What do you think?
Rate this book
Descendants #1-3
Descendants Series
This Descendants Series box set includes the following titles:
BOUND BY PROPHECY -- Aern's only job is to protect the chosen. Emily just wants her sister back. Together, they'll take on destiny.
SHIFTING FATE -- Brianna Drake was born to save the world. Logan was sent to watch over her. Neither expects what fate has in store.
REIGN OF SHADOWS -- Brianna and Emily thought they'd set things to right, beaten the prophecy. But the shadows have other plans.
Book One: Bound by Prophecy
Aern's only job is to protect the chosen. The trouble is, she's the key to a prophecy and everyone wants her. Hiding a girl in the center of a secret war is tricky business, but when her sister shows up to take Aern hostage, all bets are off.
A slim brunette in borrowed jeans should be the least of his problems, but there's something about Emily he just can't put to rights. And it's not her penchant for using hand tools as weapons or the fact that she seems immune to his sway.
Everything about her screams run. But when he discovers she's working toward her own prophecy, he's got no choice but to keep her safe. It might have been easy, if she didn't think she was the chosen's protector. When the opposition descends, their only hope is to stick together, but the truth unravels, and together might prove the biggest complication of them all.
Book Two: Shifting Fate
According to prophecy, Brianna Drake was born to save the world. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the slightest idea how. Her visions should have given her the answer, but they’re beginning to shift, making the danger too unpredictable, even for a prophet.
If she can just help her sister restore their hidden powers, she might be able to stop what’s coming. But an old enemy returns, and he’s got plans for Brianna and her visions.
What neither of them knows is that fate has given a stranger one chance to find her. He was trained to protect the chosen—but if he fails, the future will crumble.
Book Three: Reign of Shadows
Brianna can see her future, but it's the past that haunts her. Plans laid in place centuries ago are threatening not only her and her sister, but all of the Seven Lines. As the shadows plot their way to old rule, the visions shift again. Her power has led to some hard choices—and the occasional stab wound—but this set of futures holds nothing but darkness.
Unable to bear the idea of losing the footing they've so recently gained, she turns the soldiers of the Seven. But with shadows hidden among the ranks, can she overcome the path they've set in place, or is she blindly following their lead?
BOUND BY PROPHECY -- Aern's only job is to protect the chosen. Emily just wants her sister back. Together, they'll take on destiny.
SHIFTING FATE -- Brianna Drake was born to save the world. Logan was sent to watch over her. Neither expects what fate has in store.
REIGN OF SHADOWS -- Brianna and Emily thought they'd set things to right, beaten the prophecy. But the shadows have other plans.
Book One: Bound by Prophecy
Aern's only job is to protect the chosen. The trouble is, she's the key to a prophecy and everyone wants her. Hiding a girl in the center of a secret war is tricky business, but when her sister shows up to take Aern hostage, all bets are off.
A slim brunette in borrowed jeans should be the least of his problems, but there's something about Emily he just can't put to rights. And it's not her penchant for using hand tools as weapons or the fact that she seems immune to his sway.
Everything about her screams run. But when he discovers she's working toward her own prophecy, he's got no choice but to keep her safe. It might have been easy, if she didn't think she was the chosen's protector. When the opposition descends, their only hope is to stick together, but the truth unravels, and together might prove the biggest complication of them all.
Book Two: Shifting Fate
According to prophecy, Brianna Drake was born to save the world. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the slightest idea how. Her visions should have given her the answer, but they’re beginning to shift, making the danger too unpredictable, even for a prophet.
If she can just help her sister restore their hidden powers, she might be able to stop what’s coming. But an old enemy returns, and he’s got plans for Brianna and her visions.
What neither of them knows is that fate has given a stranger one chance to find her. He was trained to protect the chosen—but if he fails, the future will crumble.
