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Legacy of Magic #2
Betrayed
After thirty years, Matti has learned that the dwarven mother she believed dead might only be missing—kidnapped by those who want to control her ability to enchant powerful world-changing artifacts.
But where is she now? And why is the elf assassin Sarrlevi so invested in helping find her?
Matti knows she shouldn’t trust Sarrlevi, or be drawn to his dry humor and dark past. But he keeps standing at her side to battle enemies, and she keeps forgetting that he might be an enemy himself…
But where is she now? And why is the elf assassin Sarrlevi so invested in helping find her?
Matti knows she shouldn’t trust Sarrlevi, or be drawn to his dry humor and dark past. But he keeps standing at her side to battle enemies, and she keeps forgetting that he might be an enemy himself…
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 19, 2022
1084 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Buroker
199 books6,262 followersI'm a full-time indie fantasy and science fiction author. When I'm not writing, I'm ferrying my dogs to hiking trails for adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 260 reviews
August 14, 2024
And just like that, the damsell in distress hammer-wielding, half-Samoan half-dwarf badass rescues the knight in shining armor the full-blooded, smug-as-fish elf asshole assassin.
Oh yes, Buroker is definitely doing it again! Okay, so this series might not be as gloriously scrumptious as The Emperor's Edge but it sure is entertaining as shrimp. The (very diverse) cast of characters is amazing (even the green ones), their interactions are priceless, and the dialogues are HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Pretty cool female friendships are formed, which is as surprising as it is refreshing (this is UF, after all). There is action aplenty and the pace is Super Extra Fast (SEF™).
Then there are the edible bribes and sketchy vegetables. And the dragons and missiles and helicopters (oh my!). And the in-depth discussions about laundry and entropy. And the toaster coil-powered goblinators (don't ask). And the cheeses that impart serenity and wisdom (I told you not to ask). There's also a front yard reminiscent of my boyfriend Jojo Cabal's (if slightly more floral and less aggressive) and assholes and liars everywhere, yay!
And I guess that's about it.
Now if all this ↑↑ doesn't convince you to read this series NOW, I don't know what will. (Well apart from another, slightly less pathetic review, obviously 😬.)
👋 Until next time and stuff.
· Book 1: Hammered ★★★★
· Book 3: Trolled ★★★★
· Book 4: Tested ★★★★
· Book 5: Wrenched ★★★★
· Book 6: Fused ★★★★
Oh yes, Buroker is definitely doing it again! Okay, so this series might not be as gloriously scrumptious as The Emperor's Edge but it sure is entertaining as shrimp. The (very diverse) cast of characters is amazing (even the green ones), their interactions are priceless, and the dialogues are HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Pretty cool female friendships are formed, which is as surprising as it is refreshing (this is UF, after all). There is action aplenty and the pace is Super Extra Fast (SEF™).
Then there are the edible bribes and sketchy vegetables. And the dragons and missiles and helicopters (oh my!). And the in-depth discussions about laundry and entropy. And the toaster coil-powered goblinators (don't ask). And the cheeses that impart serenity and wisdom (I told you not to ask). There's also a front yard reminiscent of my boyfriend Jojo Cabal's (if slightly more floral and less aggressive) and assholes and liars everywhere, yay!
And I guess that's about it.
Now if all this ↑↑ doesn't convince you to read this series NOW, I don't know what will. (Well apart from another, slightly less pathetic review, obviously 😬.)
👋 Until next time and stuff.
· Book 1: Hammered ★★★★
· Book 3: Trolled ★★★★
· Book 4: Tested ★★★★
· Book 5: Wrenched ★★★★
· Book 6: Fused ★★★★
January 3, 2025
I enjoy this series so far and wish I could rate it higher, but there is on part that hit me in such a wrong way I couldn’t go higher than 3.
Someone put a bounty on Matti’s hammer and told the dwarf king and the dragons that Sarrlevi was threatening him. Turns out to be the elf woman who was mad Sarrlevi wouldn’t sleep with her. She says she’ll fix it if he sleeps with her and her friend and he does. I really didn’t like the author using sex in that way and I also didn’t like him and Matti flirting and her wanting him to keep touching her right after. I would have preferred he told them to fuck off or Matti demanded to be sent back to Earth instead of being left to listen in. That part really dropped this book for me and led to the 3 star rating. If the dragons were just going to attack anyway I would have much preferred he refuse them.
I’m happy to see Val and Zav again and all the banter in typical Buroker style. Her writing is fast paced and entertaining as we go deeper into the mystery of Matti’s family. Her Dwarf relatives are not endearing themselves well.
The dragons scoured both Matti and Sarrlevi’s minds so I’m confused why they still are demanding to bring him in for further questioning and another scouring by the queen before deciding whether or not to “rehabilitate” him even though his job as an assassin is fully legal in their eyes.
Someone put a bounty on Matti’s hammer and told the dwarf king and the dragons that Sarrlevi was threatening him. Turns out to be the elf woman who was mad Sarrlevi wouldn’t sleep with her. She says she’ll fix it if he sleeps with her and her friend and he does. I really didn’t like the author using sex in that way and I also didn’t like him and Matti flirting and her wanting him to keep touching her right after. I would have preferred he told them to fuck off or Matti demanded to be sent back to Earth instead of being left to listen in. That part really dropped this book for me and led to the 3 star rating. If the dragons were just going to attack anyway I would have much preferred he refuse them.
I’m happy to see Val and Zav again and all the banter in typical Buroker style. Her writing is fast paced and entertaining as we go deeper into the mystery of Matti’s family. Her Dwarf relatives are not endearing themselves well.
The dragons scoured both Matti and Sarrlevi’s minds so I’m confused why they still are demanding to bring him in for further questioning and another scouring by the queen before deciding whether or not to “rehabilitate” him even though his job as an assassin is fully legal in their eyes.
March 30, 2023
3.5/5.0
I am enjoying this series so far. It is complete, fun escapism and when life is super busy, it hits the spot perfectly! The only hesitation I have in upping those stars is the fact that it is almost IDENTICAL to Ms. Broker’s previous series, “Death Before Dragons”. Seriously, exactly! Consider the comparisons:
DBD:
Val is a “Mongrel” (half human half something else, in this case Elf)
Zav is a full blood dragon who considers mongrels lower class and of little value.
Val has a weapon but has no idea how to harness it’s full power.
Val and Zav are attracted to each other but can’t act on it until the conflict is resolved.
LOM:
Mattie is a “Mongrel” (half human half something else, in this case Dwarf).
Sarrlovi is a full blood elf who considers mongrels lower class and of little value.
Mattie has a weapon but has no idea how to harness it’s full power.
Mattie and Sarrlovi are attracted to each other but can’t act on it until the conflict is resolved.
(I literally just copied and pasted, then changed the names here).
SO, it feels like I’m just reading a re-run! It’s fun but exactly the same as what I’ve already read.
I am enjoying this series so far. It is complete, fun escapism and when life is super busy, it hits the spot perfectly! The only hesitation I have in upping those stars is the fact that it is almost IDENTICAL to Ms. Broker’s previous series, “Death Before Dragons”. Seriously, exactly! Consider the comparisons:
DBD:
Val is a “Mongrel” (half human half something else, in this case Elf)
Zav is a full blood dragon who considers mongrels lower class and of little value.
Val has a weapon but has no idea how to harness it’s full power.
Val and Zav are attracted to each other but can’t act on it until the conflict is resolved.
LOM:
Mattie is a “Mongrel” (half human half something else, in this case Dwarf).
Sarrlovi is a full blood elf who considers mongrels lower class and of little value.
Mattie has a weapon but has no idea how to harness it’s full power.
Mattie and Sarrlovi are attracted to each other but can’t act on it until the conflict is resolved.
(I literally just copied and pasted, then changed the names here).
SO, it feels like I’m just reading a re-run! It’s fun but exactly the same as what I’ve already read.
January 31, 2024
I really like the Death Before Dragons series and this series Legacy of Magic is a great spin-off so far. I really enjoyed the first book and excitedly dove into this second book. Having read a bunch of Lindsay Buroker's books so far I always know what to expect and with this series being a spin-off that's even more so the case. This book was a comfortable listen because of it, I knew what to expect and this book delivered. There's plenty of action, lots of banter, a well written plot, interesting characters and a hint of romance. Add in recurring characters from the first series and the joy of seeing Matti work together with the previous main character Val. And the narrator Vivienne Leheny is awesome and I think her style fits Lindsya Buroker's books really well.
I definitely think this series is best enjoyed after Death Before Dragons due to all the recurring characters and references to events from there, but it has it's own plot line. There's an overarching plot line that continues throughout the series involving Matti's heritage and her mother and then each book has a plot line that sort of gets resolved within the book. In this case there are missing artifacts that get stolen from the military and Val and Matti are asked to retrieve them. I also liked how there are some connections between the overarching plot line and the book specific plot line. It all moves along at a good pace and kept my attention. The wrap up is done well and made me eager for book 3 which I started right after it.
