Lord of the Wolfyn (Royal House of Shadows, #3) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Sep 16, 2011 Lisarenee rated it it was amazing

"Good, then listen well. Because of our wounds and the sorcerer's power, the spell turned, warped as your mother and I cast it. The magic has sent you and your brothers and sister far away, as we intended, but it has also tied the four of you to the castle and begun a countdown. When this count enters its final four nights-and not before-you must all return to the island, retake the castle and kill the Blood sorcerer. If you do not, you will die and Elden will be lost. But you must wait until "Good, then listen well. Because of our wounds and the sorcerer's power, the spell turned, warped as your mother and I cast it. The magic has sent you and your brothers and sister far away, as we intended, but it has also tied the four of you to the castle and begun a countdown. When this count enters its final four nights-and not before-you must all return to the island, retake the castle and kill the Blood sorcerer. If you do not, you will die and Elden will be lost. But you must wait until the time is right.

Dayn's breath rasped in his lungs; his mind spun. "How will I know?" Gods, was this really happening?

A woman will come to guide you home. The countdown begins when she arrives and ends on the fourth night."

The Royal House of Elden was attacked. In an effort to save their children, the Queen cast a spell to send each of them to a different kingdom. At the same time, the King cast a spell so that each of his children would seek vengeance upon the Blood Sorcerer. The two spells merged and then warped. Each child ended up in a different kingdom with the exception of Dayn. He ended up in a different realm. There are three--the kingdom, wolfyn, and human realms. The wolfyn realm is where Dayn ended up and this story begins.

"The older hunters told of the wolfyn taking human form and seducing the most beautiful women they could find...and then killing and eating them. Those were just stories, though."

Reda had been searching for a book for years, entitled Rutakoppchem, an alternate version of Red Riding Hood. In this version the wolf was not only sinister, but a seducer as well. The book had been a gift from her mother. Her father had sold it years ago in attempt to help his daughter overcome her mother's death and her disillusions about a magical world. When Reda finally finds the book, it transports her to another realm, the wolfyn realm, where she meets Dayn and discovers she's his guide. While the tale her mother had given her was started, it was never completed. Additionally, she doesn't remember anything of the magical world of her childhood, so how is it possible that she can guide anyone? Isn't that like the blind leading the blind? Plus, most myths and legends are based on fact. Distinguishing fact from fiction, however, is not always the easiest thing to do. That is something Reda will need to do. Elden's survival depends on her making the right choice.

This is the third book of the Royal House of Shadows tetralogy/quartet. We are slowly starting to get a better view of the overall picture of what is happening in Elden and beyond. Each book gives us a little more insight as to how the series will conclude. I must say I look forward to seeing how Nalini Singh (one of my favorite authors) will finish the tale. She needs to write Micha's story, plus, she's the anchor for this team of authors and will need to bring the previous three stories together to the series conclusion in Lord of the Abyss.

'Lord of the Wolfyn' is my favorite so far of the Royal House of Shadows saga. While I've loved each of the stories thus far, something about this one just seemed a little more magical to me. This is the first book I've read by Jessica Anderson, but it won't be my last. I loved how Jessica took the story of Little Red Riding Hood and changed it to make it her own.

I loved how the blank pages of the book symbolize how Reda needs to find her own way and, in a manner of speaking, create her own story. The phrase "life's what you make it" comes to mind. I also like that Reda grows as a person. When we first meet her we learn she's a former police officer who froze when put in a dangerous situation. Her lack of action caused her partner to lose his life. In order to fulfill her destiny, she'll have to overcome the fear that causes her to freeze.

While Reda suffers from guilt, she is not the only one. Dayn feels guilty for leaving his post after an argument with his parents. He believes if he'd been at the castle at the time of the attack he could have changed the outcome of what happened. He will need to deal with some of his own issues while attempting to find his way back to Elden. Plus, he needs to get his priorities straight and learn what his father meant when he said he need to stay true to himself.

The attraction between Reda and Dayn is instantaneous and steamy, but complicated. Neither knows the other, and they only have four days to find a way back to Eldon and save the Kingdom. At the end of the period it is thought Reda will return home. Plus, with the Kingdom at stake they need to try to stay focused on the task at hand.

There are so many things I loved in this story. I think Jessica added elements she loved from other fairy tales. There is an evil "witch" bent on keeping Dayn from returning home, a dragon that will come into play and a few twists and turns because a good fairytale is never ever supposed to be predictable. A most enjoyable read from Ms. Andersen. Hey, is she related to Hans Christian Andersen? *chuckle*

On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a SHOWERM.b< rating - a cold shower may be necessary after reading this book. Need I say more? I believe some books should come with a warning - make sure your significant other is handy or your shower is in working order. Overall, I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses.

Order of series:

1) Lord of the Vampires
2) Lord of Rage
3) Lord of the Wolfyn
4. Lord of the Abyss

To view more of my reviews check out my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com
...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2011 Kristen rated it liked it

Published by Book Series Tracker at http://seriestracker.wordpress.com/ on August 17, 2011.