Book Three: Reign of Shadows
Brianna can see her future, but it's the past that haunts her. Plans laid in place centuries ago are threatening not only her and her sister, but all of the Seven Lines. As the shadows plot their way to old rule, the visions shift again. Her power has led to some hard choices—and the occasional stab wound—but this set of futures holds nothing but darkness.
Unable to bear the idea of losing the footing they've so recently gained, she turns the soldiers of the Seven. But with shadows hidden among the ranks, can she overcome the path they've set in place, or is she blindly following their lead?
- GenresFantasyParanormalEbooks
ebook
First published July 28, 2014
132 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Wright
55 books1,527 followersMelissa is the author of more than a dozen YA and fantasy novels including The Frey Saga and Between Ink and Shadows. When not writing she can generally be found talking with an author friend about a book, painting something from a book, or tucked between headphones listening to a book. It’s kind of a theme. She loves reasonable heroines in unreasonable situations, noble--if brooding--heroes, slow burn and sweet kisses, a lot of havoc, and a little magic. Stay updated on works in progress at Instagram. Contact her through the web at www.melissa-wright.com
For info on contests and new releases, sign up for the newsletter here: https://bit.ly/2VDuwn1
For info on contests and new releases, sign up for the newsletter here: https://bit.ly/2VDuwn1
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 20, 2015
This book left me hungry, but not necessarily in a good way.
I bought this series as a single ebook on Barnes and Noble, simply because the whole trilogy was only $5. Well, you get what you pay for, I guess.
Let me begin by saying that these books weren't bad. However, they also were certainly not good.
The following review contains spoilers for the series.
The characters were very flat and a little to shiny. Everyone was perfect looking, not a single ugly face in the whole book. Even when they'd been through a battle and were covered in blood, they were still flawless. They were also incredibly two-dimensional. The main characters: Emily; Brianna; Aern; and Logan, were exactly as they first appeared. They changed very little over the course of the trilogy, other than realizing some powers that were previously unknown. These new powers didn't change their already perfect personalities or create any unattractive character traits, as you would expect them to. In fact, Brianna and Emily come into their new powers and instantly master them without so much as a blink or grimace. They're also remarkably well-adjusted and nice for two displaced foster children who grew up knowing they were the subject of an apocalyptic prophecy.
Characterization aside, the romances are equally unbelievable. They fall in love instantly and irrevocably. Despite knowing each other for a matter of days, or sometimes only hours, they realize they've found their true soul mate, nevermind that most of the time they've been together was spent on the run and very little was devoted to getting to know each other. Of course, the characters are so flat and two-dimensional that they probably learned everything there was to know about each other after only a few minutes. Still, even fantasy romance doesn't work like this.
My other major issue was with the world-building. A fantasy novel is only as good as the world in which is lives. This is an urban fantasy, for sure, but other than that, I don't understand where we were or why we were there. The city was non-descript and had an obscene amount of abandoned factories (really, it was a bit ridiculous). The time period was not established. Is this today? Is it some unnamed future? Is it even really Earth?
And what about these Seven Lines and the Shadows? I gave up trying to figure out their history after the second book, because there just weren't any usable clues. They just came out of the woodwork thousands of years ago, apparently, though that's never really addressed. And they somehow live apart from regular human "commonbloods," and nobody seems to care. There's too much left to the imagination, and not enough details for my imagination to run with.
Overall, the whole series felt really disconnected and sparse, to me. I feel like the plot had a lot of potential and the characters could have been really dynamic, but the books were so short that it all sort of felt underdeveloped. I'm a middle school Language Arts teacher, and to me, it was the sort of book that I would have handed back to a student and said, "It has good bones, but I need more meat, more detail!"
Did I read it? Yes. Is it the worst book I've read? Probably not. But, it's also the sort of book that I won't be going back to for a re-read.