I like reading about Matti, she can be quite snarky and stands up for what she believes in. I like reading about her work restoring houses and her passion for it, as well as seeing her fight and handle the more supernatural side of things. She's capable, but also has her own worries and struggles. I like how she's a half dwarf as that's not common to see those as main characters and I think it's interesting and well written.
I like the romance between Matti and Sarrlevi, it's a slow burn, but there are plenty of scenes with them together. I like their banter and these little touches that show they care as well as the bigger gestures. I also liked learning more about Sarrlevi's past and how he became an assassin. The only thing I am starting to struggle with is Matti going back and forth about whether she can trust him and also if she can trust her own judgement when it comes to him. She wants to trust him, but then everyone around her warns her against that and she isn't sure whether she can trust him. So she can never fully trust him and also her temper gets the best of her at times. I like the build up for the romance, but I already look forward to the part where they're actually a couple, those were my favorite parts of the Death Before Dragons series too. These two already make for a great couple when they are working together now, so I am excited to see how that goes when they fully trust each other and commit to each other.
Besides sometimes getting a bit frustrated by the lack of trust between Matti and Sarrlevi, there was one other thing I struggled with. And that's a certain scene where Sarrlevi is coerced into something, it just made me feel really uncomfortable. No graphic details, but it was clear what happened. There's a reason for it and I felt the motivation of Sarrlevi to help Matti was nice, it just didn't feel right that was the price to pay. It just felt wrong and I didn't like it. I also felt like this almost got brushed over too easily by everyone except Mati. It just really bothered me and I found it uncomfortable to encounter such a scene in this book. I also felt it didn't fit with the rest of this book's vibe.
To summarize: This was a great read, I listened to this and Vivienne Leheny is an awesome narrator for this series. The overarching plot line from book 1 continues as well as a sort of contained plot line that gets mostly resolved by the end of this book. There's plenty of action, banter and interesting characters. It kept my attention and kept me reading. I like Matti as main character and the fact she's a half dwarf. I like how she stands up for what she believes in and is capable, but she still has her struggles as well. There are again some fun scenes of her working with Val from the first series. I like the romance between Matti and Sarrlevi, it's a slow burn, but there are plenty of scenes with them together. It only bothers me how much Matti goes back and forth about whether she can trust him or not and I am eager for them to get at the point where they fully trust each other. There's a scene involving Sarrlevi and something that he got coerced into that made me very uncomfortable and I felt it didn't fit in this book and almost got brushed over too easily by anyone except Matti. The wrap up is done well and made me eager for book 3, which I started right after finishing this one.
I definitely think this series is best enjoyed after Death Before Dragons due to all the recurring characters and references to events from there, but it has it's own plot line. There's an overarching plot line that continues throughout the series involving Matti's heritage and her mother and then each book has a plot line that sort of gets resolved within the book. In this case there are missing artifacts that get stolen from the military and Val and Matti are asked to retrieve them. I also liked how there are some connections between the overarching plot line and the book specific plot line. It all moves along at a good pace and kept my attention. The wrap up is done well and made me eager for book 3 which I started right after it.
I like reading about Matti, she can be quite snarky and stands up for what she believes in. I like reading about her work restoring houses and her passion for it, as well as seeing her fight and handle the more supernatural side of things. She's capable, but also has her own worries and struggles. I like how she's a half dwarf as that's not common to see those as main characters and I think it's interesting and well written.
I like the romance between Matti and Sarrlevi, it's a slow burn, but there are plenty of scenes with them together. I like their banter and these little touches that show they care as well as the bigger gestures. I also liked learning more about Sarrlevi's past and how he became an assassin. The only thing I am starting to struggle with is Matti going back and forth about whether she can trust him and also if she can trust her own judgement when it comes to him. She wants to trust him, but then everyone around her warns her against that and she isn't sure whether she can trust him. So she can never fully trust him and also her temper gets the best of her at times. I like the build up for the romance, but I already look forward to the part where they're actually a couple, those were my favorite parts of the Death Before Dragons series too. These two already make for a great couple when they are working together now, so I am excited to see how that goes when they fully trust each other and commit to each other.
Besides sometimes getting a bit frustrated by the lack of trust between Matti and Sarrlevi, there was one other thing I struggled with. And that's a certain scene where Sarrlevi is coerced into something, it just made me feel really uncomfortable. No graphic details, but it was clear what happened. There's a reason for it and I felt the motivation of Sarrlevi to help Matti was nice, it just didn't feel right that was the price to pay. It just felt wrong and I didn't like it. I also felt like this almost got brushed over too easily by everyone except Mati. It just really bothered me and I found it uncomfortable to encounter such a scene in this book. I also felt it didn't fit with the rest of this book's vibe.
To summarize: This was a great read, I listened to this and Vivienne Leheny is an awesome narrator for this series. The overarching plot line from book 1 continues as well as a sort of contained plot line that gets mostly resolved by the end of this book. There's plenty of action, banter and interesting characters. It kept my attention and kept me reading. I like Matti as main character and the fact she's a half dwarf. I like how she stands up for what she believes in and is capable, but she still has her struggles as well. There are again some fun scenes of her working with Val from the first series. I like the romance between Matti and Sarrlevi, it's a slow burn, but there are plenty of scenes with them together. It only bothers me how much Matti goes back and forth about whether she can trust him or not and I am eager for them to get at the point where they fully trust each other. There's a scene involving Sarrlevi and something that he got coerced into that made me very uncomfortable and I felt it didn't fit in this book and almost got brushed over too easily by anyone except Matti. The wrap up is done well and made me eager for book 3, which I started right after finishing this one.
December 16, 2023
Betrayed is book two in the Legacy of Magic series by Lindsay Buroker.
Someone has put a bounty on Matti’s hammer and Sarrlevi has been framed for something.
Frame Job: The one who framed Sarrlevi is an elf woman who will only fix it if he sleeps with her. I didn’t care for this aspect nor the author using sex in this way. The scenes that followed in this part were wrong; especially with Matti there and their blooming relationship. I just wish Sarrlevi would have told them to f**k off; especially since the dragons still came and destroyed his place.
Romance: I’m a bit miffed on the romance that is blooming. Matti is attracted to Sarrlevi, but man he’s cold and what he did in this novel made me sad for him and her. It felt like it set them back.
I’m always happy to see Val and Zav from Death Before Dragons series. Such great banter. The writing is fast paced and entering. We dig deeper into the mystery of Matti’s family, her Dwarf relatives and more.
Their are still a lot of plot questions to be answered, but it was a satisfying read. I plan to continue the series; because I enjoy Buroker’s writing and world building.
Rated: 3.5 Stars
Someone has put a bounty on Matti’s hammer and Sarrlevi has been framed for something.
Frame Job: The one who framed Sarrlevi is an elf woman who will only fix it if he sleeps with her. I didn’t care for this aspect nor the author using sex in this way. The scenes that followed in this part were wrong; especially with Matti there and their blooming relationship. I just wish Sarrlevi would have told them to f**k off; especially since the dragons still came and destroyed his place.
Romance: I’m a bit miffed on the romance that is blooming. Matti is attracted to Sarrlevi, but man he’s cold and what he did in this novel made me sad for him and her. It felt like it set them back.
I’m always happy to see Val and Zav from Death Before Dragons series. Such great banter. The writing is fast paced and entering. We dig deeper into the mystery of Matti’s family, her Dwarf relatives and more.
Their are still a lot of plot questions to be answered, but it was a satisfying read. I plan to continue the series; because I enjoy Buroker’s writing and world building.
Rated: 3.5 Stars
Read
May 27, 2023Audiobook.
A very interesting story in Buroker goodness. I really, really like Sarrlevi and Matti (even though her nickname keeps throwing me slightly off as it still is a man's name here in Estonia 🙈). Definitely will want to continue with the series!
A very interesting story in Buroker goodness. I really, really like Sarrlevi and Matti (even though her nickname keeps throwing me slightly off as it still is a man's name here in Estonia 🙈). Definitely will want to continue with the series!
December 26, 2023
Another great book by Lindsay Buroker!
Some reviewers say the characters of this series are too similar to her Death before Dragon series, and yes, there are similarites but for me that doesn't make it less enjoyable to read.
Some reviewers say the characters of this series are too similar to her Death before Dragon series, and yes, there are similarites but for me that doesn't make it less enjoyable to read.
August 5, 2023
Another fabulous book. There is nothing I can say about this book that I haven’t said about her other books. I will read anything by Lindsay Buroker anytime
March 18, 2023
This one disappointed me. I still like the characters, for the most part, but the plot was kind of everywhere and the "romance" got really annoying.
First time I can recall reading a book of this type and thinking at the protagonist, "You're wondering why you are single? When you act like THIS?" Not sure if it was supposed to be a flaw in the character or it was just a desperate attempt by the author to keep the will they/won't they tension going. (Personally, I could think of several ways it could have been handled better than this.) Either way, I was disappointed, as I'd liked the set up in the first book quite a bit.
