Tome Thursday: Phoenix Rising

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to tonight's book of choice.

 

And may I say, if you're not moseying about on Instagram and finding all these delicious reads, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

Because half the time, I stumble over something completely new and unknown to me, which is SAYING something for someone who's been reading, actively reading that is, for over 30 years at this point.

 

It's hard to surprise me anymore, is what I'm saying.

 

And yet, Instagram - or should I say Bookstagram - continues to do so.

 

I somehow scrolled through so many posts I landed on one that talked about 'the last dragon shifter' and what all he needed to do, but the book in question was the SEQUEL ... however, if you asked politely, the author would kindly send you a copy of the first one so you could get up to speed before grabbing the ARC for book two.

 

Yes, book two is hitting the blog next week, just as it hits stores so you can buy it. You'll be able to read ALL about it on here next Thursday. But for tonight, we're talking about the starting point: Phoenix Rising!

 

As I don't have any other books yet by Jennifer Allis Provost, it should be obvious there won't be any links down below at this point in time. There WILL be as time goes on, however, because, of course there will be.

 

Anyway.

 

Rosalie's minding her own business when her dad bursts into her room, ranting about her half-sister Caterina, and the fact she ran off the day before her wedding to the Black Duke of Dragon Ridge. It should be noted that the dad has/had plenty of mistresses, and that's why the girls are only half-siblings, but also only Caterina is ROYAL, as her late mother was the sister to the current basilisk king.

 

I digress, but the duke being here for a wedding, they kinda need to provide him with a bride, so Rosalie's it, even if she doesn't want to. 

 

She marries the duke, of course. Lochlyn just so happens to be the most handsome man she's ever seen. But then she gets sick just as they arrive to Dragon Ridge, and spends the next week in bed, and there's a bunch of other moments where she has so many different emotional reactions that she gives me whiplash as a reader LOL, and poor Lochlyn can barely keep up!

 

But suffice to say, things are choppy at best by the time a woman comes asking for Rosalie ... and it's Caterina.

 

Also, she's pregnant.

 

ALSO, also, her knight, Curran, whom she ran away with, is missing, and he told her to come find the Black Duke should something feel wrong, so here she is.

 

And none too soon, because apparently she's carrying a phoenix shifter, and a powerful one at that, because Curran happens to be the son of the current Grand Master, you know, he head honcho of all the phoenix warriors gathered in the Order of the Sun, so like ... welp?

 

You'd think their biggest trouble would be Caterina's impending birth, because phoenixes are born faster than other shifters, but no: some of Lochlyn's maps get stolen, and for some reason Rosalie's dad wants to send her true brother, Devlin, to her in Dragon Ridge.

 

To foster, to spy on, who knows? She just says yeah sure, let him come.

 

What's one more trouble when Cat's basically burning up while giving birth?

 

She does, in fact, give birth to a baby boy, whom Rosalie and Lochlyn name Jonathan, because Curran pops up out of nowhere just at that moment, and he and Caterina disappear.

 

Having finally consummated their marriage and found common ground, our couple head into the village attached to the Ridge to maybe adopt another child so Jonathan won't be lonely, and they end up adopting a gaggle of children, all of who bear the fire mark.

 

This means they're full phoenix shifters.

 

It also means that phoenixes have been sending their children to Dragon Ridge in secret, but neither Lochlyn nor Rosalie can quite figure out why.

 

They don't have all that much time before the king summons them to Serpens, the capital city, and they can't exactly turn down a royal invitation, so they go. Unhappily, all things considered, because Rosalie's pregnant at this point, and Lochlyn's dragon scales - oh yeah, by the way, HE'S THE LAST DRAGON SHIFTER, obviously - are standing up from his skin, easily visible.

 

Considering the king happens to be looking for dragon scales to supposedly cure himself, as he's stuck halfway between basilisk and human, that's dangerous.

 

It all comes to a head in direct confrontation during which our couple learn Curran is at the palace, but can't reach Caterina because she's in a lead-lined room, and lead hinders phoenix abilities; Lochlyn gets poisoned during the fight, and the couple take shelter at the temple of the priestess order that even the king dares not defy.

 

They manage to patch him up, although he can't seem to shift anymore, but they also figure out that Rosalie's mother bound her abilities by hiding lead under her skin, and now they free them, which is just as well because they'll be sneaking into the palace to free Caterina and Curran both.

 

I mean, Rosalie kinda rescues a bunch of the king's serving women while she's at it, too, and Lochlyn discovers the royal alchemist has been keeping dried dragon skins he got from Rosalie's own father, to experiment on, so he sets the entire tower on fire, as you do.

 

He and Curran also loose a prisoner from the Order's jail, and the prisoner turns out to be a huge ass basilisk who can talk to them as a human can, confusing everybody; Rosalie burns him enough to ensure that he lets them go, and they all hit the road, fast.

 

They hightail it back to Dragon Ridge with some help from Curran's father, who, as it turns out, is also Rosalie's grandfather, as her mother was his daughter. Rosalie blackmails him into letting them go, promising he can come visit (with plenty of terms attached, to be discussed later), to make it happen.

 

At least they manage to reunite Curran and Caterina with Jonathan, and they're home, safe and relatively sound, one would say.

 

But I mean, trouble will come a-knocking sooner rather than later, with the Grand Master itching for a visit, and them basically fugitives from the crown and all that jazz.

 

They have the kiddos, and each other, however, and Lochlyn promised that any phoenix who felt threatened could send their child to Dragon Ridge, where they would be safe.

 

As for the basilisk ... well, come back next week to hear all about HIM in book two!

 

Thank you so much to Ms Provost for sending me a copy of this book!

Firstly, this is an insta-love book so, if that's not something you like, you should probably not try it. As it's a fantasy setting and I'm not here for the romance but for the overarching plot, I was fine with it.

Second, there are unfortunately continuity errors which I believe were meant to point in the direction of the final clash and all, but they serve only to make a reader sigh because information - the same, mind - gets repeated by several different people to each other, every time apparently new, when it isn't.

Thirdly, Rosalie spins faster than a spinning top, managing to fluctuate from reasonable to OHMYGOD HE *MUST* HAVE A LOVER in about 2 full sentences on page.

Miss ma'am. This is a Wendy's. Take a chill pill and actually think before you throw yourself into a canyon because your dramatic booty makes decisions based on the next flavour someone sells you is best.

THAT ASIDE, I actually enjoyed Lochlyn and the book as a whole. It has great bones, introduces an interesting world, a mystery that will hopefully continue being elaborated on, and characters that - while flawed - are endearing enough you do want to keep on reading.

For me, while Rosie and Lochlyn may flounder and occasionally seem way too immature for their positions, they also have hearts of gold and I want to see them succeed. So on we go!

 

xx

*image not mine