Ascension Day

Ageless Mysteries #6

by Vanessa Nelson

Caught in the middle of two powerful forces, can Thea find a way to survive?

The Archon has ordered a day of celebration to mark her ascension to power. While most people in the city are looking forward to a day off and an excuse to drink and eat too much, Thea and the rest of the city's Watch are on high alert.

The Archon and the Ageless might be the rulers and the most powerful beings in the world, but they are not well liked. And there's a human faction that wants to see them fall.

After a difficult few months, Thea just wants to do her job and keep the city as safe as possible. The Archon and the human faction have other ideas and Thea finds herself in the middle of their conflict while trying to solve some apparently unconnected murders.

Neither the Ageless nor the humans care who else might get hurt in their power struggle, so it's up to Thea and her allies to try and stop the coming disaster.

Ascension Day is the sixth and final book in the Ageless Mysteries series. Get your copy of Ascension Day today to finish Thea's story.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Angels, Action

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 14, 2022

About the author

I am a fantasy author living in Scotland, United Kingdom and spending my days juggling the demands of an elderly, spoiled cat, two giant dogs and a host of fictional characters.

As far as the cat is concerned, she’s in charge and should always come first. The older dog’s favourite method of getting my attention is a gentle nudge with his head. At least, he would say it’s gentle. And the younger dog's attention-getting method generally involves playing with the loudest squeaky toy he can find.

You can find out more information at the following places:
Website: www.vanessanelsonwrites.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Taellaneth

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, unremarkably nice. Plenty of unanswered questions in my mind and a very young teen attitude in the faint romantic thread made this book a barely 3 star experience.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the entire series.
As I've written elsewhere, this author's novels would be much better if they contained less (MUCH less) repetition.
I would also have liked more world development, more information on the past of this world, more psychological analysis of the characters.
But hey, I've read all six books, so there's some good stuff!

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ascension Day" concludes this fantasy mystery series. I thought the culmination deserved a better ending. This one felt rushed. The author also never answered a couple of questions relating to Reardon and Elise plus the potential targeting of twins by Aldric. This series makes for a nice fantasy beach read. The Ageless Mysteries plots are straightforward and the main character is rounded if a bit sheltered and naive (for a grisly murder investigator), but it worked for me.

KU eRead

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As entertaining as always, Nelson finishes off this series in much the same way as it's gone along the whole way. Predictable but satisfying anyway.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made it. And what a relief it is
Now I feel drained, my mind blank
I know I had so many thoughts, things I wanted to mention and yet I'm totally wiped out.

And while I have been binge-reading the series for the past 10 days or so, I'm not sure if want to read another series by this author.
Too many plot holes, unresolved issues, unanswered questions and if I hear anyone say "Question for another time/day" one more time... aaargh. I wanted to scream every time it was mentioned again.
Most of this book I couldn't really enjoy, Thea was back to making stupid rookie mistakes and I didn't like the vibe between her and Niath in this one. It just felt off. Although it kinda started in the last one already and with him being her Shadow less and less rather the opposite
It was also becoming more and more clear that for most of the outstanding questions we were never going to get an answer.
And so while I liked the story overall, this really bothered me, especially with regards to questions, issues concerning our main characters, the story, but other things as well... i.e. who or what is Iason?!! To mention only one of about agazillion questions.
I'll probably give the First-in-series of The Taellaneth and/or The Hundred a go at some point but I already know that if she starts up the BS with not answering questions again I won't be continuing them, knowing what I know now that she's most likely never going to answer them anyways...

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

AND I FINISHED IT! Yep, my binge is over ...

For the final book, there are things I am satisfied with and there are things I don't.

I'm satisfied with the fate of the Archon (Edris) and her son (Aldric). Those two needed to be rid off, and I was happy that it was what happened in the end. I thought it would bring a new era of leadership from Ageless, Ageless-born, and human. I was also satisfied that the other villains (Kendrick and other Master Merchants) were gone.

BUT, I wasn't happy that Thea still hadn't accepted her Ageless status. She still wants to be "ordinary". Gosh darn it, Thea, you HAD WINGS, EMBRACE IT!! Also her relationship with her father seems to be up in the air. I would love for her to be closer to Reardon, at least he can teach her to fly better. But the book ends before anything like that happen.

