and turns are a breath of fresh air in a theme which seems to get caught up in 'following the examples' of other wordsmiths. Since 2009, and specifically in the M/M romance genre' I've seen several rashes of themes roll through several months after an author has introduced a new element to a story. Finding an epic story, so detailed and uniquely compelling plus ticking so many of my 'boxes', is an amazing treasure for me.
Anyway, I'm off to read Captive again, now armed with the foresight presented in Sire, to see what else I can glean as insight..........more
I only gave this 4 (actually 4.5) stars as I need to leave room to go higher for the next in the series.
My iniARC provided by author for honest review
I only gave this 4 (actually 4.5) stars as I need to leave room to go higher for the next in the series.
My initial impression in the first chapter of Captive is that this is a debut author as there were areas where the story could have been improved; better descriptive words or tighter syntax etc. Although I still lean towards this opinion, I was being picky.......I had an advance copy which I knew I was going to review and I was being 'dutifully' observant to do an honest review. So, yes, a debut novel but one which showed improvement with each page turned. I rapidly got into the story, my attention totally on the tale unfolding, the fascinating world building and I lost sight of any thought of there being a review required.
Definitely not a romance, at least not in the first of the series but, there is enough there to keep it hot, interesting and the reader guessing. (view spoiler)[ That Matthew professes to love Tarrick will annoy some readers.... or make you mutter Stockholm syndrome.... but this, and other quirks, are nicely tidied up by the author as she prepares for the second in the series (hide spoiler)]
What I really liked though was the world building. There was a great deal presented in this first of the series and though some of it lacked depth, the groundwork is there. Jex Lane has created a large playground for her characters and there are many roads where they (Matthew in particular) and the story can travel. I like Matthew, I disliked how unfairly he was treated; I thought it was a good story foil that the supposed 'bad guys' appeared more altruistic that the so-called 'good-guys'; I liked that all the premises built through the story could so easily be torn down.... (I'm personally getting a little tired of generally 'knowing' where a story is leading or when plots are presented so very obviously)......
Of course, we know there is a high likelihood of a HEA, we know Matthew will come out the winner but the journey in Captiveis very much an 'open book'. I am really, really looking forward to the next in this series. ...more
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