Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: The Gathering Storm (previously The Gathering)
SERIES: Juxtan #2
AUTHOR: Tricia Owens
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 257 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 22, 2019
BLURB:
After betraying the only man he ever loved, Hadrian ni Leyanon waits for death amid the ruins of a sorcerous battle. Before that can happen, he is recruited by the Council of Elders, which governs the use of magick in Juxtan. The Council needs him to track down his evil sorcerer father and force him to face the justice they aren’t powerful enough to inflict on their own. Wracked with guilt, Hadrian agrees to join the mage-led mission in the hopes it will allow him to redeem himself. But when Caled, the handsome mercenary whom Hadrian betrayed, insists on joining the mission too, Hadrian discovers that redemption needs to come from the man who hates him most.
Caled has forsaken his family name to become an instrument of justice. Stalking Hadrian through the halls of the mage school where the young sorcerer is recovering, Caled is determined to see that justice comes not just to the father but to the son, even if his heart cries out for him to reconsider.
REVIEW:
I am torn by this book. So torn. For one, it was left hanging again, and I hate that. I really need the next book now to find out what happens and if frick and frack ever get their acts together. But I’m the most torn for Hadrian. This book and this series have been so good. I need to know what happens next.
Caled is pissed and for good reason. Every day and night he sees and hears the screams and burned flesh of those people of his town. His best friend. He’s sworn an oath to avenge those people and he is determined to see it through. No matter what. But what he didn’t expect was how it felt to really see Hadrian again after all the destruction. He’s torn. He still loves Hadrian, no matter what he says, but after what happened, he needs to avenge his people. But what he hasn’t done is given Hadrian any chance to explain. And he refuses to listen. But Hadrian isn’t wanting to tell the tale anyway. After everything he hears from Life itself, it’s enough to make him insane. Plus, after what he did, he doesn’t want to live anyway. After Caled used one of the people where they were staying, the mage was pissed and tried to kill them by setting the forest on fire. And Caled’s automatic reaction gave him his wish. He threw his knife and stabbed Hadrian right in the heart. And now, he’s dying. But the Council with him won’t let him die before they finish the mission they are sent out to do and does something he shouldn’t have. And now, Caled can’t get his wish and Hadrian can’t die. And they still have no desire to be around each other but have no choice. It’s not going to bode well for the mission they have to accomplish.
You know I truly feel for Caled losing his friend and for the town being burned. But even though Hadrian was there and sort of a part of it, he really wasn’t there. He was forced. And no one but one other person, besides his father, knows that. And he hates himself for it. He knows that town’s life is in his hands. He knows what he did was wrong by not stopping his father. But he didn’t know he was strong enough at the time. It wasn’t until it was all over and he was fighting his own father that he realized what his father was and what he had kept from him. And it is truly Hadrian I feel for. Yes, he may be just as guilty, but he lived a life of abuse and suffering that no one truly knew of. He was constantly belittled and treated like dirt. He was never taught anything because he thought he wasn’t good enough. He still believes that. He doesn’t know that his father held him back because of the power Hadrian truly has. He lived a life of hell day in and out for years and years. No one to stop his father. No one to help him. He was left alone to try to fend for himself again his father and that was impossible because he didn’t know what he’s capable of. And it breaks my heart for him that Caled won’t even hear him out and the weight of all that he carries on his shoulders. Everyone has condemned him, including himself. But no one seeks the truth of what really happened. And until that comes out, nothing will ever change.
I really want to know what happens next. It’s torture not knowing. Hadrian needs a break in his life. And I hope he gets one. For once.
RATING: 
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