Perhaps it was the readers who were Betrayed. Speaking of which, we never learned who was behind said betrayal, which makes this disappointing as a title, as well. In fact, none of the primary plot questions were answered at all -- who took the stolen artifacts and how, will Matti gain the approval of her grandfather, what happened to her mother -- none of these are resolved at the end of the book. A frustrating reading experience.
First time I can recall reading a book of this type and thinking at the protagonist, "You're wondering why you are single? When you act like THIS?" Not sure if it was supposed to be a flaw in the character or it was just a desperate attempt by the author to keep the will they/won't they tension going. (Personally, I could think of several ways it could have been handled better than this.) Either way, I was disappointed, as I'd liked the set up in the first book quite a bit.
Perhaps it was the readers who were Betrayed. Speaking of which, we never learned who was behind said betrayal, which makes this disappointing as a title, as well. In fact, none of the primary plot questions were answered at all -- who took the stolen artifacts and how, will Matti gain the approval of her grandfather, what happened to her mother -- none of these are resolved at the end of the book. A frustrating reading experience.
November 21, 2022
Second book is stronger than the first. Someone has put a bounty on Matti's hammer, which causes all kinds of trouble. The sexy elf assassin Sarrlevi continues to be mysterious (and sexy), and the relationship between him and Matti progresses nicely. I must admit though that I was surprised that the book went where it did with him and the elf b****es.
The ending wasn't as abrupt as in the first book, and the mystery of Matti's mother deepened nicely. However, Matti's role with the army remains a bit of an add-on so that she's more a side-kick to Val than her own operator with agency, not that it isn't fun to watch Val and Zav from the outside. All in all, a fun and fast-paced book. I can't wait to see where the next one goes.
The ending wasn't as abrupt as in the first book, and the mystery of Matti's mother deepened nicely. However, Matti's role with the army remains a bit of an add-on so that she's more a side-kick to Val than her own operator with agency, not that it isn't fun to watch Val and Zav from the outside. All in all, a fun and fast-paced book. I can't wait to see where the next one goes.
December 18, 2022
Second Book more satisfying but still…
The 1st book didn’t really end on a CH but still left a lot of unanswered questions. This book answered some and ended with more. I like the slow burn romance between Matti & Elf (his name is too annoying to spell) I like how the author has insinuated he’s an SA victim due to the female elves manipulating him for “special favors” in return for information etc. just because he’s make doesn’t make it right or that he enjoys it. I like that Matti is picking up on that and is willing to offer comfort & affection that’s based on real feelings & not just attraction.
Excited for book 3.
The 1st book didn’t really end on a CH but still left a lot of unanswered questions. This book answered some and ended with more. I like the slow burn romance between Matti & Elf (his name is too annoying to spell) I like how the author has insinuated he’s an SA victim due to the female elves manipulating him for “special favors” in return for information etc. just because he’s make doesn’t make it right or that he enjoys it. I like that Matti is picking up on that and is willing to offer comfort & affection that’s based on real feelings & not just attraction.
Excited for book 3.
Read
August 19, 2023Rating: 0
I obviously liked book #1 and this was another fun (not great) book. I am doing rewrites for all my books many of which were at best a disappointing waste of ink. No one will read this but I want my review to be intelligible. Since I attracted so much negative attention previously, when now I write I aim to misbehave. To reward myself for writing to this weird site, I spent time watching YouTube channels - ThePrimeChronus, Verilybitchie, Ponderful, Abbie Emmons, The Chloe Connection, Interior Design Hub, The Closet Historian, May, JuLingo, Chris and Shell, Alt Shift X, Mark R Largent, The Confused Adipose, Alizee, Lady of the Library, Cruising Alba, Philosophy Tube, The Fletchers, Owen Jones, Biz Barclay, History with Hilbert, The Researcher, The Stitchery, Faun, The Library Ladder and Merphy Napier. They were wonderfully refreshing, as usual.
On the off chance that someone reads this, I hope that it is helpful. I really enjoyed the breezy description of the background universe of this novel, though it is a generic fantasy world. The other species begin to make more permanent appearances and the universe feels a much larger place.
There is a surprising amount of banter but it does not seem forced yet and fits the characters. Banter is the curse of light fantasy. The goblins are funny but earnest and their inventions seem to actually work. They also are just present enough to not crowd the cast of characters. Well handled by the author.
The main character's partner, Abbas is a vegetarian but he has no definition as a character, nor do trolls as A culture. A Troll being a laid back stoner is a welcome surprise. The writer introduces the other species gradually and fleshes out the general characteristics of species in bits and pieces quietly, without interrupting the plot. These insights are all embedded in the story through interactions which further the plot.
The writer expands the scope of the main character's danger and develops the plot that underlies it, in an orderly fashion while keeping the story relatively light and airy. That is, as light and airy as a story can be, given that the main character at four years old saw her mother murdered, her father kidnapped by the US military soon after and is now the target of assassination by other magical beings for reasons unknown. The depiction of the US military is sadly very real world.
This next is brought to the unlucky reader by YouTube channels Sky Mechanic - Brandon Fletcher, Ben and Emily, Deerstalker Pictures, The Juice Media, Yinka, Sky Captain - Derek Fletcher, Survive the Jive, AirLordsofAria, Kidology, Veritasium, Rachel Maksy, OrangeRiver, Mia Mulder, The Pagan Minstrel, The Historian's Craft, Art Deco, Stewart Hicks, Up and Atom, Kris Atomic, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, Terrible Writing Advice, Lily Simpson.
The personal combat rears its head again and is simply described, short and brutal. It feels crazily completely real world. Each time that she fights, I am concerned that she may not win, at least not without severe damage. It is funny that this is the first book that conveyed to me, how tough dwarves must truly be in fantasy worlds. The use of swords and axes feels completely natural, while the appearance of guns is a pleasant change of pace. Sh writes helicopters and dragons as if they both belong on earth at the same time. All the pieces of the background blend together in choreographed carnage.
I am thinking that a good description of the story's combat is modern medieval. It works well. That is the storytelling, not my label. Though I am proud of it. I wish that all science fiction or even urban fantasy were as entertaining but alas it is not. This is not award winning fiction but succeeds in using characters across species including Brown faces, which is rarer than I had expected in US fiction.
If considering the Amazon loan library for science fiction, be prepared for disappointment. There are some few gems but the "grand space epics" and most of the "military science fiction" are truly sad. Think videogame but with less depth as a rule. Add seriously sexist character writing, racist tropes (even racial slurs), rants over the mistreatment of white american cis-males (seriously common), no editing, no world building, flat characters and dialogue to that picture. At that point, you have identified all the standard elements of US science fiction. It is not a pretty place.
My description is that of the standard low end US standard for science fiction, which run to the three categories - No Effort, Insulting and Abhorrent. In addition, if you should write an unflattering Goodreads review of these (not) award nominated books, you may expect insulting, sometimes vile and always dismissive comments from several man-children (usually thirty to fifty years old) with the communication skills of emotionally damaged preteens. Publishers favour these less than 300 and often less than 250 page masterpieces. I have seen counter comments on only one of my 1000 plus reviews and one on other readers' negative reviews across five years. 😑
After four years of those readers and books, I have found some very few good writers, such as Ann Christy, M. D. Massey, Rachel Aaron and other mostly Indie writers. The search through Amazon for these is time consuming and I am now mostly put off by the entire genre. If I read the fiction, it is only the best or those discovered by much trial and error. I watch rather than read my science fiction at the moment. The streaming services and the YouTube DUST, NITV and Omeleto channels are a godsend. 😊
A little more than two years ago, I wandered YouTube for science fiction commentary. I was pleasantly surprised at all the special interest channels and their variety. From sponsor spots on educational channels, I also was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites, from Curiosity Stream/Nebula to Magellan TV. They are all worth a look, I feel. My last and best discovery was that of the book channels. 😍 They foster communities of thoughtful, cosmopolitan readers, who are enamoured of all things bookish. I recommend a visit to several book channels for any reader and have listed some below. They are needless to say, opposite to that of the Goodreads experience.
About Goodreads members.
I originally wrote a six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran, Advocate for a return of chattel slavery, US veteran, supporter of Putin's Russia, self-described libertarian and employee of an unnamed US agency. For more than six months I received regular notifications of crazy comments and pages about my personality, my politics and the benefits of slavery (they were Americans, of course) because no libertarian can be opposed to it. Their political philosophy will not allow for infringement on any action taken by someone with the force to take it. That from a small seven person squad including the writer, until finally a Goodreads tech used a stylus to write Ha Ha across the top of those comments. I was dumbfounded. I erased the review but rewrote it in language these fans understood.
