This *omnibus edition* contains all three books in the Loom Saga by USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova. It is all five books bound as one, large manuscript. An engineer turned murderous thief, a Dragon lord on the run, and a trigger-happy gun mage will bring the Dragon King to his knees. Arianna lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds of Loom fell to the Dragon King. Now, as one of the world's most notorious thieves, she uses her unparalleled gift for merging magic and machine to take on any job that will thwart Loom's tyrannical oppressors. Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King. His family's house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung of Dragon society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild on Loom might hold the key to their triumph, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King's assassins. When Arianna stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But Cvareh sees an opportunity to cut a deal with the one person the king's assassins might fear. He offers her the one thing Arianna can't A wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom. Joined by Florence, a runaway with a penchant for anything that explodes, the trio will make their way across the steely, gear-crusted, and deadly landscape of Loom. They will brave the beautiful and bloodthirsty sky islands of Nova. And they will be the spark that ignites a rebellion that will change the world. The Loom Saga is a story of a world divided, where magic clashes with machine, and the cost of power is blood. It is perfect for readers who want to explore a divided world of magic versus machine, gritty adventure, brutal and bloody sorcery, enemies to lovers, and deep friendships.
ELISE KOVA is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys telling stories of fantasy worlds filled with magic and deep emotions. She lives in Florida and, when not writing, can be found playing video games, drawing, chatting with readers on social media, or daydreaming about her next story.
This was so good! I like how different and fresh this idea was. I am a little upset with myself for putting it off for as long as I have. Definitely one of my new favorites!
I can't believe that these are the first of Kova's books that I've read. Her writing is absolutely beautiful, her creativity knows no bounds, and I cannot wait to be enthralled by another one of her series!
Note: Only 4 stars for The Rebels of Gold because I found it very rushed at parts. The ease of which weeks or months can pass between very short chapters made it difficult at times to understand the extent of the war effort. But that is my only hiccup in my absolute love for these books!
Highly creative series. I liked how the two worlds, Loom and Nova, were civilizations distinct from each other. Loom also did not bear clear resemblance to other, human civilizations. The magic system, which involved magic being associated with different dragon organs was definitely dark fantasy, but less original than the worlds themselves.
Book one was one of the most convincing “Enemies to Lovers” stories I have read. Usually, that type of story is over-constrained, and it’s just not convincing why the characters were forced together long enough to change their minds about each other. Usually, it isn’t even convincing as to why the characters even changed their minds, but this reversal was quite compelling.
Book 2 is much darker than Book 1. This is largely due to Colletta upping the evil/dishonorable quotient several notches. On characters, Cvereh is the perfect Ryu (second), which his sister, Petra, no doubt groomed him to be.
There is a point in Book 2 where team Xin/Loom is doing so poorly, it was painful, then in Book 3, it’s almost like the writer has to throw in random mistakes and character flaws on the Villain/Rok side to end the story. She does a nice job making the King and Colletta’s death a tragedy.
It’s partially Cvereh’s character, but the women do tend to be the Alphas in most of the relationships in unique ways.
After having read three series written by Elise Cova, I can say she consistently writes heterosexual and homosexual relationships and attractions well. Her best heterosexual-relationship is in Air Awakens (who doesn’t like Aldrik/Vhalla?). In this book Arianna and Cvereh have a bit of a Paranormal Romance flare given the magic systems and the two different species factor.
Loved how each cover featured a different character.
The Loom Saga was my first experience with steampunk fantasy. It was so unique and I loved it!
Elise Kova has become one of my favorite authors. She is a fantastic storyteller. The characters are so well-written that they seem real. The world that she created for this series is amazing. Gaslamp (which is meant to be an era when electricity either wasn't invented yet or wasn't readily available to all), but there are islands floating in the sky too. Different houses, determined by each group's abilities. Some of the lands give a post-apocalyptic vibe. It all works so well.
The overall story, to me, is about how divided people according to their "class" or because one group is seen to be above all the others doesn't work. It's also about how bigotry is wrong. Some of the characters in this book come to realize that just because you've been raised to believe that your people are better than all the others and the others are only worth living as long as they are contributing to your success, doesn't mean that it's the way things should be. They realize that all people have worth and should be treated as such. I love that about this story.
There are so many other things to glean from these books. It is never preachy, just a really good story.
