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inkandplasma
Full review on my blog from 11th May 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/05/11/the-dance-tree/
Thanks to Picador for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 9.57 / 5 stars
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THE DANCE TREE has Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s incredibly beautiful prose, with gorgeous descriptions that flow so easily it’s impossible to put down. This book stands out because there is so much personal experience packed into the tale. The author has been very open with her family’s struggles with pregnancy loss, and that’s a key part of Lisbet’s story. Lisbet’s miscarriages are a hugely significant part of her life and it influences her every day. It’s heartbreaking to read the way she’s forced to grieve silently for her lost children, and it’s so clear that Kiran Millwood Hargrave here is writing her experiences into Lisbet’s life. It makes for a powerful read, emotional and raw, and I could feel Lisbet’s fear and stress as she spends the book more heavily pregnant than she’s ever been before.
I said with THE MERCIES that I loved how character-driven it was, and the same is true of THE DANCE TREE. We have Lisbet, our main character; Agnethe, her newfound sister-in-law; Ida, her best friend; Eren, the musician brought in to help with the dancing plague; and Sophey, the mother-in-law I ended up loving far more than I expected. I fell in love with each and every one of these characters and their relationships, but my favourites were Lisbet and Agnethe. They’ve never met, with Lisbet and Henne marrying after Agnethe was sent away for seven years of penitence, but from the first day they find a sense of kinship and loyalty. I loved the way they behaved together and their conversations, even when they had quiet moments eating side-by-side, I was utterly invested. Between that, and Lisbet and Ida’s close friendship, this book felt like it was celebrating female friendship in its rawest form.
It becomes clear very early in the book that Agnethe’s ‘sin’ is loving another woman, though it takes Lisbet a lot longer to work it out. Agnethe’s story broke my heart. As a lesbian, I wanted so much for her, and there was a section where Agnethe talked about her love – and the way people called it a sin – that made me highlight practically everything she said for several pages. I felt seen in ways I didn’t expect, and every stolen moment of joy that Agnethe found called to every time I’ve talked around my sexuality in my life.
THE DANCE TREE is set against the backdrop of the dancing plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, with brief biographies of the dancing women threaded throughout, but it wasn’t a huge part of the plot really. It was very much focused on Lisbet’s life and her family, but the discussion of the dancing plague felt very carefully researched and well-described. I wasn’t that interested in the short chapters about the other women, so invested in Lisbet’s story, but it did add context to the plague. The whole setting was obviously lovingly researched, and everything from the way that Lisbet handled the bees (rosemary smoke, brilliant) to the intense religious pressure felt by everyone felt like it was authentic and well handled.
The religious trauma in this book is huge, as oppressive and significant as it would have been in Lisbet’s life. Alef Plater – the new Absalom fucking Cornet – is a man power-mad and certain that he speaks the word of god. I hated him. I hated what he stood for, and everything he did, and every time he appeared I felt my stomach drop in the same way I’m sure Lisbet and Agnethe did when they heard his voice.
I absolutely sobbed at the end of this book. It was such a beautiful ending, though it absolutely broke my heart. I might have wanted a slightly different ending, but that was the ending we needed. It was the right ending for the characters, for their arc, and I can’t fault it. But I am very fragile and very gay. I read this all in one long burst, staying in bed until I’d finished it (and afterwards, as I cried all over the cat). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve loved many of Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s books but this? This is the best yet and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Thanks to Picador for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 9.57 / 5 stars
--
THE DANCE TREE has Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s incredibly beautiful prose, with gorgeous descriptions that flow so easily it’s impossible to put down. This book stands out because there is so much personal experience packed into the tale. The author has been very open with her family’s struggles with pregnancy loss, and that’s a key part of Lisbet’s story. Lisbet’s miscarriages are a hugely significant part of her life and it influences her every day. It’s heartbreaking to read the way she’s forced to grieve silently for her lost children, and it’s so clear that Kiran Millwood Hargrave here is writing her experiences into Lisbet’s life. It makes for a powerful read, emotional and raw, and I could feel Lisbet’s fear and stress as she spends the book more heavily pregnant than she’s ever been before.
I said with THE MERCIES that I loved how character-driven it was, and the same is true of THE DANCE TREE. We have Lisbet, our main character; Agnethe, her newfound sister-in-law; Ida, her best friend; Eren, the musician brought in to help with the dancing plague; and Sophey, the mother-in-law I ended up loving far more than I expected. I fell in love with each and every one of these characters and their relationships, but my favourites were Lisbet and Agnethe. They’ve never met, with Lisbet and Henne marrying after Agnethe was sent away for seven years of penitence, but from the first day they find a sense of kinship and loyalty. I loved the way they behaved together and their conversations, even when they had quiet moments eating side-by-side, I was utterly invested. Between that, and Lisbet and Ida’s close friendship, this book felt like it was celebrating female friendship in its rawest form.
It becomes clear very early in the book that Agnethe’s ‘sin’ is loving another woman, though it takes Lisbet a lot longer to work it out. Agnethe’s story broke my heart. As a lesbian, I wanted so much for her, and there was a section where Agnethe talked about her love – and the way people called it a sin – that made me highlight practically everything she said for several pages. I felt seen in ways I didn’t expect, and every stolen moment of joy that Agnethe found called to every time I’ve talked around my sexuality in my life.
THE DANCE TREE is set against the backdrop of the dancing plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, with brief biographies of the dancing women threaded throughout, but it wasn’t a huge part of the plot really. It was very much focused on Lisbet’s life and her family, but the discussion of the dancing plague felt very carefully researched and well-described. I wasn’t that interested in the short chapters about the other women, so invested in Lisbet’s story, but it did add context to the plague. The whole setting was obviously lovingly researched, and everything from the way that Lisbet handled the bees (rosemary smoke, brilliant) to the intense religious pressure felt by everyone felt like it was authentic and well handled.
The religious trauma in this book is huge, as oppressive and significant as it would have been in Lisbet’s life. Alef Plater – the new Absalom fucking Cornet – is a man power-mad and certain that he speaks the word of god. I hated him. I hated what he stood for, and everything he did, and every time he appeared I felt my stomach drop in the same way I’m sure Lisbet and Agnethe did when they heard his voice.
I absolutely sobbed at the end of this book. It was such a beautiful ending, though it absolutely broke my heart. I might have wanted a slightly different ending, but that was the ending we needed. It was the right ending for the characters, for their arc, and I can’t fault it. But I am very fragile and very gay. I read this all in one long burst, staying in bed until I’d finished it (and afterwards, as I cried all over the cat). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve loved many of Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s books but this? This is the best yet and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
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Character - 7
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
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Character - 7
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 7
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Reread as of March 2022: I liked this a lot less the second time, lmao. Original review kept below, new cawpile:
Character - 2
Atmosphere - 3
Writing - 3
Plot - 3
Intrigue - 2
Logic - 2
Enjoyment - 3
Rating: 2.57 / 2 stars
Full review on my blog 9th November: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/11/09/the-key-to-fear/
Rating: 3.5
Trigger Warnings: sickness, death, fatphobia, emotional abuse, controlling relationship, human experimentation, virus, pandemic, suicide
Thanks to Head of Zeus for the review copy and the tour invite, it has not impacted my honest opinion.
The Key to Fear is a strong opener to a new series, a dystopian story that’s a little more familiar than anyone could have expected. I found it to be an interesting read, though admittedly I was expecting it to me mostly focused on the dystopian virus element whereas this book has a strong romance focus. Not a bad thing, by any measure, just not quite what I expected. The premise of The Key to Fear is, in 2020, particularly eerie. Fifty years prior to the book a virus struck the world and the resulting pandemic nearly wiped out humanity. Out of the disaster of the Cerberus virus, the Key rose. A conglomerate focused on controlling the spread of the virus and protecting humanity, the Key outlawed dangerous behaviours and took control, with everything from banning books, choosing relationship matches and identifying career paths to outlawing touch itself.
I found the first half of the book and the shady as hell mystery surrounding the Key, the Key’s behaviour and missing victims super super interesting. It’s rare that worldbuilding wins me over that simply but this was a realistic seeming version of a post pandemic world that never adjusted back to closeness and intimacy. The ongoing, intense fear of the virus was powerful and the technological steps that society has taken to avoid touch. There were moments where Elodie explained adaptions the world had made, like spacing out subway seats that a year ago would have seemed strange to me. Now, well. It was very, very eerie. The banned book aspect was a little strange, there wasn’t much in-text to explain why they were banned, other than the Key generally controlling things. I don’t mind that so much though, as this was the start of a series so there could be more information coming in later books, especially after the way this book ended. There’s a lot more to know about this world, particularly outside of the Zones the book starts in, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Despite not expecting it, I did think the romance was good, though not something I generally look for in a book, and I did like the way that Aiden and Elodie’s relationship was tied into the conflict in the story. It tied into several plot points (that I won’t spoil here) and there were several twists that I didn’t guess. One of them, in hindsight, was so obvious that I felt like an idiot, but it did surprise me very well. The end of the book built up into a complex ending that had my heart in my throat and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.
Character - 2
Atmosphere - 3
Writing - 3
Plot - 3
Intrigue - 2
Logic - 2
Enjoyment - 3
Rating: 2.57 / 2 stars
Full review on my blog 9th November: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/11/09/the-key-to-fear/
Rating: 3.5
Trigger Warnings: sickness, death, fatphobia, emotional abuse, controlling relationship, human experimentation, virus, pandemic, suicide
Thanks to Head of Zeus for the review copy and the tour invite, it has not impacted my honest opinion.
The Key to Fear is a strong opener to a new series, a dystopian story that’s a little more familiar than anyone could have expected. I found it to be an interesting read, though admittedly I was expecting it to me mostly focused on the dystopian virus element whereas this book has a strong romance focus. Not a bad thing, by any measure, just not quite what I expected. The premise of The Key to Fear is, in 2020, particularly eerie. Fifty years prior to the book a virus struck the world and the resulting pandemic nearly wiped out humanity. Out of the disaster of the Cerberus virus, the Key rose. A conglomerate focused on controlling the spread of the virus and protecting humanity, the Key outlawed dangerous behaviours and took control, with everything from banning books, choosing relationship matches and identifying career paths to outlawing touch itself.
I found the first half of the book and the shady as hell mystery surrounding the Key, the Key’s behaviour and missing victims super super interesting. It’s rare that worldbuilding wins me over that simply but this was a realistic seeming version of a post pandemic world that never adjusted back to closeness and intimacy. The ongoing, intense fear of the virus was powerful and the technological steps that society has taken to avoid touch. There were moments where Elodie explained adaptions the world had made, like spacing out subway seats that a year ago would have seemed strange to me. Now, well. It was very, very eerie. The banned book aspect was a little strange, there wasn’t much in-text to explain why they were banned, other than the Key generally controlling things. I don’t mind that so much though, as this was the start of a series so there could be more information coming in later books, especially after the way this book ended. There’s a lot more to know about this world, particularly outside of the Zones the book starts in, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Despite not expecting it, I did think the romance was good, though not something I generally look for in a book, and I did like the way that Aiden and Elodie’s relationship was tied into the conflict in the story. It tied into several plot points (that I won’t spoil here) and there were several twists that I didn’t guess. One of them, in hindsight, was so obvious that I felt like an idiot, but it did surprise me very well. The end of the book built up into a complex ending that had my heart in my throat and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book.
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Character - 5
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 5.29 / 3 stars
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 5.29 / 3 stars
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Character - 5
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 5.29 / 3 stars
Atmosphere - 6
Writing - 5
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 5
Rating: 5.29 / 3 stars
Credibility/Research - 8
Authenticity - 9
Writing - 7
Personal Impact - 6
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Authenticity - 9
Writing - 7
Personal Impact - 6
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 7
Rating: 7.29 / 4 stars
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 9
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.71 / 4 stars
Cawpile rated as of 2022.
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Full review available on my blog on September 28th: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/09/28/the-memory-of-souls/
Thanks to Tor UK for sending me a finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Trigger Warnings: misogyny, murder, mentions of slavery, gore, cannibalism, sexual assault (perceived consensual sex however one person was under an enchantment at the time, so could not consent), violence, non-consensual drug use.
Holy god, this book. I’m not exaggerating when I say that when I finished this book I had to put it down for a second and stare into the middle distance. These books have been getting better and better, I noted that in my review of The Name of All Things, and this one really has taken it to a whole new level. The Memory of Souls jumped straight into the action, with the worldbuilding taken care of in the earlier books and characters introduced and reintroduced, this book was pure plotty goodness. I literally read this in two sittings, including one 400 page sprint today where I just… didn’t stop until I’d finished. Honestly, I could have read this whole thing in one go, but I forced myself to put it down and sleep last night. The pacing is perfect, the balance of POVs is incredible and created a fleshed out story with multiple views of what was happening without breaking it up too much or making it confusing. We had my beloved Thurvishar back as our chronicler this time, with Kihrin helping him to write down everything they remember before they do… something drastic.
The ending of this is brutal and violent, and builds to such a crescendo that I felt anxious and helpless reading it. I wanted to do something but I’m simply reading Thurvishar’s chronicles and I would be no use at all anyway. I’m no hero, but hey, neither are our main characters. I love that the premise of this series so far hasn’t been ‘let’s save the world’ so much as ‘let’s try not to destroy it’ and once again Jenn Lyons plays with the concept of good and evil to its limits. One of my favourite things about this series is that at times I honestly can’t tell you who is on whose side – or even who I would side with, because sometimes that isn’t the main characters. I love that characters who hate each other are forced to work together, and that everyone’s loyalties are constantly in flux as information from these and past lives threaten their relationships. It makes it utterly intoxicating to read as I can’t predict what’s going to happen from one page to the next.
The relationship between Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel is strangely enough one of my favourite background things going on in this book. It’s complicated. Really complicated. They’ve all known each other in past lives, some been married in past lives, some hurt each other in past lives. Their emotional triangle could be a trite love triangle that would drive me away from all three of them. Instead it feels like the early exploration of a potentially polyamorous triad. There’s some beautiful moments of realisation in this book that made me honestly squeak like a teenage girl – and I don’t even like romance. I cannot wait to see how this develops in the last two books and I’m praying there’s no bait and switch, because they’re a perfect group and I adore them individually and together. I’m talking a lot about Kihrin, Janel and Teraeth, but I refuse to neglect my absolute favourite – Thurvishar D’Lorus is everything to me and I will kill and die for him. I love whatever hot mess is going on with him and Senera, and I can’t wait to see how that develops as they probably try and kill each other.
I do think this works a lot better on paper than it would in e-book form. I think I would struggle to read an eARC, which is why I’m delighted to get a finished copy of this one from Tor – though I’m a little disappointed that means I’m going to have to wait until release date to read the next one. Because the footnotes make such a good experience (Thurvishar, you’re so gd funny), there are absolutely vital charts in the back explaining genealogy and because this is a complicated and nuanced story, I think potentially I’d miss some of the experience if I didn’t have it in my hands to flick through and reread sections. But honestly? That’s no hardship. I will definitely read these again and again (no doubt realising more and more nuanced bits I missed as I go) and I’m so glad to have them sat on my shelves in pretty hardback form.
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 9
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.71 / 4 stars
Cawpile rated as of 2022.
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Full review available on my blog on September 28th: https://inkandplasma.com/2020/09/28/the-memory-of-souls/
Thanks to Tor UK for sending me a finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Trigger Warnings: misogyny, murder, mentions of slavery, gore, cannibalism, sexual assault (perceived consensual sex however one person was under an enchantment at the time, so could not consent), violence, non-consensual drug use.
Holy god, this book. I’m not exaggerating when I say that when I finished this book I had to put it down for a second and stare into the middle distance. These books have been getting better and better, I noted that in my review of The Name of All Things, and this one really has taken it to a whole new level. The Memory of Souls jumped straight into the action, with the worldbuilding taken care of in the earlier books and characters introduced and reintroduced, this book was pure plotty goodness. I literally read this in two sittings, including one 400 page sprint today where I just… didn’t stop until I’d finished. Honestly, I could have read this whole thing in one go, but I forced myself to put it down and sleep last night. The pacing is perfect, the balance of POVs is incredible and created a fleshed out story with multiple views of what was happening without breaking it up too much or making it confusing. We had my beloved Thurvishar back as our chronicler this time, with Kihrin helping him to write down everything they remember before they do… something drastic.
The ending of this is brutal and violent, and builds to such a crescendo that I felt anxious and helpless reading it. I wanted to do something but I’m simply reading Thurvishar’s chronicles and I would be no use at all anyway. I’m no hero, but hey, neither are our main characters. I love that the premise of this series so far hasn’t been ‘let’s save the world’ so much as ‘let’s try not to destroy it’ and once again Jenn Lyons plays with the concept of good and evil to its limits. One of my favourite things about this series is that at times I honestly can’t tell you who is on whose side – or even who I would side with, because sometimes that isn’t the main characters. I love that characters who hate each other are forced to work together, and that everyone’s loyalties are constantly in flux as information from these and past lives threaten their relationships. It makes it utterly intoxicating to read as I can’t predict what’s going to happen from one page to the next.
The relationship between Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel is strangely enough one of my favourite background things going on in this book. It’s complicated. Really complicated. They’ve all known each other in past lives, some been married in past lives, some hurt each other in past lives. Their emotional triangle could be a trite love triangle that would drive me away from all three of them. Instead it feels like the early exploration of a potentially polyamorous triad. There’s some beautiful moments of realisation in this book that made me honestly squeak like a teenage girl – and I don’t even like romance. I cannot wait to see how this develops in the last two books and I’m praying there’s no bait and switch, because they’re a perfect group and I adore them individually and together. I’m talking a lot about Kihrin, Janel and Teraeth, but I refuse to neglect my absolute favourite – Thurvishar D’Lorus is everything to me and I will kill and die for him. I love whatever hot mess is going on with him and Senera, and I can’t wait to see how that develops as they probably try and kill each other.
I do think this works a lot better on paper than it would in e-book form. I think I would struggle to read an eARC, which is why I’m delighted to get a finished copy of this one from Tor – though I’m a little disappointed that means I’m going to have to wait until release date to read the next one. Because the footnotes make such a good experience (Thurvishar, you’re so gd funny), there are absolutely vital charts in the back explaining genealogy and because this is a complicated and nuanced story, I think potentially I’d miss some of the experience if I didn’t have it in my hands to flick through and reread sections. But honestly? That’s no hardship. I will definitely read these again and again (no doubt realising more and more nuanced bits I missed as I go) and I’m so glad to have them sat on my shelves in pretty hardback form.
Character - 8
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.43 / 4 stars
Atmosphere - 7
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 6
Enjoyment - 8
Rating: 7.43 / 4 stars
CAWPILE rating added May 2022: This remains my absolute favourite of the series so far and I'm terrified to start Discord.
