Phoenix

Weaver #4

by Vaun Murphrey

Now that the dust has settled and the dead are buried can Cassandra and Silver take over the reins and guide Weavers into a new era? Not everyone is comfortable with their assumption of power and an old enemy lingers, begging the question - are they ready to face the Soul Eater? Find our in PHOENIX, Book Four of the Weaver Series.

404 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2015

About the author

Vaun Murphrey lives in Lubbock, Texas with her husband, two sons and a shaggy black and white four-legged friend. Her life is composed of one ordinary day after another, at least from the outside – on the inside she travels to different worlds. If Vaun ever seems distracted, now you know why… be patient, she returns on a regular basis to visit Earth.

Reviews

[Vaun Murphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My darling PHOENIX! I was on a creative high when I finished you in 2014. After, I crashed like an asteroid to Earth and promptly figured I was burnt out.

Writing requires a refill of your well. I wrote over four books in two years. It may not sound like a lot BUT when you still have a day job and two small children - it's a mother load.

Life happens. I plan to add two more books to the Silver and Cass story arc and then move on with side characters or hit the future of Earth. All of the above sounds like fun.

Happy reading!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I found the first three books on NetGalley back in March I thought it was a mere trilogy meaning I was both super excited and disappointed when I found out there was more to come. Let me note that the disappointment was not due to the books themselves, oh no, the disappointment lies in the fact that I have to wait to find out what happens next. Anyone who is a fan of any great series hates the interlude between books being published and with this one I was super interested to see where things would go.

So, in short, I jumped at the chance to read Phoenix when it appeared on NetGalley. I admit that I was unable to jump on it instantly due to having other commitments, but I made sure I got my hands on it.

I was not disappointed.

Upon finishing the first book in the series I decided it was certainly an interesting idea and I wanted to stick around for more. Upon finishing the second book in the series I decided the author was really onto something, having created a truly fabulous alien world. Upon finishing the third book I was somewhere around the location I found myself in after book one, it was a wonderful read but not quite the second book in the series. With this one we’re somewhere beyond book one and three, but still we’re not quite at book two levels. Personally, I think this is simply because I grew to love the alien world so much that it is all I really want in the series. Don’t get me wrong, the story is still wonderful but I’m crossing my fingers for as much alien action as possible.

Nevertheless, this was a great read. The story moved forward at a wonderful pace, new details being given as characters develop. So much happens in this one that I’m once again sitting on the edge of my seat as I wait to find out what happens next. When, I bid, can I get my hands on the next one to answer the age old ‘what happens next’ question? Honestly, it is hard to tell you how much happens without giving any spoilers – let me say that events progress for a number of characters in a way you would not have imagined. Certain events left me somewhat disheartened but it all played in well and that is what makes it so wonderful.

I admit that towards the end the pace became a bit too much, with events moving a little bit too rapidly, but with so much happening in one book it is hard for me to be disappointed.

Overall it is another great book, for which I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read. As I’ve already said, I cannot wait to see what comes next!

[Tricia (McAllister) Houseman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Ms. Murphrey wrote, you can see the change & improvement in her writing. Her characters improved & became more believable. The story pulled you in until you wanted to stay up all night to find out what happened next. Applause for Ms. Murphrey, one that she deserves.

In book 4, both Cass & Silver must fight for their lives & the lives of all Weavers. It is no longer fighting for one Weaver here or there, it is all of them or the destruction of the entire race.

There is so much that happens that both Cass & Silver come up against so many “walls” or “issues” that they much decide on. Each could be the wrong decision, but they must choose & stand by it.

Will Silver ever return to Cass’s body? Will they survive attacking “Laser Eyes?” Will the Weaver’s survive this?

This review is short & sweet because it is the final book. There is not much I can say with out giving out “spoiler’s” & I am not going to do that this time around. Sorry … just read the series, you might find you enjoy it.

https://booksbooksbooksmorebooks.word...