The potential was there. The bones of the story were good. There just wasn't enough meat to fill me up. The books left me wanting more, but not in the way they should. As far as what happens next, despite the near-cliffhanger, I really couldn't care less (based on the pattern, they'll get through it with a minimum of meaningful casualties and everyone will recover in a matter of hours), but I would kind of like to know more about the characters and the story that already happened.
It wasn't a fulfilling read, and for that reason, I could never recommend it to a friend.
I bought this series as a single ebook on Barnes and Noble, simply because the whole trilogy was only $5. Well, you get what you pay for, I guess.
Let me begin by saying that these books weren't bad. However, they also were certainly not good.
The following review contains spoilers for the series.
The characters were very flat and a little to shiny. Everyone was perfect looking, not a single ugly face in the whole book. Even when they'd been through a battle and were covered in blood, they were still flawless. They were also incredibly two-dimensional. The main characters: Emily; Brianna; Aern; and Logan, were exactly as they first appeared. They changed very little over the course of the trilogy, other than realizing some powers that were previously unknown. These new powers didn't change their already perfect personalities or create any unattractive character traits, as you would expect them to. In fact, Brianna and Emily come into their new powers and instantly master them without so much as a blink or grimace. They're also remarkably well-adjusted and nice for two displaced foster children who grew up knowing they were the subject of an apocalyptic prophecy.
Characterization aside, the romances are equally unbelievable. They fall in love instantly and irrevocably. Despite knowing each other for a matter of days, or sometimes only hours, they realize they've found their true soul mate, nevermind that most of the time they've been together was spent on the run and very little was devoted to getting to know each other. Of course, the characters are so flat and two-dimensional that they probably learned everything there was to know about each other after only a few minutes. Still, even fantasy romance doesn't work like this.
My other major issue was with the world-building. A fantasy novel is only as good as the world in which is lives. This is an urban fantasy, for sure, but other than that, I don't understand where we were or why we were there. The city was non-descript and had an obscene amount of abandoned factories (really, it was a bit ridiculous). The time period was not established. Is this today? Is it some unnamed future? Is it even really Earth?
And what about these Seven Lines and the Shadows? I gave up trying to figure out their history after the second book, because there just weren't any usable clues. They just came out of the woodwork thousands of years ago, apparently, though that's never really addressed. And they somehow live apart from regular human "commonbloods," and nobody seems to care. There's too much left to the imagination, and not enough details for my imagination to run with.
Overall, the whole series felt really disconnected and sparse, to me. I feel like the plot had a lot of potential and the characters could have been really dynamic, but the books were so short that it all sort of felt underdeveloped. I'm a middle school Language Arts teacher, and to me, it was the sort of book that I would have handed back to a student and said, "It has good bones, but I need more meat, more detail!"
Did I read it? Yes. Is it the worst book I've read? Probably not. But, it's also the sort of book that I won't be going back to for a re-read.
The potential was there. The bones of the story were good. There just wasn't enough meat to fill me up. The books left me wanting more, but not in the way they should. As far as what happens next, despite the near-cliffhanger, I really couldn't care less (based on the pattern, they'll get through it with a minimum of meaningful casualties and everyone will recover in a matter of hours), but I would kind of like to know more about the characters and the story that already happened.
It wasn't a fulfilling read, and for that reason, I could never recommend it to a friend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2018
Mixed feelings
I feel like this series would have been better if it were more fleshed out. The author starts you off with a lot of things that you just have to play catchup on. There just isn't a lot of explanation and the first two books are carried with a "oh by the way, this new thing that happened internally or back in the day that wasn't mentioned at all previously is now canon". I will say that the action scenes were well done but there were a few points in which I questioned if they were being used as a catalyst crutch to progress the story. Rather than internal conflict, were given physical conflict and it seemed excessive in a few areas. The story overall was interesting but I likely would t have finished the books if I didn't have a completionist pull for books.
