The Hanged Man (The Tarot Sequence, #2) in The Tarot Sequence 2022 Readalong

Sep 16, 2019 Kathy Shin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: main-lgbtq, great-supporting-characters, interesting-relationships, champions-of-the-genre, urban-fantasy, interesting-magic-system, stories-about-families, winter-2019-to-2020, best-of-2019-reads

Hey K.D? Sequel Syndrome just called. It wants you to send some pillows and blankets to the titanium coffin you just buried it in.

Clearly The Hanged Man is the product of a mortal man making deals with a high demon, because it has no business--none whatsoever--being this damn good. Disgusting, paradoxical levels of good.

I mean, we've seen New Atlantis before, we know these characters, so the honeymoon glow should have worn off at least a little, because that's how sequels tend to go. The world s ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Rosa rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019, buddy-reads, books, favorites, read-in-2022

I don't know why I keep picking up series on going... it seems I like to suffer. Now it's too late to back down. I loved this second part of the Tarot Sequence. The Last Sun was a nice surprise and I was eager and fearsome of reading this second book equally but it was sooo good. I may talk about spoilers, so read under your own responsibitity.
(view spoiler) I don't know why I keep picking up series on going... it seems I like to suffer. Now it's too late to back down. I loved this second part of the Tarot Sequence. The Last Sun was a nice surprise and I was eager and fearsome of reading this second book equally but it was sooo good. I may talk about spoilers, so read under your own responsibitity.
(view spoiler)[The worldbuilding keeps being good and interesting. We know a bit more about the Atlantean War, its motivations and consecuences. We also get to know The Arcana, the rulers of this world, and the glimpse we get at them is interesting. There's so many things going on under their rule. Alliances and betrayals, and I'm afraid our poor Rune is in the middle of that and he still isn't aware about the whole implications about his House fall.
I distrust some of the Arcana, I think all The Hanged Man issue was a bit shady. There have to be some of them implicated. And I still haven't made my mind about The Tower, and that last exchage between him and Rune, while it could be interpreted like he's on Rune side, it also could be quite the opposite. An oath has been made but it's not clear which one.
There's some interesting new characters in this book, specially Lady Death, I hope we'll see more of her in the future and she becomes an ally.
I liked that we also get to know more about Brand and how he became a Companion for Rune, and what he had to lost for that and how Rune felt about it. I'm glad while this is a subject that open a bit of a argument between them, it isn't dragged all the book down, and it's solved in a realistic and mature way.
Addam has less page space here, or that's at least my impression, but every appareance counted. I like how his personality is shown to us. After the last book, I was worried he was going to be too perfect, too complacent. Always under Rune shadow, agreeing to everything. But then, they argued and I like how Addam made his point of view known, without drama, but without renouncing to make his feelings known and accounted for. I think that was handled in a good way, creating conflict, real conflict, but suiting the characters and the plot. Addam finally talks to Rune about what he expects from him, and from life and it was perfect. I'm looking forward at how they'll manage their court and how the talla bond is going to affect them, because that was overlooked there.
And the last part, when Sun finally started to claim his inhertiance... this book was intense since the very beggining but that?? When he finally claims his family and opens to Brand, and it seems everything is going to be revealed but there's still some more secrets between them... Oh, Rune! You're going to be the death of me! (hide spoiler)]

Thank you Linda for the awesome BR! <3 ...more

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Oct 14, 2019 Siavahda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: assorted-human-magic-users, every-book-a-doorway, awesome-girls, issues-without-preaching, need-to-review, crescent-classics, favorites, friendship-rules, poc-secondary-characters, first-person-pov

I devoured this book in under a day.

Do you know how long it’s been since that happened to me? I’ve been struggling to concentrate on any book at all, never mind actually finishing one; that’s why my currently-reading shelf on Goodreads contains 49 books – I keep starting things and being unable to finish. It’s not a problem with the books, but with me, and I could talk a bit about why but that’s really not the important thing here.

The important thing is that I could not put this book down. After ...more

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Jan 26, 2021 Marijn rated it really liked it

This book is essentially found family on steroids.

