Review: Not what I expected, in a good wy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 23, 2014
*Warning: May contain spoilers. Don’t read if you didn’t read the book yet*Wow. I don’t even know what to day. When I finished this I felt like I just watched someone grow another head…Needless to say when my request was approved to be on this blog tour I jumped out of my seat and about 3 feet into the air!Let me start by saying if you are expecting this to be as action packed as the first two, you might be disappointed. That is not to say the book was disappointing. Not in the least…When we last saw our heroine, Synthia at the end of book 2, she was about to be given to the Horde King as a “gift”. This picks up right where it ended in book 2, and well, things turn festive pretty darn quick let me tell ya!As she’s chained to the King’s bed, still unaware of her pregnancy (for now),  it’s not too long before the King starts to play with his new toy. Thankfully, he’s exactly who we wanted him to be. The elusive Ryder, once thought Dark Heir of the Dark Fae, comes clean to his Pet about having murdered his father and claiming his throne. Unfortunately he had to play Fae politics, and that means being a mean SOB so there would be no uprising in addition to a plan to follow through to marry for an alliance. Or does he?...Ryder’s father, the now dead former Horde King, was an evil, ruthless, murdering, misogynistic bastard, which gave way to the reputation of the Horde being the most evil and feared of all the Castes of the Fae.  Now that Ryder has taken his place he feels he must do whatever he has to do to ensure no one rises up against him, at least temporarily. All the while he plans keeping Synthia,. She is now aware of her pregnancy. With raging hormones she has to deal with the ruthless Claire (the potential future queen’s sister), being a concubine for Ryder while plans for him to marry still continue, and fighting her way through a Labyrinth of riddles. Literally.Her heart is pure enough to enter the labyrinth, make wise decisions that most of us wouldn’t be able to, and Danu (The Goddess Herself) even tells her how wise of a Queen she would  be, hmmm….I have to be honest. Parts of it were a bit tough for me to get through. I’m not one for those super alpha males and submissive female types. The whole concept of keeping a harem (or Pavilion as it’s called) and having women be only for alliances angers me (although it is explained why it’s there, and it’s not why you think). There are cultures on Earth (called Terra in Faery) that do that, and I find it immoral and meaningless to keep women as property. That never sat well with me, and it doesn't sit well with Syn, either. At first it disappointed me that she wasn’t the ass kicking, take no bulls*** assassin that she was in the first two books and I had to compartmentalize some things.At first I was mad b/c she didn't do what she used to. She went from the sassy mouthed warrior assassin to only worrying about how she was going to protect her babies and get Ryder to love her to the point he’d get out of his marriage contract. If it were me the second I heard someone say,  “Chain of command, Synthia.  I say it. You do it. End of chain, am I clear?” they’d die. But I’m a hothead-the kind Synthia used to be in books 1 and 2. That’s not to say she’s become submissive. Indeed she’s just found a different way to fight the same battles.I had to step back and think. A. I'm not a mom so I can't empathize with the whole ‘worrying about your kids’ thing, and 2. There's more than 1 type of warrior, and sometimes you have to play chess with your enemy.Fighting/Winning doesn't always involve brute strength and throwing punches. I’m damned proud of Synthia that she stepped up when she needed to. Toward the end she put several people in their places, killed liable threats and even gave orders to guards to the point that Ryder himself was impressed.Synthia is a smart lady. She knows no one ever won a game of chess by making only forward moves. In the end she did what was best for Faery. She knows the king owns the queen, but it's the queen that protects the king.I’m impressed with Ristan. He’s not just humorous and wise, he’s a girls BFF! He explains things on a level that makes you see things in a different light, and he’s never rough or abrasive. I was a little disappointed Zahruk and Adam weren’t in this book as much as they had been in the previous 2, so hopefully they will both make a comeback in the next one. Ryder let Syn see his beast, his alter ego within, and she didn’t recoil. She wanted to see and know more. By seeing what seems to be the worst in someone is a true test of how much you love someone. Synthia doesn't just fight to help to save Faery. She fights to save everything and everyone she's ever believed in.I will say Ms. Hutchins writing has come quite a way in a year. The characters, while not physically battling everything/one in sight, battle their own inner battles and come to several crossroads in their lives in a relatively short period of time. While this book isn’t action packed, it’s deeper on a more existential level. There are a few messages to get from this one. Give back to the land. Faery is alive, and it’s more important than any one individual. If you take from it, you need to give back to it. There’s a whole world out there. It’s bigger than all of us and no one will prosper from selfishness. Nothing is what it seems, and words aren't the only things that can be manipulated.With the emotional roller coaster ride that The Fae Chronicles have been so far, I look forward to book 4 with much anticipation!My Escaping Destiny Playlist:Apoptygma Berzerk-  “In this Together”51 Peg  “Dust & Grind”Bekah Kelso  “Crossroads”Oomph  “Labyrinth (English version)”Within Temptation  “What Have You Done Now?”Coldplay  “Viva la Vida”Poe  “Control”Evanescense  “Everybody’s Fool”Celine Dion  “Where Does My Heart Beat Now?”The Birthday Massacre  “Never-ending Story”Sarah McLachlan  “I Love You”Olivia Newton-John  “Magic”Katy Perry  “Dark Horse”Elton John  “The End Will Come for Us”Darren Hayes  “Insatiable”Chicago  “Hold me Now”Those Mockingbirds  “Ballad from Hell”Connect With the AuthorWebsite: [...]Facebook: [...]Twitter: [...]Goodreads: [...]