Forged in Blood I

The Emperor's Edge #6

by Lindsay Buroker

The emperor has been ousted from the throne, his bloodline in question, and war is descending on the capital. Forge, the nefarious business coalition that has been manipulating the political situation from the beginning, has the ultimate weapon at its disposal.

If it was difficult for a small team of outlaws—or, as Amaranthe has decided they should now be called, rebels—to make a difference before, it's a monumental task now. If she's to return idealistic young Sespian to the throne, earn the exoneration she's sought for so long, and help her closest ally win the respect of the son who detests him, she'll have to employ an unprecedented new scheme... preferably without destroying the city—or herself—in the process.

The Emperor's Edge Series Reading Order:

The Emperor's Edge (Book 1)
Dark Currents (Book 2)
Deadly Games (Book 3)
Conspiracy (Book 4)
Blood and Betrayal (Book 5)
Forged in Blood I (Book 6)
Forged in Blood II (Book 7)

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Romance, Magic, Adventure, Fiction, Science Fiction

ebook

First published May 17, 2013

About the author

I'm a full-time indie fantasy and science fiction author. When I'm not writing, I'm ferrying my dogs to hiking trails for adventures.

Reviews

[Adina ( back from Vacay…slowly recovering) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the beginning of the epic finale of this series. I am not sure why I wasn’t as in love with this book as I was with the others in the series. Maybe because it was written from the POV of Sicarius and, as a result, the humor was drier. Still, I appreciated that Buroker did not turn the assassin into a ball of fluff, as romantasy writers tend to do with their former alpha men. Well, this is a fantasy with some romance, so maybe that’s why. I enjoyed it still, but I have a feeling she left the best for the next volume.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Previous rating: 3 stars. Ah, to be young and slightly stupid innocent.
New rating: 4 stars. Ah, to be a little more ancient mature and exceptionally not wiser.

➽ And the moral of this reread is: bloody shrimping hell of the stinking fish, that ending!



➽ And the other moral of this reread is: breeding instincts so remarkable that even rabbits feel embarrassed + BOOM (obviously) + snakes in gardens (not the snakes you think or the gardens you have in mind) + benighted vandals + lighting people's underwear on fire + outlaws vs. revolutionaries + “One doesn’t incarcerate perfect proportions” (indeed, one does not) + playing blanket hornpipe vs. furniture moving + irritating villains who don't enunciate clearly when discussing dastardly plans + hahahahahahahahaha + harbinger-of-trouble faces = why this series is so underrated is and forever shall be one of the greatest mysteries of the universe, if you ask me.

👋 To be continued and stuff.

· Book 1: The Emperor’s Edge ★★★★
· Book 2: Dark Currents ★★★★
· Book 3: Deadly Games ★★★★
· Book 4: Conspiracy ★★★★
· Book 5: Blood and Betrayal ★★★★
· Book 5.5: Beneath the Surface ★★★★
· Book 7: Forged in Blood II ★★★★★
· Book 8: Republic ★★★★
· Book 9: Diplomats and Fugitives ★★★★



[April 2014]

So this is the beginning of the end for the Emperor’s Edge… Well I have to say that this was not my favorite book in the series. I loved the idea of finally getting into Sicarius’ head in this instalment but it was all a bit slow, which is a first in this series. It also lacked the humor of the other books. There are some funny moments and dialogues but they weren’t just as laugh-out-loud funny. I guess things are going so terribly wrong in the Empire that it called for more seriousness!

Still, this is a very entertaining read and it certainly builds up the anticipation for the grand series finale. There is even more more action here than in the other books (imagine that!), Amaranthe is scheming like crazy and things are being blown up, fun!

It was nice to see Sicarius try to form a bond with Sespian. Buroker is such a great writer in terms of character development that she makes this completely believable. Sicarius (as the rest of the group) has grown a lot and what would have been absolutely out of character for him in earlier instalments of this series now seems almost natural.

Overall, Forged in Blood I was a bit too uneventful for me despite the non-stop action. It was still a fun read but not nearly as exciting as the other books in the series. I really hope Buroker doesn’t let us down with Forget in Blood II. I would hate the very last instalment in this series to be a disappointment!

[mich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit that I was a little concerned about how Buroker would handle Sicarius's point of view. I've said it before for other novellas and books featuring the male interest's POV - it's a tricky business, seeing as a lot of the intrigue and appeal of the character is the mystery factor that comes from not quite knowing what he is thinking. And I can understand how it might be tempting to make the hero of your series your dream guy -- to inject overly romantic notions, and maybe impart aspects to his character to make him more "heroic". I've seen many authors butcher some of my favorite characters in this way. But Buroker allows Sicarius to remain what he is, no more, no less, and for that I'm grateful. At no point did I feel like he was thinking or acting out of character, rather, I simply felt like I understood him more. His POV sections held moments of utter dryness (which is to be expected, it is Sicarius after all), as well as moments that had me grinning like an idiot. And I loved every second of it.

As to the story -- there's the usual fast paced action and awesome adventure that you saw in all the previous books. But you can definitely sense the escalation and urgency in the situations our beloved characters are facing now, and it all works to effectively build anticipation for what you just know is going to be a mind-blowing climax. The only thing about this book that I can really complain about is that I wish Sicarius and Amaranthe had not been separated for so much of it. While their time together was satisfying for sure, I just wanted more.

Buroker is without a doubt my favorite indie author. So glad to have discovered her and I can only hope the masses do as well. This series has been a wild ride and as excited as I am for the conclusion, I can't help but be a little sad that it is almost over.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4.44 ***

"...“She decided to forgo her ambitions of creating a cohesive unit. An occasionally functional one with tendencies towards violence seemed more within reach.”
― Lindsay Buroker, Forged in Blood I..."

This was really good, but this ending and the cliff it is standing on, just about killed me!!! The whole gang is in trouble and I am so mad at myself, it being 3 in the morning, that I am tired and sleepy and can't just jump into the next book right away... I have to wait until tomorrow after my first coffee ... So, Good night and Lindsay had better fix it and make it all better with the next book!!!

[Denisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!!! I can't stop reading this series, so glad all the books are out and I don't have to wait for anything!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaranthe and the whole gang have returned to the capital. There goal is to raise support for the Emperor and help build a better government. Since most of the populace believe Sespian dead, many rival factions of the military leaders have come to make their bid for ruler.

Amaranthe plan include...discovering Sicarius's hertiage and prove that Sespian has a right for leadership, destroy the Behemoth, build an army and win the popular vote of the people...of course this is all in a days work for Amaranthe. An Amaranthe plaque with PTSD from her torture at Pike's hands.

I could go on and on about this story but I don't wish to give anything away so I'm ending my summary there...

What can I say, I'm a HUGE fan of The Emperor's Edge Series! Of course, I was thrilled once again with this newest addition...now I'm anxiously awaiting Part 2. As with Lindsay Buroker's stories, this is a highly complex plot with lots of action, hysterically witty banter and a fabulous cast of characters. I truly loved this story, I find myself flying through the pages to discover what comes next while still wishing there was more. This has been an adventure I will definitely be taking again, Re-Read Worthy should be in the title.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only have one book left WHAT DO I DO

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, yes, we FINALLY get to see inside Sicarius's head and what he thinks of Amaranthe. Go ahead, #Squeeeee!!!

All better? Good.

What we also get are two AMAZING adventures. Amaranthe & Co (which has grown to 8) are back in Stumps, determined to keep Forge from forcibly taking over the city, and eventually extending their reach to the world. They knew that the false reports of Sespian's death would have multiple candidates vying for the throne, but they didn't count on international interference. Someone has Nuria's support, and with it a few practitioners - one of whom has another soul construct.