I highly recommend this book to fans of steampunk fantasy, dark fantasy, gaslamp, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, and unique magic.
I have written full reviews of each individual book and you can find them here on my profile page.
I loved Air Awakens so much, and although steampunk is not my genre at all, I just did not want to leave Elise Kova's writing universe. I was not disappointed, Elise is a wonderful writer with powerful world-building skills and beautiful wordsmithing magic. It's a really great story, and I enjoyed the growth of the characters very much.
But...
The one thing that got my heart in Air Awakens was the central romance. I fell in love with Vhalla and Aldrick and just could not shake those butterflies in my stomach for a good few days after the book ended. Whilst Elise is really pushing the envelope (and really good on her) with pan-sexual main characters, I feel the main couples just did not get enough air-time. I'm not talking steamy romance scenes (though there was one in the Dragons of Nova - book 2 - that I particularly enjoyed), but just a bit more time with each other, to explore how their feelings developed and evolved.
I overall very much enjoyed the series, the writing has definitely matured since Air Awakens and it feels like a true literary muscle development for Elise. I am a soppy romantic (in an epic fantasy setting, of course) so do take that into account went reading this review.
Note to self: the possibility of developing carpal tunnel is not worth the convenience of an omnibus edition. This book is heavy, clocking in at 832 pages plus glossary.
Each of these novels in this contained trilogy were a solid four star read. The intricately crafted world was ethereal and captivating. While at times the emotional connection to characters felt a bit stagnant, the culmination at epilogue with each person’s respective development is wonderful. Basically all of the good guys (even those who are morally grey) win with justified vengeance against the tyrannical villains oppressing them.
There were some surprising editing issues for a decade-old series that is far passed its first printing: names changed spelling (Fay > Fae), incorrect characters were inserted in paragraphs (Arianna is clearly reminiscing about her childhood with Master Oliver but says Willard instead), print is not justified, various spelling errors. This is definitely being overtly critical and doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but rather was a minor annoyance after spending just under $100 CAD for a book.
I found out about this series from an ad on Facebook and liked what I saw. I deeply enjoyed the world building and the unique races that the author created. It was quite refreshing. I thought that the demise of the villains seemed rather rushed and there was a lot of filler that could have been used to make the book more climactic at the end. I don't know if it's just me but I thought Arianna was a massive b***tch to Cvareh the entire time. She has this jaded sarcastic personality that I thought would soften as the books went on but she didn't really. That was just one thing that bothered me personally. There could have been more opportunities for her to confront her past and heal in a better way. I mean she was still using sarcasm as a coping method at the way end of book 3 because she still can't get over pushing people away. Cvareh is a saint for putting up with her.
Omg!! I can’t say enough about this series!! So glad I tried something new, it was action from the very first page. The world and characters created were captivating and unique. I was personally invested in Ari, Cvareh and Flo. Their journey from the beginning of book 1 to the epic conclusion in book 3 was everything! Also a thing I should mention that made a huge difference to me was the glossary included in the back of the book. That made it possible for me to enjoy the book even more throughly because I was able to properly pronounce names and understand the intricacies of the societies in this new world.
Completely unexpected. This book is an inspiration. Lovers of the lunar chronicles would absolutely fawn over this series. Its a beautifully cruel world with wonderfully believable characters. You have Arianna, the White Wraith, strong from the beginning, protecting those she loves, and being absolutely brilliant. Then you have her charges, who grow in their admiration of her and surpass her into unexpectedly powerful and happy places. There is despair, choices, and sacrifice bundled neatly together. The past meets the present and collides with the future. Kova truly outdid herself. Plus, Arianna is a protagonist unlike any I've ever seen!
At a time I could not find any book to truly engage my total concentration, this series renewed my desire to explore the world it created and to rejoice in the resolution of a flawed but perfect heroine's struggles. I have always loved reading and feeling a book create a new reality for me has always been a passion for me both mentally as emotionally, so this time of arid non-interest in the books I tried to read before this saddened me greatly. Thank you so much for this series. I enjoyed it so much and hopefully I will find more reading material to keep my reading passion alive.