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Dec 31, 2019 Iza Soares rated it it was amazing

Shelves: english-reading, 8of5stars, two-guys-romance, amazing-bromance, nobody-gave-me-an-arc-still-bitter, to-review, auto-buy-author, 2019-publishing, fav-authors, pre-ordered

This is only my second time reading THM. And since I'll finally review it with the same care I reviewed TLS (which is only fair), I'm opening this file so I can comment a few things as I go so I won't forget anything. Let's go!

But to begin with, I wanna say that one time I reas someone talk about the lack of female characters in TLS (which I wholeheartedly agreed even if I didn't notice it at first), and I know Keith saw it too. I don't know if THM was already written at the time and he made ch This is only my second time reading THM. And since I'll finally review it with the same care I reviewed TLS (which is only fair), I'm opening this file so I can comment a few things as I go so I won't forget anything. Let's go!

But to begin with, I wanna say that one time I reas someone talk about the lack of female characters in TLS (which I wholeheartedly agreed even if I didn't notice it at first), and I know Keith saw it too. I don't know if THM was already written at the time and he made changes or if he's was still writing. The result is the same tho: we have new female badass characters. And yes, that's totally great. It's always awesome to have good female characters. And it also shows Keith is not only reading reviews but also willing to actually listen to the readers. It's not something I see very often.

I think there's something very unusual in Keith's writing. I feel like anyone could write something like "I went downstairs and wait for him". But the way Keith does it makes us think at first the character is downstairs because he wants to. And there's worldbuilding and inside thoughs and then, only then, there's the reason he's downstairs. I don't see that very in the other books, I think there's something very special and unique in this kind of writing. And I most definitely like it a lot.
On that note, I really like the scenes transitions, how we always (almost always?) get a few bits about the world building or Rune's history before we go into the next moves. It's a sweet transition and it's good even when we finished something more cliffhanger - as in, even when we're dying to see the next steps, the opening is good, sweet, well placed.

I will confess that before starting this book for the first time, I thought it would be harder to deal of the whole situation with the hanged man. Not that it was easy, mind you, but I thought it was going to be one of those plot that's always in the background until the last episode (or book). I'm glad it wasn't the case. We got a closure relatively fast (it's only the second book after all) since I was expecting it would last for a few books. Oh, and in such a original way! I don't know what exactly I was expecting but Rune is so creative! I know he stress again and again how the lack of sigils made him more original but I would say smarter tho. I guess it's easier to rely on a lot of sigils than to actually think. Don't old people always complain about how the new generation will never know how to drive without GPS? (which I strongly disagree but not the point) I guess is the same logic. Rune had to get criative and with that he got smarter.

Speaking about characters, it was just a-mazing to see all my faves back but it was even better to get great new ones. Corinne and the kids feel like a new found family from the start, and Lady Death is just so badass you can not avoid to fall in love with her on the spot. It really makes me happy to see Brand not being erased on this book with all the new characters. To me he's as much the protagonist as Rune and it would be a shame to get him less time of page - he's just too amazing. And it really makes me happy to know I'm not the only one here, it makes me a little less afraid of getting less and less Brand over the time. I also noticed a new depth in the character's... Well, character? It can be simply about knowing them better, but it also can be from the authors development. Either way, they feel more mature, stronger, more tangible.

I really love the feeling of finishing a good book. The kind of happiness you get when you have such a great ride and even if things aren't exactly how you wanted, it was just so good overall that you can't stop that satisfied sigh. I can see - or maybe feel - Keith's writing getting better in this one, I can picture the characters better (which I never do) and the scenes, but he doesn't do that in a overly descriptive way, he just... have a thing, you know, a way with words. I'm used to skip a few words when I'm reading - probably because adhd - but with this book I almost didn't. I actually read almost every word and could picture scenarios. It just doesn't feel like he's one of those "paid for word" kind of authors lol each and every word is meant to be.

Anyway! I know The Hourglass Throne will be out in a few weeks but that is still too much waiting! I have such high expectations for our first trilogy ending!To finish this bigger than average review (i guess not as big as my TLS one tho), I just wanna say that I'm extremely grateful for being here since the first weeks when TLS released. It has been a hell of a ride and I'm very thankful to see this tiny fandom getting bigger and bigger every day! It's a pleasure to be a part of this!

