Early Review: Blood of the Sorceress by Maggie Shayne
Blood of the Sorceress by Maggie Shayne
The Portal #3
As an ancient king’s favorite harem slave, Lilia committed the worst of all possible crimes: loving another man. When the king discovered her treason, her lover was sentenced to lose his soul and linger in eternal imprisonment, and Lilia herself was executed alongside her sisters. While they reincarnated through countless lifetimes, she lingered alone between worlds for thousands of years, waiting for the moment to rescue her beloved Demetrius.
Now that moment has come. Demetrius has broken free, but without his soul and in the thrall of the same high priest who betrayed them so long ago; he has become an icy, uncaring cad, devoting himself solely to pleasure and power. Somehow Lilia must convince him to reclaim his humanity, to abandon the enemy tempting him to give in to his selfish desires–or her life will be lost alongside his, both of them condemned to eternal damnation, eternal isolation, their love lost one final and irrevocable time.
For thirty-five hundred years Lilia has been trapped between worlds while her sisters reincarnated over and over again. She's been waiting for the right moment to set into motion the events that will bring her lover back from the hell he was sentenced to. And now that moment has finally come, but not without complications as once he was revived without any memory, he quickly slipped out of Lilia's grasp and into a life of greed, pleasure, and power. She only has a limited amount of time to convince him to take the remainder of his soul back from her or their last chance to be together will be gone forever. The clock is ticking.
I have to admit I wasn't really feeling the relationship between Lilia and Demetrius. A lot of that had to do with the way the two of them acted individually. Lilia was so utterly single minded in her pursuit of getting him back, even whenever it put her sisters in danger. Honestly that kind of put a sour taste in my mouth. I understand that she loved him and really believed in him, I just would have preferred her to have a little more consideration for what was happening to everyone else in the way. As far as Demetrius, even if you put all the nasty stuff he did before he was "restored" aside, he still wasn't a very likable character at first. I just mean that he was way too quick to believe the priest and treat Lilia like crap all the while acting rather selfish and entitled. Luckily, it didn't take too long for my opinion to start to turn around as they slowly started to redeem themselves. To be honest, I think that growth and progression made the book even more enjoyable than if I had of instantly fallen in love with the two of them. I've just always had a soft spot for the path to redemption and this book really fits that bill.
When it comes to bad guys, sometimes it can be hard to "impress" me as I think I've become a little bit jaded from all of the books I've read. I mean there are only so many different "big bads" you can read about before they start to blend together a little bit, and the impact is lessened. However, that was absolutely not the case in BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS. The big bad is so terrible it gave me the willies. I mean his very presence just seems slimy and oily, like something you can't get out of your skin. Every time they described his rotundness I just pictured this fat hairy and disgusting man licking his lips and I literally cringed. There was some major shuddering going on while I was reading this book. It's been a very long time since I have wanted to see a bad guy defeated as much as I did in BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS. Even though this is a paranormal romance, and a happy ever after is expected, I was still rather worried about how he would get his comeuppance at the end as nothing would have been harsh enough for that vile creature. But I guess that is a testament to Maggie Shayne's writing skills in her ability to craft such a three dimensional evil man.
I really enjoyed this trilogy, between the great cast of characters, the intriguing nature of the magic used, and the overall reincarnation story line. Each book was a treat getting to see each sister take their turn in reuniting with their long lost loves. But what really made this series stand apart from other paranormal romances was the way it built up over the course until it all came to a head in BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS. A lot of the time I prefer Urban Fantasies because of the series build up, although it can be frustrating to have the delayed gratification in the relationship department. So, since this series is the best of both those worlds, it truly is a rare gem that should not be missed.
(Received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley)
Rating:
Pre-order:
Other Reviews:
Previous Books:
