Le Choeur des dragons, T4 : La Maison de Toujours

A Chorus of Dragons #4

by Jenn Lyons

Et si vous étiez emprisonné pour l'éternité ? Le Rituel de Nuit a enfin abouti... et tout a changé. Les Huit Immortels se sont révélés incapables d'arrêter les ennemis de Kihrin, qui continuent à tout mettre en oeuvre pour libérer le Roi des Démons. Kihrin croit savoir comment déjouer leurs plans, mais s'il est prêt à tout sacrifier pour l'emporter, ses alliés ne peuvent en dire autant... Le dilemme est inextricable. Peuvent-ils sauver le monde sans abandonner Kihrin ? Ou deviendra-t-il inéluctablement l'horreur qu'ils ont juré d'anéantir ?
  « Devenue l'une des figures de proue de la Fantasy épique contemporaine, Jenn Lyons ne cesse d'enchanter, avec toujours plus d'éclat et de panache. » Booklist « L'univers fabuleux de Jenn Lyons continue de s'étendre... Un récit maîtrisé, plein de magie et de surprises. » Library Journal

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Dragons, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook

984 pages, Pocket Book

First published May 11, 2021

About the author

Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats, and a lot of opinions on anything from the Sumerian creation myths to the correct way to make a martini. At various points in her life, she has wanted to be an archaeologist, anthropologist, architect, diamond cutter, fashion illustrator, graphic designer, or Batman. Turning from such obvious trades, she is now a video game producer by day, and spends her evenings writing science fiction and fantasy. When not writing, she can be founding debating the Oxford comma and Joss Whedon’s oeuvre at various local coffee shops.

Reviews

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many people seemed to love this installment, but my experience was more mixed. In a series that is always experimental in the way it plays with structure, plot, etc., The House of Always takes that experimentation in a different direction. Nearly the entire novel takes place as a series of flashbacks while the characters remain in one place. Which is an interesting idea, and I get what the book is doing. But much like book 3, I struggled with the lack of structure (and in this case, non-linearity as well).

Again, I get the idea. But at over 500 pages, I felt like it was far too long spent on the project and a ton of time spent on random moments in the lives of side characters. Which were sometimes interesting, but often didn't feel like they were going anywhere. There were elements of this I enjoyed. The primary plot arc of the book is clever, we get some solid relationship development, and I liked the creative use of the magic system. But too often I found this tedious to get through. The payoff was good, but not quite worth the nearly 500 pages that came before. I think if I re-read the series in quick succession I might do better with this installment, but my initial experience was definitely mixed.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The House of Always is definitely another awesome addition to Jenn Lyons' already truly amazing A Chorus of Dragons series! That being said, after having finished reading The House of Always, I definitely have extremely bittersweet feelings about the fact that the next book in the A Chorus of Dragons series will also be the last book in the series. On the one-hand, I've come to love each book in the series in its own way, so I'm extremely excited for the last book be released, so I can find out what's going to happen next. However, I still feel like I just found out about Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons series, so I'm definitely not ready for the series to end quite yet. However, the awesomeness of The House of Always ultimately still got me beyond pumped for the release of the last book in the series, The Discord of Gods; regardless of whether I'm actually ready for the series to end or not!

My rating/score: 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads' rating system / 10 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.

Check out my full review:Here

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series remains one of the most confounding I've ever read. It makes me feel unstable thinking about it and reading it. I don't quite know how to explain it to you. I start these books, every time (except maybe the first book, since I had nothing yet to forget) soooo frustrated that I get angry, and I almost quit because everything is so needlessly elaborate in terms of structure, plot, and characters, it's basically impossible to feel prepared before reading them (without binging them back to back). And then they always take a turn, where I remember just enough, and the plot does crazy things just enough, and I get comfortable with whatever wacked out narrative style the author has chosen this time around that I start to become compelled and can't put the fool things down. Every. Time. By the end of this book, I was so pumped for the final book in the series, but I know when it does finally arrive, the same thing will happen. At some point I should just accept this, and look forward to the day when I have time to binge re-read the whole thing and try to make full, complete sense of it.

I think, ultimately, I do recommend this series for fans of epic fantasy in particular. It's certainly unique (though I remain unconvinced that all the elaborate structural techniques she employs are really necessary). It's also, as I mentioned in one of my status updates, one of the queerest fantasy series I've ever read, and effortlessly so. There are queer folks everywhere. You'd be hard-pressed to find a scene without one. This is epic fantasy so by definition that means there are a shit ton of characters and a huge percentage of them are: pansexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, gender fluid, polyamorous, asexual, aromantic, and even (ha! it's fantasy, what do you expect) interspeciesist (is there a different word for that?). And none of that is any kind of deal at all, it just is.

This book also managed to surprise me, both with its aforementioned elaborate structure, and in the way it ended and pushed the story forward. No plot summary is going to make any kind of sense to you if you haven't read the other books, so all I will say is that basically every important character in this series spends the entire book stuck in a lighthouse suspended in time engaging in mental battle with an all-powerful entity who wants to escape and eat the sun. Lyons structures the book so that the memories the characters throw at the entity in their battle of wills play like flashbacks in the narrative, and it was incredibly confusing. I had no idea what was going on. It took me almost a hundred pages to get a grip on the narrative. Once I did, though, I started to have fun with it. Also, while I'm mentioning things I liked in this book, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the one scene where one character gives another character a blow job TO SAVE THE WORLD. Tell me what other book series you've read where that is a legitimate thing that happens!

So those are my conflicting thoughts. I remain at sea here, mostly because none of my book friends have read this series. I'm the only one, and I only have me to talk about it with. Would not feel at all guilty to drag someone else into this with me. So jump in! The water's totally safe, not at all filled with (undead) krakens. Nope. Not a single one . . .

[Ash | Wild Heart Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eight Immortals are dead and Val Karoth is closer to being freed than ever. No matter what Kihrin, Janel and Teraeth do Relos Var is seemingly one step ahead of them. Kihrin makes a desperate sacrifice but his gamble may have devastating consequences. As the lines between good and evil blur and loyalties are tested Kihrin and his allies must face just how much they are willing to sacrifice if it means saving the world.

He still looked at me like I was every sunrise the world had ever seen.

Every time I read the next book in the Chorus of Dragons series, I am left asking to myself – how does she do it? Because every single instalment just keeps getting better and better, despite that fact that every single one of them is perfect. Seriously, how?!

The House of Always is a character study, oh to be sure it is intense and there is plenty of action to be found, but the heart of this book is its characters. This book gives you so much insight into who they are and the fears and the experiences that shaped them. This is true for all the characters, not just our main trio. Much like each book that has come before has laid out a little bit more of its characters and world, we get to see into more characters that previously hadn’t had a lot of page time.

Sheloran is utterly amazing. Every time she came on the page I fell in love with her a little bit more. She’s smart and beautiful and powerful. Do not underestimate this woman. Her and Galen are the ultimate wlw/mlm solidarity couple. I loved their dynamic so much. Their love and support for each other is *chef’s kiss* and I loved that Jenn went down this road than say kill her off just so Galen and {redacted} could get together.

I don’t want to spoil it but one of my ships saileeeeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddddddd. I was so, so happy – tears in my eyes happy. There were bumps along the way but they both deserve so much love and they are so perfect for each other.

"Of course, Blue. I'm sure I can find something to discuss with Taunna and Eledore. The magnificence of my breasts, if all else fails."