I feel like this series would have been better if it were more fleshed out. The author starts you off with a lot of things that you just have to play catchup on. There just isn't a lot of explanation and the first two books are carried with a "oh by the way, this new thing that happened internally or back in the day that wasn't mentioned at all previously is now canon". I will say that the action scenes were well done but there were a few points in which I questioned if they were being used as a catalyst crutch to progress the story. Rather than internal conflict, were given physical conflict and it seemed excessive in a few areas. The story overall was interesting but I likely would t have finished the books if I didn't have a completionist pull for books.
February 29, 2024
Is it really the only way?!?
I absolutely love this series. Book 2 is probably my favorite of the 3 because Bri is my favorite.
Melissa created a world of powerful shadows and enhanced humans and drops us into a critical part of their war. We spend most of the story blind to all of it, getting pieces here and there and watching at Brianna and Emily try to make the best decisions they can to save everyone based on Brianna’s visions.
I loved the way Aren and Emily meet and become frenamies to later lovers. There is a lot of action and fighting for survival in their story. It was a good opening introducing us to everything and starting the often used and almost expected excuse of “it was the only way!”
I loved how Brianna’s story starts out with her recovering from an injury she knew she would have to endure for them to all survive the last fight and how she tells us she’s seen her soulmate in a vision and knows Brendan is not him. The way Logan and Bri’s relationship grows is sweet. Bri has been expecting him for years and Logan just knows he has to protect her. Once he starts to understand she saw him coming he starts using my favorite line, “is it now?”
Book 3 i liked but didn’t like. It was cool getting to learn more about the real fight they had to win, as the layers of lies and manipulation were exposed. But I struggled with how fast the battles would be over with all this intense planning and then boom we leap forward weeks later and it’s another intense planning season. I would have loved to see more character development and interaction in those weeks between. I think book 3 misses it and I would have loved to see more of all the secondary characters too.
If you like a fast paced story where the main characters have to fight to understand what is happening while they fight to survive, kind of like the Maze Runner books, then you’ll like this too.
I absolutely love this series. Book 2 is probably my favorite of the 3 because Bri is my favorite.
Melissa created a world of powerful shadows and enhanced humans and drops us into a critical part of their war. We spend most of the story blind to all of it, getting pieces here and there and watching at Brianna and Emily try to make the best decisions they can to save everyone based on Brianna’s visions.
I loved the way Aren and Emily meet and become frenamies to later lovers. There is a lot of action and fighting for survival in their story. It was a good opening introducing us to everything and starting the often used and almost expected excuse of “it was the only way!”
I loved how Brianna’s story starts out with her recovering from an injury she knew she would have to endure for them to all survive the last fight and how she tells us she’s seen her soulmate in a vision and knows Brendan is not him. The way Logan and Bri’s relationship grows is sweet. Bri has been expecting him for years and Logan just knows he has to protect her. Once he starts to understand she saw him coming he starts using my favorite line, “is it now?”
Book 3 i liked but didn’t like. It was cool getting to learn more about the real fight they had to win, as the layers of lies and manipulation were exposed. But I struggled with how fast the battles would be over with all this intense planning and then boom we leap forward weeks later and it’s another intense planning season. I would have loved to see more character development and interaction in those weeks between. I think book 3 misses it and I would have loved to see more of all the secondary characters too.
If you like a fast paced story where the main characters have to fight to understand what is happening while they fight to survive, kind of like the Maze Runner books, then you’ll like this too.
June 12, 2018
Enjoyed the "Freya" and "Descendants" Books
I enjoyed the "Descendant" stories - how the characters rolled from the ancient period in the "Freya" stories to these beings living in modern times. I still find the story incomplete without explanation about the "Ancients.". Is Ms. Wright thinking of a follow-up story regarding the "Ancients?" If so, she will need to come up with a storyline that won't be too repetitive or it will get stale.
I enjoyed the "Descendant" stories - how the characters rolled from the ancient period in the "Freya" stories to these beings living in modern times. I still find the story incomplete without explanation about the "Ancients.". Is Ms. Wright thinking of a follow-up story regarding the "Ancients?" If so, she will need to come up with a storyline that won't be too repetitive or it will get stale.
