Review: Happy to see some romance this time!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2014
I loved the plot for this installment of the Portal Series. Nymphs and satyrs robbing a bank was an exciting beginning and then finding out why they did it and where things go from there kept me in suspense. P.L. Blair is great at crafting stories where you can't predict where they'll go easily. There are always a few twists you don't see coming and Sister Hoods is no exception.The world-building is fascinating as well. There is no doubt in my mind the author puts in a lot of time to research the backgrounds of the various races, plus developing her own creative slant to make things even more interesting. With every book, this builds and I'm always excited to see what she'll throw in next.The cast of characters is diverse as well. Kat (the main character) might be human, but most of the others aren't. Tevis, her partner, is an immortal elf. Arvandus is a very old wizard and leader of their small task force. Gairth is a mix of races with one half of him being a love-talker, but he's also training to develop his magical skills. Achmed is a djinn and bound to Arvandus (there's a story behind that but you'd have to read the earlier books to learn about that). And the newest member of their group, Jorge, who is a Hobgoblin. I'm growing to really like him. Despite the diversity, these are all "good" characters who get along very well together. Sometimes I think it's almost too well, other than Achmed who is always looking to cause trouble as any djinn would, but considering the powerful bad guys they must face it's a good thing there isn't much conflict between them.The pacing in this novel is done well. There was so much new lore introduced. It should have felt like it dragged when the characters got into long discussions about various topics, but instead I was caught up in the story and enjoyed learning about the histories of these interesting races and "objects of power" that cause no end to their troubles. PL Blair really knows how to weave a good tale.The only thing that came as a bit of a shocker is the romance. Anyone who has read the previous books knows minimal progress has been made toward Kat and Tevis hooking up, though that's what I've been hoping for all along. There was always a slight simmer of attraction, but both characters vehemently resisted it to the point they never discussed it with each other or had any "almost" moments. That changes with this book, but it still felt like there wasn't much progress until perhaps the last third. Then things went at warp speed. I'm not going to spoil how, but I would have liked to see a stronger build-up and transition. More stolen moments perhaps. There was a great opportunity when Tevis invited Kat over to dinner, but the reader doesn't get to see the actual date, only a summary of it after the fact. Nothing happened between them anyway and I'd really wished they could have shown some of their feelings for each other that night.Despite the sudden change of direction with the romance element, I was happy with the end result and look forward to seeing how it goes. There were also some big changes that took place with the group as a whole and I can't wait to see where this leads in future books. For contemporary fantasy fans, this is a great series to try. Just make sure you start with the first novel, Shadow Path. It's well worth the read!