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 (self-described NeoNazi and US patriot) wrote a comment to my new review declaring that They had "won" (?). I have little exposure online and noticing channel creators actually mentioning the number of sexual and racist comments, I contacted several to discover that my name was used for some of these. I had thought that my opinion of American males could sink no lower but I was wrong. With his grand declaration, it seems the deluge of their filth has subsided. They did not impress the German particle physicist, the Oxford astrophysicist, the Swedish historical essayist or any of the other female creators. If the goal of these animals was to paint a more accurate picture of themselves and increase the world's supply of ugliness, they succeeded. USA, Yay?? The example of my Powers commenters above is a typical example of Goodreads discourse. 🤔
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Brittany Page, Ben and Emily, Nomadic Crobot, Mandy, Verilybitchie, Jay Exci, That Star Wars Girl, Up and Atom, Autumn's Boutique, Lily Simpson, Mia Mulder, Lady of the Library, J. Draper, Forever Scholars, Bernadette Banner, JohnTheDuncan.
About Amazon/Goodreads, please consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 The comment gangs were supplemented by Goodreads harassment. For details, see my review of "Dark Horse", splendid novel by Diener or Powers of the Earth.
The corporation also managed to involve a foreign government in attempting to interrogate a friend on Goodreads for information about me. Amazon disclosed my occasional messages to a friend on this site and Pine Gap Intelligence Center apparently was performing a favour for US Intelligence. Apparently a "butt hurt" (I think that I used that correctly) US veteran (Travis Corcoran) or minor US police official (Claes Rees Jr) can ask favours from colleagues to punish a negative reviewer. My friend feared for my safety and contacted me. 🤔 As I unravelled what they could have done, I discovered the YouTube channel attacks.
I suggest that minimizing your profile personal information, removing friend list lurkers (those who monitor but never post), making screenshots of the odd and/or ugly on this site and remaining wary of Goodreads messaging might be indicated. It is probably also important to never forget that these animals among the membership and Amazon staff have no morality and know no bounds, they are Americans. Ominous music ends. 🙂
To Claes Rees Jr/cgr710, Travis Corcoran/JP and friends
Don't be a numpty. Be a smarty. Come and join the Communist Party.
Slava Ukraini !! --- Slava Geroyam !!
May we all enjoy Good Reading! 😊
I am not the best advisor for recommendations regarding the best of YouTube but these are channels which entertained or taught or brought me joy. Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Bobbing Along, EarleWrites, TVP News, Sophie From Mars, Ship Happens, Mrs Betty Bowers, Owen Jones, Second Thought, Prime of Midlife, Paola Hermosin, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, More Perfect Union, Philosophy Tube, Anna Turnbull, Malinda, Mythic Concepts, Noah Samsen, Cruising Crafts, Invicta, Rachel Hardy, What Vivi did next, UATV, Jill Bearup, Mia Mulder, Red Plateaus, Yugopnik, Denys Davydov, Violet Orlandi, Chloe Stafler, The Who Addicts, Tom Nicholas, Archaeology Now, Animarchy History, T.A. Summers, Baggage Claim, Up and Atom, A Cup of Nicole, Life of Lit, Luis Humanoide, Physics Girl, Crow Caller, Alizee, Tara Mooknee, Karolina Zebrowska, Historical Fashion, Mia Asano, Cold Fusion, Part Time Hobbit, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, SnappyDragon, Linguoer Mechanic, Michael Lambert, AllShorts, Book Odyssey, A Day of Small Things, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Alice Cappelle, Harbo Wholmes, Sound of Music Flashmob, Book Furnace, Renegade Cut, Louise DeMasi, Meidas Touch, Abney Park, DW News, Ask a Mortician, Alexa Donne, Depressed Russian, It's Black Friday, o Natasha's Adventures, Artur Rehi, Jake Broe, Patty Gurdy, Savy Writes Books, Answer in Progress, Munecat, Lilly's Expat Life, Samara Morgan, Amanda The Jedi, Elina Charatsidou, Well Deck Diaries, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Mini Music, Weir on the Move, The Narrowboat Chef, Eileen, Sideprojects, The Tired Writer, Just Write, Hello Future Me, Leeja Miller, Xiran Jay Zhao, Knowing Better, Ryan Chapman, Kathy's Flog in France, Forever Scholars, Brandon Fletcher, The Paranormal Scholar, Belinda Carr, Jessie Gender, Amy Lee, Beau of the Fifth Column, Ben and Emily, Alexia Evellyn.
I wish you a splendid morning, a pleasant afternoon, a wonderful evening, an exciting night and may we all continue learning.
To embrace a perspective is One's own Burden, to force that belief on others is Monstrous.
Observations, Third Route Trade Fleet
I obviously liked book #1 and this was another fun (not great) book. I am doing rewrites for all my books many of which were at best a disappointing waste of ink. No one will read this but I want my review to be intelligible. Since I attracted so much negative attention previously, when now I write I aim to misbehave. To reward myself for writing to this weird site, I spent time watching YouTube channels - ThePrimeChronus, Verilybitchie, Ponderful, Abbie Emmons, The Chloe Connection, Interior Design Hub, The Closet Historian, May, JuLingo, Chris and Shell, Alt Shift X, Mark R Largent, The Confused Adipose, Alizee, Lady of the Library, Cruising Alba, Philosophy Tube, The Fletchers, Owen Jones, Biz Barclay, History with Hilbert, The Researcher, The Stitchery, Faun, The Library Ladder and Merphy Napier. They were wonderfully refreshing, as usual.
On the off chance that someone reads this, I hope that it is helpful. I really enjoyed the breezy description of the background universe of this novel, though it is a generic fantasy world. The other species begin to make more permanent appearances and the universe feels a much larger place.
There is a surprising amount of banter but it does not seem forced yet and fits the characters. Banter is the curse of light fantasy. The goblins are funny but earnest and their inventions seem to actually work. They also are just present enough to not crowd the cast of characters. Well handled by the author.
The main character's partner, Abbas is a vegetarian but he has no definition as a character, nor do trolls as A culture. A Troll being a laid back stoner is a welcome surprise. The writer introduces the other species gradually and fleshes out the general characteristics of species in bits and pieces quietly, without interrupting the plot. These insights are all embedded in the story through interactions which further the plot.
The writer expands the scope of the main character's danger and develops the plot that underlies it, in an orderly fashion while keeping the story relatively light and airy. That is, as light and airy as a story can be, given that the main character at four years old saw her mother murdered, her father kidnapped by the US military soon after and is now the target of assassination by other magical beings for reasons unknown. The depiction of the US military is sadly very real world.
This next is brought to the unlucky reader by YouTube channels Sky Mechanic - Brandon Fletcher, Ben and Emily, Deerstalker Pictures, The Juice Media, Yinka, Sky Captain - Derek Fletcher, Survive the Jive, AirLordsofAria, Kidology, Veritasium, Rachel Maksy, OrangeRiver, Mia Mulder, The Pagan Minstrel, The Historian's Craft, Art Deco, Stewart Hicks, Up and Atom, Kris Atomic, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, Terrible Writing Advice, Lily Simpson.
The personal combat rears its head again and is simply described, short and brutal. It feels crazily completely real world. Each time that she fights, I am concerned that she may not win, at least not without severe damage. It is funny that this is the first book that conveyed to me, how tough dwarves must truly be in fantasy worlds. The use of swords and axes feels completely natural, while the appearance of guns is a pleasant change of pace. Sh writes helicopters and dragons as if they both belong on earth at the same time. All the pieces of the background blend together in choreographed carnage.
I am thinking that a good description of the story's combat is modern medieval. It works well. That is the storytelling, not my label. Though I am proud of it. I wish that all science fiction or even urban fantasy were as entertaining but alas it is not. This is not award winning fiction but succeeds in using characters across species including Brown faces, which is rarer than I had expected in US fiction.
If considering the Amazon loan library for science fiction, be prepared for disappointment. There are some few gems but the "grand space epics" and most of the "military science fiction" are truly sad. Think videogame but with less depth as a rule. Add seriously sexist character writing, racist tropes (even racial slurs), rants over the mistreatment of white american cis-males (seriously common), no editing, no world building, flat characters and dialogue to that picture. At that point, you have identified all the standard elements of US science fiction. It is not a pretty place.
My description is that of the standard low end US standard for science fiction, which run to the three categories - No Effort, Insulting and Abhorrent. In addition, if you should write an unflattering Goodreads review of these (not) award nominated books, you may expect insulting, sometimes vile and always dismissive comments from several man-children (usually thirty to fifty years old) with the communication skills of emotionally damaged preteens. Publishers favour these less than 300 and often less than 250 page masterpieces. I have seen counter comments on only one of my 1000 plus reviews and one on other readers' negative reviews across five years. 😑
After four years of those readers and books, I have found some very few good writers, such as Ann Christy, M. D. Massey, Rachel Aaron and other mostly Indie writers. The search through Amazon for these is time consuming and I am now mostly put off by the entire genre. If I read the fiction, it is only the best or those discovered by much trial and error. I watch rather than read my science fiction at the moment. The streaming services and the YouTube DUST, NITV and Omeleto channels are a godsend. 😊
A little more than two years ago, I wandered YouTube for science fiction commentary. I was pleasantly surprised at all the special interest channels and their variety. From sponsor spots on educational channels, I also was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites, from Curiosity Stream/Nebula to Magellan TV. They are all worth a look, I feel. My last and best discovery was that of the book channels. 😍 They foster communities of thoughtful, cosmopolitan readers, who are enamoured of all things bookish. I recommend a visit to several book channels for any reader and have listed some below. They are needless to say, opposite to that of the Goodreads experience.