January 13, 2018
Enjoyed but
I really enjoyed this series Loved that it was completely appropriate for a teen audience Loved the characters and the story line However I found myself multiple times just feeling like I had missed something Not sure why but by the end it was a little frustrating overall I do recommend the series
I really enjoyed this series Loved that it was completely appropriate for a teen audience Loved the characters and the story line However I found myself multiple times just feeling like I had missed something Not sure why but by the end it was a little frustrating overall I do recommend the series
February 22, 2016
Enjoyed the strong characters in this book
Great read with a great plot that carried all the way through all three books. the books can be read as stand alone reads, however i bought them as a set. Not too much repeating or starting the plot over in each of the books. I really enjoyed the strength in Brianna and as the main character and was just as pleased at the strength of all the men even though they were clearly not in charge. I hope Melissa Wright makes a 4th book in this series it looks like she left an opening to one make another.
Great read with a great plot that carried all the way through all three books. the books can be read as stand alone reads, however i bought them as a set. Not too much repeating or starting the plot over in each of the books. I really enjoyed the strength in Brianna and as the main character and was just as pleased at the strength of all the men even though they were clearly not in charge. I hope Melissa Wright makes a 4th book in this series it looks like she left an opening to one make another.
December 29, 2016
Oh No! It's Over!!
I'm a slow reader, not because I find the books boring, that's just the way I read! I love this series and I'm really sorry it's over! I need more! lol. No kidding I enjoyed this series and I truly think you will too! The ending was different than what I imagined it would be but I liked it. Can't wait to read other books by Melissa Wright, she me reading and wanting more!
I'm a slow reader, not because I find the books boring, that's just the way I read! I love this series and I'm really sorry it's over! I need more! lol. No kidding I enjoyed this series and I truly think you will too! The ending was different than what I imagined it would be but I liked it. Can't wait to read other books by Melissa Wright, she me reading and wanting more!
December 19, 2014
I loved the whole series. The first book I got free on Amazon and then bought the whole series. I've read it several times. I love the characters and plot. Very entertaining and well written. No sex or language, lots of action and interesting characters. Love this.
February 20, 2016
Interesting
The series was good, but at times I wonder what was going on. Places were characters were no longer there like you should have known what happened. I had never read anything by Melissa Wright so I'll have to read another book to give an honest review.
The series was good, but at times I wonder what was going on. Places were characters were no longer there like you should have known what happened. I had never read anything by Melissa Wright so I'll have to read another book to give an honest review.
September 20, 2016
Ok, but a little boring
There is not much pace in this series. I really liked it as a bedtime reading, though. Parts are exciting, but the books never come to the point or explain the magical system. Not my thing.
There is not much pace in this series. I really liked it as a bedtime reading, though. Parts are exciting, but the books never come to the point or explain the magical system. Not my thing.
April 10, 2015
Check out my review www.tiffanybooks.com
Read
February 25, 2016Didn't draw me in. Took a break and didn't miss it, so DNF for now.
January 18, 2016
Great book
I got this series on a whim.... and I'm glad that I did. This was utterly unique and enjoyable. I can't wait to read more.
I got this series on a whim.... and I'm glad that I did. This was utterly unique and enjoyable. I can't wait to read more.
Read
January 18, 2016Unmemorable
February 9, 2016
Couldn't put it down,
Read through the entire collection and couldn't put it down. Enjoyed the connections between the characters and their growth.
Thank you
Read through the entire collection and couldn't put it down. Enjoyed the connections between the characters and their growth.
Thank you
July 19, 2016
Didn't make it past the first book and page 20 at that.
And any DNF books get an automatic 1 star.
And any DNF books get an automatic 1 star.
January 22, 2018
Ok series. Not the most interesting or exciting of stories, but a fun, light read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews