Review: Imaginative and thrilling
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 7, 2013
Trisha Wolfe has done it again, pulling me into an original, intricate world that's imaginative and dark, fascinating and a little scary but also thrilling. Women rule and protect in one realm. Man conquer and hold another. But underground, neither gender seem to matter. There's very little known about the Otherworlders who live in the depths of the planet. They rarely surface -- or more precisely, are never seen -- and have been thought nearly extinct. When they invade the upper-crust kingdoms and sack them for slaves and mercury, their world's most precious resource, they're proven to be more mysterious, brutal, and a bit crazier than the stories have painted them.Gladiator meets caged UFC fighting, it's a battle to the death in the pits of darkness. All for someone whose name the Otherworlders are too scared to utter. And all while Kaliope, the new head of the Nactue Guard, tries to protect her people, sworn sisters, and princely charge, bring back the artifact that powers her empress and land, hide the fact that she pumps mercury in veins, and understand the goal of her enemy. Whew! Like I said, thrilling and a kick-ass heroine.But I adore how Kaliope has to grow into that role. She has the utmost faith in her goddesses and matriarch but little in her own purpose. Though has she earned her title to lead her empress's closest guard, she has doubts of living up to it, let alone exceeding it. And she must or her whole world will crumble. A part of me did crumble at the end of the book. Once again, Trisha Wolfe ripped my heart out while still giving me some hope. I fell in love with the characters and the relationships. I mourned the losses of both and smiled at the development of the new.Plot- and character-driven, with rich world-building and emotion,Of Silver and Beastsis a fantastic read. I'm anxious for the next installment of the series, scared yet excited for what it'll bring to the garden of silver goddesses and beasts.** eBook provided by the author in exchange for a review. **