About Goodreads members.
I originally wrote a six sentence negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran, Advocate for a return of chattel slavery, US veteran, supporter of Putin's Russia, self-described libertarian and employee of an unnamed US agency. For more than six months I received regular notifications of crazy comments and pages about my personality, my politics and the benefits of slavery (they were Americans, of course) because no libertarian can be opposed to it. Their political philosophy will not allow for infringement on any action taken by someone with the force to take it. That from a small seven person squad including the writer, until finally a Goodreads tech used a stylus to write Ha Ha across the top of those comments. I was dumbfounded. I erased the review but rewrote it in language these fans understood.
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 (self-described NeoNazi and US patriot) wrote a comment to my new review declaring that They had "won" (?). I have little exposure online and noticing channel creators actually mentioning the number of sexual and racist comments, I contacted several to discover that my name was used for some of these. I had thought that my opinion of American males could sink no lower but I was wrong. With his grand declaration, it seems the deluge of their filth has subsided. They did not impress the German particle physicist, the Oxford astrophysicist, the Swedish historical essayist or any of the other female creators. If the goal of these animals was to paint a more accurate picture of themselves and increase the world's supply of ugliness, they succeeded. USA, Yay?? The example of my Powers commenters above is a typical example of Goodreads discourse. 🤔
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Brittany Page, Ben and Emily, Nomadic Crobot, Mandy, Verilybitchie, Jay Exci, That Star Wars Girl, Up and Atom, Autumn's Boutique, Lily Simpson, Mia Mulder, Lady of the Library, J. Draper, Forever Scholars, Bernadette Banner, JohnTheDuncan.
About Amazon/Goodreads, please consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 The comment gangs were supplemented by Goodreads harassment. For details, see my review of "Dark Horse", splendid novel by Diener or Powers of the Earth.
The corporation also managed to involve a foreign government in attempting to interrogate a friend on Goodreads for information about me. Amazon disclosed my occasional messages to a friend on this site and Pine Gap Intelligence Center apparently was performing a favour for US Intelligence. Apparently a "butt hurt" (I think that I used that correctly) US veteran (Travis Corcoran) or minor US police official (Claes Rees Jr) can ask favours from colleagues to punish a negative reviewer. My friend feared for my safety and contacted me. 🤔 As I unravelled what they could have done, I discovered the YouTube channel attacks.
I suggest that minimizing your profile personal information, removing friend list lurkers (those who monitor but never post), making screenshots of the odd and/or ugly on this site and remaining wary of Goodreads messaging might be indicated. It is probably also important to never forget that these animals among the membership and Amazon staff have no morality and know no bounds, they are Americans. Ominous music ends. 🙂
To Claes Rees Jr/cgr710, Travis Corcoran/JP and friends
Don't be a numpty. Be a smarty. Come and join the Communist Party.
Slava Ukraini !! --- Slava Geroyam !!
May we all enjoy Good Reading! 😊
I am not the best advisor for recommendations regarding the best of YouTube but these are channels which entertained or taught or brought me joy. Some of my favourite YouTube channels.
Bobbing Along, EarleWrites, TVP News, Sophie From Mars, Ship Happens, Mrs Betty Bowers, Owen Jones, Second Thought, Prime of Midlife, Paola Hermosin, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, More Perfect Union, Philosophy Tube, Anna Turnbull, Malinda, Mythic Concepts, Noah Samsen, Cruising Crafts, Invicta, Rachel Hardy, What Vivi did next, UATV, Jill Bearup, Mia Mulder, Red Plateaus, Yugopnik, Denys Davydov, Violet Orlandi, Chloe Stafler, The Who Addicts, Tom Nicholas, Archaeology Now, Animarchy History, T.A. Summers, Baggage Claim, Up and Atom, A Cup of Nicole, Life of Lit, Luis Humanoide, Physics Girl, Crow Caller, Alizee, Tara Mooknee, Karolina Zebrowska, Historical Fashion, Mia Asano, Cold Fusion, Part Time Hobbit, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, SnappyDragon, Linguoer Mechanic, Michael Lambert, AllShorts, Book Odyssey, A Day of Small Things, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Alice Cappelle, Harbo Wholmes, Sound of Music Flashmob, Book Furnace, Renegade Cut, Louise DeMasi, Meidas Touch, Abney Park, DW News, Ask a Mortician, Alexa Donne, Depressed Russian, It's Black Friday, o Natasha's Adventures, Artur Rehi, Jake Broe, Patty Gurdy, Savy Writes Books, Answer in Progress, Munecat, Lilly's Expat Life, Samara Morgan, Amanda The Jedi, Elina Charatsidou, Well Deck Diaries, Widebeam and Wellingtons, Mini Music, Weir on the Move, The Narrowboat Chef, Eileen, Sideprojects, The Tired Writer, Just Write, Hello Future Me, Leeja Miller, Xiran Jay Zhao, Knowing Better, Ryan Chapman, Kathy's Flog in France, Forever Scholars, Brandon Fletcher, The Paranormal Scholar, Belinda Carr, Jessie Gender, Amy Lee, Beau of the Fifth Column, Ben and Emily, Alexia Evellyn.
I wish you a splendid morning, a pleasant afternoon, a wonderful evening, an exciting night and may we all continue learning.
To embrace a perspective is One's own Burden, to force that belief on others is Monstrous.
Observations, Third Route Trade Fleet
July 26, 2025
1st person POV
not a romance
4.5 stars rounded up
I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought about it when I wasn't able to read. I know there's an HEA at the end of the 8 book series - I'm just not to the romance part.
The fighting and searching for Matti's mom is well done. I got lost in the adventure.
not a romance
4.5 stars rounded up
I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought about it when I wasn't able to read. I know there's an HEA at the end of the 8 book series - I'm just not to the romance part.
The fighting and searching for Matti's mom is well done. I got lost in the adventure.
February 25, 2023
Love this series!
January 2, 2024
No it sure if it's the characters or the plot is just a bit jumbled, but this is not as good as other series I've read by Buroker.
February 28, 2024
Matt’s desperate infatuation with Sarrlevi affected my enjoyment of this story. She’s desperate to read more into his words and actions, she’s desperate to have to her attraction to him reciprocated, she’s desperate to trust him (and she KNOWS she shouldn’t—he’s already lied to her!). Combined with her negative self-talk, it’s all dispiriting to endure. I get that she’s a different heroine from Val, but did we have to have one so severely lacking in self-confidence and self-respect? Can’t we get a heroine who is hit on by nice, hot guys, and not just leering orcs? I can handle the other magical races viewing her as a measly “mongrel”, but for the heroine to believe she’s inadequate is tough to take.
Matti’s constant thoughts of Sarrlevi and her perceived inadequacies are distracting. She’s always eager to defend Sarrlevi and justify his actions; he’s manipulated into having sex with two elves and she goes to pout in a corner and kick rocks while feeling inadequate and marveling at his “sacrifice”—a sacrifice that wasn’t really necessary, because as she pointed out, she could’ve waited for Zav and Val to introduce her to her grandfather. She desperately wants to believe that he’s being blackmailed into the sex and doing it all for her. Like, walk away Matti! This Pick Me girl energy takes over her entire personality.
He rubs her head and that’s enough for her to silence her instincts to be wary of him? She knows he’s manipulating her, which could be interesting if she showed a modicum of shrewdness or at least wariness; instead she longs to assign deeper meaning to his words and actions, and she repeatedly risks her neck for this calculating untrustworthy ass. It’s just so pathetic. I don’t object to the way Sarrlevi is portrayed — he’s kind of an intriguing enigma and we know he’s withholding the whole story — but it’s difficult for me to get on board with a heroine who KNOWS BETTER and opts to abandon self-preservation. No one likes seeing a heroine humiliate herself.
It’s clear the romance is going to be front and center in this series which is why this grates so hard. I hope this trend of the doormat Plain Jane heroine panting after the bad boy god-like hero doesn’t continue through the series. We learn more of Saarlevi’s sad boy story—fine, but it just serves to make Matti’s puppy-dog eyes even bigger. Ugh. She also allows her snobby sister to denigrate and walk all over her. Matti already doesn’t think she’s good enough; I hope all of this isn’t a set-up where only the hero recognizes her true value or some such poppycock.
I wish Matti would take more initiative in her quest. She insists she needs Sarrlevi (and *only* Sarrlevi ofc…) for her search, but now she has so many resources at her disposal; why not utilize Val, Zav, Willard, and her mother’s dwarves friends? She’s heavily relying on Sarrlevi despite her very justified mistrust of him. Be smarter, Matti! I get the sense reuniting with her mother is not an urgent priority and simply an excuse to partner with Sarrlevi.
Regarding the Big Bad and the overarching plot: dwarves can create super-powered magically enhanced weapons and helicopters, and this is just now appearing in this world? This feels like an enormous plot hole in the Death Before Dragons universe, but with reservations I’ll give Buroker the benefit of the doubt that she’ll provide a suitable explanation in subsequent books.
Maati seemed like she’d be a cool heroine. A rarely-represented POC heroine (she’s half-Samoan) who wields a hammer—basically the polar opposite of Viking goddess Val! She renovates and flips houses! A hardworking, independent, self-made businesswoman!
She rides a Harley! Disappointingly, my big takeaways are that she’s pitifully attracted to a man she shouldn’t trust, she’s brave when the situation calls for her to risk her life for this dude with a nice chest, and she likes cheese. I enjoy stories where we meet the heroine when she’s caught on her back foot, but I need to see some rapid (spine) growth from Matti.
Matti’s constant thoughts of Sarrlevi and her perceived inadequacies are distracting. She’s always eager to defend Sarrlevi and justify his actions; he’s manipulated into having sex with two elves and she goes to pout in a corner and kick rocks while feeling inadequate and marveling at his “sacrifice”—a sacrifice that wasn’t really necessary, because as she pointed out, she could’ve waited for Zav and Val to introduce her to her grandfather. She desperately wants to believe that he’s being blackmailed into the sex and doing it all for her. Like, walk away Matti! This Pick Me girl energy takes over her entire personality.
He rubs her head and that’s enough for her to silence her instincts to be wary of him? She knows he’s manipulating her, which could be interesting if she showed a modicum of shrewdness or at least wariness; instead she longs to assign deeper meaning to his words and actions, and she repeatedly risks her neck for this calculating untrustworthy ass. It’s just so pathetic. I don’t object to the way Sarrlevi is portrayed — he’s kind of an intriguing enigma and we know he’s withholding the whole story — but it’s difficult for me to get on board with a heroine who KNOWS BETTER and opts to abandon self-preservation. No one likes seeing a heroine humiliate herself.
It’s clear the romance is going to be front and center in this series which is why this grates so hard. I hope this trend of the doormat Plain Jane heroine panting after the bad boy god-like hero doesn’t continue through the series. We learn more of Saarlevi’s sad boy story—fine, but it just serves to make Matti’s puppy-dog eyes even bigger. Ugh. She also allows her snobby sister to denigrate and walk all over her. Matti already doesn’t think she’s good enough; I hope all of this isn’t a set-up where only the hero recognizes her true value or some such poppycock.
I wish Matti would take more initiative in her quest. She insists she needs Sarrlevi (and *only* Sarrlevi ofc…) for her search, but now she has so many resources at her disposal; why not utilize Val, Zav, Willard, and her mother’s dwarves friends? She’s heavily relying on Sarrlevi despite her very justified mistrust of him. Be smarter, Matti! I get the sense reuniting with her mother is not an urgent priority and simply an excuse to partner with Sarrlevi.
Regarding the Big Bad and the overarching plot: dwarves can create super-powered magically enhanced weapons and helicopters, and this is just now appearing in this world? This feels like an enormous plot hole in the Death Before Dragons universe, but with reservations I’ll give Buroker the benefit of the doubt that she’ll provide a suitable explanation in subsequent books.
Maati seemed like she’d be a cool heroine. A rarely-represented POC heroine (she’s half-Samoan) who wields a hammer—basically the polar opposite of Viking goddess Val! She renovates and flips houses! A hardworking, independent, self-made businesswoman!
She rides a Harley! Disappointingly, my big takeaways are that she’s pitifully attracted to a man she shouldn’t trust, she’s brave when the situation calls for her to risk her life for this dude with a nice chest, and she likes cheese. I enjoy stories where we meet the heroine when she’s caught on her back foot, but I need to see some rapid (spine) growth from Matti.
January 31, 2023
Kind of a mess, but interesting concepts
I like the characters and the choice of a protagonist who is out of the ordinary, a kick-butt Dwarven heroine. I love that the supporting characters seem to have very full stories of their own.
I really appreciate that the writer seems to have done some find/replace work to get over the first book's plague of someone "springing" in every other paragraph. A few editing problems remain, like using "redolent of" as if it means "reminiscent of," and the writing isn't quite as fun as the characters deserve.
But the plot is a kitchen-sink mess. I ended up skimming the last third and catching the thread of the story through a prolonged awkward car-chase (but with missiles and helicopters) scene. I plan to check reviews to see if number 3 is maturing enough to buy. The ideas seem to warrant a really good and firm editor.
I like the characters and the choice of a protagonist who is out of the ordinary, a kick-butt Dwarven heroine. I love that the supporting characters seem to have very full stories of their own.
I really appreciate that the writer seems to have done some find/replace work to get over the first book's plague of someone "springing" in every other paragraph. A few editing problems remain, like using "redolent of" as if it means "reminiscent of," and the writing isn't quite as fun as the characters deserve.
But the plot is a kitchen-sink mess. I ended up skimming the last third and catching the thread of the story through a prolonged awkward car-chase (but with missiles and helicopters) scene. I plan to check reviews to see if number 3 is maturing enough to buy. The ideas seem to warrant a really good and firm editor.
July 7, 2023
Another great on from Lindsay Buroker - I love her heroines and I'm loving this spin-off from Death by Dragons, probably my favorite of her series.
January 28, 2024
I agree with the other reviews above so I won’t repeat it.
What the male lead did was pretty gross. I won’t be reading the next books due to this. Slight spoilers.. The reviews for the next book say “he continues to give more action to everyone but her”. It was really gross that after he slept with the women so they would do what he wanted he was flirting with the female lead.
She deserves better.
I’m so sad because the rest of the book was AMAZING that part just honestly ruined the whole series for me and I won’t be reading the others.
What the male lead did was pretty gross. I won’t be reading the next books due to this. Slight spoilers.. The reviews for the next book say “he continues to give more action to everyone but her”. It was really gross that after he slept with the women so they would do what he wanted he was flirting with the female lead.
She deserves better.
I’m so sad because the rest of the book was AMAZING that part just honestly ruined the whole series for me and I won’t be reading the others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2024
Picks up where book 1 left off. I really like Matti, and her burgeoning friendship with Val. I'm not much feeling the flirtation with Sarlevi though.
May 8, 2025
This is the second book in the Legacy of Magic series. Characters from the Death Before Dragons series appear. The book, like the series, continues to be interesting and fast paced. I do not recommend it as a standalone, the series should be read in order. Because it is part of a series, each book has its own story and there are a few overarching themes that continue until the finale.
The book includes magical creatures: vampires, goblins, dragons, werewolves, elves, and dwarves. Most of the story takes place in Washington state with some of it happening on other worlds.
Matti is a half dwarf, half human woman who works as a house flipper in the Seattle area. In the first book, she was approached by Sarrlevi who is looking for her mother. Matti believes that her mother is dead, but she gets drawn into the search. Sarrlevi had been hired to assassinate her mother years ago but had not done so. He is now trying to find her in order to help his relationship with the elves. While Matti is not sure she can trust him, she is beginning to do so and does not think he still plans to assassinate her mother.
More of Sarrlevi’s back story is revealed and it is sad. He was emotionally and physically abused as a child. Two exiled elf princesses try to manipulate him in this book, bringing him to the negative attention of the dwarves and the dragons.
Matti works with Val, a character from the Death Before Dragons series, who is half elf. She is the daughter of the elf king (on a different world). I liked the developing friendship between them. Though they are early in their friendship, I was a little surprised that Matti did not think to talk to Val about the exiled elves or possibly Sarrlevi’s mother who lives at the royal palace.
Matti is attracted to Sarrlevi, but she does not feel attractive. He is beginning to show signs that he respects her and may even be attracted to her, but she puts herself down.
I enjoy the vocabulary used by the author. She uses interesting words in her writing (although she did use youngest rather than younger when referring to two people). I also enjoy the richness of her stories. The dialogue is often funny.
Lindsay Buroker is an auto-buy for me. I have already purchased the next book in the series.
The book includes magical creatures: vampires, goblins, dragons, werewolves, elves, and dwarves. Most of the story takes place in Washington state with some of it happening on other worlds.
Matti is a half dwarf, half human woman who works as a house flipper in the Seattle area. In the first book, she was approached by Sarrlevi who is looking for her mother. Matti believes that her mother is dead, but she gets drawn into the search. Sarrlevi had been hired to assassinate her mother years ago but had not done so. He is now trying to find her in order to help his relationship with the elves. While Matti is not sure she can trust him, she is beginning to do so and does not think he still plans to assassinate her mother.
More of Sarrlevi’s back story is revealed and it is sad. He was emotionally and physically abused as a child. Two exiled elf princesses try to manipulate him in this book, bringing him to the negative attention of the dwarves and the dragons.
