by Jasmyn | Mar 20, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Inferno was such a satisfying conclusion to The Fourth Talisman series. I’m not entirely sure how she managed it, but Kat Ross wrapped up the loose ends (not always into pretty little bows – but they were wrapped up) and still managed to leave the world open for rediscovery – and I’m hoping she does takes me back there again someday.
The war is on – the world vs the Vatras. Meb was amazing and powerful and somehow still just a kid doing what needed to be done, but she stole the show here. One of the things I loved best was seeing that while she was the most powerful of her kind, she wasn’t all-powerful and the shock and violence of everything really seemed to hit her.
Nazarareen needs to learn to fight another way. After her trip to the Dominion and coming back feeling a bit helpless, she struggles to find her place in the battle. Darius is there for here – he was the only character in the whole series that seemed a little too perfect at times. He always seemed to do the right thing.
The ending gave me a nice glimpse into the far future of their lives as well. Seeing how they begin to live out the rest of their days always makes these epic series stick with me a little bit longer. If you haven’t read any of the books from Kat Ross – I highly encourage you to go do so now! I will be picking up The Fourth Element and The Dominion series so I can see what happened before the grand adventure of The Fourth Talisman.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Inferno (The Fourth Talisman #5)
Author: Kat Ross
Genre: High Fantasy
Content Rating: PG-13
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In the fifth and last volume of the Fourth Talisman series, the worlds of the living and the dead collide in a final confrontation that will leave Nocturne and Solis forever changed….
Three talismans adrift.
Two mad kings.
One poisonous crown.
As dark forces gather at the Rock of Ariamazes in Samarqand, Nazafareen discovers that there are worse places than the afterlife. The twisted creature pulling the Vatras’ strings is holed up in the deepest level of the Dominion—and only she has the power to follow him there, though at the potential cost of her own soul.
Prophecy claims the three daeva clans must unite to face their greatest enemy again, but two of the talismans have vanished and the third is a child more used to skulking in the shadows than leading an army. Meb the Mouse might be their last hope—if anyone bothers to take her seriously.
And within the confines of the Rock, a dying king makes a pact with the devil, setting in motion a chain of events that could spell doom for friends and foes alike.
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About Kat Ross
Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She’s the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day, the Fourth Element fantasy trilogy (The Midnight Sea, Blood of the Prophet, Queen of Chaos), and a new gaslamp mystery series that opens with The Daemoniac and continues with The Thirteenth Gate. She loves myths, monsters and doomsday scenarios. For more information about Kat’s books, come visit her at
katrossbooks.com.
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by Jasmyn | Mar 20, 2019 | Book Reviews, Contemporary Fiction, Readers, Young Adult
Internment is very scary look into a near future reality that seems to be knocking on our door right now. When politicians vilinize the Muslim community, people begin to view them all with suspicion. A registry is formed. They lose their jobs/schools. And they are sent to camps.
Samira Ahmed does an amazing job showing just how the American public allowed this to happen. Between a mixture of hatred, being uninformed, and people assuming it could never happen here – they allowed it to happen.
We see these events unfold through the eyes of Layal – an American whose country turns on her for committing no crime. Viewing the life of the camp and the small rebellions leading to revolution as she experiences them was so very hard.
I think this book comes at a great time in history to show that “not doing anything” isn’t any better than “doing the bad thing.” Looking the other way or assuming that it can’t happen here is a faulty way of thinking/acting, and Samira Ahmed shows us why. I alternated between anger at what people dared to do and sadness that anyone would be treated in this way.
Thank goodness it’s fiction….for now. I only hope that continues to be the case and we never have to see events like the ones in Internment ever happen.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Internment
Author: Samira Ahmed
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction
Content Rating: PG-13
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Rebellions are built on hope.
Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards.
Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.
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by Jasmyn | Mar 19, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Getting to know more about the Marakai and Valkirin was amazing! And I finally found out for sure who these mysterious Talismans are and more about their legacy. I loved the way the various tribes’ cultures are so diverse, and while I see their inspirations, they are still very unique and fun to visit.
Events are unfolding rather quickly in both Nocturne and Solis, and the Vatras are breathing down the doors as they continue their hunt for the talismans as well.
One of the things that stands out the most to me is the depth of the characters. Each stands out on the own and they develop and change, adapting to the story as things change around them.
Nazafareen’s purpose in the grand scheme of things is becoming more clear. And while she seems to be the “main” character, she could never get anything done without her friends and companions. Even friends that no longer travel with her, like Javid, still have major moments to play and I was really excited to see that they stay as a part of the story.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Monstrum (The Fourth Talisman #3)
Author: Kat Ross
Genre: High Fantasy
Content Rating: PG-13
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On the White Sea, realm of smashers and sea monsters, a ship is carrying Nazafareen and Darius to the Isles of the Marakai, where the wise woman Sakhet-ra-katme has guarded the secret of the talismans for centuries. But another is searching too, a daeva born in the brutal prison of the Kiln, who plans to use the talismans to free the Vatras and their mad king. When their paths collide at the emperor’s lavish palace in Tjanjin, Nazafareen and Darius face their deadliest and most cunning foe yet.
In the mountain fastness of Val Moraine, the Pythia’s minions are on the scent of another talisman, this one from the Danai clan. Trapped behind a thick wall of ice, everyone’s going slightly mad—the perfect cauldron of suspicion and betrayal for Thena, who sees a chance to redeem her failure and bring the talisman back to Delphi. Then she’ll be free to indulge her twisted obsession with Darius—and make him pay.
And in Samarqand, Javid is drawn into the treacherous currents of a royal succession. When the old king dies and his son takes the throne, the depths of the prince’s depravity become clear. A journey north reveals the source of the spell dust he’s addicted to—and leaves Javid with an impossible choice.
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