All in all, entertaining series. Now I have to only wait for the final book of Nelson's The Grey Gates series which will be released Feb 2024

[Sudasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a bittersweet moment for me - I loved this book but it was the last one in the series!

It was so amazing to see Thea finally come into her own and I'm so glad she and Niath get their happy ending.

I would recommend this 10 out of 10 times to anyone looking for a vanilla series, especially for younger persons and kids.

[Alix]

Not sure why the ratings are so high, but I was drawn into the series, definitely. The sentence constructions were an issue, but it wasn’t too glaring the further into the series I got. Some of it was predictable- especially the last 100+ pages, but still fun to read :)

3.5. Not sure this is a series I would reread, but I will read other series by the same author!

[Laura Hesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

A delightful ending to a wonderful series. There are a number of bloopers in the storyline throughout that can be a bit confusing but it was well worth pushing thru. Going to read a lot more by this author.

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I couldn’t have asked for a better ending 🤗

[Beth Despres-mach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Review of All 6 Books...

Okay, I gave each book a 5 star review and they were worth a lot more then that! I usually get bored after a few books in a series and drop it due to the repetition, but these books are all different even though they follow a similar pattern. I'm hooked with this series and wish it would continue on her adventure with learning her magic and flying, getting over her fear of heights, learning about her Father more, what happens with her Mom, the list goes on and on. This series is so good that I squeal like a little girl (I'm 50) when talking about it 🤣. I truly love it and highly recommend it to everyone of all ages!

[Elliot Shinwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Captivating Read From Start Finish.

I started book one and was immediately enthralled with the storyline, the pace and of course the characters, they came to life from the pages. I binge read to the last word of book six. The only thing was I was left wanting more. I wanted more of Thea's exploits, her hopefully marriage to Niath, plus at least two children, hopefully twins, I just want MORE!!! 5 star all the way.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good series but at times the repititon was a bit off putting. It's the final book in the series but I'm left with many questions :

1.What is Iason exactly?

2.Will she ever be confident flying and learning magic?

3.What does it mean that Niath is her shadow?( For this I feel there's more to it that wasn't explored )

4.How will the Ageless live in this new world where they are not supreme rulers?

5.How will the people cope with the freedom?

6.How does Thea like exploring other worlds not in her hometown?

7.Will the places ruled by Edris fall into chaos first trying to find a new way of living?

8.How will they ensure they is a never another Edris?

9.Who will new rules to govern the Ageless and how will they be punished for breaking the rules?

10.Will the wealth accumulated by Edris be used to help out the struggling people in the empire?

11.Will the Ageless continue to isolate themselves from the public and live high up in the citadel?

12.Will the people ever forgive the Ageless for their tyranny?

13.Will the people make new currency and are sharp weapons now allowed to everyone?

14.Will the Ageless born already conscripted be immediately released ?

15. Is there compensation to be given to those who suffered from being in Edris greedy wars?

The above is a just some of the questions I could think of at the moment, it just doesn't feel like the end of a series 😭

[Morten Mogensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last in the series. It was a pretty okay murder mystery urban fantasy story. I will never reread it, because it has glaring issues. The main one being the gigantic "too stupid to live" trope, of the "lets do every single thing ourselves" variant.

Our MC has been tasked with finding a criminal from the previous books before a certain date. This criminal can use magic, has a terminator, has hired mercenaries, and is a Lex Luthor style genius. What does our MC do? She goes out alone to check out his hiding places! Instead of, oh I don't know, calling in reinforcements from her police force, or maybe from the FLYING WARRIOR WIZARDS, that by the way, has done absolutely nothing this entire storyline.

I mean, why even have them if they are nothing but background information. If they where utilized in any way, this story would be done in 10 minutes. Instead our MC runs headlong into every single HQ that she finds, taking only 30 seconds to look around before running into the inevitable trap. I have lost count of the amount of explosions, shots, and hits she has taken during this series. One would think that after the 10th exploding trap she would learn.

