Sandy M’s review of Queen of Song and Souls (Tairen Soul, Book 4) by C.L. Wilson
Fantasy Romance published by Leisure Books 27 Oct 09

This is one of those books you can’t wait to get your hands on. Anticipation courses through you as you open it up and finally get a taste of the wonderful writing, get reacquainted with old friends, and get caught up in the new joys and tragedies they face. But then when you reach the halfway mark in the story, it becomes one of those books that you don’t want to ever end. You want to slow down in your reading and make it last so much longer than the day you’ve already spent with it, but you simply can’t. Everything about this book hooks your emotions and puts you through the wringer over and over again, leaving you both overjoyed and saddened at the same time and also leaving you wanting more.

Right off the bat in this latest installment in her Tairen Soul series, C.L. Wilson not only puts her fans through the emotional wringer, but she also squeezes their heart until it either has to burst with happiness or break with heartache. And all of that is done with that richness of writing that Ms. Wilson is now known for. That alone is worth picking up the books in this series.

Rain and Ellie are still on their course toward their bond of truemates. Ellie has still yet to complete her bond, thus the madness that is inflicted on the mate who has bonded has begun for Rain, the knowledge of which he’s trying to keep from her as they make their way across the land to gather allies in the Mage war that has already taken too many lives. The scenes in which Rain loses control, full of bloodlust, are terrific but heart-rending scenes.

Ellie has inner turmoil of her own, once she realizes how and why she was born, what others have lost because of her birth, what she must do now to make sure those tragedies and losses finally mean something. She has also yet to fully discover her Tairen Soul. In this book shes comes very, very close, the Tairen just beneath the surface in certain circumstances but her ability to shift and breathe fire is still eluding her.

We once again live through the love, heartache, and pain of Ellie’s parents, Shan and Elfeya, who are being held captive and constantly, horribly, brutally tortured by the High Mage in hopes that brutality will aid in his catpure of Ellie and he will finally complete his diabolical plans. This villain is one sick puppy. What he’ll do, what he’ll go through for power and all that goes with it is beyond believable. What he’s already done to Shan and Elfeya is even beyond that, and you only hope Ms. Wilson will give them a happily ever after at the end of this series after all they’ve borne so far.

The conclusion of Adrial and Talisa’s mistimed truemating is also part of this book. I was looking forward to their story after waiting through King of Sword and Sky where it did not fit and had to be bumped to the QoSaS. I was more than happy to do so because that meant one extra book in the series in the long run. But my heart will never be the same after reading their fate, even though they will be together.

And there is so, so much more in between all of this. This book is jam packed with action, betrayal, and, of course, love and romance. If you have not read this series, you are definitely missing out on some of the best books to come along in a very long time. Pick up Lord of the Fading Lands, and I guarantee you you will be entranced and hooked in no time at all.

We now know there will be a fifth book, Tairen Soul, of the series, which is wonderful news for die-hard fans. Alas, it’s the waiting that kills us first. Then it’s the knowledge that when we read too fast, the end of such a good thing is that much closer.

Grade: A+

Summary:

The first deadly battles of the new Mage Wars have been fought, and victory has been won at a terrible price. As the toll of an unfulfilled matebond and the torment of war begins tips Rain towards madness, Ellysetta knows if she cannot find a way to defeat the darkness growing inside her and complete the truemate bond, Rain will die and she will become the prophesied monster Vadim Maur uses to destroy the Fey and enslave the World.

Read an excerpt. (scroll down and click link)

Other books in this series: