Death-Touched

Silver #5

by Rhiannon Held

Faced with the looming threat of the Russian pack, Silver and Andrew Dare plan to host an envoy at their wedding. The Russian alpha rejects diplomacy, however, and instead sends Mikhail, an elite assassin. Mikhail begins to ritually murder sub-alphas, leaving them to bleed to death from a thousand shallow cuts.

The Roanokes’ only leverage is Mikhail’s reverence for the Lady: he thinks She is reborn in Silver. Playing the Lady goes against all of Silver's beliefs, but she yields to Mikhail’s invitation for her to join him in Russia. There, she hopes to wield the pretense of religious authority to depose the Russian alpha. Staying behind while Silver risks herself alone is more than Andrew can bear, but he must tread carefully to avoid triggering a pack war.

Still, if Silver can play the Lady, perhaps Andrew has a role as Death.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, Shapeshifters

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2018

About the author

Rhiannon Held writes urban fantasy, along with space opera and weird western (as R.Z. Held). She lives in Seattle, where she works as an archaeologist for an environmental compliance firm. At work, she mostly uses her degree for copy-editing technical reports; in writing, she uses it for cultural world-building; in public, she'll probably use it to check the mold seams on the wine bottle at dinner.

Reviews

[Rhode PVD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will always hold this series, in particular its first two books, more tightly to my heart than typical fantasies or PNRs because it’s a bit closer to litfic than many of them are and the world building is awesome and believable. It’s not a frippery. I’m so glad we are in the self publishing age, because otherwise this would have ended two books back when the original publisher pulled the plug, and we would have never known what happened.

It’s an adventure. The bad guy is a powerful narcissist who heads the Russian packs. Silver, as in many of these books, goes toe to toe with a dangerous people who are larger and better at fighting than she can possibly be in a frail, small body with a ruined arm. Her force of personality, and the fact that it always comes down to personality and intelligence in the end, is always good to watch.

The book’s other main thread - Andrew’s atheism vs Silver’s deep belief in their culture’s religion - is woven throughout. I liked the conclusion, although for some reason I wasn’t that drawn into the debate. Maybe because for fantasy novels you have to suspend so much disbelief that whether or not you think a particular book’s gods are true is more of a whim than a heart-wrenching thing?

I’m getting too wordy here. In summary, it was pretty good. It worked. It wasn’t my favorite of the series, but that’s ok. Not every book can be.

Btw: I bought my copy, just as I’ve bought all the rest of them :-).

[Estel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. It does everything I want with the werewolves, and the two main characters are wonderful. I feel like this is a good culmination of the religious debate that's been going on throughout the series, too, and a good ending to the Russia story-line. I absolutely adore Tatiana and Allison and their relationship. This book isn't perfect--there's some pacing that could probably be tightened up, and some people probably won't like the way the religious aspect is tied up--but it was everything I wanted and I am so glad it was completed and published despite the blocks put in its way. If you like smart werewolves where pack bonds are based on protection rather than just aggression/intimidation, with a well-realized werewolf society, this is a good series for you.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to the series!

Things I liked:
•The author has a great balance of male and female roles. The MMC and FMC are equally interesting and smart and powerful in different ways.
•It was interesting to see the Russian pack some more.
•I love how the author uses Susan (the human) to show that humans are just as capable as werewolves.

Things I didn’t like:
•I actually missed the rest of the Seattle pack
•Silver’s dad is ick. I know he turns up helping in the end, but I still feel like ick when he’s around.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read a book by Rhiannon Held before. She writes a wonderful story the plot and characters were great. I need to go back and read more of her books in this series. I highly recommend this book and author to everyone who loves a great book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

they are trying to get peace and they ask their enemy to their wedding but they sent an assassin instead. he killed the sub-alphas. there is one saving grace he thinks she is reincarnated. will they be able to stop him? will they make peace? see how they can deal with all the problems

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aahhh the grand finale - loved this series. Was a bit confused about Silver and her decisions early on in the book - but it all came together very nicely. I really loved the world building in this series, I loved how Silver thought and articulated her view of the world, loved Death and Dare. A great series to read.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is certainly a lot going on. Held did a lot with this plot and I feel really crazy about everything! I absolutely adored reading this and was in a lot of suspense throughout.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Yuliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.
This is interesting and entertaining read. Loved this story very much. Well developed and written plot and characters. Recommend this awesome book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Philleys Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dare and Silver's traumatic story finally comes to a satisfying conclusion. An excellent finale, well-written and full of exciting action. Well done!
I did receive a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the touch of mysticism in this UF series, the Lady and Death and Silver's visions. This is the last book in the series of five and nicely wraps matters up on both the political scene (Russia) and on a personal level between Dare and Silver. Some very nice twists in the last third.

[Madlad-y · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was a bit hard to get into. The beginning was fast-paced with minimal explanation to the world it's in. A lot of actions with political maneuvers. Romance's fade to black kind. The graphic audio production was a very enjoyable experience.

[Barb VanderWel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.

[Nadea Croix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silver and Andrew dare faces issues with miKhail as they struggle to find a solution to their problem.

[Irene Hollimon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series. I loved it enough to buy the book, only 99 cents on Amazon but that’s saying a lot for me. I’m sorry to see the series end. Awesome UF

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good wrap to the Silver series. I admit I would like more.

[Krista Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire Silver series. I love the characters, and the way Rhiannon Held puts so much focus on the relationships, the pack hierarchy, and the way they read each other. Death-Touched is a really nice wrap-up of the series, tying up loose ends.
Still, I have to say that I would love more!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book without reading the ones prior. It would have been a bit easier if I had read those first, but it definitely can be read as a stand alone. Just as there are betas and sub-betas in this book so too are there plots and subplots. It was very interesting how they all came together. The length of the book is good. I will be reading more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Angel Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faced with the looming threat of the Russian pack, Silver and Andrew Dare plan to host an envoy at their wedding. The Russian alpha rejects diplomacy, however, and instead sends Mikhail, an elite assassin. Mikhail begins to ritually murder sub-alphas, leaving them to bleed to death from a thousand shallow cuts.
This was a pretty good book. I enjoyed reading this adventure. I really liked both main characters. I look forward to reading more from this author. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book