I have to remind myself constantly that these characters only exist in these books and it hurts so damn much, because a world with Kihrin, Janel, Teraeth and the rest is a better one. These characters with all their flaws and heart and conviction will steal your breath away. You will find yourself longing to be able to look up and see Kihrin sitting in front of you, to be able to give Qown a hug and the self-esteem he deserves, to be able to comfort all of them in their pain.

You will not be able to see one thing coming, every time I think I know where things will go Jenn comes along and sweeps the rug out from under me and makes it even better than you could have ever imagined. Like, that ending?! Not in a million years but holy hell I cannot wait to see what happens next.

There is so much that happens in The House of Always that I want to scream about but Spoilers™ but aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHH. Just know that you do not want to miss a single moment.

And in case it is not clear, this series has all the rep of the gayest rainbow - seriously there's not one allocishet character - and yes our main trio is polyamorous, it just takes them a little bit to get there.

There is not one bad thing I could say about this book, it is perfection. This is a must-read series. Books like The House of Always are the reason I read, to be able to exist in this world and to meet these characters is the greatest honour. I desperately want the next and final book and yet mourn the day I will have to say goodbye to these characters and this world for the final time. If I was only allowed one series to read ever again, it would be this one.

But know this - even though I have lived a life as full of thin, small regrets as a cherry blossom is full of petals in the spring, this will be my largest: that I could not be with you, right then, to share the space between never and always while waiting for the sun to rise.

*I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

This review and more can be found at https://wildheartreads.wordpress.com/

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-Spoiler Series Review: https://youtu.be/RylL5ESRb54

In a series where I give every book 5 stars, this is probably my least favorite. The only reason I say that is because I was not prepared for the main focus of the story to be in getting me to know the larger supporting cast of characters. I think on re-read that complain won't even bother me since I will be prepared to focus less on my favorite trio. I do like how claustrophobic this one felt because of its premise and setting and loved some of the new editions we got to meet in this one.

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:

**Note to Self: Don't spend more money on the series. See if books are in library or don't bother.

Great narration, but the story is going off the rails. The series started well in the first book, but I'm not enjoying the following books.

If you're going to tell a story from the PRESENT and fall back into the past in odd chunks, it's a good idea to make the plot somewhat feasible.

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! ⭐️

In the face of such a consistently incredible series (featuring rampaging dragons, secretly soul-swapped royals and eight gods looking to end said royals’ power trips), I had crazy high expectations for The House of Always. Although this installment featured the least enticing plot, my beloved harp playing (kind-of-a-demon-god) Kihrin never fails to claim my heart with his witty dialogue and overall gut-wrenching journey.

"Love is a mortar too weak to hold when the foundations of our lives crumble."

Surpassing the greatness of book three–my favourite of this series and one of my favourite books in general–was bound to be a difficult feat. Jenn Lyons reached such an untouchable high with The Memory of Souls, striking the perfect balance between magical complexity and depth of character. And that ending was an amazing segway into what I’d assumed would be a fast-paced and action filled next installment.

While my high hopes were somewhat met–especially in the romance department–(yes I am still screaming) my main let down was the transition from Lyons’ typically crazy timelines into a more mundane and linear format. This time around, the usual gang–aside from, *ahem* Kihrin–was trapped in a lighthouse for reasons, and the entire book took place there, in Vol Karoth’s mind realm or in newly revealed character memories. I surely had fun, though I definitely missed being bombarded with plot twists like during books 1-3.

“He still looked at me like I was every sunrise the world had ever seen.”

I’m proud to announce: chivalry is not in fact dead! Kihrin, Janel and Taraeth’s relationship absolutely floored me. I’m talking Instant KO. Hand holding, leaning heads on shoulders, kissing…. and finally even more,,, all of it ruined my life. 11/10 experience.
The addition of Qown and Galen’s budding feelings were unexpectedly sweet as well!
Xivan, Talea and Kalindra perspectives did bore me at times, though Sherloran’s more than made up for it all. That woman is a queen, I can’t get enough of her.

────── {⋆★⋆} ──────

The subtle humour in this series–even when slipped in through endless tragedy–is so tasteful; making me laugh right after having my soul shattered is something only few authors can successfully execute. So please, Jenn Lyons, this is me politely asking you to spare my heart. Not at all ready for this finale. April is where I lose it, folks.

“It turned out choices could linger like a wound, reminding a person every waking second of their consequences. Choices were ghosts; they haunted.”

[Donna Bull · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You will wait.
Until there is no more waiting possible. And then you will choose whether we live or die.
But know this-even though I have lived a life as full of thin, small regrets as a cherry tree full of petals in the spring, this will be my largest: that I could not be there with you, right then, to share the space between never and always while waiting for the sun to rise."

Each and every book in this series has just captivated me. How is it that Jenn just keeps subverting expectations for how you think this book will be structured or how will things transpire and then....oh, it's so not that but it's so much MORE!! The way all the threads of all the characters twist and mold and eventually all come together for yet another ending that just sends everything in a different direction. Honestly, I marvel at her ability to do this book after book and am so excited to know all the answers are in the next book and yet incredibly sad that the journey with these characters will end.

Mild spoilers for Memory of Souls:
The House of Always picks up essentially right after the events with Kihrin and Talon that ended with Kihrin in Kharas Gulgoth with Vol Karoth. All of the various characters that were left in Quuros and the Manol all somehow end up together in the lighthouse at Shadrag Gor, trying to figure out how to understand and navigate what Kihrin has done. Twelve people who honestly don't at all like each other, want to be around each other or want to depend on each other for survival. It's a remarkable way to tell such a complex story with so many moving pieces. And yes, it is still just as complex and wonderful as all the other books. I love how the relationship between Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel continues to grow, as does Senera's and Thurvishar's. But the standout characters for me in this book are Galen, Qown and Sheloran, they are wonderful together. Can't really get into any more detail as that would be spoilery. This series does not get nearly enough attention that it needs, it's truly marvelous fantasy, with some of the best LGBTQ rep I have read throughout all five books. Do you need all your brain cells turned on when you read it, yes, but the rewards are well worth it!!

[Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you very much to Tor for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The fourth instalment in The Chorus of Dragons series is perhaps my most anticipated novel of 2021 and it did not disappoint in the slightest. From past memories being unveiled to romantic intentions finally being declared, this book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

Weeks after the failed Ritual of Night where the eight gods were slaughtered and Vol Karoth is closer than ever from escaping his prison, Kihrin and his friends find themselves in Shadrag Gor. Together, they face Vol Karoth at his strongest and most diabolical in the magical mindscape that he has created. As they contend with the looming threat of Vol Karoth’s release, the group becomes trapped and forced to experience a myriad of memories as Vol Karoth and Kihrin battle it out for the last time.

As compared to the previous three books in the series, The House of Always is far more character focused than plot, allowing the reader to fully understand these beloved characters, especially the side characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this decision as it opened up a new side of characters that we haven’t seen before. While fantasy is my favourite genre by far, I adore character-driven stories; I’d honestly be happy to just read a book about characters talking about their feelings — no plot, just vibes. And to an extent, that’s what The House of Always delivers — up until the second part, that is.

A primary part of this series is the growth of Kihrin’s relationship with Janel and Teraeth and in The House of Always this relationship reaches a climax that we have all been waiting for with bated breath. I can’t even begin to explain how remarkable it is to read a book with a polyamorous relationship, especially a fantasy book at that. Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel’s romance is stunningly developed over the course of the series: from hate to love, tentative allies, major crushes and flirtation to, finally, an admission of love. I sincerely hope we get even more beautiful scenes in the final novel, out later this year.