Sicarius is forced to choose who to protect, and while Amaranthe seeks to sabotage Forge from within, he stays to guard his son. The two are forced to work together, at first to Sespian's chagrin, but it was nice (and often hilarious) to see them do a little...bonding. Sicarius's take on daily life, as well as missions, is priceless. There are also brief glimpses into his memories from past books, his thoughts about certain fan-favorite scenes, and action. So. Much. Action. Could we expect anything less? No way!!!

Amaranthe is going through her own PTSD from her time with Pike, and it makes her experiences infiltrating Forge that much more intense. Her concerns, her love, her absolute determination to face anything that comes in order to make the world a better place. Her idealism is jaded, her adventures more mis- than adventure, but Amaranthe is NOT going down without a fight. I confess, she had some brutally honest reactions that shocked me.

The ending is.... not the end. Just keep reminding yourself of that. Part 2 will be out this Summer.

Forged in Blood Part 1 is intense beyond anything we've been given before, and with the way the drama is building it's obvious that we are getting ready for one hell of a finale!

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer:This particular three star rating is based on a completely personal preference. The writing is as top-notch as any in this series so far. The story does start slowly with an over abundance of wordiness and fluff that seems to be more filler than anything. But, as the story continues, the action ratchets up to fever pitch and we are off and running to the end!

My reticence comes in two major areas, however. First, although Amaranthe is known for her hare-brained ideas that she runs headlong into, this particular one was WAY over the top and ridiculous. So much so that it wasn’t even believable for her character, let alone any reader with half a brain.

Even worse is that ending. I hate, HATE, HATED it! So much so that I can’t even continue to the next book without giving it some time. I’ve grown to love Sicarius’s character enough that I just can’t with what the author did to him on that last page. Maybe somewhere down the road I’ll care enough to jump in and read the finale of this series (I really do want to know how it all ends) but for now, I’ve gotta walk away and take a breath. It really does annoy me that much.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shit. What actually just happened? Did Maldynado/Yara/Basilard just drop off the face of the earth for the last 200 pages? Where the hell is everyone? THE SQUAD IS DISASSEMBLED AND I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT. THAT ENDING. It was like Romeo/Juliet and Katniss/Peeta except I hated both of those books and those ships, AND MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE IT BECAUSE WE JUST KNOW SICARIUS HAD IT ALL WRONG.

When I finish this series, I'm going on a binge of romantic comedy reading because every book I've read these past few weeks has been so stressful.

WHOEVER SAID READING WAS RELAXING HAS OBVIOUSLY NEVER READ BEFORE BECAUSE READING. IS. ALWAYS. SO. STRESSFUL.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliffhanger! So mean.
Onto the next one

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the beginning of the end.

After five books, a novella and a handful of short-stories, Amaranthe Lokdon and her growing band of outlaws are set to face off against their biggest enemy: Forge. With three armies vying to take over the throne vacated due to Emperor's Sespian's "death," the capital of Turgonia is under martial law, and tensions are running high. Will Amaranthe and crew be able to stop the plots and help Sespian regain his throne (and the bigger question is should they? Or should they enact a bigger change?), stop a soul-construct on the loose, and find a way to end Forge--which has possession of the deadliest weapon in the world? The twists and turns don't let up...even as Amaranthe and Sicarius grow closer.

As a long-time fan of the Emperor's Edge series, I approached EE6, Forged in Blood PART 1 (yes, there is a part 2), with reverence and a little wariness. This time, the second POV character is Sicarius. Yep, we finally get a glimpse inside the assassin's head, and it's surprising what you find there. His scenes with Sespian are priceless and his relationship with Amaranthe--especially what *he* thinks of it--is more fully realized. Most of all, though, you realize there's a lot going on behind that stoic expression.