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again another good book in the weaver series. This time you get to know Cass and Silver as seperate characters, watch them develop as individuals over the course of the book, and their developing relationships with their respective partners, Mez, and James. The books starts 6 months after the relocation of Cass and Silvers clan to a new compound. The Clan leaders of other Weaver families are not convinced that the threat of the "Soul Eater" is real and as the story unfolds Cass and Siver struggle to convince them that they are in danger. Unfortunately a discovery of the Warp Factions crimes against Weaver Clans, and the rescue by Silver, Cass and the group of kidnapped weavers helps to covince them of the danger. The book focuses on the developing relationships between the major characters in the story and their exploration of their combined tallents while working together as a team and learning to trust and care for each other. I've really enjoyed all the books in the series and I look forwards to reading the next ones. Nice to see a book with strong female lead characters.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copy received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have no idea how Vaun Murphrey keeps up this standard but I'm bloody glad of it.

Cass and Silver have moved on from the disaster at the compound, started a new community and are finally ready to take the fight to the Soul Eater.

Sharp writing, unpredictable storylines and strong characters make this a book you can’t put down and the set up for book 5 is very promising indeed.

Also I have to say I love the artwork for the covers of these books.

[Vesper Vesper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phoenix is another great continuation to the Weaver series, continuing Cass and Silver's journey to defeat the Soul Eater. It's refreshing to see so much action and things going on, especially because the author knows how to keep you on your toes.

I have to be honest, I'm not quite sure about... (more via website)

[Elizabeth Emily Browne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay.. I'll be straight with you.. it's been a long time since I read the other books in the series. Just over two years and obviously over that time of forgotten a lot of stuff about the story.

However as I read it all started to come back to me. I absolutely love this series and to be fair this book was no exception. I love both Cass and Silver and I love how they are together. I also love that in this book we get to see how they are apart from one another. I was heartbroken over Kira in this book. I hated to see her so down and struggling enough to make herself fade. There was a little bit of betrayal in this book too. James is such a good character too and he's so supportive and gentle towards Cass it was hard to see him in so much pain.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and series.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In my experience endings are a false security. Nothing is ever truly gone or done, it just starts anew as the beginning of another story. Perhaps like a phoenix, out of the ashes of destruction we could be reborn.”

First off I was so upset that this series was coming to an end that I put off reading Phoenix until it was driving my mad with wanting to read it. Surprise surprise, YES it’s not the end I learned. But another wonderful beginning. There are so many surprises and twist in this book that you may want to read it twice, but you will not need to to understand what is going on. THIS SERIES IS supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I’m so happy to know that Descent book 5 in the Weaver series will be coming soon.

*** Thank you to publisher who kindly offered this book on Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.***

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the new compound comes a new set of problems. Cass and Silver are about to face the most difficult event they could ever imagine. With Gerome gone, so much of the future is unclear. New friends and new foes come into the twin's lives with epic results. Is the journey for the weavers over, or will this new chapter be the start of an exciting fresh venture?
As usual with this series, I was hoping for a slight change on the previous story pattern and writing technique, but if anything the series has become slightly predictable. It's as though the author has looked at a template and gone: difficult love story-check, action scenes-check, family issues-check, drama-check. She has just taken her characters and woven them in. Now in essence this is the basis for most stories, I just felt that throughout the series this didn't work. On a positive note , the author has envisaged a gem of an idea, but the execution is just not there. A case in point are the journeys into the web-while I am sure the author has lived these in her mind's eye and was part of the adventure as she was writing, she fails to convey her ideas to the reader with clarity. Trying to keep up with who can go into the web, in which section, what they can do and why they can't go there anymore becomes a chore-one I just skipped over. Unfortunately a few more negatives stuck out for me-the emotions and their descriptions. Sometimes people are just people. They don't need to erupt into anger like an earthquake or ride a wave of love like a tsunami (my words). Sometimes it's just best to say a person was angry and leave it up to the reader to decide on the level. Also I found her characters tend to go from one extreme emotion to the next-outright anger to bliss enveloped in a cocoon of comfort-far too quickly. While Silver and Cass have matured enough for sexual relations, I found the amount of times that sexual innuendo or info sharing was inappropriate-especially just after a battle. Certain happenings do not need to be mentioned in front of others. The story held too many epic scenes in it-boom!boom!boom! from one scene to the next without enough context set up or follow through. Corinne's fix-everything shield was a little too good to be true. And now to my favourite part-the editing. The last chapter of the previous book was copied into the first chapter of this book and six pages after this we were already mixing up where and were.
So unfortunately just an average review for me. If I was not reviewing all four books for Netgalley I don't think I would have gone passed the first one and will certainly not be going any further. I'm sure a number of people will enjoy this, but it did not hold enough interest for me. Best wishes to the author for future endeavours.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to review this.

[Shayay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Cass and Silver as characters! They both are such strong individuals, and they have really cool badass powers, and I love that their powers are used often, and they aren't perfect, so that makes them feel like a more "real" type of person. This book brings back the issues the girls have from the first book, and the girls do find some closure, but a lot more questions are brought out, and this one does end in a bit of a cliffhanger. I didn't necessarily like what happens with Silver and Kara, and I usually love Silver, and I still did love her, but some of her choices in this book weren't exactly to my liking. I still really enjoy Mez, but James is still not at the top of my list; he still is too bland for my tastes, I just want him to not feel so useless, and he needs to have more of a voice. I enjoyed all the action in this book, and I felt like there really wasn't a down moment; that's good and bad because I did want more couple time between both sisters and each of their mates. The reason I love this series is because the uniqueness of the story is interesting, and I love how the story is evolving; plus the all the characters are well written. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series, and I would love if it had more of an even distribution of each of the sister's voices. This series is really great, and super unique, and I love the hints of humor and heart touching moments throughout the whole series.

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copy provided by NetGalley for review purposes.

I was quite excited when I saw that Phoenix was available, and I had been approved to read the galley. The first book in this series was kind of 'out there' in a weird way, and it only got weirder from there on, but it really has grown on me. I quite like the characters, and I must say that the author found an interesting way of 'resolving' the "love-quadrangle".

These books are not all cheerful and happy, bad things happen, but it's not as depressing as a dystopian novel. This is Sci-fi and Fantasy blurred together, where the magical is explained in an almost scientific manner and doesn't seem nearly as unreal by the second book as it did initially. In this, the fourth installment, there is definitely a growth in some characters, a huge change in the relationship-dynamics of others and some downright surprising developments.

This book is crammed full of action, and everything really only happens over a period of several days (similar to books 1 and 3) with only the epilogue showing a glimpse into the future. I'll definitely be reading the next installment when it becomes available.

EDIT: I just noticed I'm actually the first person to post a review on this book, I feel quite honoured... Thanks again to NetGalley. :-)

[Sally Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this title through NetGalley.

Oh, this book. For the end of a series, it felt strangely anti-climactic and didn't hold my interest the way the first two books did. There were also a ton of characters and plot devices that just felt like throw-aways. Multiple clones of Cass and Silver's dad?! Why? How? How many? Waaaaaay too many unanswered questions.

Also, the whole new-but-way-nicer compound that Gerome arranged and Corinne's super-emotional-control-shield that saved the day were just a bit too convenient.

The series overall was good and I'm glad I got to read them back-to-back; with more time in between each book it likely would have taken me a while to orient myself and remember what had gone on in prior books. That said, if I hadn't been able to access them all at once on NetGalley, I was tepid enough about the third book that I don't know if I would have finished the whole series.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest review. This book continues along the story of Weavers from the first 3 books in the series. You will need to read the other books in the series to know what is going on in this book and which I recommend you read. There is closure to some things that start in book one. There is also major changes in this book. I found I enjoyed the changes and was glad they happened, I will not go into further detail as it will be a major spoiler if I do. This book could end just as is but would be better if the series continued and I hope it does.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a while for me to get into the book. It really kept me interested though, even if I haven't read the previous books. It kept me wanting to read more and more. Only thing I didn't like were the more romantic bits that I feel could have been less written about but does need mentioning as it helps the story.

[Stephanie Runion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment in this series. I love the twist and turns the storyline takes as it keeps you guessing. The characters are engaging and endearing which keeps you wanting to know what happens to them next. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[Emma Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. A great satisfying ending and a intriguing new beginning, looking forward to seeing where this is going to go.

[Calm Your Pits · Rating 1 out of 5]

*** This ARC was received from Artemis Femme via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review***

DNF
I could not get into the story this time, after being sucked into the first.