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The Anrodnes Chronicles #4
Rainfall
Emperor Taldan Anrodnes faces his darkest days. Assassins from the War Guild nearly killed him, leaving his brother wounded. War has begun, shattering the peace of the empire and threatening everything Taldan and his ancestors have worked so hard to create. First Emperor Sladeran’s influence through the Illumitae is growing within him. Taldan struggles to keep Sladeran’s jealousy and madness under control and stay true to himself…and to his Chosen. When an oracle from the War Guild arrives at the capital city, the stakes finally become clear. The assassins are tampering with powerful forces – the crystals that forged the Illumitae – and now threaten not only the empire but the entire realm.Raine’s heart breaks as Taldan’s struggle to save the empire and control the Illumitae tears him apart and drives wedges between the three of them. He fears his meagre talents are not enough to truly help Taldan, the man he desperately loves. Raine must find a way to keep the triad bound together against all odds. Only by keeping their hearts together can they hope to stand against the War Guild and the corruption of the crystals.Hredeen had no choice when he was made a Chosen and brought into the triad, but he loves Taldan, and Raine is as dear as a brother to him. Yet, he chafes against Taldan’s growing possessiveness, fearing the madness of Sladeran is growing stronger inside his beloved. But there are secrets in Hredeen’s blood, and that blood will play a role in the future of the empire. The three of them must throw aside tradition and become something the empire has not seen since its earliest a true triad powerful enough to bring salvation…or destruction.The final book of the Anrodnes Chronicles!
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 24, 2025
20 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
J.C. Owens
31 books613 followersAlso known as J.C. McGuire.
J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…
I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.
I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!
J.C Owens lives in small town, rural Alberta and is a self confessed writing-a-holic. In the absence of help for this affliction…
I do indeed love to write and have now completed thirty published stories, along with over twenty books sitting idle in my computer, waiting… I love the genre of male/male stories and conflict in what a person thinks they want, versus what they truly need to become themselves. I think any writing that shows the beauty of men loving men is worthwhile.
I love to hear from my readers and always appreciate suggestions and comments for future books. Sharing a love of reading and good, hot sensuality between men is always a cause for celebration!
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 4, 2020
This is a review of this book but it is also a review of the series as it culminates with this final book.
There was a certain leeway granted to the previous books in the series because a storyline could really come through in the next book but as all storylines and plots end with this one, I'm judging this book very harshly.
This book is written in multiple POVs but most of them are divided between Raine, Hredeen and Taldan and there are very few other characters who get a POV. Unlike the second book and the beginning of the third book when there were a whole horde of characters getting their own POVs, this book is severely limited in the number of characters it uses for the purpose and I would be hard-pressed to come up with a character besides Zaran who gets a POV in this book.
This translates to the fact that the book doesn't dwell on Isnay, Dransin, Fagan, Naral, Ralnulian, or Zaran or on any of their budding relationships but instead focuses on the main trio and the main plot even when the POV shifts to a character outside the trio. This meant that I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more relationship development on behalf of Ralnulian and Zaran or Fagan and Naral though I was more than happy to sideline Isnay and Dransin.
On one hand, I liked the shift to limited POVs because that increased the focus on the main plot of the story as the war with the War Guild come to the forefront but on the other hand, I didn't like the fact that we didn't get any development for the other characters.
The plot of this book focuses on the war between the Anrodnes Empire and the War Guild and the internal struggle between the triad as they struggle to come to terms with their roles and in the case of Taldan, as he attempts to wrest control of the Illumitae from Sladeran (who always makes me think of Slytherin, that can't be a coincidence, right?).
With regards to the plot, I was disappointed on most fronts. I wanted Raine to play a more important role than what he ended up playing in the war against the War Guild. He was supposed to be the stag meant to lead but he doesn't actually end up doing anything and his stupid gut instincts were irritating the hell out of me. Raine, again and again, claims his actions to be guided by some unknown sense of belief and rightness which he attributed to the gods but personally, it was very irritating and made no sense. There was no need to just make Raine feel that this is how things needed to be done he could have just made those decisions results notwithstanding but something about his attributing his actions to some otherworldly being/feeling just took away his own agency and made him seem like nothing more than a pawn instead of someone making his own decisions, good or bad.
