The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence, #1) in The Tarot Sequence 2022 Readalong

Apr 15, 2018 Kathy Shin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: urban-fantasy, favourite-protagonist, champions-of-the-genre, summer-2018, favourite-series, best-of-2018-reads, unique-worldbuilding, main-lgbtq, great-supporting-characters, fast-paced

I've been sitting on this review for over a month, all the while rewriting and tweaking and coming to the realization that a written review can't properly encompass the adoration I have for this story and its characters. A hundred gifs of muppet flails would be a better representation of my feelings, but I figure I still have some shred of respectability and professionalism to maintain.

But that was more or less my experience reading this book--every cell of my body flailing their tiny cytoplasmi ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Lindsay M. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolute-favorites, fantasy

Holy. SHIT.

Do not sleep on this book.

It's hilarious, heartbreaking, original, queer, and incredibly well written. I don't think I've ever read a book where I can't pick a favorite character. I can't even pick between four. They fly off the page, and there is so much depth to this world that I can't wait to reread it and immerse myself again and again.

If you love fantasy, you have to try this.

ETA after 3rd reread: The audio is AMAZING! Highly, highly recommend. Definitely keeping this narrator o ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Rosa rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2019, books, buddy-reads, read-in-2021

I loved every minute of this. I'm not so fond of urban fantasy, I usually prefer high fantasy. I find difficult to enter in a world not so different from ours but with magic and strange creatures, but the world building in this one was really interesting and, in my opinion, well done. At first it could be a bit confusing but as you continue reading it becomes clearer. Magic and "normal" world are now one after a war in the magic world ended revealing magic to everyone.
This is a cruel world, wea ...more

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Jul 02, 2018 Iza Soares rated it it was amazing

Shelves: english-reading, 8of5stars, authors-recs, reviewed, 2018-publishing, wanna-read-it-again-one-day, two-guys-romance, amazing-bromance, 2018-reading, nobody-gave-me-an-arc-still-bitter

To make things easier, I’m going to index this review bc honestly, I already know it’s going to be huge.
1) About doing the review and rereads
2) Urban fantasy and how badly I hate it
3) The Tarot stuff
4) Worldbuilding
5) Rune e Brand and the best non-romantic relationship I’ve ever seen
6) Main characters
7) Side characters
8) Ending
9) Writing
10) Rating
11) The hanged man - out Jan 19’!
12) Side notes

1) Ok. Let’s do it. After more than a month, I decided I was rational enough so I could write a proper ...more

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Sep 02, 2018 Siavahda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: automatic-buy-authors, lgbtqai-protagonists, best-of-the-decade-2010-2019, original-superpowers-or-magic, pride-month, assorted-human-magic-users, every-book-a-doorway, issues-without-preaching, faeries, other-magical-creatures

Wow.

I really thought that urban fantasy, as a sub-genre, was dead to me. And maybe it is, because The Last Sun isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill urban fantasy. Sure, it's set (mostly) in an urban environment. It's even set in our world, more or less. It's fast-paced and packed full of action, both things I associate with urban fantasy; it's written in a deft, quick style that makes it easy to read and hard to put down, that particular style that often graces the bestseller lists.

It's just that Wow.

I really thought that urban fantasy, as a sub-genre, was dead to me. And maybe it is, because The Last Sun isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill urban fantasy. Sure, it's set (mostly) in an urban environment. It's even set in our world, more or less. It's fast-paced and packed full of action, both things I associate with urban fantasy; it's written in a deft, quick style that makes it easy to read and hard to put down, that particular style that often graces the bestseller lists.

It's just that Last Sun takes everything that bores me about urban fantasy and blows it into the water.

Because yes, it's fast-paced and full of action. But it's also decadent and weird and complicated, with queerness everywhere and some of my favourite-ever worldbuilding. I utterly adored reading about New Atlantis and the Atlanteans' magic, their culture and their courts, and everything Edwards tells us about those things is woven very naturally into the story, conveyed through Rune's signature voice (although I dearly want to learn more, one of many reasons I'm already pining for book two). Rune himself is the kind of male protagonist I'm not used to seeing; he's not the strongest piece on the board (or should that be card in the deck?), and if he's an Alpha Male, it's only in the truest sense of the term - he's fiercely protective not only of his loved ones but also the innocent bystanders, and sees his privilege as a responsibility and a duty, not a prize. That's not too unusual in your typical hero, but what is is Rune's ability to yield and give way when someone else is stronger or knows better than he does; you'll find no macho posturing bullsh*t here (at least not from him). He knows his strengths and defers to others when he's not the best one to make decisions, and this is never portrayed as a weakness but a sign of common-sense intelligence. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read about a man who feels no need to throw his weight around; the deconstruction of toxic masculinity as it usually manifests in fantasy heroes was just fantastic. In a similar vein, Rune's also a trauma survivor in a society that is not only unsympathetic to victims, but actively antipathic to them, and I don't know whether Edwards intended for that to serve as subtle social commentary on how our culture treats male victims, but I appreciated the message there either way.

