Darswords

Ruled by Steel by S.M. Reine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given this ebook by the author for an honest review.

Let me take a side step from the review to talk about Moon Reader Pro. Most books I read nowadays are read on my Second Generation Kindle with text-to-speech. I have a newer Kindle but the TST is not as human sounding. When I get an ebook that isn’t for the Kindle (Yes, I know I can move the book into Kindle manually, by Calibre, or by sending as email but I’m lazy) I usually open it in Moon Reader Pro. I love this program because of all the features. If you don’t need the TST but would like to challenge your reading speed you can set that and a line keeps you on track. Even the TST can be speeded up or slowed down much more incrementally than on Kindle. You can have your choice of voices, but they are both rather tinny. Even so there is a bit of emotion added to the voice that keeps the story moving. Another feature is the time left in the book and chapter according to the current reading speed. By the way, MRP is an app you can get from Amazon for a small fee. There is a free version, but I liked it so much I went for the full, and it works for Fire, my Android phone and my Tablet, so I am never without a book that can read to me. And the MRP highlights the part it is reading unlike the Kindle.

Okay, back to the book. So I was reading it on my Tablet. The tinny voice going while I’m crocheting, but I wasn’t getting much out of it as a listener. I put away my project and pulled myself into the story, fully paying attention. Even so, I found the first chapter or so boring. I don’t know why. Maybe being left with such horrid outcomes in the last book? But, truth be told, I think the author was screwing with the reader here. She allowed a calm before the storm, so to speak. Because once this story got under way, it soared! I couldn’t stop reading! And here is where MRP comes in. At the most exciting part I was being told that I had two more hours left in the book. It was midnight. 2:00 AM is a decent bedtime for me. BUT not after this book! I couldn’t sleep after I was finished because I was SO excited I couldn’t settle down for a few more hours. SO advice: don’t read this before going to sleep!

I was happy that the pack and the angels got involved in this book. I liked all the characters and their interactions. If you have followed my reviews from the beginning of SM Reine’s books, you may have noticed that I wasn’t fond of werewolves or demons or angel stories. Ms. Reine changed all that. They are now characters as real as humans in my reading diet. I suppose vampires are next since I don’t like those much. We’ll see. (Confession: I love Vampire Diaries on TV, and I loved Moonlight so…)

Anyway, this book was an all out war with everyone taking hits from every side. It was personal and in your face. Even now as I am into the next book the battles are still raging in my head, as are the questions I dare not speak for ‘Spoilers’. I hope answers are forth coming. I am in this world and can’t leave until I am caught up with Sara’s writing. That is how gripping her books are. Start reading them with the Seasons of the Moon series, then Cain Chronicles, then Descent, then Ascent and woops! There is a new one, Preternatural Affairs. Ms. Reine needs to stop writing so I can catch up! 🙂 Meanwhile, those of you that haven’t started yet, you are in for an adventure that doesn’t stop! Enjoy!

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