Search For A Review:
Reviews are in order by last name of author.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G| H | I | J | K | L | M |
| N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Books of the Year | About Me |
| ARC Reviews | Recent Posts |
| The Den (Home) |
MY ⭐️ RATING: 5/5
Format: Advanced Reader Copy
🚨 I received an advanced reader copy, provided by the author for an honest review. 🚨
This did not impact my rating in any way.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Wound a lion’s pride, and you will feel their claws. When Plas, defiant King of Ipithyia, insults Wely, proud King of Lynchun, Wely needs no further provocation for invading the realm of his long-time enemy. As Wely’s lord of battle, Othrun of Eastrealm is charged to destroy Plas and conquer Ipithyia.
This, despite Othrun winning a hard-earned peace with Plas, by sparing him from death, years before. But other ambitious warlords vie to seize Ipithyia for themselves. Othrun faces bitter combat on multiple fronts, intrigue, and the mysterious powers of Eltnish mages like Queen Lysi. Who still has securing Othrun’s love, and her own plans for conquest, squarely in her sights. Othrun will require the aid of his own mage, the enigmatic Viwa, to combat his foes who can deploy mages of their own. For Othrun’s mysterious spiritual guide appears to have deserted him. Othrun is forced to rely more and more on pagan magic – magic he is supposed to disavow as heresy – rather than his Single God. Othrun’s armies are led by heroes who seem destined to become legends, such as Othrun’s son the Younger, Ingersa, Glathan, Thurol, Yedwol, Eld, Centi, and the fiery and skilled yet untested She-Wolf of Carthlughe, Hiris, also known as the Haughty Princess. Yet even all those great warriors won’t be enough to ensure triumph. And Othrun will need to prevent temptation, doubt, and his mercurial nature, putting his once-staunch faith, and his allegiances, in jeopardy. But before Othrun can grapple with all these challenges, he must confront dark secrets that could not only destroy his shaky beliefs, but also destroy Othrun himself.
MY REVIEW
I think PL is such a tremendous author, and while it’s hard to find a word that can describe A Lion’s Pride, I think the word astounding stands above the rest, and it still may come up short in the beauty that is this incredible story. Stuart never lets me down with his story and impeccable character work that he does. Othrun is the embodiment of the perfect morally grey character because Stuart has such an innate ability of having a main character that on one hand, you can’t help but like at times because he can be such a great person, but at the same time, completely frustrated with some of the decisions that he makes. It’s the perfect balance.
The story is separated by 3 parts, the first part is Stuart masterfully weaving the intricacies of his work, forming the foundation of what is to come. I appreciate the slower, more methodical building during this time, because there’s a lot of ground work that has to be done, but it’s done in a way that kept my interest from the beginning prologue. Part 2 of this story gives something new to Stuart’s writing, which is time jumps, as the story progresses 5 & 10 years to help further along the story. I’m usually against time jumps, but these I thought were perfectly executed and brought the story to where it needed to be right when it needed to be.
“The word of kings, it’s said, is like trying to catch the wind. It blows one way, one instant, another way the next. Kings are changeable, mercurial, and prone to political expedience.
Their promises can be fleeting.”
Parts 2 and 3 were really something else, the intensity of the story ramps up and doesn’t slow down from that point. Incredible battles that are fought are absolutely epic in size spanning hundreds of pages it seemed, and the details are so intricate and precise that every step, every swing of the sword, every command is felt with perfect timing. The historical aspect of PL’s writing is what I love so much about this, because the detailed history always makes it feel like real events. But the difference between previous novels and this one is that this story has a lot more magicalness to it than it’s predecessors. There’s always been a tad in each, but A Lion’s Pride has even more magic as well as fantastical beings that show up, that made me giggle a bit, and that made me even happier.
There’s just something about this series that keeps me wanting more and more. Wether it’s the incredible world building or the precision in character work. Each page tells an epic story of a world that not perfect and characters, who’s flaws are not hidden, but broadcasted, while showing that change is possible, even if it takes years to do it. Change is slow, but growth happens every day, and at the end of the day, that’s what PL’s story is about. Change.
Wolfmantula.com 