Taldan's struggle to wrest control of the Illumitae from Sladeran is disappointing, to say the least. Taldan at multiple times in the book aligns himself with Sladeran which considering what that leads to in the previous book was downright reckless. I actually couldn't believe Taldan would side with Sladeran. This book more or less attempts to redeem Sladeran which considering what happened to Hredeen in the previous book was a bad idea. In the end, Taldan gives into Sladeran's anger and makes bad decisions multiple times but instead of having to face his hubris he is granted a "Get out of Jail" card when Sladeran just leaves of his own free will, effectively taking with him any development that Taldan could have gained as a character as a result of this struggle. Given the build-up to this struggle and how it affects the triad, I was disappointed, to say the least with how this particular plot point was treated in this book.
This book does focus on the triad and does delve into Hredeen and Raine's insecurities and even resolves them beautifully. I loved seeing the budding relationship between Hredeen and Raine though not sexual it is still very loving and supportive though I found the author's insistence on the relationship being platonic a little exasperating. I felt it would have been better if the author had left that question unanswered.
Taldan really gets the short end of the stick in this book and personally considering how he has been treated in the previous books, he remains a highly underdeveloped character. We never really see a proper resolution to the multiple conflicts between Hredeen and Taldan and neither do we get to see him struggle to control the Illumitae something I was hoping would direct him to rely on his Chosen and help him find his own place in the triad. Even though him shutting Raine and Hredeen out of the bond is a big moment in the plot of this book, the tension it creates in the triad is left unaddressed in the aftermath of the war which begs the question did Taldan even learn anything from his missteps. As such Taldan's decision to eschew the mask and the gloves in public also is little more than an impulsive act and fails to demarcate his own personal growth. In fact, objectively he is the character who gets the least character development in the entire series and even with the ending of the series, still doesn't feel fleshed out.
I'm happy we do get to see Zaran's POV because I have really got to love him as a character and even though we don't really get to see his relationship with Ralnulian start it was still heartening to see them get closer together.
The epilogue serves as an answer to where all the other couples in the series end up which was fine for certain people but I wanted a little bit more about Naral and Fagan.
I love fantasies especially when they also fit in the MM Romance genre and this is definitely both of those. The story is well-written and is engaging and I found myself really invested in Raine, Zaran, Fagan and to an extent Taldan and Hredeen as characters which is why I found myself reading this series even when the plot let me down at points. Overall, this has been an enthralling read.
There was a certain leeway granted to the previous books in the series because a storyline could really come through in the next book but as all storylines and plots end with this one, I'm judging this book very harshly.
This book is written in multiple POVs but most of them are divided between Raine, Hredeen and Taldan and there are very few other characters who get a POV. Unlike the second book and the beginning of the third book when there were a whole horde of characters getting their own POVs, this book is severely limited in the number of characters it uses for the purpose and I would be hard-pressed to come up with a character besides Zaran who gets a POV in this book.
This translates to the fact that the book doesn't dwell on Isnay, Dransin, Fagan, Naral, Ralnulian, or Zaran or on any of their budding relationships but instead focuses on the main trio and the main plot even when the POV shifts to a character outside the trio. This meant that I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more relationship development on behalf of Ralnulian and Zaran or Fagan and Naral though I was more than happy to sideline Isnay and Dransin.
On one hand, I liked the shift to limited POVs because that increased the focus on the main plot of the story as the war with the War Guild come to the forefront but on the other hand, I didn't like the fact that we didn't get any development for the other characters.
The plot of this book focuses on the war between the Anrodnes Empire and the War Guild and the internal struggle between the triad as they struggle to come to terms with their roles and in the case of Taldan, as he attempts to wrest control of the Illumitae from Sladeran (who always makes me think of Slytherin, that can't be a coincidence, right?).
With regards to the plot, I was disappointed on most fronts. I wanted Raine to play a more important role than what he ended up playing in the war against the War Guild. He was supposed to be the stag meant to lead but he doesn't actually end up doing anything and his stupid gut instincts were irritating the hell out of me. Raine, again and again, claims his actions to be guided by some unknown sense of belief and rightness which he attributed to the gods but personally, it was very irritating and made no sense. There was no need to just make Raine feel that this is how things needed to be done he could have just made those decisions results notwithstanding but something about his attributing his actions to some otherworldly being/feeling just took away his own agency and made him seem like nothing more than a pawn instead of someone making his own decisions, good or bad.
Taldan's struggle to wrest control of the Illumitae from Sladeran is disappointing, to say the least. Taldan at multiple times in the book aligns himself with Sladeran which considering what that leads to in the previous book was downright reckless. I actually couldn't believe Taldan would side with Sladeran. This book more or less attempts to redeem Sladeran which considering what happened to Hredeen in the previous book was a bad idea. In the end, Taldan gives into Sladeran's anger and makes bad decisions multiple times but instead of having to face his hubris he is granted a "Get out of Jail" card when Sladeran just leaves of his own free will, effectively taking with him any development that Taldan could have gained as a character as a result of this struggle. Given the build-up to this struggle and how it affects the triad, I was disappointed, to say the least with how this particular plot point was treated in this book.
This book does focus on the triad and does delve into Hredeen and Raine's insecurities and even resolves them beautifully. I loved seeing the budding relationship between Hredeen and Raine though not sexual it is still very loving and supportive though I found the author's insistence on the relationship being platonic a little exasperating. I felt it would have been better if the author had left that question unanswered.
Taldan really gets the short end of the stick in this book and personally considering how he has been treated in the previous books, he remains a highly underdeveloped character. We never really see a proper resolution to the multiple conflicts between Hredeen and Taldan and neither do we get to see him struggle to control the Illumitae something I was hoping would direct him to rely on his Chosen and help him find his own place in the triad. Even though him shutting Raine and Hredeen out of the bond is a big moment in the plot of this book, the tension it creates in the triad is left unaddressed in the aftermath of the war which begs the question did Taldan even learn anything from his missteps. As such Taldan's decision to eschew the mask and the gloves in public also is little more than an impulsive act and fails to demarcate his own personal growth. In fact, objectively he is the character who gets the least character development in the entire series and even with the ending of the series, still doesn't feel fleshed out.
I'm happy we do get to see Zaran's POV because I have really got to love him as a character and even though we don't really get to see his relationship with Ralnulian start it was still heartening to see them get closer together.
The epilogue serves as an answer to where all the other couples in the series end up which was fine for certain people but I wanted a little bit more about Naral and Fagan.
I love fantasies especially when they also fit in the MM Romance genre and this is definitely both of those. The story is well-written and is engaging and I found myself really invested in Raine, Zaran, Fagan and to an extent Taldan and Hredeen as characters which is why I found myself reading this series even when the plot let me down at points. Overall, this has been an enthralling read.
November 11, 2020
4,5 stars as I had some troubles with Taldans behavior ... and the ending seemed a bit rushed. Would have loved to see more of them together and how they worked out their differences.
Maybe there will be a sequel?
Would love to read Zarans story
Maybe there will be a sequel?
Would love to read Zarans story
July 27, 2020
I purchased this book because I had to see what became of Raine within the triad. . .
Was I that partial to Raine? Given his disadvantages and naivete compared to Hredeen and Taldan, of course! I do dislike writers who break up a novel into parts for the primary purpose of increasing revenue, but the way part three left a question as to Raine's true identity, worth and purpose where Taldan and the triad was concerned, I had to see if Taldan would realize Raine's true value and realize he was significant and more worthy than Hredeen of his role.
Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised at the tactful and reasonable conclusion our writer wrought upon Taldan's empire, the elves, and the infamous War Guild. Exciting, astonishing, and satisfying are some great descriptors of how everyone had their happy ending, although I wanted some closure to Dransin's situation with his stolen kingdom of Bantham, but we may see another series or extended bonus story, perhaps? Four stars.
