Title: Masques
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Sianim #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Medieval fantasy, Strong women
Dates read: 12th January – 5th March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Year: 1993
5th sentence, 74th page: She can fight, and the gods know we have need of fighters.

After an upbringing of proper behavior and oppressive expectations, Aralorn fled her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. But her latest mission involves more peril than she ever imagined.

Agents of Sianim have asked her to gether intelligence on the increasingly popular and powerful sorcerer Geoffrey ae’Magi. Soon Aralorn comes to see past the man’s striking charisma – and into a soul as corrupt and black as endless night. And few have the will to resist the sinister might of the ae’Magi and his minions.

So Aralorn, aided by her enigmatic companion, Wolf, joins the rebellion against the ae’Magi. But in a war against a foe armed with the power of illusion, how do you know who the true enemy is – or where he will strike next?

I read this book for the first time years ago. But, I thought I’d reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered… and it was. It was kind of amazing, incredibly interesting and very difficult to put down. I did… because I have to be an adult, but it was still quite difficult.

Aralorn is a wonderfully strong and independent woman. She is everything I tend to love in a female lead, and the trope that made me fall in love with Patricia Briggs’ writing. I love that she shrugs off the common upbringing of women and finds herself a way to be herself, no matter what the consequences and what other people think of her. I love this independence, and the fact that although there is a love interest, in takes backstage in a major way. Actually, it took me this second read through to realise that the love interest is quite intense from the very beginning, rather than a random development later on in the story (as I originally thought).

This story reminds me a little of the Graceling series in that the villain doesn’t seem all that evil. Until you start to add up what is happening behind the scenes. Yet, there is something far more terrifying about such a bad guy. After all, everyone else loves him, bringing him down will probably mean that everyone decides to kill Aralorn and Wolf, and even they constantly question their motives and sanity. There is something that is just… kind of sinister about such a charismatic evil being. And it makes the ae’Magi all the more evil because he does so many things with a beautiful, kind smile on his face…

<- Wolfsbane Review

Steal the Dragon Review ->

Image source: Amazon

Title: When Demons Walk
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Sianim #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Medieval fantasy, Strong women
Dates read: 7th – 11th January 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ace Fantasy
Year: 1998
5th sentence, 74th page: He laughed.

Don’t try this at home.

Sham had spent most of her young life as a sorceress and thief, stealing from Southwood’s nobility to survive. Now she must face the greatest test of her skills…

A killer has struck Southwood, claiming the lives of nobels. Lord Kerim, Reeve of Southwood, turns to Sham for help. Posing as his mistress, she delves behind castle walls to find the killer. But this murderer is no mortal – and Sham must use all of her magical wisdom to send the demon away. Because the city of Southwood has nowhere to hide – and no time to run…

I forgot how much I love this book. I first read it about six years ago, and although I remembered that it was fun, I didn’t really remember anything else about it. Which kind of made this reread like discovering the story again for the very first time. And it was amazing. And beautiful. And really difficult to put down… I had to actually put a timer on to stop myself from over reading. Especially when I actually had study and things to do.

I love the premise of this storyline and the world in which this tale is based. It is a beautiful medieval city which is steeped in history and culture. There have been wars and pasts that have been won and lost beautiful you even open the first page of the story. This attention to detail and world creation is one of the things that I have always loved about Patricia Briggs. The fact that this is a standalone novel with this level of detail is somehow far more impressive and intriguing than many of her longer running series. After all, the same level of world building and history creation goes into this single story that has gone into the longer series. Or at least, that’s the way it feels to me.

I like the fact that there is a little romance in this story, but it isn’t the emphasis, rather there is a hint of people developing feelings for each other. And that’s it. it’s enough to help raise the stakes of the story. But not enough to overtake any of the storyline. Rather, it is a tale of battles and intrigue. A tale that makes you want to know just who the bad guy is… and when it’s finally figured out… how to get rid of it!

<- Steal the Dragon Review

Wolfsbane Review ->

Image source: Kobo