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 9.43 / 5 stars
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Full review live on my blog June 3rd: https://inkandplasma.com/2021/06/03/the-house-of-always/
Thanks to Tor UK for sending me a finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Content Warnings: misogyny, murder, mentions of slavery, gore, cannibalism, violence, mentions of sexual assault.
With every new book in this series, I wonder how the format can be sustained throughout the developing story, and they keep getting more creative every time. I loved the way this book was set up, with our characters caught in close confinement and magic causing them to delve into their memories. I really liked the way the memories worked. It made sense within the narrative itself, allowed the characters and the readers to dive into embarrassing secrets that the characters would be unlikely to share, and I loved getting to see the characters react to each other's memories. The close quarters also let us explore more than just the usual main three characters. I loved seeing Senera have more page time, espeeeecially getting to see her stuck up close and personal with Thurvishar. The footnotes are one of my favourite parts of this entire series, and they're still incredible. I absolutely love them. This series it was Senera writing the footnotes, and I kind of hope that THE DISCORD OF GODS has both of them.
One of my notes for this review was just 'TERAETH, JANEL AND KIHRINNNNN', and I totally stand by that. I love the three of them, and their burgeoning polyamorous relationship from The Memory of Souls got explored in more depth in this series entry. I loved it. I love them. Their interactions are perfect in every way, and I am going to be absolutely devastated when I reach the end of this series and I don't have anymore content from my favourite throuple. Speaking of the next book.... Tor please give me THE DISCORD OF GODS immediately. I am absolutely terrified by that title and I literally cannot wait a second longer for the last part of this series. I couldn't have predicted anything that happened in this book. It was a spectacular build on the rest of the over-arching story, and the ending as solid as all of the rest of the books. Jenn Lyons has made explosive endings into an art form and THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS is no exception. When it's all over, I think I'll still keep up my yearly reread of the whole series because I simply refuse to be without my fantastical disaster queers.
Character - 10
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 10
Plot - 10
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 8
Enjoyment - 10
Rating: 9.43 / 5 stars
---
Full review live on my blog June 3rd: https://inkandplasma.com/2021/06/03/the-house-of-always/
Thanks to Tor UK for sending me a finished copy of this book. It has not affected my honest review.
Content Warnings: misogyny, murder, mentions of slavery, gore, cannibalism, violence, mentions of sexual assault.
With every new book in this series, I wonder how the format can be sustained throughout the developing story, and they keep getting more creative every time. I loved the way this book was set up, with our characters caught in close confinement and magic causing them to delve into their memories. I really liked the way the memories worked. It made sense within the narrative itself, allowed the characters and the readers to dive into embarrassing secrets that the characters would be unlikely to share, and I loved getting to see the characters react to each other's memories. The close quarters also let us explore more than just the usual main three characters. I loved seeing Senera have more page time, espeeeecially getting to see her stuck up close and personal with Thurvishar. The footnotes are one of my favourite parts of this entire series, and they're still incredible. I absolutely love them. This series it was Senera writing the footnotes, and I kind of hope that THE DISCORD OF GODS has both of them.
One of my notes for this review was just 'TERAETH, JANEL AND KIHRINNNNN', and I totally stand by that. I love the three of them, and their burgeoning polyamorous relationship from The Memory of Souls got explored in more depth in this series entry. I loved it. I love them. Their interactions are perfect in every way, and I am going to be absolutely devastated when I reach the end of this series and I don't have anymore content from my favourite throuple. Speaking of the next book.... Tor please give me THE DISCORD OF GODS immediately. I am absolutely terrified by that title and I literally cannot wait a second longer for the last part of this series. I couldn't have predicted anything that happened in this book. It was a spectacular build on the rest of the over-arching story, and the ending as solid as all of the rest of the books. Jenn Lyons has made explosive endings into an art form and THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS is no exception. When it's all over, I think I'll still keep up my yearly reread of the whole series because I simply refuse to be without my fantastical disaster queers.