As a Tarot enthusiast I actually found the set-up of the Arcana - the Atlantean Courts, each one named after one of the Major Arcana of the tarot - surprisingly fascinating; I've seen this trope used before, but never so well, and I'm excited to see more of the courts in future books. I honestly couldn't say whether I'm more in love with the worldbuilding - which I'm a complete addict for - or the characters and their relationships; Rune and Brand, with their Companion bond, were an amazing core of the story, and I was really happy to see the most important relationship in a book be platonic instead of romantic (although I will freely admit I ship it). If someone had described Brand to me before reading, I would have expected him to bore me - he's certainly extremely macho, but again, Edwards subverted my expectations. Brand isn't macho for the sake of it; instead, he's driven by a fierce protectiveness that is a wonder to read. His attitude being motivated by love instead of pride gives it a completely different flavour to the 'shoot first, ask questions later' vibe of your average action-movie hero - and he's also brilliantly smart, far from thuggish. Again, I want to know a lot more about the Companion bond, but only because I'm grabby for details no one else cares about, not because the book left me confused about how the bond worked or just how much it means, and matters, to those bonded.

The pacing, while quick, doesn't feel rushed the way most urban fantasies tend to; it's absolutely spot-on, and despite the fact that so much is going on, Last Sun manages not to drop any of the balls in the air. Every twist and turn is perfect; every sub-plot given exactly as much attention as it needs. It all feels balanced, even while it's simultaneously deliciously intricate.

If this is just his debut, KD Edwards is absolutely one to watch. Last Sun is without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year - maybe ever! - and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book of the series! ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Sam Erin rated it it was amazing

When I finished this book, I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, smiled, and said, wow. Because this book is a WOW book, especially for an author’s debut.

The characters in this book are something special. The relationships they have with one another feel life-like in just a few pages, with Rune and Brand’s relationship being a highlight for me. This is a very character driven story and I can say each character feels distinct, from Rune utter strength (and more than just physical st ...more

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Aug 31, 2018 Kate rated it really liked it

4.5 stars!
First read July 2018
Second read February 2022

Book Content Warning: talk of past sexual assault, drugs, suicidal ideation, swearing, violence, and probably a lot more I can’t even remember.

This was surprisingly different and chalk full of sass! I had a lot of tropes lined up in my head for a story like this, and it steered clear of a lot of them.

The world and plot held my interest the whole time, and there wasn't any unneeded info dumping. I loved the characters and their relationships. ...more

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Dec 17, 2018 Meghan Loves M/M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned_and_read, src-amazon, gen-paranormal_supernatural, era-contemporary-modern, gen-action_adventure, gen-urban_fantasy, reading_age-young_adult

(what happened to my text? fixed it)

This is the first novel in what is turning out to be the best series I've read in many years. The character dialog and action are just fantastic, enjoyable, kept me absolutely riveted.

While we start with 2 primary characters, Rune and Brand Saint John, and stick with them throughout, a found family gradually emerges in the midst of all the thrilling action & suspense. These are by far the strongest, most engaging characters to leap out of print and live in my ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Colette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, mystery, series, alt-universe, magic, 2018

The last audiobook of the year and probably the best.

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Aug 14, 2019 Kelsi Reads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, aspec-rep, queer-rep

This is a new favorite series hands down. I'm obsessed with all of these characters and I stg I teared up a little when I realized the second book wasn't out yet.

EDIT 12/12 2019 - Reread

Okay, I just finished a reread of this book and it's time to try and put my thoughts and feelings in some semblance of order.

First, let me say that I haven't gone so hard in a fandom since I finished binge watching the first 5 seasons of Supernatural in 2010. I want all the art, all the theories, all the headcan ...more

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Jan 10, 2020 Peregrine rated it it was amazing

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Look, I LOVE this book. The worldbuilding is SO COOL. The book did? Trigger the crap out of me. Whoops. I don’t blame it for that, though, while I do wish books came with handy dandy trigger warnings. So, trigger warnings: sexual assault (graphic and mentioned), eating disorders, and mind control (including (implied?) mind control of sex slaves).

This book was excellent though. I’m honestly usually into books with a lot of worldbuilding, because I tend to get frustrated whe ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Katey (Kaje) rated it it was amazing

Upon reread... this is still a five star book. Always has been, always will be. After reading my publisher-provided ARC of The Hourglass Throne, I knew I needed to do a reread of the first two books.

To celebrate four months until the release of THT, I have posted a full review of The Last Sun! It can be found here: https://littlesmaug.wordpress.com/202...

An excerpt:
K.D. Edwards has the most beautiful writing style. It still floors me that The Last Sun was his debut novel. While the books get inc ...more

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Oct 27, 2020 Yaredi Pizano rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, 2020, re-read, own, fantasia, 2022

Necesito la historia completa de Sun.

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Dec 27, 2019 Sadie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook-lgbt, must-reads, fantasy, maagggiiccccc, slooooow-burn, trigger-warning

Major trigger warnings!!This book is more than I expected. I freaking loved this book. This is a book is a must listen to. Josh Hurley is a new narrator to me and I hope he does more in the MM field. He is amazing!! Low heat level and not angsty.

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