Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson
Book 4, Tairen Soul series
Genres: Fantasy/Paranormal Romance
Year: 2009 (October 27, 2009)
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 08439-6060-4 (Leisure Books)
Reason for Reading: ARC submitted for review

From the back cover:

Only together could their souls be complete.

Only together could they survive.

Only together could they unlock the secrets of the past and unleash their greatest magic.

As war rages all around them, and the evil mages of Eld stand on the brink of triumph, Rain and Ellysetta must learn to trust completely in their love and in themselves, and embrace a forbidden power that will either destroy their world or save it.

My Ramblings:

Queen of Song and Souls is the exciting fourth book in the Tairen Souls series by C.L. Wilson. In my opinion, due to complex world created by C.L. Wilson, this series needs to be read in order starting with Lord of the Fading Lands, thus experiencing this series to it's fullest.

C.L. Wilson elegantly throws us back in the world of Fey in the prologue where the King of Sword and Sky ended. From there we follow Ellysetta and Rain as they travel across the lands trying to create alliances with the Celierians, Elves and Danae, to help fight the war against the evil Mages of Eld. They have come to realize that Vadim Maur and the Mages have been preparing for this war far longer than they suspected. They know the only way they can win this war is to combine the Fey forces with all of the other races against the dark magic of the Eld. But these alliances are tenuous at best, due to the intrigues of politics between the different races. Unfortunately, during this dark time of war, they can’t afford any weaknesses or doubts.

As Ellysetta and Rain travel, self discoveries are made about themselves, questions are answered and new mysteries are revealed. Ellysetta is also plagued by horrible nightmares and the anxiety of baring four mage marks made by evil High Mage Vadim Maur. And Rain tries to hide from Ellysetta that the bonding madness has started and that it is advancing fast because of the fighting on the bloody battlefields. In addition to the tremendous worry of the war, they are both distress from the inability to complete their truemate bond; completing the bond will keep Rain from descending into madness and save Ellysetta and her powers from being controlled by the evil Vadim Maur.

Queen of Song and Souls contains all the elements that makes a perfect and terrific read for me: a complex and creative fantasy world, edged with darkness; a romantically, poignant love story; edge of your seat suspense; and truly evil and vile bad guys. C.L. Wilson combines all of these elements elegantly with her beautiful prose. I honestly don’t have one complaint about this book. Not one. As this series has progressed, each book just keeps getting better than the last.

I experienced such a wide range of emotions reading this book that by the time I was finished with it, I was emotional exhausted, in a good way. While I was reading my emotions ranged from being anxious, angry, happy, a deep sadness, surprised, thoughtful, and worried. In the end, I was left with a strong sense of forbidding. I’m happy to say we get some long awaited answers but new questions take the place of the old ones. All in all, Queen of Song and Souls is going down as my favorite read for this year, hands down.

Queen of Song and Souls is not to be missed, it sets the stage for the next and final book in this series. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the conclusion to Ellysetta and Rain’s story in Tairen Soul this coming year.

My Rating:

Read an excerpt of Queen of Song and Souls

Where you can find C.L. Wilson: Web Site | Blog | Twitter

The Tairen Soul Series:

1. Lord of the Fading Lands
2. Lady of Light and Shadows
3. King of Sword and Sky
4. Queen of Song and Souls
5. Tairen Soul – TBD

Other Reviews:

• Smexy Books

I want to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and wished me happy birthday last week. Thank you!!! Your Awesome!!! The blogging community is such a wonderful place, full of great people and I'm so happy to have met all of you online.

Books Bought & Received:

The Cold Kiss of Death by Suzanne McLeod
Book 2, Spellcrackers.com Series
I bought this book online at The Book Depository. I'm looking forward to the second installment this series.

Synopsis from author's website:

Genny Taylor works for Spellcrackers.com
Making Magic Safe. But her own life is anything but safe!

‘The ghost grasped her shift and ripped it open. The three interlacing crescents carved red-raw and bleeding into her thin chest didn’t look any better than the last dozen times I’d seen them. The wounds weren’t lethal – they weren’t even recent; she’d been dead for at least a hundred and fifty years – but my gut still twisted with anger that someone would do that to a child.’

Being haunted by a ghost is the least of Genny’s problems: she’s also trying to deal with the witch neighbour who wants her evicted. Finn, her sort-of-Ex – and now her new boss – can’t quite decide whether he wants their relationship to be business or pleasure. And then there’s the queue of vamps inviting her to paint the town red; how long before they stop taking no for an answer?

Just when it seems things can’t get any worse a human friend is murdered using sidhe magic. Determined to hunt down the killer and needing help, she turns to one of London’s most capricious wylde fae and the seductive vampire Malik al-Khan.

But all too soon she realises she doesn’t know who she can trust – and now Genny’s the one being hunted, not just by the police, but by some of London’s most powerful and dangerous supernaturals.

Ghostland by Jory Strong
Book 1, Ghostland World
I bought this book at my local Borders. I've been wanted to read this book for awhile, well ever since kmont at Lurv à la Mode showcased this book.

Synopsis from author's website:

In a post-Apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, wealthy humans delight in decadence while the religious gain power through temptation. For the masses, fear reigns from birth to death, and the afterlife holds beings that only the bravest can summon—or dare to desire…

Taken from her home and family, shamaness Aisling McConaughey has no choice except to enter the “ghostlands” in order to learn the fate of a wealthy man’s mistress. But there is always a price to pay for the use of her power. To save the woman’s life she must summon the Djinn prince Zurael en Caym—and yield to his savage, sensual rage.

Zurael fears nothing except being called and bound to a human’s will. He intends to kill Aisling after she’s served as bait to find an enemy in possession of an ancient tablet. But the more he tastes of her innocent spirit, the more he’ll use his fiery touch and seductive whispers to keep her hungry for his mercy—even as they weave an erotic spell that he cannot escape…

Powerful forces threaten both their worlds, leaving Aisling and Zurael with an unbearable choice. Follow their hearts…or stay true to their honor and risk losing an eternity of pleasure.

Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson
Book 4 of the Tairen Soul series
October 27, 2009
I received the galley pages from Dorchester Publishing for review. [insert fangirl squee!] The book gods were smiling down on me and decided to answer my prayers.

Synopsis from author's website:

The first deadly battles of the new Mage Wars have been fought, and victory has been won at a terrible price. As the toll of an unfulfilled matebond and the torment of war begins tips Rain towards madness, Ellysetta knows if she cannot find a way to defeat the darkness growing inside her and complete the truemate bond, Rain will die and she will become the prophesied monster Vadim Maur uses to destroy the Fey and enslave the World.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Book 1, Vampire Academy Series
I bought this book at my local Borders. My stepdaughter wants me to read these books, this is one of her favorite series. Yesterday she convinced me to check out the first book.

Synopsis from author's website:

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires--the ones who never die.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir; she is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.

After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking hearts.

Fear made Lissa and Rose run away from St. Vladimir's--but their world is fraught with danger both inside and out of the Academy's iron gates. Here, the cutthroat ranks of the Moroi perform unspeakable rituals and their secretive nature and love of the night creates an enigmatic world full of social complexities. Rose and Lissa must navigate through this dangerous world, confront the temptation of forbidden romance, and never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...

Exciting News! C.L. Wilson has posted the prologue and chapter one to the long awaited Queen of Song and Souls on her website. Go forth and experience a moment of pure happiness!

Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson
Book 4 of the Tairen Soul series
October 27, 2009

The first deadly battles of the new Mage Wars have been fought, and victory has been won at a terrible price. As the toll of an unfulfilled matebond and the torment of war begins tips Rain towards madness, Ellysetta knows if she cannot find a way to defeat the darkness growing inside her and complete the truemate bond, Rain will die and she will become the prophesied monster Vadim Maur uses to destroy the Fey and enslave the World.