Matti works with Val, a character from the Death Before Dragons series, who is half elf. She is the daughter of the elf king (on a different world). I liked the developing friendship between them. Though they are early in their friendship, I was a little surprised that Matti did not think to talk to Val about the exiled elves or possibly Sarrlevi’s mother who lives at the royal palace.
Matti is attracted to Sarrlevi, but she does not feel attractive. He is beginning to show signs that he respects her and may even be attracted to her, but she puts herself down.
I enjoy the vocabulary used by the author. She uses interesting words in her writing (although she did use youngest rather than younger when referring to two people). I also enjoy the richness of her stories. The dialogue is often funny.
Lindsay Buroker is an auto-buy for me. I have already purchased the next book in the series.
March 25, 2023
Good One
*****Spoilers*****
Good action in this book. It picks up with Matti finishing up on a build and Sarrlevi returning to get back into the search for her mother. They take off for clues from the dwarves who followed Matti's mother to Earth and run into a bit of trouble. There's a bounty out for Matti's hammer, 100K to the one who gets it. This means that Matti occasionally has to fight off bounty hunters, and manages to do so with Sarrlevi's help here and there but also managing to hold her own. She's also trusting Sarrlevi more, but learns that he lied about having orders from the dwarf king to find her mother and instead is doing it for his redemption. Not sure if that's the end of what's going on with him though because he keeps telling Matti that she shouldn't trust him. By the end of this book, Matti and Sarrlevi share a kiss, they discover that Matti's mother has been alive as little as 10 years ago because she enchanted some helicopters to withstand dragon magic and flame, and someone wants Matti to find clues about her mom.
Matti makes progress this book in that she's introduced to her grandfather, the king of the dwarves. The meeting is short and instead of leaving with him to the dwarf world, she remained with Sarrlevi to keep the dragons from taking him for rehabilitation. Where he's tortured for 2 years and has his memories wiped. Instead, Matti offers to let the dragons scour her memories so that the dragons at least know that two elf women manipulated his capture and lied that Sarrlevi was going to assassinate the dwarf king. I felt bad and disgusted for Sarrlevi who bartered a night in his bed to set up the meeting for Matti with her father, where Sarrlevi kept his secure home . The elf women chose the location so his hideaway was not so secret afterward which is how the dwarves came calling.
I liked where the book went but it seemed really short. Val, Zav, and Willard are in this one as well as Val's vampire roommate. Val is helpful but she and Zav don't take away from Matti's story I don't think.
*****Spoilers*****
Good action in this book. It picks up with Matti finishing up on a build and Sarrlevi returning to get back into the search for her mother. They take off for clues from the dwarves who followed Matti's mother to Earth and run into a bit of trouble. There's a bounty out for Matti's hammer, 100K to the one who gets it. This means that Matti occasionally has to fight off bounty hunters, and manages to do so with Sarrlevi's help here and there but also managing to hold her own. She's also trusting Sarrlevi more, but learns that he lied about having orders from the dwarf king to find her mother and instead is doing it for his redemption. Not sure if that's the end of what's going on with him though because he keeps telling Matti that she shouldn't trust him. By the end of this book, Matti and Sarrlevi share a kiss, they discover that Matti's mother has been alive as little as 10 years ago because she enchanted some helicopters to withstand dragon magic and flame, and someone wants Matti to find clues about her mom.
Matti makes progress this book in that she's introduced to her grandfather, the king of the dwarves. The meeting is short and instead of leaving with him to the dwarf world, she remained with Sarrlevi to keep the dragons from taking him for rehabilitation. Where he's tortured for 2 years and has his memories wiped. Instead, Matti offers to let the dragons scour her memories so that the dragons at least know that two elf women manipulated his capture and lied that Sarrlevi was going to assassinate the dwarf king. I felt bad and disgusted for Sarrlevi who bartered a night in his bed to set up the meeting for Matti with her father, where Sarrlevi kept his secure home . The elf women chose the location so his hideaway was not so secret afterward which is how the dwarves came calling.
I liked where the book went but it seemed really short. Val, Zav, and Willard are in this one as well as Val's vampire roommate. Val is helpful but she and Zav don't take away from Matti's story I don't think.
November 28, 2022
"Betrayed" is a stellar second installment in the Legacy of Magic series. This time, Matti and her friends have almost finished the renovations on the house they plan to flip. However, before she can begin to even consider bids on the house she and Sarrlevi begin tracking down clues about her mother. Unfortuanately, Sarrlevi is not very diplomatic in his approach with potential witnesses.
Additionally, Colonel Willard once again extends an offer of employment to Matti and she decides to take it. Before they can even shake hands, Willard calls Matti and Val on a case to investigate missing artifacts and items from the storage room. If they are not recovered the Colonel may lose her job.
Meanwhile, Matti wants to meet her grandfather the King, to find out more about her mother. In brokering a deal, Sarrlevi makes a deal with an unscrupulous vixen who wants to use him as a sex toy. She also sends out rumors that he is planning an assassination attempt on the King. Of course this does not go over well and the Dragon Council gets involved and want to take him into custody for punishment and rehabilitation. Of course, Matti is not about to let this happen.
The plot in this installment moves a lot quicker and smoother than the first book in the series. In fact, I liked it alot better. There were plenty of moments of intrigue, action and surprises. I am definitely enjoying having Val and Zav in the storyline. I always thought that series ended too prematurely. I personally cannot wait to read the next book in the series. It promises to be very interesting.
Additionally, Colonel Willard once again extends an offer of employment to Matti and she decides to take it. Before they can even shake hands, Willard calls Matti and Val on a case to investigate missing artifacts and items from the storage room. If they are not recovered the Colonel may lose her job.
Meanwhile, Matti wants to meet her grandfather the King, to find out more about her mother. In brokering a deal, Sarrlevi makes a deal with an unscrupulous vixen who wants to use him as a sex toy. She also sends out rumors that he is planning an assassination attempt on the King. Of course this does not go over well and the Dragon Council gets involved and want to take him into custody for punishment and rehabilitation. Of course, Matti is not about to let this happen.
The plot in this installment moves a lot quicker and smoother than the first book in the series. In fact, I liked it alot better. There were plenty of moments of intrigue, action and surprises. I am definitely enjoying having Val and Zav in the storyline. I always thought that series ended too prematurely. I personally cannot wait to read the next book in the series. It promises to be very interesting.
November 20, 2022
Lindsay Buroker is continuing to suck me in to her new Legacy of Magic series, with a perfect sophomore offering in Book 2, Betrayed. If you enjoyed Book 1, Hammered, I can guarantee you’ll love this book at least as much. The overall story arc is getting a bit more complex while all the other elements action, magic, adventure and the still early elements of what will surely be a slow to boil romance) are back in full force, together with an ideal nearly kick-a** heroine in half Dwarf Mataalii (Mattti) Puletasi, a pretty much perfect cast of supporting characters - both returning from the Death Before Dragons series, principally elven assassin Sarrlevi (who had an important guest starring role in some of those books), plus the leads from that series, Val and Zav, and a few others, plus great new characters like goblin Tonja and half-Troll Abbas. This was, quite frankly, a deliciously fun read on virtually every page. Total fun, and really my only complaint is that it ended without book 3 being immediately available - even though this book had a perfectly fine “happily enough for now” ending. If you’ve not read the Death Before Dragons series I’d do that first. You don’t at all need to for this series but I suspect you’ll end up wanting to read it and, if so, it’s better as a first read. Whether or not you want to read that prior series, this series - and this book - are easy to recommend.
August 9, 2023
How do I still not care about the missing mom mystery?
This was FANTASTIC.
Seriously! On soooo many levels. Once again, I have to applaud the author on the little nuances she gives her characters. Again we have Maati with her insecurities that we saw reflected due to her magical heritage as well as her being a person of ethnic background comparing herself to the blond, long legged and waifish looking Val. Even her brief convo with Zadie touched on how she still doesn’t feel absolute acceptance within her own biological family too. Then we got to touch on Saav (yep, I just shortened his name) and the implications of a male being abused mentally (being ostracized by his elven peers for events beyond his control at such a tender age), physically (as we learned about his upbringing) and se**ally as well. He was manipulated into physical relations for apparently years by that elf and here we see how he’s struggling to deal with someone who just wants to be with him and there’s no quid pro quo involved. It’s a very unique thing and I’m totally here for how layered of a character Saav is and the slow burn of his inevitable relationship with maati.
Kudos all around.
Is it bad that I really don’t care about the whole is Maati’s mom still alive thing? It’s a cool subplot, but I kinda am over it and wish that it wraps up in the next book so we can see how well the relationship progresses between Maati and Saav without that being between them.
This was FANTASTIC.