The story is fast-paced, with excellent world-building (you get to see inside a few key locations) and characterization. The ending will leave you spent and dying for Part 2 to come out. For the beginning of the end...it's a heck of a ride.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always a pleasure for me to read a new Lindsay Buroker. She is one of the authors that, if Amazon had an "automatically buy everything this person writes" feature, would be on my autobuy list. The combination of humour, action, decent editing (though not perfect; see below), quirky and interesting characters and unpredictable plots is a winner for me.

I'll talk about the imperfections first, though. By indie standards, the books are well edited, almost as well as many big houses (and better than HarperCollins, of course), but there are some errors. In this one, besides a few more minor issues (typos, punctuation, sentences with missing words and the like) I spotted several homonym problems and other word confusions: "ducks" for "ducts" (yes, really), "fortuitous" for "fortunate", "apt" for "adept", "who's" for "whose" (which I've also noticed in an earlier volume, fortunately only once per book), "success" for "succession", "site" for "sight", and "breech" a couple of times for "breach". There's also an instance of "trolley" spelled without the "e".

The names irritate me a little, particularly the noble families' names, which always seem to reflect something about the current family member who is being introduced. For example, a character sees an artwork by "Ansil Inkwatercrest", reminding me of Ansel Adams and also containing the word "ink", as in art supplies.

Aside from these irritations, the main problem I have with this one is the useful coincidences. One of the characters picks a meeting place for no particular reason except that it's a landmark she's familiar with, and another character therefore randomly happens to be in a position to intercept a secret communication from their enemies that enables them to infiltrate. Later, while shopping, a character randomly finds herself in a position to eavesdrop on the leader of another enemy faction, who happens to be shopping in the next-door shop.

The reason I don't facepalm and swear off Lindsay Buroker is that these opportunities are not used to get the characters out of trouble, but into trouble. It's still cheeky, but it's not lazy. The second one, with Amaranthe hiding under a rack of clothes, trying not to get spotted while also cleaning up dust bunnies, is both suspenseful and funny, which is a difficult combination to pull off.

There are some wonderful lines, or rather conversations, as always in these books. "Droll" is the word that comes to mind, though they also reveal character and develop relationships. The way in which there's always a second viewpoint character (apart from the team leader Amaranthe), with a different one in each book, works well to round out the secondary characters, and this time it's the turn of the taciturn assassin Sicarius. It's well-timed that this is his book, not only because leaving him mysterious was a good move for the first few books, but also because he's now reached a point where he's actively attempting to develop relationships with two of the other characters. He's not very good at it, which works well, because he's inhumanly competent at everything else.

The Emperor's Edge series is definitely on the "cinematic" end of the fiction spectrum, with human biology straight out of a Michael Bay movie. I'm choosing to consider that a trope rather than a fault. There is, at least, a recognition that training and practice enhance skills and abilities, though all the characters shrug off injuries to an unrealistic degree.

Imperfections aside, though, I do enjoy these, and it'll be bittersweet when the final volume comes out soon. I look forward to whatever the author does next.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

what?! no...

[Lilia Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly suspenseful penultimate volume. I loved having Sicarius' perspective. The scenes where he attempts to bond with his son are priceless.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

And now I remember why I stopped reading this series back in 2013. Not for any bad reasons, I assure you!

But back then, I raced through the first four books in the series (The Emperor’s Edge, Dark Currents, Deadly Games and Conspiracy), loving every one. I think I was about to pick up book 5, Blood and Betrayal, when I noticed that this book, book 6, was titled Forged in Blood I with the obvious implication that there would be a Forged in Blood II – as there turned out to be. But the titles strongly implied that this book wasn’t exactly complete in and of itself, and I decided that I didn’t want to read this until its second part came out.

Then I ran headlong into the “so many books, so little time” conundrum, and didn’t get the round ‘tuit for several years. I picked up Blood and Betrayal a few weeks ago, got right back into everything, loved it, and decided to read Forged in Blood on the long flight back home from Seattle.