Elise Kova does it again. Her writing, her character development, and world building are excellent. And the books are for ALL ages. For those complaining about how Arianne never changed, I heartily disagree. Much about her evolved over the course of the series. Her PERSONALITY didn't change. And why would it? It's who she is. Mine hasn't changed in 60+ years! Certain behaviour changes, but we are who we are. I loved this series, with a satisfying ending. Not that Air Awakens, and it's add on series didn't end satisfactorily, but I find I still crave more stories about them. So many interesting characters I'd like to explore further. Jax, anyone?
The White Wraith has only been a legend, a rumor. A fen that could kill dragons? It was just a story Fen told their kids to help them sleep at night.
That is until Cvareh meets a woman in white that could certainly kill him if she choose to do it. What can he do? If she is as powerful as the stories say she is, she could be the answer to his prayers. She could help him get to victory. She could help him kill the Dragon King.
This series was incredible! Full of adevnture. Magic. Justice. Romance. Complex characters. Surprises.
It ia definetly a must read if you like fantasy series as much as I do.
Loom was a completely different world below Nova, a land of dragons against Fenthri. With rebellion, poison, titles, and Perfect chimera, I was sucked into this world and loved every minute of it. We see characters grow from nobodies to the most important role in the end. Dragons with the most important roles turned to nothing. There were even puppet masters that made the book what it was, Colette-Ryu. Even Deaths that made the book that much sadder.
The first book in this series was a 5 star read for me, but it quickly went downhill from there. The second book started out frustratingly predictable, quickly became infuriating and almost ended up being a DNF. I only read the third book because I was so far through the trilogy, but to be honest it was a chore to get through because of how much I hated the second book and I pretty much didn't care by the end.
When I first started this series, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through. I had hard time getting into the first book, but eventually I did, and each book only got better, so I'm very happy that I stuck with it. And for the price of the boxset, more than worth it!
Elise Kova has captured my heart with her imagination and writing style!!! I loved this saga!!! Didn't want it to end! Especially loved the ending she found! It's a great read for all ages. Try it and the Air Awakens series. You won't regret it!!! I'm off to enjoy the free prequel to another of her completed series, the Wish Quartet!
I admit it was a little hard diving directly into a whole new world, but once you’re hooked you just can’t get enough. This three piece saga was beautifully written, with an ending that satisfies your every question/desire. This was a fantastic saga to fall into. I recommend if you love a little magic, love, war, twists, and turns.
Good storyline, dropped a star for repetitive, but not frequent, grammar errors
I enjoyed the storyline, seemed quite original. The ending left room for more stories to possibly be written. Overall smooth writing, except for certain grammar errors which were consistent throughout the series (indeed, the same errors were found in other books by this author).
This series is fascinating. The world of Loom and Nova are very creative and left me in awe. The characters were all interesting and complex. I struggled with the change of point of view but it made sense that it was done this way. The story was not predictable and I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend.
What a complete world- and very intense. At times because it dealt with so much oppression and death, it grew heavy to read, but persevering through to the end was so worthwhile! Excellent work with developing relationships between people and nations.
I love all of Kova's works, but this one was hard for me to get through. Some chapters were slow and took a long time to build to the excitement. I'd still recommend the book series to fellow readers. The last book is definitely the best of the three
I read a ton of fantasy. I really liked this series because of the unique ideas and imagination of this story. Well written. Great female leadership. Will go on the "read it again" shelf.
Full of memorable characters, action, and well fleshed out full dimension characters, this series is definitely worth a read. Looking forward to more adventures with this amazing author.
I tried to like this book but just couldn’t. The story was just out there. Gray people, blue people and red people. That was awful. Then cutting dragon parts out to use on yourself to get powers. Made it to 1 chapter then stopped.
Completely different from other fantasy I've read. At first i wasn't too interested but I persevered and quickly realized this book was mesmerizing. I love the characters and only wish Kova had included an epilogue. I so wanted more ofAri and Cvareh .
This book was a fast paced rollercoaster from the outset. Loads of fun, action and a world cleverly imagined by the author which intrigued me from book one all the way to the end of book two. The ending was perfectly handled in the last book. I’ll definitely keep eyes peeled for more Elise Kova
I had sort of a hard start to this but I such with it and it turn out to be quite interesting. I truly enjoyed it.Would actually like to know if they retreated to the place in the mountains and live out the lives in quiet.
I am old but I think that it would appeal to other age groups. It’s mix of science, relationships and a touch of human emotion between unworldly creatures makes an enjoyable reading experience.