HER MIND IS MORPHING BY THE MINUTE…PREPARE TO HAVE YOURS BLOWN!Cancel your lunch and dinner dates, and clear out your inbox at work before picking up DISSENT, the SEVENTH installment of the action-packed reverse harem sci-fi fantasy series, Rise Of The Iliri! Because this is the truth: This epic series, spellbinding from the first, only becomes more powerfully enthralling with each adventure. … powerfully enthralling with each adventure. Start DISSENT at your peril if you have looming deadlines!
Author Auryn Hadley goes deep rather than wide on this one, reveling in the relationships that are the source of power of Salryc Luxx, commander of the Anglian army and leader of all iliri. Danger surrounds her on all sides: from the enemy’s encroachment on the borders of her former homeland, to the many humans who still perceive the iliri species as an enslaved inferior race. The thing that Sal fears most though, is losing her mind; all members of her lineage have been driven mad as their powers increased–and Sal’s mind is morphing by the minute.
Even before Sal joined the Black Blades, they were the best of her country’s elite forces, bred to be ferocious predators and trained to be deadly soldiers. They think as one, feel as one, yet possess their own special abilities–and Sal is their center. Their deepest secret, that the Black Blades are all crossbred iliri, is now out in the open. With the addition of Sal, a purebred iliri, they have become the most deadly creatures on the continent. Now the country that disbanded them needs them to defeat the invading Terrans. Sal desperately wants to defeat the Terrans and their leader, who will stop at nothing to wipe out the iliri. Ironically, saving the country that enslaved her people is the only way to save them.
As the strain begins to show, Sal is trying to let herself lean on the Blades, a band of brothers, some of whom share her bed – and it’s getting really crowded in the bedroom! The more of them there are, the more adorable these guys get, like puppies piled up around a warm fire. Although some of the human males in Sal’s world aren’t quite used to the reverse harem model of family life the iliri favor, the smoking (but tasteful) sex scenes are guaranteed to please readers.
Rise Of The Iliri will keep epic fantasy and action-adventure fans—as well as crossover romance and mystery readers—hypnotized into the wee hours. (Grown people. Magical though they may be, these are definitely not books for the underage crowd!) Because of the exotic sexual instincts of the iliri, DISSENT may not be suitable for humans under 18.
Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern will find Sal’s planet Ogun an irresistible destination for their next fantasy fix, and some fans may be reminded of Avatar without the scary beasts, or Game of Thrones. (But happier.)
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“Sometimes the only good answer is to close your eyes and jump”
Another superb instalment in what is hands down the best epic science-fantasy series I’ve ever read.
Sal continues to grow into the role she must fulfil, her pack is growing and the war is coming closer. In this book we get to see some of the “smoking (but tasteful) sex scenes” alluded to in every blurb for the series. They don’t overwhelm what is essentially a military action adventure tale, and Auryn Hadley knocks it out of the park as usual.
Five shining “it doesn’t get better than this” stars. Very highly recommended.
She’s shaking things up. This is an excellent book. There’s more enemies than they know but there’s also so many allies they don’t realize they have. I love these books. Every one just builds more and more.
In this addition to the Rise of the Iliri series Sal must deal with the CFC and their xenophobic ways. People turn traitorous. Iliri learn to fight back. Sal fears losing her mind. Her men just want her to be happy and alive.
Sal is an interesting character. She’s strong but not, happy but not, driven but fearful, brave but sometimes unsure. All of the dichotomy of her personality makes her seem more realistic, even though her species is anything but(that we know of anyway). She tries so hard to save people who refuse to show her respect, who try to send her species off to die as cannon fodder. I’m honestly not sure I could contain myself that well.
The other characters of the series, and there is quite a large cast, are also interesting. They too seem realistic. Some of them we get to know very well, although none more than Sal, and some we know enough of. Sort of like we know the people around us. Sal would be ourselves, the main cast would be our close family, the remainder would be our friends. Effort was put in on everyone that we see repeatedly.
If you haven’t noticed by now, little hints are left randomly in previous books. They don’t quite seem to matter that much until a couple of books later when it becomes an important clue as you look back. It makes me wonder what the author’s writing process is because it seems very well laid out despite it being a long series. The writing style is pleasing to me as well. It’s not overly wordy or stuffy. It’s not so complicated I need a chart to follow along. It isn’t something meaningless to pass the time(which have their place, but not for this subject matter). This series could easily have become bogged down and overly complicated, but it didn’t. That is a tribute to the author’s writing style and ability. The games of men-politics, war and power-are all interwoven with relationships, love, death and dreams.
As I’ve said before, what really hit me at the beginning was the first page of the first book. I could see man doing that to a planet that we landed on some time in the future. We’ve done it to our own and mans nature will not change as long as we are still here. If you don’t notice the parallels, look a little harder and think a little deeper. Maybe it won’t resonate with you like it did with me, but I think it is important to notice our own nature and what part we wish to play in this world. Which character would you be based on who you are now? Which character would you want to be? If you aren’t the person you would want to be, maybe think about what you can do to change that. Or don’t. That’s a freedom you have.
This book was not as emotionally draining as the last book. That isn’t saying it isn’t emotional. It is. Just less crying in this one. This one was a bit slower, with them being stuck at Ft Landing most of the time. There was more political drama in this one as well. While there is some physical fighting, it was more of the politics and says and traitors and such here. So for me, that was a bit slower and more anger inducing than draining.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this series and this book. If you’ve made it this far, why would you stop? If you are just browsing for a new series and happened across this one, start at book one. You need the back story for this book to make the most sense and for the emotional impact it should have. It’s worth it.
Another great addition to this amazing series!
Love the twists and turns, and figuring out who is pro-Iliri. Loved the Iliri fighting back and wanting to stay and create change there instead of moving.
I keep trying to figure out who is going to join Sal next!
You ever have a story that you just didn’t want to end? This is that story. I CAN’T wait for the rest of the series. I just wish they were already out, I want to know how the story ends. Three more books to go?! No! You can’t do this. Not fair. *weeping* I’m totally addicted. Humans in these books have forgotten their history, what we’re dealing with right now. Hatred & bigotry. Social commentary wrapped up in space opera at it’s finest! Don’t miss out.
I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Dissent, but also bought it because it was that great. Sal is so fierce, yet has the most loving heart. In this book Sal is back in Fort Landing, trying to organize the Conglomerate war effort while dealing with prejudice against iliri, trying to stay sane, and figure out how Kolt fits in. The scenes with Sal and Rayna out having a girls night are some of my favorites.
I have re-read this series twice since Dissent released. It is awesome!