It turns out that I assumed correctly. While Forged in Blood I does come to a logical conclusion, that conclusion is a screaming cliffhanger. I was still in mid-flight (Seattle to Atlanta is a LONG flight) and started in on Forged in Blood II with barely a pause for breath.

What we have here is what looks like the beginning of the end of this terrific saga. The story at this point is careening towards the conclusion of its original quest. Way, way back in The Emperor’s Edge, Corporal Amaranthe Lokdon of the Imperial law enforcers was given the assignment to hunt down the Empire’s most dangerous assassin, Sicarius.

It was intended to be a suicide mission. It certainly turned out to be a suicide mission for her career on the “right” side of the law.

But when she failed to capture Sicarius, she found herself a wanted criminal, at the core of a band of criminals, all of whom have bounties on their heads for crimes they either didn’t commit or acts of self-defense. Not that there isn’t a bit of criminality mixed in there, but for the most part, they aren’t guilty – or at least not guilty of much until they all end up on the run.

With both the assassin and the Emperor in their midst. But then, the Emperor hired them to kidnap him to save his from the so-called advisers who planned to have him assassinate. As a result, the people who wanted him dead are now after the entire gang – as well as the Empire itself.

So Forged in Blood I is the beginning of the end. Start with The Emperor’s Edge and get to know this amazingly awesome – just ask some of them – band of big damn heroes. And end this part of the story on pins and needles, not merely wondering but actively worrying whether all of them will get out of this caper alive.

Escape Rating A-: This is not the end. The, well, let’s call it an interim ending, is a hella cliffie. What makes it so gut-wrenching is that by this point in the series we know and love all of these people, and the way this book ends we fear for all of them in one way or another. It’s terrible, and wonderful, and you won’t be able to keep from diving into part 2 immediately.

At the beginning of the series, we had a band of petty criminals and wrongly accused political victims desperately trying to find a way to survive the many and various attempts on their lives and, most importantly, figure out a way to get pardoned by the Emperor.

Well, most of them want to get pardoned. Sicarius is guilty of every single thing he’s been accused of, and a few hundred more. He was, after all, the previous Emperor’s pet assassin – and he was damn good at his job.

He’s also, unbeknownst to everyone at the beginning, but an open secret by this point, the biological father of the current Emperor. The young and idealistic Emperor is having a difficult time processing it all – but his enemies plan to use the information to keep him from ever taking back his throne.

Because they want to install a puppet emperor and wring the kingdom dry.

There’s a lot of story to unpack by this point. Amaranthe, in particular, still wants a pardon but also wonders if there’s any way back from where this journey has taken her. As a law enforcer, she never believed the excuses of the ends justifying the means, but has discovered that when the ends are her own survival, discussions of means get left by the wayside until afterwards – when the guilt descends.

The young Emperor, Sespian, has been forced to grow up in a hurry while dodging bullets, bombs and even exploding airships. With him, and his idealism, among their party, the purpose of their journey has changed from pardons to revolution. Getting a close up view of just how screwed up the empire is for anyone not in power has inspired them all to invent a new form of government – a Republic. All they have to do is get enough power to push their reforms through – and then be willing to let that power go when they’re done.

Not an easy job. It’s what made the American experiment such a chancy thing at the time. That we have, at least so far, had regularly scheduled and orderly changes of power built into the system. (We’ll see how that goes in the future.)

What makes this series so much fun is the way that the band of misfits manages to work together, both because and in spite of their differences. This is a series where the snark, of which there is a lovely lot, is based on our knowledge of the characters and their knowledge of each other – not on jokes per se. A lot of that humor is gallows humor, because even at the best of time they are only one step out of the frying pan and one jump away from the fire.

This is a series where the worldbuilding has gotten deeper as it goes, as have the chasms that our heroes must leap across in order to stay alive and one step ahead of their many, many pursuers. The pace never lets up – leaving the reader breathless with anxiety and anticipation at the end.