(reviewed in 23/03/2022)

***
31/12/2019 - first impressions
As it happened with the first one, I'll need to reread it so I can make a proper review. I have so many feelings and questions and thoughts. I may wait for my physical copy to arrive, or maybe not. I know the first trimestre at work will be crazy, so I think it will be helpful to have somewhere to scape to. Shortly, I had even higher expectations for this one, and Keith surpassed every single one and more. ...more

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Jan 01, 2020 Colette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, paranormal, m-m, fantasy, mystery, alt-universe, magic, 2019

This is one of the best fantasy series around. I highly recommend you get The Last Sun, then this one. The writing is 1st rate, the plotting and characterization impressive. I look forward to the next book!

I also listened to the audio book and the story came to life under the excellent narration.

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Jun 22, 2020 Sam Erin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The first thing I HAVE to note is that themes of sexual violence, sexual assault, underage sexual violence, and other sexual themes are a FOCUS of this book. Anyone reading this book NEEDS to know this going in. These parts are difficult (in my opinion) to skip. If you can’t handle these themes, do not pick up this book. I’m seriously. That being said, I do think KD Edwards does a MUCH better job handling these sensitive topics than he did in the first book in the series, so I appreciate him for The first thing I HAVE to note is that themes of sexual violence, sexual assault, underage sexual violence, and other sexual themes are a FOCUS of this book. Anyone reading this book NEEDS to know this going in. These parts are difficult (in my opinion) to skip. If you can’t handle these themes, do not pick up this book. I’m seriously. That being said, I do think KD Edwards does a MUCH better job handling these sensitive topics than he did in the first book in the series, so I appreciate him for that. These topics can still be a lot though, so please be aware of that and proceed with caution. This is also mostly contained to the first half of the book, and if you can get through this part, I strongly encourage you to read this book because it is LOTS of fun.

Having said that, lets jump into the rest of the review. This is an EXCITING BOOK. Like it’s a book that makes me have physical reactions. It is a DAMN GOOD BOOK. One of my favorite feelings in the world is when I get full-body EXCITED and KD manages to do that multiple times during the novel. God, it’s such an amazing feeling and it often comes at such surprising times. And then it’s a full-body CHILL when you get to intense and awesome part. Amazing. Simply amazing is what this novel is.

Alright, let’s talk about the Hanged Man for a bit. This guy is SICK. Genuinely a SICK and terrible person who tortures, who sexually abuses people, someone who ENJOYS this all and sees it almost as entertainment — and you can FEEL how terrible he is through the pages of this book. KD has a way with words when even though he’s not being graphic ( which I appreciate) you can still UNDERSTAND how terrible this man is, how terrified people are to even say his name. Specially, at one point of the book when things COULD get incredibly too graphic, KD uses a spell and shys anyway from it excellently in a way that makes complete sense. That if you ask me, is a sign of a skilled author.

And knowing this obviously no one is going to let Max get taken by The Hanged Man. This book continues to strengthen the bonds of found family been the Saint Johns and the Saint Nicholases— this is truely the story of three dads and their two sons (and Queenie, who is a literal saint for putting up with all of their shit). The relationships between the characters continues to be one of the greatest strengths of this series, with Max’s relationships with everyone being the highlight (and driving point) of this book.

I need to talk for a moment about how KD talks about trauma. There is a beautiful scene where Addam points out that what happened to Rune in past ( particularly his sexual assault which was depicted in the previous book less than carefully) is something that was done TO RUNE. He didn’t CAUSE IT to happen. And I really appreciate that conversation and I truely see it as growth from the previous novel.

The Hanged Man is a story you don’t wanna miss out on and I can’t wait for the third book!

...more

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Nov 03, 2020 Lindsay M. rated it it was amazing

Wow, did I really never review a book from my favorite series and writer? I've read this twice, and it's absolutely fucking fantastic. I want to hoard these books and keep them to myself because they are so special and important to me. I've thought about this world and these characters every single day since I first read the last sun two years ago.

Also, Rune and Brand are soulmates and will live happily ever after or KD and I will be having words. MANY WORDS. ...more

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Dec 21, 2019 Kate rated it it was amazing

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Dec 17, 2019 K.D. is currently reading it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

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Jun 17, 2020 Peregrine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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Oct 20, 2020 Sadie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook-lgbt, book-boyfriend, must-reads, fantasy, rich-bitch, maagggiiccccc, fated-mate, slooooow-burn, trigger-warning, relationship-goals

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Aug 04, 2021 Rasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bromance-and-epic-friendships, lgbt

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