Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Surrounded By Crimson
SERIES: Sumeria’s Sons #4
AUTHOR: Lexi Ander
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 162 pages
BLURB:
Tristan has agreed to bond with Ushna, but there is still much to do and returning to Tribe Enkidu puts everyone on edge. Tristan is being stalked like prey, all the while fighting depression as he mourns the loss of Nikita, and enduring a battle of wills with the Elder Council over his birthright. The pleading of his adoptive daughter only adds still more stress to the situation.
Stumbling onto a secret prison while searching for Ushna leads Tristan to risk everything to free a lost God. But breaking the tie to his Flame has more repercussions than Tristan knew and the assistance of a forgotten Goddess and a centuries old lover may not be enough to save him.
REVIEW:
With the birth of their children imminent, this really isn’t the time to be leaving the safety of their ranch. But there really isn’t much choice, so Tristan and Ushna–plus a whole host of guards, family, and friends–pack their bags and head towards Tribe Enkidu.
What waits for them there is most likely unpleasant–and most certainly dangerous. With a council that harbors a spy, Daniel still on the loose, and less than a week till going into labor, Tristan doesn’t need any new surprises. Which is exactly what his gods have planned for him. Of course. And when it comes down to the wire Tristan’s choices might just lose him the one thing he has grown to love, or gain him the one thing he finds he needs.
**BEWARE** If you haven’t read the first three books in this series (and why not???) you are going to be so confused if you read this one.
**REQUEST** If anyone has ever made a spreadsheet or a flowchart or something that details the Sumerian gods and how they are related and/or tied to these characters, could I borrow it? Because the first couple chapters had me thinking it might be a good idea to go back and get a degree in ancient Sumerian, since I clearly don’t know what the fuck is being talked about.
**DEMAND** I want the next book, and I want it NOW!
(…and now, our review…)
I would totally count the ways in which I loved this book, except the #1 reason is such a big fucking secret that you would be well within your rights to smack me for ruining the surprise. So I will just say that something happens in this book, that I really love–and which you will really love–and leave it at that.
Also, you are going to get to the end of this book and want to strangle the author for ending it there. That is just a thing that is going to happen. It is best if you come to grips with that now. Not that the other books have been exactly cliff-hanger free, but this one kind of leaves you with a whole slew of unanswered questions and situations–and things that you want RIGHT THIS MINUTE, AND NO I WILL NOT WAIT!–so it is best to prepare yourself.
That all being said–or not said–I really liked this book. There were a few times were I was sure I wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as some of the others in the series, but then the tension just goes off the chart and I found myself on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, and waiting desperately for it to be all ok. That is a sign of a very good book.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to slap some sense back into Tristan. Because I do, I really really do. Talk about your idiotic decisions coming back to bite you on your tushy.
Other then the cliff-hanger and the fact I felt like I needed some type of in-depth diagram to understand who the fuck all these gods were, this was a really great story and a great continuation of this series. I am not-so-patiently waiting for the next one as well. I did see some of the surprises coming, but was more than pleasantly surprised by some of the others, so on the whole this was an enjoyable read.
RATING:
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