PSA: no spoilers are to be found here! My post is safe to read if you've never read the series!
How have I never heard anybody talking about this series?! I just finished the third and final entry in the trilogy (ohh how I wish it was much longer than a trilogy!) and I'm absolutely floored by it. I literally never reread books, but I absolutely 100% would reread this series… and the struggle to resist rereading it right away is strong.
The series is Kelley Skovron's first endeavor in adult fantasy, apparently having been primarily a YA and younger author beforehand, and while the first book 100% reads as YA, the series is.. incredible. The world was so expertly crafted as was the culture of it, and the characters were so diverse, so full of depth, and so easy to love (or hate). Dare I say, it was a masterpiece of writing. The irony, though, is that I was not engaged at all with the first book up to page 80 or so that I nearly DNF'd it, but then part two started right after that and I was HOOKED (and that could have been just me not being used to reading fantasy… I think this is the first adult fantasy series I've ever read). Couldn't put them down. Given that this series is now my all time favorite, I don't think I'll ever be DNF'ing a book again LOL
Seriously, y'all, don't sleep on Hope and Red, Bane and Shadow, or Blood and Tempest. It's such a shame that there seems to be no real following for these books because… damn are they good! If you've read them, what did you think of them? And if you liked them, who was your favorite character? Mine was definitely Red!
Just a note: the language is very strong and crass throughout the series, with the c-word and other words for genitalia being quite commonplace for some of the characters. So if you're not a fan of reading vulgar language, it might not be for you, but I don't think it was done in a… "gross" way. It was just the vernacular for some of the characters based on where they grew up.
Another note: the book was published under Kelley Skovron's dead name Jon Skovron. I had issues searching on some sites by Kelley instead of Jon so just make a note of that. It was either Amazon or Thriftbooks that only gave results when searching with Jon instead.
by Mobius8321