(Speaking of romance, there’s a lovely romantic subplot that definitely comes out of nowhere, but as the story progressed, I began to hardcore ship it. I won’t say who the romance is between — no spoilers! — but prepare to be a bit shocked as I was, and then fully invested.)

Another relationship that The House of Always wonderfully develops is between Galen and Sheloran. The pair are married but have an intense friendship where they view each other as siblings, as they are both attracted to the same sex. The wlw/mlm solidarity is strong in this book! Galen and Sheloran are incredibly supportive of one another and would go to the ends of the earth to protect the other. The same can be said for Talea and Xivan, lovers who are separated for a brief period, but whose love becomes stronger than ever once they’re reunited. I consider myself to be a pretty strong reader, able to easily pick up foreshadowing and subtext in books, but Lyons’ plot twists come completely out of left-field but still somehow make so much sense. And the path that Talea and Xivan’s find themselves on is one such plot twist, one I never saw coming but feel silly for not having picked up sooner!

At times the novel dragged as it focused a lot on flashbacks in the form of memories, but you soon find out how important these flashbacks are, especially when the plot comes to a head in part two. Everything is leading up to a fantastic conclusion in the final book and I cannot wait until I get my hands on a copy.

The House of Always is an incredible instalment to an already amazing series. I highly encourage everyone to pick up this wonderful queer and tropetastic series that will keep you guessing right up until the last page. It’s truly unlike anything I’ve read before.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE 12/9: The cover is up on Edelweiss and AKGJGAFEBJHDNKDFDMJVOsnhJB IT IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!

Jenn, oh Jenn, what have you done to us, to me, to KIHRIN?
Needless to say, this book is an absolute must-have. A need-to-read. A grabby-hands situation, through and through. The ending of MOS was such a jaw-dropper that I'm still trying to pick myself up off the floor. So, please, file this under MOST ANTICIPATED.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
This is another solid sequel in the Chorus of Dragons series. There was some fantastic plot and character development in this fourth book and I am now dying to see how this series is going to conclude in the final volume. 

This is a highly entertaining epic fantasy series filled with humour and progressive romantic relationships. Admittedly, I am normally drawn towards darker, grittier stories but the author has such amazing talent for storytelling that I have become immersed in this series.

I highly recommend this to anyone fantasy reader open to an epic, diverse narrative.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

[Megan ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my most anticipated release of 2021. And I have very mixed feelings on it. RTC.


Pre-release review:

How I feel after finishing The Memory of Souls:



I need this book IMMEDIATELY.

[takeeveryshot · Rating 5 out of 5]

once again 10/10 this time it's because of the power of friendship when all your friends are the worst people alive

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forever grateful that I started those books so late and don't have to wait too much for the last one 😅

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was like “I love every trope as long as it’s queer” as a joke. But bro… I don’t think it’s a joke anymore.

Like, this book did the thing where the power of love saves the world which has ruined movies, books and shows for me before. Like Wonder Woman or even Queen of Air and Darkness.

So explain to me why I was literally SOBBING while also SMILING LIKE A DORK when they pulled it here or in She-Ra? My best guess is that both are queer as fuck and I will die on that hill. But I also think it’s because of what having queer stories implies theme wise more often than not. And also because of what both of these stories are dealing with, which is accepting you deserve love and you deserve to heal and love YOURSELF and to live happily and fully. Also, dealing with past trauma without it over taking the story and ignoring all the good things that happen without over doing that either. It’s a hard balance, but one I think both She-Ra and this do overly well.

I know that’s not inherently queer, but I do think those are themes and narratives very present in queer stories, and I love to see it.

So fuck yeah, this book is amazing and full of character and relationship development, which is exactly MY shit. I respect the fuck out of Jenn Lyons for what she’s pulling off with this series, and cannot wait to see how she ends it.

In nine months. NINE. MONTHS. Having to wait for The Discord of Gods is my villain origin story.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars

The House of Always is the latest instalment in the Chorus of Dragons of series. Easily one of my most anticipated books of the year and I have to say it did not disappoint!! Initially I was a little hesitant, especially since the first 10% I didn’t really have a clue what was going on (but to be honest if you have made it to book 4 in the series you are probably well equipped to be thrown in haha), but once I figured out the story structure I was completely invested and basically threw out all my weekend plans just to read this, it’s not a short book by any means and I read it in less than 48 hours. I’m currently just existing in a fugue state in the absence of this book.

This is a much more character focused book compared to the others in the series, and one thing I really loved was getting to know some of the side characters better, although I would have liked more Kihrin/Janel/Tereath I think the series would get stagnant if we focused on them all the time – having said that though the scenes we do get with them are perfection. At the start of the book we are thrust into a battle between several of the characters and a sea kraken and dragon, when Serena shows up and transports everyone to the magical lighthouse, Shadrag Gor. There they must exchange visions with Kihrin/Vol Karoth who are trapped in Vol Karoth mindscape, in a bid to rescue Kihrin. There are several characters and their arcs are all induvial and beautiful so I’m going to talk about them separately:

Janel/Kihrin/Teraeth – These three are such an iconic trio, and I love in this book how free with their love they are for each other. It’s so refreshing to see a poly relationship in a book with equal dynamics between all three members, and how they all will not accept one of them being left behind. Kihrin at the end of the last book sends himself into Vol Karoth’s mind, without telling Tereath or Janel, which obviously leads to them feeling a little betrayed but as soon as they are reunited they talk it out (healthy communication!!!!! We love to see it!!). Another thing I liked was how early on in the book they were reunited. And the sex scene!!!!!!!! I was promised smut and this book delivered. Also there is a reveal with Janel, which had me screaming – but also now I really really don’t want anything bad to happen in the next book!

Thurvishar/Senera – These two are another pair whom I absolutely adore, their dynamic is just *chef’s kiss* and I love how they show an example of romantic attraction/scholarly rivals while both being asexual. Seeing the message that asexual people are deserving and capable of love and affection was really beautiful. Senera also gets a larger role in this book, she is the one who instigates the whole lighthouse situation, we also see and learn some more about her powers. One chapter (called the easiest to break) we learn more about Serena’s past and this chapter (aptly named) absolutely broke me. Also seeing her realise that Relos Var is not the hero she thought he was and switch sides to help our protagonists was really interesting and very subtly done. It does help that I will always simp for powerful female semi-villainous characters with how much I love her haha.

Talea/Xivan – Talea and Xivan both have very interesting journeys in this book, a lot of it tied up in their pasts and events from prior books. I love seeing a wlw couple, even if they do spend part of the book trying to kill each other lol. The direction both their characters are going in is incredibly interesting and adds a very interesting twist to what we think we know about the lore of the world.