Seriously! On soooo many levels. Once again, I have to applaud the author on the little nuances she gives her characters. Again we have Maati with her insecurities that we saw reflected due to her magical heritage as well as her being a person of ethnic background comparing herself to the blond, long legged and waifish looking Val. Even her brief convo with Zadie touched on how she still doesn’t feel absolute acceptance within her own biological family too. Then we got to touch on Saav (yep, I just shortened his name) and the implications of a male being abused mentally (being ostracized by his elven peers for events beyond his control at such a tender age), physically (as we learned about his upbringing) and se**ally as well. He was manipulated into physical relations for apparently years by that elf and here we see how he’s struggling to deal with someone who just wants to be with him and there’s no quid pro quo involved. It’s a very unique thing and I’m totally here for how layered of a character Saav is and the slow burn of his inevitable relationship with maati.
Kudos all around.
Is it bad that I really don’t care about the whole is Maati’s mom still alive thing? It’s a cool subplot, but I kinda am over it and wish that it wraps up in the next book so we can see how well the relationship progresses between Maati and Saav without that being between them.
June 24, 2025
OMG! The ending!
OK, I’m going to have to admit to a MAJOR case of “idiocy.“
First, let me mention that when it comes to “old-time romance, early black and white movies, 1980’s romcoms, etc., I’m a total sap. I love those things. Despite being a prominent plot thread, because it was not the series primary focus, I was only today years old when I finally realized that one of the elements I love so much in both Death Before Dragons and this series is the slow burn, enemies to lovers, romance trope. I have been so engaged with the primary story line, that conscious awareness of this particular aspect somehow eluded me. Never mind that it steps right up in your space, much like a half-elf with an excellent concealment charm, and practically slaps you upside the head, it still somehow eluded me.
As I had this realization I felt so intensely foolish for having failed to notice such an overt element, but then it occurred to me that perhaps this actually the most complimentary thing I can say about her writing. I have been and am fully engaged in the stories she is telling. I’m wondering now… somewhere I read as she thanked her readers for liking the series since it was different from what she’d previously written, and I’m wondering now if her primary career has been a romance author. If so, she will make the fifth or sixth such author whom I’ve come to love.
All that being said, just grab it mow… You’re going to love this book.
OK, I’m going to have to admit to a MAJOR case of “idiocy.“
First, let me mention that when it comes to “old-time romance, early black and white movies, 1980’s romcoms, etc., I’m a total sap. I love those things. Despite being a prominent plot thread, because it was not the series primary focus, I was only today years old when I finally realized that one of the elements I love so much in both Death Before Dragons and this series is the slow burn, enemies to lovers, romance trope. I have been so engaged with the primary story line, that conscious awareness of this particular aspect somehow eluded me. Never mind that it steps right up in your space, much like a half-elf with an excellent concealment charm, and practically slaps you upside the head, it still somehow eluded me.
As I had this realization I felt so intensely foolish for having failed to notice such an overt element, but then it occurred to me that perhaps this actually the most complimentary thing I can say about her writing. I have been and am fully engaged in the stories she is telling. I’m wondering now… somewhere I read as she thanked her readers for liking the series since it was different from what she’d previously written, and I’m wondering now if her primary career has been a romance author. If so, she will make the fifth or sixth such author whom I’ve come to love.
All that being said, just grab it mow… You’re going to love this book.
December 2, 2022
Matti is side-tracked in an adventure that will change her life.
Even though Matti tries to concentrate on her refurbishing houses business and complete the project underway, strange events requiring her immediate attention and action keep steering her to protect those close to her and defend herself against threats to destroy and steal her magical weapon. One of her biggest challenges is determining who to trust since she believes authorities and other magical beings have deceived her in the past. Wanting more than anything to solve the mystery surrounding her mother’s supposed death, she reluctantly accepts help and agrees to cooperate in finding answers about who is behind the threats and events disrupting the magical community from the very ones in which she’s most suspicious. Matti’s second biggest challenge deals with Sarrlevi, the assassin that no one trusts, and to figure out why her instincts lead her to not only trust him, but put herself in harm’s way to defend him. Growing in magical skills and learning more details about her family history, Matti still hasn’t resolved what happened when she was ripped away as a small child, but she’s gradually bonding and trusting those who have fought beside her. She wants so much to trust her attraction to Sarrlevi, but can she? Her head and friends discourage it, but her heart and instincts say, “yes.”
Even though Matti tries to concentrate on her refurbishing houses business and complete the project underway, strange events requiring her immediate attention and action keep steering her to protect those close to her and defend herself against threats to destroy and steal her magical weapon. One of her biggest challenges is determining who to trust since she believes authorities and other magical beings have deceived her in the past. Wanting more than anything to solve the mystery surrounding her mother’s supposed death, she reluctantly accepts help and agrees to cooperate in finding answers about who is behind the threats and events disrupting the magical community from the very ones in which she’s most suspicious. Matti’s second biggest challenge deals with Sarrlevi, the assassin that no one trusts, and to figure out why her instincts lead her to not only trust him, but put herself in harm’s way to defend him. Growing in magical skills and learning more details about her family history, Matti still hasn’t resolved what happened when she was ripped away as a small child, but she’s gradually bonding and trusting those who have fought beside her. She wants so much to trust her attraction to Sarrlevi, but can she? Her head and friends discourage it, but her heart and instincts say, “yes.”
August 16, 2023
I really liked this book but one part made me really uncomfortable, uncomfortable enough that I had to take a break for a few days before I finished the book. Spoilers below:
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So basically Sarrlevi barters for Matti to meet her grandfather. Then we find out that he bartered sex because he said the elven lady who set up the meeting didn’t want anything else. I do not like when people have to do that. It’s bad enough hearing about Val’s past where she was ordered to do such things in the past (which is freaking terrible), it’s so so much worse when it happens during the book’s events.
And then the elven lady brings a friend, which he did not agree to, and he sleeps with them when he clearly doesn’t want to because he wants to help Matti. If he was interested, I wouldn’t have liked it but I wouldn’t have been disturbed.
And then, the scene kept going on. I can get it from an artistic stand point that the reader should feel what Matti is feeling about this horrible situation, but Matti’s feelings did not feel proportional to what was happening.
I read smut. I have no problem with people having consensual sex. This just felt too icky and a little close to non consensual for Sarrlevi.
Again, I liked the book and I will continue to read the series most likely, but I really feel like this scene could’ve been done differently at the least.
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So basically Sarrlevi barters for Matti to meet her grandfather. Then we find out that he bartered sex because he said the elven lady who set up the meeting didn’t want anything else. I do not like when people have to do that. It’s bad enough hearing about Val’s past where she was ordered to do such things in the past (which is freaking terrible), it’s so so much worse when it happens during the book’s events.
And then the elven lady brings a friend, which he did not agree to, and he sleeps with them when he clearly doesn’t want to because he wants to help Matti. If he was interested, I wouldn’t have liked it but I wouldn’t have been disturbed.
And then, the scene kept going on. I can get it from an artistic stand point that the reader should feel what Matti is feeling about this horrible situation, but Matti’s feelings did not feel proportional to what was happening.
I read smut. I have no problem with people having consensual sex. This just felt too icky and a little close to non consensual for Sarrlevi.
Again, I liked the book and I will continue to read the series most likely, but I really feel like this scene could’ve been done differently at the least.
August 1, 2023
The action picks up in this urban fantasy; the side romance becomes somewhat more important, although Matti will deny it to your face if you mention it.
*****
“King Ironhelm didn’t tell you anything about my mother that might help, did he?”
“No.”
“Well, I’m nicer and cuddlier than you, so maybe he’ll confide in me.” I widened my smile, inviting him to laugh, snort, or at least change expression.
For a long moment, he didn’t react at all, and I had a feeling he sensed I wasn’t being entirely forthright with him. But he finally leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You consider yourself cuddly?”
“I’m a lot cuddlier than you. You’re all lean and angular with no body fat. Who’d want to snuggle up to that?” I hoped he didn’t give me the knowing smirk that suggested I would. I wouldn’t. I could see having sex with him, because my dumb body couldn’t help but find the thought intriguing.
*****
See? Matti’s got it bad for Saarlevi, a full-blooded elf who refers to her as a mongrel dwarf. As they fight their way through various scenarios including the destruction of his home, by dragons, on another planet, both the plot and the banter heat up.
I promise you there’s a good plot here, as well as characters and world-building. This book is the whole package.
February 16, 2025
I had to DNF this book after Sarrlevi slept with two elven women while Matti was in the next room. I was excited to start this series and thought it was cool that there was a woman of color protagonist. My excitement waned when I realized Matti's self-esteem was in the gutter, and she allowed herself to be a loyal doormat to a man she not only doesn't trust, but one who had been sent to kill her mother. I hate that she is constantly comparing herself to tall blonde women. I hate to say it, but this is why people of color often don't like white writers to take on writing characters of color. It would be one thing if she had a normal level of self-doubt. Bu she had no pride in anything but her work. Sarrlevi not only slept with these women as a supposed sacrifice, he did nothing to block out their loud noises. Nor did he at least take her back to her world. And after fucking these women loudly all night he comes outside and rubs Mattis head and instead of having a speck of self respect she's desperate for his touch. It made me sick and though I haven't read all of Burokers other books, I'd be surprised if one of her tall blonde beauties would have had to suffer such humiliation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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