The third in what is presumably a four part series (Royal House of Shadows), the Lord of the Wolfyn was interesting. I have said a number of times in the reviews of the first installments that it feels like there are too many cooks with respect to this series and that sntiment holds true here more then in installment number two. This one, however, also suffered from some intranet-disjointedness too. I wil Published by Book Series Tracker at http://seriestracker.wordpress.com/ on August 17, 2011.

The third in what is presumably a four part series (Royal House of Shadows), the Lord of the Wolfyn was interesting. I have said a number of times in the reviews of the first installments that it feels like there are too many cooks with respect to this series and that sntiment holds true here more then in installment number two. This one, however, also suffered from some intranet-disjointedness too. I will explain…

Dayn realizes that he is in the Wolfynm realm. When Reda lands there from the vortex she notes some strange juxtaposition of clothing and weapons. And later in the story Dayn admits to havingtroublewith the human speech. Wile Dayn provides the info explaining the travel between realms there is little consistency of the characters when it comes to having this issues. And Reda accepts the change in reality a little too easily but then she also is reminded of her own world and her situation in it at random and inconsistent times.

In this installment we deal with Dayn and what happened as a result of his parents’ spell and the way that the Blood Sorcerer’s activities made it go awry. And we get Reda who was a cop but was too Fraid to act and as a result her partner was killed. But, somewhere in her past her mother told some story about red riding hood and the woodsman. But much of that part of the story is ignored. It’s used as a device to get her into the realm but then is succinctly discarded and ignored. I would have liked to have seen more of how this played a part – that is, it would have been nice if it wasn’t summarily discarded. She’s not a whIney female like we so often see in this genre but she’s not portrayed (at least in the beginning) as a very string character either. Dayn does provide strength to her without being an overpowering cave man type. So that made her easier to deal with and him very likable.

As far as this series goes there has been a decent balance of steam across installments. And the relationship development and dialogue is typical for the PNR genre (ultra quick coupling and some steamy love scenes with little to base a relationship on other than some distant dreams or something similar).

After reading the first three, I a really interested in the fourth since there is no closure on the overall story arc. In fact we are left with what really comes across as a cliff hanger in this installment. Leaving all the details of the overall story arc for settlement in what must be the fourth installment. And the overthrow of the blood sorcerer is an interesting idea and part of what has kept me reading this series. I am a little worried that wall the closure will be jammed into the last book and the disjointed plot and complexities of the story will be too overwhelming for one author and one book.

I did mention in my review of the second installment that I would have re-ordered these if it were up to me, but, alas… it was not up to me. Given the way each of the first three books ended, it would have made so much more sense if this were #2, if Lord of Rage were #1 and Lord of the Vamps were #3. I also think it would not have felt so disjointed and disorderly. Makes me wonder whether the authors decided the order of the publishers. And if it was the authors – couldn’t the publishers have made the ladies come to their senses? I am confused now where we are and who is actually back in the kingdom of Elden and who isn’t. And, what the heck the deal is with the timeline. I think better ordering of the series would have helped make all of these even better reads (certainly the first would have been better – because on a re-read after reading 2 and 3, it makes so much more sense to me now and I have a much higher opinion of it then I did after the first read!)

I liked this one well enough that I will likely look for other works by this author. Although that drives home the disappointment with the firstqinstallment even further since I like Showalter already and was really let down by her installment in this series. More to come so more for me too look forward to reading. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Shan ~A~ rated it it was amazing

After each book I fall more deeply in love with the series and the new Hero and Heroine is introduced. This time we got Dayn and his lady love Reda. I have to say that it was hard for me to put down, that is why I am still awake right now when I should be sleeping. I can't wait to read the final installment to see how Micah's story goes and how the series will end. You must read all of the books from beginning to end as I am doing, so that you can understand the whole story, not just the parts. ...more

Like · see review

Jul 19, 2011 Elizabeth rated it it was ok

Since i started reading the series nothing much has changed they haven't really gotten anywhere It feels like I'm reading the same book just different characters.

One thing I did like was Dayn his character was complex and you got to learn new things about him and he seemed to surprise you when you least expect it. I did not like Rhea she was just blah she was boring unoriginal and she was always complaining and thinking about no one but herself.
I also did'nt like the ending it was unsatisfying a ...more

Like · see review

Oct 05, 2011 Kristina rated it really liked it

rating 3.5

originally posted:http://newborrowedused.blogspot.com/2...

My Thoughts: I'm torn with this book. As with the first book in the series I did not enjoy the mix of the "human world" and the realms. This did get better as the book went along and everything took place in the realms.
While I found Dayn more tolerable, I could not stand Reda through most of this book. She was very weak almost all the way through. For someone who grew up being told these fairytales from her mother, until she pas ...more

Like · see review