Piper thought she could handle the Sahar, the most powerful magical weapon in existence. She thought she could protect her loved ones and stop a war. She thought she could make a difference.
She was wrong, and her mistakes were paid for in blood.
Leaving her world — and her failures — behind, she retreats to the Underworld with Ash and the other draconians. They forge deep into long abandoned … into long abandoned mountains, the first draconians to fly the valleys and passes in centuries — or so they thought. Until now, Ash’s mysterious heritage has been nothing but a name, but his presence does not go unnoticed. A new danger stalks him, one that may be even greater than what they escaped.
Cut off from the power she’d come to rely on and lost in a world where she doesn’t belong, Piper has never felt so hopeless. But she must find her strength, and find it quickly, before she loses Ash to an ancient power he can’t fight, before her home is devastated by the daemon war, and before her mind, body, and soul are consumed by the Sahar’s insidious magic.
The Complete Steel & Stone Series:
Book 1: CHASE THE DARK
Book 2: BIND THE SOUL
Book 3: YIELD THE NIGHT
Book 3.5: FEED THE FLAMES
Book 4: REAP THE SHADOWS
Book 5: UNLEASH THE STORM
more
What the actual hell?! This is so NOT an ending. After everything I’ve been through this is what I get?! No no and no. I’m glad there’s going to be a continuing series, because this. This is in no way satisfying.
Okay, so apart from the very flat ending (sorry, but what the hell again?!) this was so amazing. So far this world is the most interesting this author hos created and I never ever want to leave it. It has so much potential for so many more series in this universe. Gods I love it.
Here’s some of what I highlighted while reading that made me smile
“They attacked you.” She grabbed his chin, tilting his face to examine a scratch down his cheek. “They hurt you,” she growled. “They aren’t allowed to hurt you. You’re mine.”
…. He gazed down at her with dark eyes, analyzing her as if she were a strange specimen in a zoo.
“What?” she grumbled, feeling a blush coming on. “I get a little weird when I shade, okay?”
“We incubi might claim to understand them,” he grumbled to Ash, “but no male can actually comprehend how a woman’s mind works.”
“It’s safer to not even try.”
Pain dragged her back to consciousness and she groaned. Well, she wasn’t dead. She hurt way too much to be dead.
“Genius weaver, remember? Of course I can do better than Ash.”
I really enjoyed this series. It’s a great, well-written saga. The battle scenes keep you on the edge of your seat. Add in the plot twists and the writer keeps you guessing. I highly recommend this series.
Annette Marie is the proverbial pot of gold: an author who consistently delivers high quality well written, well edited, grammatically correct, original, entertaining stories. She invites you into her worlds and you never want to leave.
Every time I finish one of her books, my first thought is to read it again, to savor the characters, their development, and their relationships. The relationships developed in her books, both friendships and romantic, develop gradually, revealing layers and connections that strengthen over time. She creates people, not tropes.
Her plots are strong, complex, and keep you riveted. The worlds she creates are internally consistent and vividly imagined.
I realize this is a generic sort of review, but I plan to leave it for all her books. From the Red Winter series (mythic Japan); to the Steel & Stones series, including Piper and Ash, and the Lyre and Clio books; and the Guild Codex series, now including the Robin Piper demon-training: I have yet to find anything less than pure enjoyment, and great respect for her talent.
WOW!!! I was pulled in from the beginning! Fabulous fantasy world, I absolutely love this series of books, the action starts straight away, and the characters are well defined early on and blossom throughout the series, you can feel the tension building between the main characters and each book always leaves you wanting more. The sub plots plus twists and turns keep you surprised and intrigued. Be warned though once you start reading this series you won’t be able to put the books down so be prepared for some binge reading.
I can’t believe it is over. OMG, I seriously don’t know what to do with myself now. I am having major book hangover. I finished book 5 in the Steel & Stone series days ago and I still can’t think about anything else. I hardly have words to describe how awesome this series is. It made me cry, it made me giggle, it just plain made me FEEL things. I haven’t been this invested in a series in so long and it feels amazing. Annette Marie is my new favorite author and Steel & Stone is my new favorite series. Each book in this series gets better and better and book 5 was just incredible. This book series has changed me. We all know what it feels like to read a book or a book series and you just feel different inside. You can feel the story lodged in your chest. This is the way that this book and the rest of the series will make you feel.
What I liked
Everything. No, seriously, everything.
One of the absolute best things about this series is how complex the characters are. I love how much they grow as the series goes on. And even better is the way the characters relate to one another and interact with one another. All of the relationships are choreographed so expertly.
The story is woven so beautifully and masterfully. The way things come together at the end are mind-blowingly perfect. Every single little detail from all of the books keep building up and they converge at the end harmoniously. The way that things play out really is perfect.
I really liked all of the new characters in this book. I loved seeing all of the draconians surviving together. I really loved how they embraced Piper (for the most part) and how her relationship with all of them grows.
What I didn’t like
This book and this series as a whole is flawless. Truly flawless. There wasn’t a single thing that I disliked about this book or the series.
There were a couple of things that I dwelt upon at the end, but I by no means disliked the book for not knowing the answers. It was more of a curiosity. —SPOILER AHEAD— I was curious about whether or not Piper and Ash could have children together since they are both “dragons” in a sense. Tenryu and Shenryu are siblings, so the draconians and the Overworld water dragons are related then, right? The only other thing that I was super curious about is which Underworld caste was in Piper’s ancestry. We found out that her Overworld caste was the more powerful daemon blood in her, but we never found out her Underworld caste ancestry. I was curious if that could have played a role somewhere in one aspect of the story or another.
Would I Recommend It
YES, by all the glorious gods across every spectrum, you HAVE to read this series and this book!! This series and this book are brilliant. Enough said.
Title: Unleash the Storm (Steel & Stone #5)
Author: Annette Marie
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc
Number of Pages:432
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Date Read: 02-05-2018 – 18-05-2018
Favorite Quote: “Loss can be like chains holding you in place or a fire pushing you onward. We each choose every day what it will to us.”
“Focuse on the now and the next, not the distant future of maybe and if. Even those of the strongest faith can falter when the eyes focus to far in the distance.”
“Love was both a great strength and a great weakness.”
Review:
I hard a hard time finishing this book, it wasn’t that I didn’t like the book or enjoyed reading it, because I did, I really did. I was in a bit of a slump and I didn’t want the series to end I suppose.
What is this book about:
So this is the final book in the steel and stone series. Piper, Ash and Lyre are hiding from Samuel and his men and are trying to find a way to end it once and for all.
We see Piper becoming her true self, we see more of her abilities and she really really works hard to help.
We see Ash becoming who he never thought he would be. And Lyre is revealing a bit more about himself to Piper.
Ash will find an unlikely ally, one they never thought they’d have, one that could turn everything around and help them win the war against Samuel and the Hades family.
Piper is trying her hardest to rally the forces on earth to work together and join them in the fight.
And Lyre will have to face the people he has been hiding from for a long time.
Will they be able to defeat Samuel or will everything be lost…
What did I like about this book:
I really liked the development these characters went through. They came a long way from the first book. I didn’t see much change in Lyre though because I always found him awesome and he remained that way.
I really liked how well Piper and Ash developed in their relationship and I really hope they’ll remain together they are perfect for each other.
Like with the spell weaver series I understand the ending but it also made me feel like it was unfinished (and it is in away) it’s just a different ending than regular romance ending. If that makes sense haha.
I did like what Ash said about their relationships, that they get to decides what works and that they’ll do what makes them happy. I am anxious to see what happens in the future with Ash being the last Taroth and all and the line mustn’t die out.
Overall I really loved this series. It’s very well written and very interesting. I look forward to reading more about Ash,Lyre and his girl, piper, Misys and the others.
Rating:
5 It was amazing Stars
This is one of the best world building, action packed, and romantic fantasy adult/teen series I’ve read. I loved it and was sad when it ended. You know it was a good one when you hate to say good bye.