Was I that partial to Raine? Given his disadvantages and naivete compared to Hredeen and Taldan, of course! I do dislike writers who break up a novel into parts for the primary purpose of increasing revenue, but the way part three left a question as to Raine's true identity, worth and purpose where Taldan and the triad was concerned, I had to see if Taldan would realize Raine's true value and realize he was significant and more worthy than Hredeen of his role.
Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised at the tactful and reasonable conclusion our writer wrought upon Taldan's empire, the elves, and the infamous War Guild. Exciting, astonishing, and satisfying are some great descriptors of how everyone had their happy ending, although I wanted some closure to Dransin's situation with his stolen kingdom of Bantham, but we may see another series or extended bonus story, perhaps? Four stars.
September 24, 2023
The series is wound up, the bad guys are done and the good guys live happily ever after. And it is guys as there are no female characters.
June 12, 2025
Excellent!
August 31, 2025
This is a powerful end to the four-book series about the lives of the triad of Talden, Raine, and Hredeen. The end to the threat against the empire is magnificent. The characters grow into their full strength, good fighting evil. Talden reinvents the role of the emperor to meet the threat. Magic fights magic and new alliances emerge. The epilogue is very satisfying. This book is the perfect capstone to a wonderful series that kept me interested and engaged from the beginning. I know I'll have a bit of a book hangover, as I'll definitely miss this world.
September 23, 2020
I didn't even notice the final book has came out and I was pleasantly surprised that when I have immediately gone for some re-read, I actually remembered more than I anticipated. Which does tell you something about what I think about the series, as does the fact I kept the 3rd and 2nd book on my kindle.
Funny thing is, I did not like the first book. In fact, my review was downright critical. Yet I continued. And I can say I know why... just as I somehow know what people don)t like about the series. Cause they do have a point. Or several.
On one hand, I feel this is a really great fantasy. As in, the world-building is solid, even thought it's fairly background stuff, the main focus of the book is romance and relationships - reason for all those POVs. Which I did not find as confusing, even if it did sometimes took me a second or two to realize exactly who is this side character.
The problem with such a relationship oriented book - or at least this book/series in particular, are the emotions. The author has a pretty nice, somehow "poetic" language which was almost great, until you had another scene with all those paragraphs detailing someone's feelings and problems and another one... and it had some drama queen moments, that felt drama queen mostly because there were several and conflicted. In other words, a problem cropped up, someone bemoaned their fate and said something along the lines of "not sure we can recover from this" and, yes, you guessed it, some pages later, the problem is suddenly solved and it's more like "now we can be happy!" and another scene after that was more like "but yes, there are still some problems and who know if we can solve them". You can imagine how I felt about such a progress.
Especially since it was waaay too long, almost Shakespeare monologue kind of long.
It also showed in not just their thoughts but their behaviour that felt more orchestrated than it should have. In a great book (I know I mentioned and explained this in some review), the author is a god because the plot is just so natural it feels like this great mix of "this is so real!" and "I can't think of literally anything at all I would change, everything just feels so perfect" and this was a nice choreography and it was really coordinated but you can tell it was.
Especially a certain hissy fit of a certain character which was so obviously supposed to happen because the characters actually told "us" in an almost 4th wall moment of "maybe That thing was supposed to happen like That because it caused That!" and I am pretty sure an intelligent reader can draw this conclusion on their own but if a moment of... "clarity", like a "hey, if this was a play, that was a cataclysm!" was intended? Why not.
The main romance was also, as the blurb shows, a three guy thing. And the surprise was that you had only a... well, the emperor person liked both of them but the two of them were only friends. A nice element, if you're not too hanged up on making all of them polyamo.
Some things did not feel that 5 star-built, there were some moments of... this innocent but a little embarasing-for-the-reader moments. I don't know if you ever noticed but sometimes authors want to insert a little 3rd person view on their cool characters, because it's not easy get AWE moment when you're watching from that person's head, for example in a fight, what may look like graceful dancing and seriously cool moves - well, try having this "and then I made this inhumanely quick move that looked so cool" from the MC, it's narcistic and not really that great, but it also may not work from that other person's perspective, if it's not done right and here there were some moments where I felt I was supposed to be impressed and had that AWE thing... and I was not.
And really, most of the plot happens in the palace. One place. Like, how much can happen in a single place? Well, several, if you only need your relationships to be The Excitement in a book.
Overall, the author feels, rating-wise, like someone who is going to be or is really trying to be Great and sometimes, it's a success but the more "nice" elements still remain and they are not easy to overlook completely so you have a 80% 4 stars with some 20% 3 stars.
But yeah, do recommend.
Gosh, this review is a mess, I should have wrote it sooner but I had 10 classes! 7 and half hour of sitting in a freaking chair! Not to mention all that sitting on the train! 2 hours at 4 in the freaking morning and those almost 4 hours when the train had technical difficulties and I arrived almost at midnight! I am actually shocked I managed to read the book but I guess being stuck on a train helps with that.
Funny thing is, I did not like the first book. In fact, my review was downright critical. Yet I continued. And I can say I know why... just as I somehow know what people don)t like about the series. Cause they do have a point. Or several.
On one hand, I feel this is a really great fantasy. As in, the world-building is solid, even thought it's fairly background stuff, the main focus of the book is romance and relationships - reason for all those POVs. Which I did not find as confusing, even if it did sometimes took me a second or two to realize exactly who is this side character.
The problem with such a relationship oriented book - or at least this book/series in particular, are the emotions. The author has a pretty nice, somehow "poetic" language which was almost great, until you had another scene with all those paragraphs detailing someone's feelings and problems and another one... and it had some drama queen moments, that felt drama queen mostly because there were several and conflicted. In other words, a problem cropped up, someone bemoaned their fate and said something along the lines of "not sure we can recover from this" and, yes, you guessed it, some pages later, the problem is suddenly solved and it's more like "now we can be happy!" and another scene after that was more like "but yes, there are still some problems and who know if we can solve them". You can imagine how I felt about such a progress.
Especially since it was waaay too long, almost Shakespeare monologue kind of long.
It also showed in not just their thoughts but their behaviour that felt more orchestrated than it should have. In a great book (I know I mentioned and explained this in some review), the author is a god because the plot is just so natural it feels like this great mix of "this is so real!" and "I can't think of literally anything at all I would change, everything just feels so perfect" and this was a nice choreography and it was really coordinated but you can tell it was.
Especially a certain hissy fit of a certain character which was so obviously supposed to happen because the characters actually told "us" in an almost 4th wall moment of "maybe That thing was supposed to happen like That because it caused That!" and I am pretty sure an intelligent reader can draw this conclusion on their own but if a moment of... "clarity", like a "hey, if this was a play, that was a cataclysm!" was intended? Why not.
The main romance was also, as the blurb shows, a three guy thing. And the surprise was that you had only a... well, the emperor person liked both of them but the two of them were only friends. A nice element, if you're not too hanged up on making all of them polyamo.
Some things did not feel that 5 star-built, there were some moments of... this innocent but a little embarasing-for-the-reader moments. I don't know if you ever noticed but sometimes authors want to insert a little 3rd person view on their cool characters, because it's not easy get AWE moment when you're watching from that person's head, for example in a fight, what may look like graceful dancing and seriously cool moves - well, try having this "and then I made this inhumanely quick move that looked so cool" from the MC, it's narcistic and not really that great, but it also may not work from that other person's perspective, if it's not done right and here there were some moments where I felt I was supposed to be impressed and had that AWE thing... and I was not.
And really, most of the plot happens in the palace. One place. Like, how much can happen in a single place? Well, several, if you only need your relationships to be The Excitement in a book.
Overall, the author feels, rating-wise, like someone who is going to be or is really trying to be Great and sometimes, it's a success but the more "nice" elements still remain and they are not easy to overlook completely so you have a 80% 4 stars with some 20% 3 stars.
But yeah, do recommend.
Gosh, this review is a mess, I should have wrote it sooner but I had 10 classes! 7 and half hour of sitting in a freaking chair! Not to mention all that sitting on the train! 2 hours at 4 in the freaking morning and those almost 4 hours when the train had technical difficulties and I arrived almost at midnight! I am actually shocked I managed to read the book but I guess being stuck on a train helps with that.
December 30, 2020
Rating (All ratings use a Scale of 1-5) = 2.5; I loved the previous books but really struggled to stay engaged with this one until maybe the last 20%.
Blurb = 4
My Genre Scale = 4.5
Odds if not your genre = 2
Development of: =
*World = 4
*Plot = 3
*Characters = 3.5
What stood out = Nothing really
Mood Type / Appeal to those looking for =. Pure fantasy with low heat and basically no sex
Warnings = Graphic scenes but not over the top
Series Notes = 4th and final
*Reading on? N/A
*Reading back to back? Just the 3rd and 4th
*Can be easily read without the previous? Nope. Absolutely not.
Rating Notes = (SubPlots & HEA)
It definitely ends with a HFN/HEA and wraps up nicely for the most part.
I just feel this last book really lost focus, plus it felt repetitive with all the inner dialog. At first I thought it was just because I read them back to back and the author was refreshing.
I also felt like all the rich characters that were supporting our Triad were mostly after thoughts in this book (other than a couple of exceptions) . Everything felt like it took a meandering path to end up right where one would expect.
There were things I really liked and by the last 20% or so I was able to stay engaged. There was more action and less hand wringing I really appreciated the Symbolism of the Kingdom in relation to the Triad.
I would have really liked a little more revealing of what happened with the original Triad. I did not like how Bhatan and its deposed King were left hanging with absolutely nothing done etc... I would have liked to see it at lest best about the Elf Kings reckoning with his Council and their deceit.
I loved the series as a whole and can appreciate how hard it must be to write something off this scope.
**************
Below are my explanations or thoughts on reviewing!
***************
1.Obviously no review can take into account all the various personal pet peeves of readers. But, I do try to take into account the common ones often bemoaned by other reviewers
2. If used in this review, the term Brain candy is not necessarily negative. It has its uses and at times it is my preference when I just want to pass some time; so it does not carry a negative connotation for me - unless I'm expecting the next great novel. (What falls under brain candy? The book is meant for pure entertainment to pass time. It may be formulaic, from an author published quickly like monthly, things escalate fast, and are often solved easily etc.. Publishing industries version of pop music. Beach type reads etc... ).
3. Blurb rating purpose:
Like many readers, I do not like to think I'm reading one kind of story; just to end up with another type. But...I also don't think a book should be docked stars for being as stated. If I don't like stories about "_________", and I choose to read one. I shouldn't give it 2 stars based JUST on my preferences. Unless... it wasn't clear in the blurb.
4. Other Factors that effect my perspective when reviewing:
Since 2009, I have exclusively read m/m. My 1st was in 2007. I am a Kindle diehard, and I never do audio for m/m. I read at least 100+ books a year - with an average length of 220± pages; but the total number of books is usually much higher. My Goodreads lifetime rating (at the start of 2020) was a 3.72 average for 1390 books. Which considering, you should be better at picking out books the more you read, I feel is a accurate average. I have over 700 reviews within the m/m genre here on Goodreads.
Blurb = 4
My Genre Scale = 4.5
Odds if not your genre = 2
Development of: =
*World = 4
*Plot = 3
*Characters = 3.5
What stood out = Nothing really
Mood Type / Appeal to those looking for =. Pure fantasy with low heat and basically no sex
Warnings = Graphic scenes but not over the top
Series Notes = 4th and final
*Reading on? N/A
*Reading back to back? Just the 3rd and 4th
*Can be easily read without the previous? Nope. Absolutely not.
Rating Notes = (SubPlots & HEA)
It definitely ends with a HFN/HEA and wraps up nicely for the most part.
I just feel this last book really lost focus, plus it felt repetitive with all the inner dialog. At first I thought it was just because I read them back to back and the author was refreshing.