I really want to like this series because the background lore is really great and the setups had loads of potential with our MC just wanting to keep her head down in a dictatorship and her having a mysterious past, but it just turned into a 70's superhero comic, where she wins IN SPITE of her stupidity and not because she uses her brain or brawn.

[Riri · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 hrs and 26 mins

muntik ko na i-2 stars to jusko parang di naman ako nasayahan sa climax gskska napaka petty ng Archon wtf pero I guess in character siya don? lol niwey mej nabored na nga ko hahaha. Ang weird pa nung wala man lang umawat dun sa Archon’s son nung inattack niya bigla si Thea lol like anlapit lang nila Niath sa kanya non pero parang ang eksena ay naka freeze ang iba at parang pinaubaya na kay Thea ang killing part haha parang ganon yung feels tipong nanood na lang sila gxjsnska. Pati yung mga fight scenes din sa taas ng Citadel nung buhay yung Archon pa ang ano lang para lang silang nasa eksena na may kanya kanyang turn. It felt unrealistic lalo lol pero sige na lang. Then sa gitnang part ng book parang nawala talaga ang glow ni Thea fshsjs patong-patong na ganap pero wala na siya ma-figureout and everything.

Curious pa rin ako sa nangyari sa letters ni Reardon at Elise hmmm di man lang ako nabigyan ng closure gsjsjs. Pero nakakapanghinayang din story nila pero I like Ware din tho.

Nag enjoy naman ako sa overall journey nila Thea sa 6 books pero di talaga ako interested sa main plot and no wonder why kasi ang petty naman pala. Mas bet ko pa rin story ni Max haha sorry theaaaa.

happy naman sa ending na makakapag travel na si Niath and Thea while doing their job stjans.


I’m off to another series of this author ahehe

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and i would recomment but also a little disapointing overall. I like the characters and the world and the mystery of it. I did like the Archeron twist at the end. I didn't like how many unanswered questions their were.

I kinda of thought the story was leading towards Thea being some destined ruler or something and that's why her face doesn't change. Niath talks about how his people were body guards to royalty and hints that he recognizes her at their first meeting. Thought there was going to be something to that, or even a fated soul mates kinda thing. Particularly with how cagey he is about information on that topic throughout the books.
The whole mystery involving the letters between her parents seeming to have been intercepted to cut off communication was never addressed. Kind of thought there was something to that.
We never learn what the doctor guy actually is, kinda expected a big reveal on that one.

Then it's wrapped up in this neat little package but the fact is if you suddenly and unexpectedly topple an oppressive regime things don't just smoothly transition into self governance. The reality is that this whole fantasy world is about to spiral into chaos for years. But yay happy endings are happy 😬

[Ida Hagen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet just don't kick a punch! At last the over all plot line through out this series develops and has an ending. It was so slow and without any taking action from the main characters side. Things just happened and she was at the right place att the right time. And just handed everything so it wouldn't be any lose treads. The slow burn finally progressed but without any burn. No yerning, no grand speech or expressing off feelings, just a kiss and a unknown future. 
I wanted a twist or some action that the main characters had chosen to progressed and worked for. Usually with the individual books in the series the mystery for the book makes upp fore the overall lake of plot through out the series but this fell flatt because it's was about the ending of that, non existent, not worked on, plot. So what usually keeps it interesting and has been good, with is the mystery, took a backburner. If only it would have been worked on leading up to this book it may have been fine.
It didn't need to be six books, this would have been good as the third one. With a little work on the pasing and bigger plot, plus a twist this series was great. Love the world, the magicsystem and the murder mystery.

[Fernanda Fatio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good ending to the series. The one thing I really like is that the author did not dump Thea with a boatload of powers and a sudden position of powers as we see in many stories. Even though she was partially responsible for the fall of the Archon and her son, the responsibility of leading them didn’t automatically go to her and she manages to stay with her relative normal life.
There was, however, many things I wanted to see, perhaps as an epilogue ir a novella of sorts.
How did they fared after the fall of the Archon over the years? How did the conquered lands reacted to it? Did they manage to create the council they spoke of?
I wanted to see Thea and Niath develop their relationship overtime and see about their travels together. Did Niath finally explain the whole nature of his Hiandar side to her and what “shadow” meant? It felts more like a fated mates situation than a bodyguard as he initially said. Did Thea fully accepted her Ageless nature? Did she created a relationship with her father and learned from him as she seemed to wish? With the end of the Conscription, do they see more Ageless-born children developing their wings?

[Spinneretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Note: this is the sixth and final book in Thea’s tale, and it completes all the overarching storylines begun in the other books in the series. It’s not a standalone, and you’ll spoiler everything if you try to read it first, so just take my word for it and enjoy reading the series in order!

The Archon has declared Ascension Day a holiday, and Thea’s team know that it is likely to be the day that the Hand of the Goddess works their mischief.
Between three dead bodies, a couple of missing friends, and whatever the Hand is planning, Thea and Niath are definitely busy…

Perhaps the most exciting book in the series, all those story loose ends get tied up in a beautiful bow by the end of this one. This particular story runs at a furious pace, while seeing a whole lot of action. It’s a tremendously good read, and even though the world building isn’t detailed, there’s enough said to make for a fascinating and fantastical setting, with some equally fascinating characters.
There were some very satisfying scenes in this one, and I know I thoroughly enjoyed them.

A fantastic fantasy-mystery blend for lovers of both genres, and a series well worth reading.

[Gogol · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you don’t want spoilers don’t read my reviews. There’s always bound to be one or two major spoilers in my reviews. At first these books showed promise. I love competent heroines with mysterious secrets and brooding heroes. I especially love it when our protagonists seem to be more than what they let on. However these books plateaued after book two and I’m not going to lie, I skimmed a lot from then on, then there was a decided downhill in books five and six, because nothing the heroine did, or turned out to be, had any effect on the real villain of the story, who in the end died, by accident at the hands of her dysfunctional crazy son. Not only was the death of the villain, who had been ruling their world for as long as their memories served inconsistent with the information we were given about her immense power, but the fact that the son did the killing in a fit of tantrum made the whole thing even more pointless and flat. Also none of the characters were fully fleshed out, the world building was lacking, one could see influences of other writers in the genre all over the books but without any real feeling to any of it. I find myself very disappointed here at the end.

[Siesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent conclusion to the series
Its got everything! Intrigue, betrayal, abductions, murder, magic, fighting, reveals, and even a touch of romance.
The rebellion is more successful than anyone could have expected, until the shocking disclosure of how they are being helped reveals the depth of betrayal in the ranks of the Ageless. In order to subvert the uprising, Thea has to dig deeper than ever, open herself up to wider scrutiny, and trust her long-honed fighting skills and new-found knowledge to fight for truth and freedom.
I thoroughly enjoyed this whole series. The journey along with Thea was so well paced, drawn and revealed. It can be read as a straight adventure horror fantasy but there are messages unobtrusively included about respect for others, kindness, fairness, resilience, diligence. I particularly liked the future that Thea can envision for herself. What a wonderful role model, for any one.
A huge thank you and congratulations to the author, its been an absolute pleasure being part of Thea’s life for these couple of weeks of immersive reading 😊

[Jean Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Series

I very much enjoyed reading the six books in this series. The good guys were likable and fairly well defined. I especially liked Niath. I was a little impatient with Thea's weaknesses, but she was who she was.

The writing was average for modern Amazon authors. I got very tired of overused phrases like "chill/itch/ ice skidded across her skin" or "wrapped their arms around their middle" and several others.
But don't let this negative comment put you off - the story is worth reading!

I especially appreciated the lack of unnecessary crude language and explicit sex. There are several very sweet romances - most just hinted at, but one involving my favorite character, Niath.

If you like magic, mysteries, and a somewhat dystopian society that a group of people are trying to rescue without getting killed - you will like this series!

I would rate this book PG-13 only for the violence. The main character solves murder mysteries.

[theswooncollector · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I binge-read the entire 6-book series in just 3 days? Yep, I did.

There's minimal romance in the series- the burn is so freaking slow in this one - but did that stop me from devouring it? Nope.

Thea being a smart, capable, dependable, level-headed, unassuming heroine really did it for me. I loved her stable personality.

Niath was also lovely. He may be powerful and capable on his own but he had no problem letting Thea take the lead. I love men who recognize their partner's skills and silently (or loudly) support them.

This finale was also satisfying. In all the previous books, we wondered how they will overturn the corrupt system of the Ageless. If Archon is so powerful, how can she be replaced?

The way the issues were resolved in this book were unexpected but still believable. Sometimes allies can come from unexpected places. Or people/creatures who just have a common enemy with you.

[D K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous Ending 💖💖💖

This was a great series to read! A fascinating storyline, plenty of action, mystery, magic and amazing characters. Thea, the FMC, a smart, fierce, badass and super likeable character, is what really makes this such an incredible read. I highly recommend this series!!! I first stumbled upon this author when I read the Grey Gates series, which I also really liked. I will say though, that I was a bit annoyed by how long it took for the FMC (who I liked very much) to believe in herself and in her magic in the Grey Gates series. In this series the FMC is more sure of herself and showed more growth as the series progressed. I mention this, because when you have a series of 5 books, it is important to see the characters grow and change for the better as the story progresses. ENJOY 💜

[Myereading · Rating 5 out of 5]

The BEST

This series, ‘Ageless Mysteries’ is one of the best/if not the best series I have read in a long time. ‘Ascension Day’ ties everthing together with a twist I didn’t see coming. There has been so much I’ve enjoyed about this series. The mystery that spanned 6 books, the smaller mysteries that were resolved in each book, the changing and growing relationships and the budding attachment to the two main characters. What I enjoyed most was the way the relationship between father and daughter slowly evolved. I admit, I disliked the father at the beginning of the series. However, he turned out to be my favorite character. Since I am new to this author, I am excited to try more of Vanessa Nelson’s novels.

[Millennium65 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8/5 stars - HEA

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think the story had too much of a HEA. The ending felt sickly sweet, and all of the conflict in the world was resolved. The unreality of it made it unsatisfying.

This book has Thea working multiple investigations, a string of murders in addition to finding Kendrick and Gadsden. There are several exciting scenes with lots of action, but I thought it was a little slow in between. There was a lot of "Thea doesn't know what to do," which was boring. I found myself skipping over some paragraphs. Also, the way that Thea finally reveals her wings was disappointingly predictable, but I'm glad it finally happened.

Overall, it was a decent end to the series, but I don't think it quite lived up to its potential.

[Meredith Dunkeson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book and a great read for entire series!

The final book in a series this was a really good read. The characters never feel like they are place holding or one dimensional. Even the ones briefly involved have the feeling of being actual people we might run into during our lives. It develops throughout the series into a world you want to keep visiting.

I read this series without pause as I found it after all 6 were written. I would have been eagerly waiting for each book if I had come across it as it was being written. I will be looking for more books from this author with great expectations for the same type of well developed characters and storyline for whatever those books will be about.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting book, nice series ending

This is the last book of the series. You need to start with book 1. The main character is strong and capable. Her background unfolds as the books progress. Each book centers on a mystery. The overall series arc continues throughout. The world is interesting. There is plenty of action, A hint of romance, and diverse and interesting characters. The investigation and mysteries are interesting. This book was good but probably the darkest as the series arc is fully exposed. The series is clean with strong characters and world building. I like this author and will read other series.

[Emilye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Let The Dogs Out

AgelessMysteries6

*Sigh*. This arc is over.

It really is a marvelous series, and I am glad to add it to my keeper pile, when next able to expand my library.

I hope it is not our last aspect of Thea and Niath. I hope her investigator status brings more features of her world and time to our eyes, as she moves to special investigations, at the behest of The Group.

I want to know more about her relations with Reardon, I want to know how they manage the slum lords with the changes in the Citadel, I want to know how her mother gets on.

This was good.

[Dix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all the series and I enjoyed it. That said it's only action and really almost no development of the personages and the stories. Most of the things happen and then get ignored and just go on with the basic plot. It's like someone who only work and has no life whatsoever, all the friendships and possible connections are supposed to be deep but there is nothing happening to make it possible. We don't even know what Iarson is! I think it's a missed opportunity because the book is well written and the plot moves along but there is a lack of story from the personages and the relations that makes it just a light read and could be a really good one