The Rising (The Rising #4) in Turning Pages At Midnight

Feb 29, 2020 Stacie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, touch-of-magic, fantasy, tpam-br, shifters, pnr, reread, witches

Still love! 1/2/22

4+ "Love and Sacrifice" Stars!

This was good! A lot of swooney romance a little action. A bit of gibby, gibby this and that. These books are looong. You know KA. Overall though, this series was awesome. Oh and my most favorite barbarian savage Dax Lahn makes a brief but quite memorable appearance that made me squeee!!! Lol! For fans of Kristen Ashley's Fantasyland series I recommend this series. Happy reading! ...more

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Aug 06, 2020 Jennifer☠Pher☠ rated it liked it

I am blown away and I don’t know why I am so surprised. I’ve read and re-read the Fantasyland series and this takes place in the same world. I don’t know why it didn’t resonate with me then, and maybe it did and I just don’t recall, but this series, I am astounded by Kristen Ashley’s ability to build these worlds. To write stories about lands that don’t exist. To write magic. It is no secret she is one of my favorites, probably my favorite in the M/F world. She’s a Queen to me. I just love her. I am blown away and I don’t know why I am so surprised. I’ve read and re-read the Fantasyland series and this takes place in the same world. I don’t know why it didn’t resonate with me then, and maybe it did and I just don’t recall, but this series, I am astounded by Kristen Ashley’s ability to build these worlds. To write stories about lands that don’t exist. To write magic. It is no secret she is one of my favorites, probably my favorite in the M/F world. She’s a Queen to me. I just love her. But this? I don’t know how else to say it but BLOWN AWAY. Her ability to write words that created pictures in my head and transported me to this world, just wow.

But, unfortunately, being astounded by the world doesn’t necessarily equal love for the story and this series, just missed the mark for me and I am not exactly sure why. Up until this book I had been giving the other books in the series an easy 4★ rating. I was on a roll and had to immediately start the next book, the future was bright. But, I was tired by this book. I won’t say bored but maybe I was borderline bored. With all four couples being written together I felt there was a lot of repetition. If it happened to one couple it had to happen three more times. Everything had to be fair and equal. There were also a lot of other couples in the story so there was just so much emphasis on everyone getting page time. So, again, I think I just felt tired by the time I got here.

I was interested in all the goings on but the main going on, The Beast, I just seemed to not care. Once he was free I was pretty much over it and it seemed such a small part of the story when really, it was the reason there was a story at all. Maybe it just took so long to get here.

I get adding emotional punches to a story, believe me I do. It’s probably not my favorite thing, I’m not a fan of heart pain, but in this series, there was a lot of loss and some, I didn’t agree with. I know, I know, this isn’t my story and the author can do whatever she wants to her characters but really, I just wish, for at least three it hadn’t happened. I don’t think it improved the story. And one of those losses, almost ruined the entire story for me.

The end. This book can’t get 4★'s from me. This book, how it wrapped itself up hurt me and angered me so much I almost feel everything I read before it just didn’t matter and lost all my love. I don’t know why it had to happen and to add insult to injury what became of the HUGE FUCKING LOSS just about ruined more than the series for me. I questioned my loyalty to this author for a second. I just couldn’t believe this was how she wrapped up the story. I still, about a week later can’t believe it.

Enough of that.

Overall, holy shit, the world building blew me away. I loved the fated mates for the prophecy and how the fates truly picked so well. I loved, mostly, watching the couples learn each other and fall in love. Silence wore on me at times if I’m honest, but it was a treat to see them come together on their own not because of the prophecy. I loved all the secondary characters and how well they played their parts. I loved, loved, loved the M/M loving represented in the series, I still hold out hope she’ll write us a straight up (haha) M/M Contemporary Romance at some point. The cameos from the origination series were the best! Overall, it was a great series and would have been 4★'s across the board if not for the ending. I won’t apologize for that.

My tribute to “Our Brother Golden Hair” is a ★.

I do look forward to traveling to the Mystics and hope that really happens. ...more

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Jun 15, 2020 Shan ~A~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, audio, erotic, in-series-or-trilogy, favorites, fantasy, witches, angels-or-demons, dragons-no-shifter

I enjoyed this series so much. Is it sad to say that I want more?

Kristen Ashley definitely left us intrigued by the secondary characters enough to make me want to know how their journeys will end, while wrapping up things quite nicely for the couples in this particular saga.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the final battle, and was sadden by the people who were lost throughout this battle with the beast.

Although I loved every minute, I did feel that the final battle was not what I was e ...more

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May 24, 2020 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks-listened

Well......I enjoyed this series. It was a perfect escape from the real world. It is a KA book so there were the usual descriptions of EVERYTHING, badass heroes, strong heroines (I loved the story of the Nadirii warriors - women beating their oppresors and establishing their own land without men). Fantasy is a good genre for KA. She's good at world building. Hi, Dax Lahn. :)

There are also the usual other KA things that drive me crazy. Repeated phrases (in the now, for the now, thus) that took me ...more

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