I also felt like all the rich characters that were supporting our Triad were mostly after thoughts in this book (other than a couple of exceptions) . Everything felt like it took a meandering path to end up right where one would expect.
There were things I really liked and by the last 20% or so I was able to stay engaged. There was more action and less hand wringing I really appreciated the Symbolism of the Kingdom in relation to the Triad.
I would have really liked a little more revealing of what happened with the original Triad. I did not like how Bhatan and its deposed King were left hanging with absolutely nothing done etc... I would have liked to see it at lest best about the Elf Kings reckoning with his Council and their deceit.
I loved the series as a whole and can appreciate how hard it must be to write something off this scope.
**************
Below are my explanations or thoughts on reviewing!
***************
1.Obviously no review can take into account all the various personal pet peeves of readers. But, I do try to take into account the common ones often bemoaned by other reviewers
2. If used in this review, the term Brain candy is not necessarily negative. It has its uses and at times it is my preference when I just want to pass some time; so it does not carry a negative connotation for me - unless I'm expecting the next great novel. (What falls under brain candy? The book is meant for pure entertainment to pass time. It may be formulaic, from an author published quickly like monthly, things escalate fast, and are often solved easily etc.. Publishing industries version of pop music. Beach type reads etc... ).
3. Blurb rating purpose:
Like many readers, I do not like to think I'm reading one kind of story; just to end up with another type. But...I also don't think a book should be docked stars for being as stated. If I don't like stories about "_________", and I choose to read one. I shouldn't give it 2 stars based JUST on my preferences. Unless... it wasn't clear in the blurb.
4. Other Factors that effect my perspective when reviewing:
Since 2009, I have exclusively read m/m. My 1st was in 2007. I am a Kindle diehard, and I never do audio for m/m. I read at least 100+ books a year - with an average length of 220± pages; but the total number of books is usually much higher. My Goodreads lifetime rating (at the start of 2020) was a 3.72 average for 1390 books. Which considering, you should be better at picking out books the more you read, I feel is a accurate average. I have over 700 reviews within the m/m genre here on Goodreads.
October 17, 2020
This review is for all 4 books, because I literally read all 4 books in less than 12 hours. This story was brilliant! Raine, Taldan and Hredeen are all truly amazing men, and I’m so happy they all got their HEA. Along with their family and friends! Once again, J.C. Owens has outdone themselves! I absolutely loved this amazing story and will definitely be coming back to these 4 books over and over again, I also hope to see more of these men in the future. Reread 10/14/2020-10/16/2020. After rereading this amazing set of books again, I found a song that reminds of this story. It’s called For This You Were Born by UNSECRET feat. Fleurie
January 13, 2024
This was good. The ending and especially epilogue was a little underwhelming, and there were things that weren’t fleshed out that I wanted to know. And it really grated on my nerves that Talden never had any repercussions for his actions. Like it said in the book, how much/often could you blame the magic? It was him being terrible to the two people he claimed to love and yet the only people who actually suffered were them. Like I needed him to feel pain, get hurt, have some kind of consequence for his actions but he never did, he just got his happily ever after.
May 28, 2023
Disfruté mucho de las vueltas y de las subidas, así como de las bajadas de la historia. El drama, la acción y el suspenso. Fue bastante entretenido, si bien hay partes que dan sensación de relleno, lo cierto es que disfruté mucho de la fantasía y de la creación de mundo.
July 26, 2020
I had to do a quick read of #3 again to familiarize myself with the characters, which was very helpful. A good ending to the series. If you've enjoyed it so far, you'll want this one as well.
July 31, 2020
The conclusion
An incredible read. Well thought out, compelling and riveting. The showdown was awesome. Read the whole series, it is worth it!
An incredible read. Well thought out, compelling and riveting. The showdown was awesome. Read the whole series, it is worth it!
September 22, 2020
You can read my review of "Rainfall" at my web site.
February 20, 2021
3.5 stars
February 23, 2021
As close to perfect as you get. This author's talent amazes me.
September 5, 2022
More of 3.5. Good ending but not all of the plot points were wrapped up.
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