I couldn’t wait to start Forged in Blood II, and so far it’s every bit as good as the rest of the series. We’ll see for certain in next week’s review!

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.3 infuriating cliffhangers. F*&%

"Hairy donkey dung."- Words I would use to describe the ending to this book.

Obviously the book is phenomenal. And obviously Sicarius is absolutely precious.

Sicarius' perspective is extremely well-done and Buroker must have done extensive research into trauma to make it so.

Oh, he realized, as he swam for the dock. The lorry. He snorted and pulled himself out of the water. The smoldering wreck in the shallows was still spitting burning coal and shrapnel into the night. Amaranthe would be proud.

And of course they're still blowing things up, Mad-Max style, with flagrant disregard for airborne pollutants. 🙌

[Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot gets more and more complicated! I'm reading as quickly as I can and chawing my nail!

This series is additive!

Be aware: the books 5, 6 and 7 are to be read one after the other - it's an ongoing story!

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Even though the author finally shared Sicarius’ POV this book felt full of fluff and extraneous information. Amaranthe’s plan was too over the top for me. It seemed more harebrained than usual. Despite my frustration I need to know how this series ends. Gah!

[Birte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with a cliff-hanger that made me very invested in reading the sequel, even though it was a bit cliché. It was really fun to see the team with a somewhat different trajectory, while being in the same situation as before.
The interactions were fun as always, although the team was often separated in smaller groups. There was also specific characters that had awkward bonding time and I really liked that.
It's really noticeable that this is one part of the final book and the stakes are higher and I feel the author really delivered with this one.

[J.M. Stengl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-packed story that packs action-adventure, steampunk, comical/heroic characters, romance, epic fantasy, and magic into one world.
I think my taste for the characters and schtick is nearly saturated by book 6, but I plan to finish the series. Maybe I'm skimming (a lot), but it's still fun.

[Jemima Pett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Deniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

And a cliffy!
Well, I KNEW it!
Also later has been renewed (in the most amazing way) but no hurry’! it’s only been what? 3 booms of later! Yeah definitely not being killed by the slow burn (in case anyone is wondering (Sicsrius) It’s sarcasm) 😂

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially I'm so thrilled when Lindsay announced that in Book 6, Sicarius will get his own POV! We sure want to know what goes in the mind of our most deadly and stoic assassin. But...but... but... I never expect Lindsay to make Amaranthe and Sicarius being apart most of the time. Arg!! Maybe we should have guess. That's how her alternate POV works in previous books. But still, I'm hopeful.

This book does not works as a standalone because Lindsay does not waste time doing any recaps and she just throw you in the middle of the action. You will not have any idea what is going on and who is who unless you read the whole series.

Amaranthe, previously known as Corporal Lokdon, used to be the best female soldier of Turgonia, but after being assigned on a mission to assassinate the infamous assassin, Sicarius, her perfect life had never been the same. In the midst of finding out that the empire is being threaten by the Forge, she assemble a group of unlikely people to join in her quest to save the Turgonia Empire. She named her group, the Emperor's Edge.

The group is just fantastic. Imagine A-team during the steampunk era complete with mental science aka magic. We have Amaranthe, who is the leader of the group, she is fastidious, overly social and most of the time too chatty for her own good. Sicarius, the deadly assassin, who isn't quite human. He seems to be alert 24/7 and doesn't ever sleep. He has the most character development among the entire team. In the first book, he seldom talk and deem most questions by Amanranthe doesn't qualify for any answer from him. If he ever talk, is monosyllabic. Now, he is still stoic as ever, but he is more open to communication with Amaranthe and he learned to value human life. We also have Maldynado, an ex-male escort, who had affinity towards fashion and is the most comical character in the team that provide tons of funny moments. But most of them time you either want to smack him or strangle him. Books, as per the name, the professor and thinker of the team and a walking dictionary. Akstyr, the rebellious teenage wizard and the most uncooperative member. Last but not least, Basilard, the mute thug-like man who had a soft heart and a good cook.

