The Land of Night by Kirby Crow

3.5 STARS

Scarlet and the White Wolf - Book 3

This, the third and final installment of the Scarlet and the White Wolf series, was probably the best and I would like to give it a 3.5 stars instead of the 3. 

What made this volume better for me was the advent of some secondary characters that captured my affections. Liall's younger brother, the scholar sent to help Scarlet navigate the northern court, Liall's major domo, Liall's mother... I became attached to them all. :)

I found little of the Liall I had grown to enjoy in this novel - his wildness, his restrained violence, it was almost missing as he negotiated the return to his home court. I missed the Kasiri bandit a lot. All in all, it was a somewhat satisfying ending to the tale, although the plot twist that took it from a fantasy universe to a type of AU (alternate universe) was kind of lost on me. I didn't think the story needed it and would have been stronger without it. It was almost a cop-out on some good world-building. 

So, in the end, an enjoyable read and I will add Kirby Crow on my list of authors that I will read.

Mariner's Luck by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet and the White Wolf - Book 2

First off, I must reiterate that I nearly pitched the e-reader across the room at the way this book ended. Seriously, I think it might have been better all around if the author had put all 3 books of the series together in one volume. This, volume 2, is a short, quick read and the ending comes so abruptly that I was annoyed. I see no reason for the split at all and I'm hesitant to think it was done because of greed. 

That being said, I enjoyed this installment of Scarlet and Liall's adventures. I enjoyed the dance of attraction on the ship, although I was a bit dismayed at Scarlet's um... virginal innocence? He didn't come across that way in the first book. It was almost too much. I found myself wanting him to discuss more things with Liall, though. More about how he felt about the sex acts after what he'd seen in the bhorus (I think that's how it's spelled.)houses. 

The other part that I thought should have had more attention paid to it, was Scarlet's part in the defense of the ship when it was attacked by the 'pirates'. At the very least, his reaction to using his talent should have been noted by someone. All in all, this is an enjoyable series, but had the author taken more time with everything - character building, world building, plotting etc... it could truly be a great series. There is no doubt that I'll get/read the third book - it's just starting to get good, after all!!

Scarlet & the White Wolf by Kirby Crow

3 STARS

Scarlet & the White Wolf - Book 1

That's it? 

*shakes e-reader to see if anything falls out* 

Seriously, that's IT? :/ Damn, that's disappointing. I was really starting to get into this book and root for the characters and suddenly - it finished. 

Yes, I know it's the first book in a series, but honestly, it felt more like a Part One of what should be the first book in a series. (I'm trying not to feel a little manipulated.) We met the characters, got a feel for the world in which they live, saw glimpses and glimmers of their personalities, had more than a few questions thrown our way (precious few, if any, answered, BTW.) - and then... that was it.

I was really starting to enjoy the characters. Scarlet and Liall have their mysteries and by the end of the book we're starting to see many of the more subtle parts of their personalities - beyond big, bad Northern guy and small, pretty, young guy with the 'special powers'. I also found myself wanting to know more about secondary characters Peysho and Kio and hope we'll be seeing more of them in books to come.

The world-building was decently done, but again, seeing as this felt like only the first quarter of a good, juicy book, it felt incomplete. (The one thing I miss about e-books is either the lack of maps for these worlds or if there IS one, the inability just to flip easily to it for reference) I would have given this book at least 4 stars, maybe even 5, if it didn't feel like I was deliberately left dangling in the worst of ways. 

I will move on to Volume #2, because I'm intrigued by the characters and the writing itself was quite good. I just hope I don't feel the same manipulation at the end of it. :/