Qown/Galen/Sheloran - One really pleasant surprise for me in this book (and possibly my favourite part of the book!) was Galen and Sheloran’s storyline. I am obviously a sucker for cinnamon roles who are also not afraid to fuck you up and these two fit the bill perfectly. I love the wlw mlm solidarity, and their marriage was so cute, how supportive they were of each other and respectful of each other’s preferences. I also really loved the potential budding romance between Qown and Galen, Galen’s flirty banter and Qown getting all flustered was so adorable and reminded me a lot of Khirin and Teraeth in book 1. Also Qown dealing with a lot of his internalised homophobia was so emotional and impactful, a lot of resonated with me, suppressing parts of yourself in order to fit in better with a harsh society, as well as just wanting to be invisible. I don’t know if I was reading too much into it but some of the things lead me to believe Qown might have an eating disorder, and sometimes uses food to control and surpress other emotions. I liked the idea around your body should be what makes you the most comfortable, no matter what society thinks of it. I also really loved Sheloran and Qown’s friendship, one of their scenes where Sheloran basically calls Qown on all his bullshit about not liking Galen had me SOBBING.
All three of them are also fantastic characters individually; Galen has been through so much, and grown up in a very abusive household but I love how he has not let this break him, how kind and mischievous he is and he is honestly now one of my favourite characters in the series. Sheloran is an absolute icon, I love how she is basically plotting world (or at least quur) domination but for the betterment of society, she is maybe slightly naïve compared to all the other immortal powers at the lighthouse but she comes across as so genuine and the kind of political badass I aspire to be. Qown is also a character who hugely grew on me in this book, I felt kind of ambivalent about him in book 2 but in this book he was just so adorable and his journey was so beautiful and something I think a lot of queer people will resonate with, also people who maybe regret some of their past choices but are being taught to make good choices and to be allowed to make those choices for yourself.

Talon – what can I say about Talon other than I love her lol

Kalindra/Jarith – Kalindra was another really interesting character, having lost her husband she is now driven by the desire to try and resurrect him, and will do anything to get him back. What she doesn’t know is Jarith (her husband) is living on as a demon and “haunting” her. We don’t know her loyalties for a lot of the book, and while her flashbacks were probably my least favourite, towards the end they really did start to grow on me. The scene where she is in Vol Karoth’s mindscape and she is being followed by a massive crowd of all the people she has assassinated telling her how she destroyed their lives was so heart-breaking but also an incredibly powerful scene. I think she embodies the feeling we often get of feeling lost and broken and desperately grappling for anything that will give us hope.

I loved how unapologetically queer this book is. Seriously not a single character is heterosexual. We have 3 bisexual idiots in a poly relationship, a wlw side couple, multiple gay side characters, 2 asexual characters, trans side characters – almost every identity in the book is covered!! It honestly means so much to me that a high fantasy series has this much queer rep and how the series just gets gayer with every book. I think with this book having more of a focus on characters we get to explore and reflect on characters feelings more and this lends itself beautifully to exploring the different complex and nuanced relationships between all the characters.

The set-up of this book is very reminiscent of our current world, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a lot of us to stay trapped indoors and we basically have 13 characters who are all trapped in one place, with some quite big personalities and egos to contend with, who are basically forced to share a lot of hidden secrets about themselves. The sometimes claustrophobic atmosphere really shines through, but also how healing it can sometimes be to take a step back, reflect on your actions and take a break from the world (although we don’t have the threat of a demon-king that wants to destroy the world escaping). The whole idea of the mindscape was really cool, although it was kind of heart-breaking to watch the characters slowly break one by one to end up there.

Another thing I always enjoy with this series is the humorous tone of the book, it’s such a fun reading experience, I love the sassy footnotes, the characters banter and I had a massive grin on my face several times while reading.

While I still think a Memory of Souls is my favourite in the series (I adore the gods getting involved in the humans business storylines), this on definitely comes a close second. Some of my favourite scenes in the entire series are in this book, especially some of the conversations around identity, shame and redemption for your past actions. I do think some of the flashback scenes/visions sometimes dragged a little bit, and I always wanted to get back to current events but it was a good chance to get to know the characters better and then how later actions then make sense.

I do think this book is quite, for lack of a better term, lovey-dovey compared to previous books in the series. The core message and storyline is basically using the power of love and friendship to defeat the bad guy, and proving that there is hope and things worth living for. Some people may find this a little cheesy and honestly it is a little cheesy but I am also an absolute SUCKER for cheese. I just think the unapologetic love is such a nice and comforting message to have in these strange times and a refreshing change from a lot of grim dark fantasy. I also think the way things work out with the ending regarding Kihrin/Vol Karoth sets up the next book perfectly and I absolutely cannot wait for the next instalment!!

In conclusion, a great instalment full of entertaining banter, amazing characters, an intricate plot full of twists and turns and a great message of hope, friendship and redemption! A thoroughly enjoyable ride.

[Kate (BloggingwithDragons) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The House of Always picks up right where its predecessor, The Memory of Souls left off. Unfortunately, I found that the title of the novel was a bit too fitting as I found this latest entry in A Chorus of Dragons to be eternal. The House of Always displays the worst usage of the author’s nontraditional storytelling methods and perspective jumping, with characters taking turns using telepathy to show the series big bad what amounts to the true power of friendship. This display is all in the hopes of preventing him from destroying the entire world and everything in it. 

“But the rest of you? You all could be friends. Or are friends. Maybe you lot can band together and prove that friendship really is all we need to defeat all the evils in the world. Wouldn’t that be a hilarious joke?”

Needless to say, this entire storyline didn’t work for me. Even the characters, who somehow I still manage to care about after they share all the times they’ve backstabbed each other, remark on the ridiculousness of their venture. This is pretty much the only agreement these characters reach, with the rest of them constantly bickering and at each other’s throats because they’re trapped together with no way to escape other than to pacify the Vol Karoth, The King of Demons. And when they’re not arguing, suddenly they’re reconciling broken relationships and making out or having sex. I found this absolutely baffling, as they’re all trapped in a building with the King of Demons, who is judging the merits of the world existing on their own god-awful actions. Seems like a weird time to have sex when the world and everything you care about is stake, but maybe that’s just me. I also literally guffawed one of these moments as characters decide to have relations to somehow make the King of Demons jealous. I really don’t follow the thought processes of these characters. 

One would really think that after the way The Memory of Souls left off on the dramatic cliffhanger of Kihrin killing himself via letting Talon eat his brain so she could impersonate him while he sought to defeat Vol Karoth, that there would be more of a payoff. But no, Tareath lays in bed, Janel gives him a pep-talk, and they all meet up with him in the weird afterlife/soul realm (obviously I am unclear on these details), with what felt to me like pretty little fanfare. The biggest issue they all have with his failed martyrdom attempt is that he didn’t consult them. One's lover committing suicide by proxy seems like it should be a bigger deal to get over, but it’s really not. In fact, it’s mostly dealt with with humor:

“I’d assumed I’d either have solved the issue by the time I met up with them (and thus it wouldn’t be a problem) or I would be dead and it … wouldn’t be a problem. It hadn’t occurred to me that I might end up in a between state where I was dead but also available to be yelled at.”

It also didn’t help matters that The House of Always offers by far the most confusing non-traditional narration out of the entire series. This is in stark contrast to The Memory of Souls, which I thought had really hit its stride and provided the least obnoxious and confusing narration and perspective out of the whole series. But inThe House of Always, I was constantly confused who’s telepathic share-and-tell time it was and when, as it hopped all over the place. Even the titles at the beginning of chapters denoting who was telling what and when did not help me much to figure out who was narrating, where and when.

I also found myself somewhat dismayed that characters who had died were “Returned” back to life. Though I liked one of these characters, Galen, his romance with Qown really irked me for many reasons. Despite my best efforts, I really don’t like Qown. I’m not over his betrayal in previous books, or his penchant for masochism, or his crippling insecurities. I’ve always really liked the character of Galen, so I was dismayed that he fell in insta-love with Qown. And I don’t really understand why, as Qown still works for Relos Var and is essentially a spy, doesn’t think he’s worthy of being loved, and has a track record for betrayal. All we are really told is that suddenly he’s attractive and thin from starving himself in the previous book. I don’t know why the one gay character has to fall for the only available single man in The House of Always, but that’s exactly what happens.

"Qown nodded. 'I’m just—' He shook his head. 'I can’t make this right.'

'Sure you can,' Teraeth said. 'Help us fix this. That’ll make it right. We’re not turning Senera away. Hell, we’re not turning me away. You think you’re too irredeemable to join the save-the-world club? Please.'"

But the novel is teeming with these coincidences. If characters don’t know each other through someone or through a weird chain of events, they know each other in past lives and were probably married to each other, or worship the same God or something. It’s a little ridiculous how incestuous this entire cast of characters is, and I really had trouble suspending my belief that all of these people just happened to know each other. In a way, The House of Always recognizes these extreme coincidences by repeatedly stating “it’s a small world.” That cliché didn’t really work for me or to help suspend any of my disbelief. 

I’m also perpetually disappointed that in a series called A Chorus of Dragons, that there just really isn’t that much screen time for those dragons. Sure, we have characters with secret forms of dragons, and dragons being general nuisances and destroying temples and cities, but not a whole lot else. Of course, when the dragons do appear, I find them really fascinating. But this book’s dragon cameo was very short and “off-page”, so to speak, so I was a little disappointed. However, at least there was a teensy bit more time for a Kraken in The House of Always. Sadly though, there wasn't too much time spent on the Kraken either, or on the super cool island filled with the Devon Prophecies (essentially a library) and monks who study them. I want more secret island libraries and organizations! And Krakens. And Dragons. 

Though I really had trouble getting through The House of Always, and even considered not finishing the title and giving up on the series, I still stuck around because I care about the characters and the world, despite how perpetually confusing the series as a whole is. I also did enjoy facets of this book, mainly those which centered on Kalindra, Talon, and Senera. As always, I really like author Jenn Lyon’s humor and wit that shines through the often serious topic of the series, that deal with topics like slavery, rape, betrayal, and sexual assault. Though in this entry of the series, I found a lot of these jokes to be a bit too on the nose to the point of breaking the fourth wall, to be honest.

I still plan on reading the next book in the series, but I am feeling a little skeptical of how much I will enjoy it after The The House of Always. I really didn’t care for the whole friendship-is-magic-and-all-you-need-message, the insta-love of characters, the coincidences, and the easy resurrections of previously killed characters, or the small screen time of dragons and krakens. As a whole, I feel that A Chorus of Dragons has really provided me with a rollercoaster reading experience, filled with a lot of highs and lows. I feel that I either really like one of the books in the series, such as The Ruin of Kings or The Memory of Souls, or I really don’t enjoy them much and struggle to get through them, like The Name of All Things and now The House of Always. I can only hope that the series ends on a high note for me, but I am not sure if that will be the case for me at this point. 


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[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars but rounding up

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.25

This is book four. By now, you must realise I am enjoying this series, and you should know whether you yourself like it or not. This is by far my favourite instalment.

”This is the King of Demons killing everyone we care about, the world ending, and your soul getting devoured."
"And let's not forget the King of Demons is Janel's ex, in this scenario," Teraeth offered.

The way this book is set-up, we see the story from a variety of timelines from a range of characters all forced together. It’s supposed to make them hate each other, but can it be used to bring them together?

”And let's look at your friends, shall we? Murderers and terrorists.Traitors. More than one assassin. What a fine group of upstanding people.”

“Your "love" is nothing but slavery. Your “friendship" is nothing but an exchange
of obligations. You can't show me a single example from these people where their love isn't anything more than an excuse to pardon hurting each other.”

Yes, okay, it sounds cliche, but it works perfectly. This is an intimate exploration of all of our characters, studying their ambiguous moralities, their shaded pasts, and their deepest feelings. It was phenomenal.

Whilst other author may struggle juggling the many characters, their perspectives, history, grievances, and personalities; Lyons handles this challenge deftly, weaving fragments to create a whole as everything is built up in a psychological battle between Khirin and Vol Korath.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I last read The Memory of Souls in August of last year. So when I saw that The House of Always was already available on NetGalley... well, it's safe to say that I freaked the freak out. I also dropped basically everything around me to dive into this beautiful book as well. I mean, how could I not after the first three books??

I'm honestly amazing that this entire series has been addicting for me. It's a pretty rare thing because sometimes there's one book that I'm like.. meh, okay. So to say that this hasn't happened to me (yet) with 'A Chorus of Dragons' well let's just say Jenn deserves some snaps.

Besides all of that, each and every character was highly entertaining for me. Plus the amounts of betrayal, romance, and action kept this from being a dud. I couldn't put the book down even if I tried.

The only thing I'm intrigued about right now is the damn epilogue. Does this mean we are getting another book? If so, sign me up! I don't care if it's in this series or in a spin off. I am okay with any new book coming my way.

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series with each book more🌼

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did this need to be this long? No.
Was it the most character-focused set-up of set-up books? Probably.
Did I love it? ABSOLUTELY!

This was the therapy session I didn't know these characters (and I) needed, but I was so here for it. Also, the sexual tension was off the charts, I love it.
Definitely one of my all-time favourite series, I can't wait to dive into the finale!!

[Icarus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, where do I start with this.
This review is coming after my second time reading the book and I can’t really remember why I forgot about writing it the first time around. It might well be that I was very much confused about what had happened and was trying to sort my thoughts before writing a review, which I now know is futile. Any time you think you know the world this series is set in, Jenn Lyons pulls off another layer of cloth hiding a much deeper universe.
I don’t think I need to say anything further about the worldbuilding. I’ve already gushed about it in my reviews for the other books, and Lyons continues to impress here.
The attention to detail is just astounding.

From here on out I have to be spoilery. There is a lot that I want to say, but because everything constantly changes in this book, it’s hard to say anything without spoiling one of the many plot-twists. So, you’ve been warned. It will heavily spoil the previous three books as well as this one.

SPOILERS

While this book made me very happy with the amount of triad-content we got, it also gave impressive insight to the minor characters.
For example Qown. Yes, that story was technically about Galen and Qown, but the emotional focus was clearly on Qown.
After what happened in Atrine, I’d honestly not been happy with the monk. I couldn’t exactly be angry with him, because he was just too lovable, but still, what he did hurt.
Even then, though, I knew it wasn’t his fault, as much as it was Relos Var’s fault. He’d been manipulating the poor guy from an early age and presented himself as a father-figure. So when he said he was going to save the world and gave Qown a cornerstone as a sign of his trust, of course he believed him. The manipulation ran deep.
A quote, by Caless of all people comes to mind:

“Who’s done this to you, Qown? Who twisted you like this? […] You should be telling me to go fuck myself.[…] You shouldn’t be meekly submitting to treatment like this from anyone. You should be walking out that door and saying ‘I quit,’ because no one has the right to do this to you against your will. But you’re not. Why?”

I can tell you exactly why and I can tell you exactly who twisted him, but dear Qown hasn’t realised just how terrible the stuff was, that he went through.
Following Qown on his journey with Galen and Sheloran, seeing him grapple with his allegiance to Var and seeing him be even more oblivious than Kihrin, was strangely emotional. Hearing people mention again and again, just how starved he was after his time with Var made me want to personally strangle the man.
But the real kicker was seeing him deal with those memories in the lighthouse afterwards. That scene in chapter 32, after Galen has been taken and Sheloran confronts him and finally breaks down the walls of denial he’s wrapped around himself was heart-breaking to read.
I also adore the relationship of Galen and Sheloran. Seeing that deep platonic love and the safety they provide to each other while laughing in the face of what Quur tells them is proper, is just beautiful.

Of course the book, having Kihrin and Tereath as characters (as well as Talon being reasonable???), has a lot of funny quips, and scenes that made me laugh outright.
More than the other three books, though, I’ve noticed a number of profound quotes in here.
The first of my three favourites was somehow delivered by a god-queen in that same conversation with Qown, which I’ve already quoted earlier:

You Vishai talk a lot about love and selflessness. How important it is to love others, sacrifice for others, put the happiness of others begore your own. But do you know what I have learned in all my years? And don’t let my appearance fool you. I am older than I look. I’ve learned that all that sounds sweet but means very little if you’ve never learned to love yourself. You are allowed—no, you are entitled—to think of your own health and safety first. Someone has taught you that you aren’t worth the same love you would give to a stronger. That someone deserves to be slapped quite hard.”

This pretty much sums up my feelings towards Relos Var in regards to Qown.

The second quote is also from an unlikely source: Xivan, our favourite vengeful bitch.

“We want our children to be a reflection of what we wish we were, not what we really are, so we lie about our weaknesses and out sins in the hopes that they’ll emulate our example. We don’t want our children making the mistakes that we made, and sometimes that means pretending we’ve never made any.”

Now, I don’t know shit about parenting, but somehow this feels very accurate and very applicable to the real world. Even if none of my parents are immortal god-queen-daughters of baby-murdering Demons.

The third quote is still from an unlikely source, maybe the most unlikely of them all: Vol Karoth.

“Love is a mortar too weak to hold when the foundations of our lives crumble.”

Now, while this is nihilistic and pessimistic and maybe not the kindest way to approach life, it’s poetic and beautiful in a terrifying way.

I would love to talk about the plot, which was of course great, if only I understood it better. If we leave out all the memories uncovered in this book what remains is so convoluted and metaphorical and complicated that I can’t even begin to explain it. I did, kind of, understand the ending though and though it of course left us hanging above the chasm again, yearning for more, it’s also kind of funny.
Essentially, the reason everyone was so upset with Kihrin in the beginning, was because he (and I’m going to quote Janel here) committed suicide by mimic and wanted Talon to impersonate her, which is basically what they are now back to doing.
I look forward to seeing exactly how Kihrin/S’arric/Vol Karoth is going to fuck with Var’s plans and can already see how much could go wrong.
Talon is essential for this plan and I’ve always liked her, because she was so unapologetically bad, without being mean about it the way Suless was.
As she’s eaten Kihrin, there is technically nothing she can’t fake about him, so she’s (astonishingly) not the one I am worried about here, I am actually worried about the others giving it away. Because they know she’s not actually Kihrin. While Relos Var can no longer use The Name Of All Things, he is still very smart. And Kihrin held an undeniably special position in this Group of people. Not only did they all care for him, they also all followed him literally into the mind of a god of destruction. So if they suddenly change their behaviour around him, if they don’t look up to him the way they all did (yes they all did, even Senera did, though she’d definitely deny it if asked), Var is going to realise something is off. I’m betting on that being the thing that brings the house of cards down. Talon can fake the mannerisms and even the love Kihrin has for the others, but Thirteen people faking their emotions towards one person? Especially when the difference in their emotional connections to Kihrin and Talon couldn’t be bigger?
Somethings got to give.


After my first time reading the first book, I remember thinking: “This feels like the prelude to an epic fantasy series like nothing I’ve read before.” And boy, was I right.
So yeah, that’s about my thoughts on the book, sorry if it turned into more of a rant, but I can’t currently reach the one person who’s also read the book, so there’s that.

5/5 stars Brilliant. I need more of this.

PS. If you’ve finished the book, I recommend you go back and reread that letter Senera wrote to Thurvishar that Talon put right in the beginning of Thurvishars copy of this book. It makes more sense afterwards.

PPS. How old is Qown? Lyons has made it purposefully ambiguous, but I really wanna know.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just finished for the second time and this time, a review truly is to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review to come

[Rodger’s Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up. This has been my least favorite book of the series. I did not love the disjointed narrative and many of the scenes felt kind of pointless, but I was intrigued by the twist at the end and am excited to see how the series concludes in the next book.

[sol✯ · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favs went through ittt
need the last book like water

[Ci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Broadly grand, at times repetitive and frustrating. I enjoyed the descriptions of food, and some of the relationships that formed and developed over the story. The ending felt unearned, which makes no sense considering it took 500 pages to get there.

I am so very, very tired of characters becoming unexpectedly pregnant (at a young age) and absolutely no discussion of whether or not they want to remain pregnant and/or be a parent. Janel deciding that a six week old fetus was more important than her own life, and quite a lot of other people’s, was just …. ffs like. For a story that the author intends to really be pushing the boundaries, having a woman decide that she didn’t want to be pregnant/be a parent yet, or that her own safety was more important, would have been a much more interesting and progressive choice. Instead, Lyons went with something that was safe, out of character and frankly boring. If she even had a discussion around how being pregnant would affect Janel’s relationship to her demon body, or her gender, god even her political status, that would have at least been interesting. Instead we get this.

[Lois Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing follow up to the end of this series! An amazing plot, with a brilliant twist! I CAN'T WAIT TO READ "THE DISCORD OF THE GODS"!!!

Here's the link to my complete review: https://mistyaquavenatus.com/2021/08/...

[Carol (bookish_notes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took awhile to get used to. We're back to Senera documenting the story, and it's not quite as fun as when Thurvishar does it. She is an acquired taste with her storytelling methods. Although, I do appreciate that in her book, she does write down the locations AND when things are happening with each new chapter heading. It's both entertaining and helps keep things straight. Senera is still working for Relos Var. So while Thurvishar's stories have been documented for Tyensto to read, Senera's have been for Relos Var. Even if she starts the book off by saying that she means to betray him. It's not really a spoiler at this point. Now we have to figure out WHY she might turn on him. And as always, the author is kind enough to write a comprehensive recap of the series so far leading up to this fourth book, and it is available for reading at the start of this book. It is built seamlessly into the story enough where the recap is actually very helpful reading even if you're reading the books back-to-back.

As always, the following review will contain spoilers for the previous books, because it will be impossible to NOT mention some main points that have transpired since.

Content notes include death, depression, violence, mentions of grooming, mentions of domestic and emotional abuse, pregnancy, internalized fatphobia, and body dysphoria.

We see a lot of returning characters in this book that we learned were NOT dead. The gods, however, who died in the last battle are still very much dead - the people you kind of want to see returning to life the most, if only for their powers. But we do see the return of Galen D'Mon (once believed to be Kihrin's brother in the first book only to find out he is actually Kihrin's nephew), Galen's wife Sheloran, the mimic who captured Kihrin in the first book called Talon, and Kalindra who is a Black Brotherhood assassin Kihrin had been infatuated with on the island of Ynisthana in the first book. All these returning character were more properly introduced in book one. And in all honesty, I had no idea what large roles they would play in this series when we had first met them? I even completely forgot about Kalinda being sent off on assignment in the first book, but we learn what she's been up to since then.

It's actually quite genius that the characters have returned to the storyline so prominently because all of them have a sort of connection to Kihrin and that's key to everything that's happening, because they are both his greatest strength, but also his weakness. The present-day timeline is that Senera winds up doing a large spell that winds up tying the mystical and magical Lighthouse of Shadrag Gor to Vol Karoth's prison in Kharas Gulgoth. The Lighthouse had previously been a place where scholars like Thurvishar can hide away for months at a time, and little time would've passed in the "real" world. It is an enchanted place where Kihrin was also jailed with Talon in the first book.

This book takes place roughly a month after the battle at the Well of Spirals (at the end of book three), and in that last book Kihrin had essentially offered himself up to Vol Karoth and gave Talon his body (to kill and eat). Talon, the mimic, can then impersonate Kihrin fully and Kihrin had a mind to be able to talk to Vol Karoth and...try to come up with a deal? I admit, the plan was very fuzzy and just sounds like a terrible plan I'm shocked Thurvishar agreed to go along with. But the reality is, Kihrin is currently physically dead and now we're seeing the ramifications of that choice. This is Senera's plan to save him. Because as much as she would never, ever admit it, Senera does have a heart and cares deeply for those around her.

We do jump between storylines where we see the occupants at the Lighthouse (Teraeth, Janel, Thurvishar, Senera, Qown, Galen, Sheloran, Kalinda, Xivan, Talea, and Talon) and soul!Kihrin in Vol Korath's mind prison fighting Vol Karoth. It's a battle of wills and memories? For some reason Kihrin and Vol Karoth try to prove themselves justified in why friends may or may not be important and they use the Lighthouse's occupants' memories to tell this story. There's something involved with telepathy or something? The mechanics of all this is beyond me, but the storytelling aspect of this is fascinating because it works to catch us up on Galen, Sheloran, Qown, Xivan, Talea, and Kalindra's stories since we last saw them. Kihrin's argument is that having friends is important and they can be trusted, while Vol Karoth (drawing on his experience in his past life as S'arric) was betrayed immensely by his friends and most of all, his brother Rev'arric (also known now as Relos Var).

Honestly, the back and forth between the stories is both interesting AND boring at the same time. It's like we do miss a bit of the momentum we had from the third book and now we're trapped in one place all over again starting anew to figure out what's going on. I have never read a book with characters endlessly drinking as much tea as the characters in this book. I don't have a problem with them constantly drinking tea, but I feel like they don't go to the bathroom enough considering all the tea they're consuming. But that's really neither here nor there. Just my observation.

Important things we learn from this book is that Galen is no longer the scared and abused boy we met in the first book. He is a married man, and while he is still only attracted to men, he very clearly loves his wife Sheloran. She's the only reason he was Returned from death at all, because she had put in the request while Sheloran's parents had put in the request for her to be Returned. Galen and Sheloran had both been killed by Kihrin's mother after her rampage killing most of the D'Mon household. I can't even say her killings weren't justified after all she went through as their slave? But she did kill everyone in the WORST of ways, so it's all a mess where she's concerned. Also, the aftermath with her and Therin is just...added mess. Anyways, back to Galen...he had the BEST speech in this book, or maybe even this series so far. It was at a funeral for a friend and when he told everybody off, it was GLORIOUS.

There is a mystery of sorts where the count of people in the Lighthouse was always off by one, but not immediately explained. The revelation surprised me. I would've never guessed. Although it is kind of funny I guessed a pregnancy before it was revealed, even though THIS revelation had absolutely nothing to do with a pregnancy at all.

And in other things I would not have guessed, the last book revealed how Xaltorath came to be and I AM NOT OKAY. All this time we were seeing Xivan go after the witch-queen Suless because Suless had killed Xivan's husband and son. But MOST IMPORTANTLY in the last book, we see how Suless becomes Xaltorath.

Which brings up a further confusing storyline into the series, and it's something I've always hated in stories - time travel. Like, I LOATHE time travel books. I don't seek out the stories. I can't stand them. But in this case, the actual bits ABOUT the time travel are minimal and nothing you should really think about too hard because it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things? The gist of all of this is that this series takes place in this one timeline, and Xaltorath has the knowledge of how to reset timelines so if things don't go their way, they can just have another redo. Things like how far back the time travel goes and what that means whenever characters get reincarnated and how everything is affected is...not really answered? So, like I said. Don't try too hard to piece it all out. You'll only get more confused. The only relevant piece of news for now is that this means there are TWO Xaltorath's in the current timeline and you can bet both will only want to be the single Xaltorath, while not letting their other self live.

Cornerstones play a big part in this series with cornerstones being powers in their own right, but also the solution to heal the dragons and their insanity. Do I understand how cornerstones REALLY work? Not really. But it's just another thing in this book where I just kind of nod and keep reading. There's a lot of that in this book, but at least I can focus in on the relationships happening even if I understand nothing else.

Fun things that happen in this book is that the flirting gets dialed up to an 11 here (on a scale of 1 through 10). There's a LOT of couples in this book where you're rooting for all of them to have a HEA by the end of the series. But is that realistic when the book is marketed as a fantasy and is not a Romance book outright (with the capital R)? I feel like you just wind up shipping everyone, even if the way the book goes about detailing some of these relationship is a bit...off and I want to give the author a bit of a side eye. More on that later.

There's so much flirting in this book, I almost didn't get through all the Kihrin, Teraeth, and Janel scenes because every time they were in a scene together, I was just YELLING. Their flirting is so cute. And look, this series is not explicit and the most you can really hope for is that characters kiss or have sex off the page, but they definitely keep me entertained with how much they like each other and show their affection.

I would be remiss not to point out Qown and his scenes. He's the one person who is most affected by Relos Var's plans and had once viewed the man as a father figure and someone he just really looked up to. More than Senera or Janel, Qown was incredibly loyal to Var and wanted to do nothing more than to please him. This book shows just how emotionally abused Qown was by the man in question, that even after Var had gaeshed (enslaved) Qown, Qown still went back to him because he thought that was the right thing to do and isn't that ultimately the most devastating thing? Qown is a sweetheart and really just one of my favorite characters in this series. He's been hurt so much, physically and emotionally. All he deserves is true happiness. All the characters in this series have been through shit with shit relatives, but Qown's story is probably one of the worst because Relos Var PRETENDS to be a good person and like he cares about Qown's wellbeing when the only person Var really cares about is himself and what he believes "saving all humanity" to mean. Everyone else at least is upfront about the way they treated their children.

Which brings me to Qown and his identity. Qown was perfectly happy to take the vow of the Vishai faith to remain celibate. But we have learned that the Vishai faith is something Relos Var only put together under a pseudonym and it was to have a large number of witches under him who would do as he says. Help protect a cornerstone? Have a lot of people under his control? All the above? I'm not sure. But I think it was a way to stroke his ego, that people would look to him as a teacher and for him to feel better about everyone hanging onto his every word when that was something he resented his brother S'arric for.

In any case, Qown doesn't know how to handle Galen flirting with him, or any other man flirting with him. And that's understandable. What makes me uncomfortable reading this book is how much everyone seems to be trying to PRESSURE Qown into a relationship, to kiss someone, to have sex. Qown has grown up in Quur, a place where queer relationship may not have been illegal but certainly something people did behind closed doors and not out in public. He doesn't know how to handle the attention of people flirting with him, much less men he finds hot. The constant nagging from everyone for Qown to get together with someone/anyone and for Galen to throw a bit of a hissy fit being all hurt or whatever that Qown doesn't return his affections within the short(-ish) amount of time they've known each other just rubs me the wrong way. I don't love how Qown was treated from anyone. Maybe only Caless is the one to see Qown correctly.

And adding to the pressures of sexual attraction in this book, the first more...explicit attempt at a sex scene came off as more of a sexual assault scene for the sapphic characters (Xivan who is maybe bi? and Talea who is a lesbian). I don't think that was necessary at all actually. Sure, the point was that Xivan and Talea needed to split up for the plot or what have you, but there's a whole lot that didn't sit right with me in that regard. I LIKE Xivan and Talea together, but this whole scene where Xivan hurts Talea during sex paired with how Qown was treated in this book was a bit on the icky side for me and I'm surprised. More thought was put into the previous books when it came to gender identity and what consent means. This book went way too far. And yes what happened in the last book between Therin and Khaeriel was actually pretty awful in its implications of what transpires between them, but we didn't SEE any of that in any sort of explicit detail that's in your face like it is here.

As far as the audiobook narration goes, Talon's voice sounds way too sickly sweet voiced by Lauren Fortgang here compared to Soneela Nankani who voiced Talon in the first book. Soneela is not back for this series, so we're stuck with how she sounds like here moving forward. I'm not a fan. On a better note it seem like we've come to an agreement on how to pronounce Qown's name in this series and that's with the pronunciation from the audiobook for book three, not book two. And since I'm annoying and follow along with the text while listening to the audiobook, I should point out that Lauren Fortgang makes no noticeable errors reading the footnotes in this book like I had noticed with the audiobook for book two. So, that was great.

I guess the one thing I noticed a lot more with this book is that there's a lot of modern day words and meanings put into this fantasy story than in the previous books. It's not a big problem, but they are strangely noticeable when those sorts of things came up in the story because the times they do, it's all a bit jarring. It's also a bit odd to hear that characters have read Thurvishar's accounting of book one as if it were an in-universe text everyone has read now, instead of something that should be outside it? If that makes sense. I know the book was addressed to Tyentso but it's a bit too meta? But that's a minor pet peeve I didn't know I would have a pet peeve about.

The thing that gets revealed about Kihrin and Vol Karoth makes no sense at all to me at the end when everything was said and done. Because who is he - S'arric, Vol Karoth, or Kihrin? I am confused and I guess we're not getting an answer. I can't figure out at the core, who this person is NOW and how the memories affect all that. I know there's also no time at all for therapy, but I feel like we need to MAKE time because it was a blink and everything was fine and solved and I don't get it. Senera too, if I'm being honest. The reveal towards the end and how that broke her...she never has time to deal with any of it and suddenly she's right as rain and the whole thing feels anticlimactic.

Another question I had is whatever happened to Veixizhau and Nexara? Veixizhau was in Xivan's husband's (Azhen Kaen) harem and had a daughter, Nexara. In the third book it was mentioned they might have been sent to the temple with the Vishai priests. And well, after what happens to them in this book, are we to assume they died? No mentions of them in this book at all and just looks more like a dropped plot point. BUT I REMEMBER.

Not necessarily a plot hole, but I question what size harp Kihrin is lugging around in these stories he's telling. Harps are famously not small instruments and even the smallest size is not insignificant. They are not the size of a piccolo. I have a hard time imagining the scale of carrying a harp everywhere. It seems inconvenient.

The underwater (above water??) city also makes no sense at all. Just the layout and how to get there is baffling to me and I cannot picture it in my head at all. The descriptions of how Kalinda winds up there, and how the pirate crew wind up there seem quite at odds with one another and I couldn't tell you what was going on at all. If only we had drawings of what the author meant, because I can't even begin to describe that city or how it works and functions.

The epilogue in this book is fun, because you know everything is about to go down in the next book since it's the end of the series. The author so far has managed to write quite satisfactory action scenes, and I can imagine things are going to only get much more intense as the series comes to a close. I'm worried too for all my couples and if they'll get their hard fought HEAs! There's two I know I won't have to worry about as much because I am a menace who read the last pages before starting my reread for book one again and committing to actually reading this series. Everyone else is a toss up.

This book is probably my least favorite of the series and definitely took me the longest to read, even by audiobook. The narration here was actually great with Lauren Fortgang and Vikas Adam returning, so I have no complaints in that area. But the story itself was both interesting and not. There were weird lulls where I got bored and it took some pushing through to read it, even though there WAS so much going on in the book but they still couldn't hold my attention like the previous books. This is still a solid book for bringing back old characters and setting up the events for the last book, but out of the four books so far, this book ranks lowest for me.

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this e-ARC to read and review***

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do understand why this is most people's favourite installment, but, for me, book 1 remains the best.

This was a rollercoaster (of different things). While I was not fond of the couples that formed in this book, I am still waiting for two people to declare their love for each other (no spoilers). Janel is as annoying as ever. By now you should know I can't stand her character!

The ending was satisfying. It was my favourite part of the book. The last 100 pages had me hooked and the last 40-50 were so gripping I forgot to breathe. But the middle was quite boring at times, not to mention the dialogue, which, at times, sounded as if it was taken out of a contemporary novels. Bring back fantasy dialogue! This trend of "casual" dialog in fantasy novels has to stop! It bugs me SO BADLY!

Anyway, it was a very good book, most rewarding and generous in terms of plot and action. But book 1 just hits differently, maybe because it's all about Kihrin (and no Janel yay). And we cannot deny it, Kihrin is magnificent as a character (and so is Thurvy* haha)

* got the reference?

[Nay Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just know I have read this three times: once via e-ARC and twice via hardcover.

-------------------------

Received an eARC and hardcover copy for review.

I am 1000% bias when it comes Jenn Lyons and the A Chorus of Dragons series...No seriously! The books can do no wrong for me and that includes this glorious fourth installment. I am still blown away by Jenn's ability to write such interesting and complex stories that keep me captivated and baffled. All of the characters are loved by me -- even the evil ones.

WARNING
If you are NOT a fan of complex stories, reincarnation, complex magic systems, footnotes, multiple POVs and/or non-linear stories this is NOT the book for you.

TRIGGERS
This book also includes a ton of topics and things that may trigger you such as: extreme violence, explicit sex, poly romance, homophobia, references to rape, mind control, imprisonment, bullying, violent hazing, psychological abuse, grooming, body dysphoria, eating disorders and more.

In the fourth installment we begin with Khirin gone -- which breaks my heart -- and in the mind of Vol Karoth, his other, older self. The battle between the two is insane from the start. Words tossed to and fro, the blows swung -- these two were so intriguing that enjoyed their scenes the most.

I enjoyed seeing the remaining gods and dragons, my honey buns Taraeth and Janel, Thurvishar, Senera, Xivan and the other characters. I found myself enjoying Qwon shockingly enough in this book though he is still a backstabber to me.

I loved the setting of being in
Vol Karoth mind and then going back in time through the memories of the characters and seeing how twisted and changed they all became over the course of the series. Some characters still piss me off like Relos Var -- I think I will forever hate him, but characters like Talon, Senera and Vol Karoth make me smile.

Did I mention that I love each and EVERY single dragon in this series? They talk, the interact, they attack, they express emotions -- they are REAL! I adore them all and learning about their personalities. The magic in this world will forever be a favorite. The plot twists -- especially the one with Jareth -- are always unexpected and well written.

I truly stand behind the series and will always tell people to give this a try. I can't really articulate my thoughts too well after reading this about three times, so once I can gather my complete thoughts I will do an update review!

Can we talk about the STEAM that is this book. I loved the trifecta action between Khirin, Janel and Taraeth. I ate up the scene with Khirin and Taraeth. The romance brewing between Galen and Qwon shocked me. Xivan and Talea were an interesting pair. The romances were just GREAT!!!

That ending killed me!! I was not expecting the truth about Vol Karoth and Khirin. I was shook, happy and excited.

Overall -- EPIC series. Fantastic characters. Awesome world and magic. Can't wait for the conclusion, The Discord of Gods next year.