In Forged in Blood, Amaranthe plan is to dig out Sicarius' heritage in order to help Sespian gain his rightful place back as the Emperor of Turgonia and to influence more soldier to support Sespian. Although she knew the chances are thin that Sicarius might have some warrior-caste blood in him. As usual, she separate the groups into different mission and this time she assigned Sicarius to be with Sespian. Sicarius was indeed delighted to have more bonding time with his son, but at the same time he is worried of Amaranthe safety. Meanwhile, our dear Amaranthe is still suffering from nightmare after her ordeal with Pike. When Sicarius offer to 'stand guard' for her during the night, cue swooon.... Finally we see Sicarius did some hand action with Amaranthe. And then..... someone had to come spoil the moment.

From Sicarius POV, we can see how hard he is trying to win his son over. It make me sad all over when his son ignore him or viewed him as some cold-blooded killer. But after their mission together, the father and son seem to reach an understanding relationship. I really hope by the end of the series, Sespian will accept Sicarius and call him 'Father' for once.

Amaranthe, Books and Akstyr were in the mission to infiltrate the Behemoth, the Forge's submarine. As usual, they can't stop themselves from blowing things up. Stealth is never Amaranthe's forte compare to Sicarius. The ending was a cliffhanger, but since August is just few months away, we don't have to wait so long. But I really need more Amaranthe and Sicarius moments. The only reason I rate it 4 stars this time is because they spent too much time apart and I'm totally not satisfied.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so thrilled with getting Sicarius' POV that it doesn't even matter that the majority of this story he and Amaranthe are basically apart. Well, it doesn't matter MUCH. I loved and hated the cliffhanger ending. I know Lindsay Buroker will complete this amazing series in a way that her fans will love and appreciate....I hope *cough*

After five books and several novellas, being able to get inside our master assassins head was awe inspiring. I loved how the author wrote it and I really loved how Sicarius continued to notice his own thought processes having changed in the last year with Amaranthe. The fact that he is trying to figure out how to manage a sense of humor is a phenomenal gift, albeit unknowing, to Amaranthe and to his son Sespian. It's priceless the way the author has written his issues with how to deal with so many things that "normal" humans would know, I.e. how to comfort Amaranthe from nightmares, how to express that training is perhaps not the most important thing he'd like to do with her, etc. It's seeing him vulnerable that made me fall in love with Sicarius all over again.

Amaranthe, Sicarius, Sespian and crew have returned to the capital city to plan a way to put Sespian back on the throne as emperor. As is true with this crowd, there is a lot of plotting, spying, fighting, hiding, training and much of it in costumes. Amaranthe devises a plan that has her infiltrating Forge while Sespian is trying to gather troops to his cause. So there's Amaranthe in a highly dangerous situation without Sicarius because he's at Sespians side in another highly dangerous endeavor. Pretty much the way Lindsay Buroker's world of the Emperor's Edge works.

I am saddened knowing that in two months when the final story is released it will be the end. Although I am profoundly grateful to the author that the waiting isn't longer. I love this world and these characters the author has created and I will miss new stories of them. But I take solace in the fact that I can re-read to my hearts content.

[Hali · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next to last book in the series and I'm already sad that I won't be on any more hair raising/ hair brained adventures with Amaranthe, Sicarius and the gang after the next book.

Amaranthe and company are back in Stumps and things just seem to be going from bad to worse in the city. The gangs are preying on everyone, there are multiple contenders for the throne and Forge is up to it's usual evil. I think all the fans of this series has been waiting for these books told from Amaranthe's and Sicarius' point of view, I was worried that Sicarius would be a totally different character from his point of view but was pleasantly surprised (although I shouldn't have been) that he was almost as enigmatic and dry from inside his head as out. There was the usual action, crazy schemes from Amaranthe, deadly danger from the Forge and Nurian Shamans, treachery and underhandedness from those who were supposed to support their emperor, and crazy clothing from Maladyano. There is an urgency to some of this though, you know that things are winding up and it seems like everything is reaching a fever pitch with trials and tribulations galore from old and new enemies. I really couldn't get enough of the book and read it in just a day, but it was so worth being that absorbed.

There is a bad part of this book, and that is because it ended on a horrible cliffhanger. I didn't dock it any stars because I knew that was going to happen so I waited for the second part to come out before reading it, making it a seamless transition.

[Lynxie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you say cliffhanger?!

Lindsay has once again sucked me into Amarathe and Sicarius' world - not like it was that hard though - and I now find myself agitatedly waiting for the last installment of this series.

I loved being able to see how Sicarius' brain works, how he perceives things and how hard he is on himself.

There were times where I wanted to scream in frustration - come on Lindsay! Will it happen eventually or are you having too much fun teasing us?! Other times I chuckled and enjoyed the humor.

If there were something negative to say about this book, it would be that I didn't feel as emotive as I should have at the apex of the emotional climax (those who've read this should know what I am referring to) I wanted to feel like I couldn't bear to read anymore, like my heart was being ripped out of my chest and stomped on, or Sicarius had flung his notorious black blade into my chest, alas, I didn't quite get there.

This was a touch of a let down given how much I adore these characters.

Still, it's an engaging and entertaining read. Bring on Forged in Blood #2!!

[Heli Kankainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is, without a doubt, my favorite in the series. The dark tones and the easily sensed, yet frail humanity in even my favorite assassin shows an amazing development in the author's way of writing. A couple of characters still remain one dimensional and distant, but the rest of the crew has come far from what they were in the first book. The way they react in difficult situations, interact with each other and think is more realistic, and despite a few situations where their motives were at best forced their actions are more understandable than they have, at some instances, been in the past installations of the series.

I was worried that Sicarius, whose POV we hadn't heard before but who still manages to be the best written character in the series, would either be an overly sensitive, misunderstood philosopher or a completely bland, one track minded killer, but Lindsay Buroker stayed true to his multifaceted character and seeing things through his eyes solidified his place in the short list of fictional assassins I actually like - except that in his case it's downright adoration.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigh. I *knew* I shouldn't have started this until the second half was out, but I had been warned, so totally my own fault!

I still love the fact that what is essentially escapist fantasy adventure fare manages to throw so many fascinating spanners into the (vaguely steampunk) works. Mild spoilers for earlier books follow:

The questions about how/whether to return Sespian to the throne; how best to ensure the reformation of the empire's many ills (evil ones, too); the many and various questions about morality and expediency, and wheter how things actually turn out is more important than what your aim was... Also, I still love Amaranthe as a very different take on the "kick-ass heroine" of much recent fantasy, and her slow winning of Sicarius's - er, heart?? - pleases me, though I usually loathe the sexy assassin type.

Unrealistic as it is that they haven't died scores of times by now, and despite the echo of ENCRYPTED's daftly easy cracking of the ancient language in the daftly easy learning of Basilard's sign language by the team, I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[Hazelbue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part I of II of the finale and we finally have Sicarius POV. I loved being in his mind as much as I knew I would. Though I felt that now that we have Sicarius POV Lindsay separated him from Amaranthe for too many portions of the books. The strongest parts of the story were when they were in the same scenes together. Especially now that him and Amaranth’s relationship is more established – their love is just everything.
I also really enjoyed the growth of the father-son dynamic between Sicarius and Sespian.
Yara as always pissed me off (really strongly this time...like girl no) but the other characters as always were fantastic.

POV: dual POV (each book covers Amaranthe and one other side characters POV, this was Amaranthe and Sicarius (a nefarious assassin) book)
Story type: light fantasy, steampunk, found family
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Enjoyment: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Depth: 5/5
Humor: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Chemistry: 5/5
Angst: 5/5
Story ending: 5/5