Week 5 Reviews: The Invisible Ring, The Price, Dreams Made Flesh, Tangled Webs, The Shadow Queen, Shalador's Lady, Twilight's Dawn

From Goodreads:
A prequel set in the "dark and sensual world"( 11th Hour) of the national bestselling Black Jewels Trilogy. Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord bound as a pleasure slave by the Ring of Obedience. After suffering nine years of torment as a slave, he murdered his owner and escaped-only to be caught and sold into slavery once again. The notorious queen who has purchased him, known as the Gray Lady, may not be what she seems. Soon, Jared faces a difficult choice: his freedom, or his honor.

From Goodreads:
The Price - Anne Bishop

From Goodreads:
Return to the realm of the Blood in Dreams Made Flesh—featuring four revelatory all-new adventures of Jaenelle and her kindred….

Jaenelle is the most powerful Witch ever known, centuries of hopes and dreams made flesh at last. She has forged ties with three of the realm's mightiest Blood warriors: Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, who trains Jaenelle in magic and adopts her as his daughter; Lucivar, the winged Eyrien warlord who becomes her protector; and the near-immortal Daemon born to be Witch's lover. Jaenelle has assumed her rightful place as Queen of the Darkness and restored order and peace to the realms…but at a terrible cost.

In Dreams Made Flesh, discover the origin of the mystical Jewels, and experience the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth witch. Witness the clash between Saetan and a Priestess that may forever change reality. And learn whether the sacrifice of Jaenelle's magic has destroyed any hope of happiness between her and Daemon.

From Goodreads:
Anne Bishop's national bestselling and critically acclaimed Black Jewels series has enthralled readers with its lavish blend of "the darkly macabre with spine-tingling emotional intensity, mesmerizing magic, lush sensuality, and exciting action." Now readers can return to the violently passionate world rules by the Blood, a race of witches and warlocks whose power is channeled through magical jewels....

The invitation is signed Jaenelle Angelline, she who had been both Witch and Queen.

It summons her family to an entertainment she had specially prepared. Surreal SaDiablo, former courtesan and assassin, arrives first. But as she and her escort enter the house, the door disappears. Surreal finds herself trapped in a nightmare created by the tangled webs of Black Widow witches - a nightmare where the monsters are too real. And if she uses Craft to defend herself, she risks being sealed in the house forever.

But Jaenelle did not send the invitation.

And now Jaenelle and her family must rescue Surreal and the others inside without becoming trapped themselves, and they must also discover who created such an evil place and why. Because there is one thing they all know about this house: No matter who planned it as a way to kill members of the SaDiablo family, only one of the Blood could have created the trap....

Includes the Black Jewels short story "BY THE TIME THE WITCHBLOOD BLOOMS"

From Goodreads:
In her national bestselling Black Jewels novels, Anne Bishop's "surefire spell craft…leave[s] readers' hearts pounding." Now her "feverish pacing and terrifying twists" are showcased once again. In a tumultuous world ruled by witches and warlocks who wear their power as jewels, one Queen's chance at redemption is the last hope for a desperate people…

Dena Nehele is a land decimated by its past. Once it was ruled by corrupt Queens who were wiped out when the land was cleansed of tainted Blood. Now, only one hundred Warlord Princes stand - without a leader and without hope…

Theran Grayhaven is the last of his line, desperate to find the key that reveals a treasure great enough to restore Dena Nehele. But first he needs to find a Queen who knows Protocol, remembers the Blood's code of honor, and lives by the Old Ways.

Languishing in the Shadow Realm, Lady Cassidy is a Queen without a court, a castoff. She is not beautiful. She thinks she is not strong. But when she is chosen to rule Dena Nehele, she must convince bitter men to serve once again.

Theran's cousin Gray is a Warlord Prince who was damaged in mind and body by the vicious Queens who once ruled Dena Nehele. Yet something about Cassidy makes him want to serve - and makes him believe he can be made whole once again.

And only Cassidy can prove to Gray - and to herself - that wounds can heal and even the whisper of a promise can be fulfilled…

From Goodreads:
Return to the "intense...erotic...and imaginative" world of the national bestselling Black Jewels novels with this sequel to The Shadow Queen. In Anne Bishop's "vividly painted" realm, witches and warlocks channel their power through magical jewels - and one Queen has emerged from the shadows to bring hope to an impoverished people.

For years the Shalador people suffered the cruelties of the corrupt Queens who ruled them, forbidding their traditions, punishing those who dared show defiance, and forcing many more into hiding. And even though the refugees have found sanctuary in Dena Nehele, they have never been able to call it home.

Now that Dena Nehele has been cleansed of tainted Blood, the Rose-Jeweled Queen, Lady Cassidy, makes it her duty to restore the land and prove her ability to rule. She knows that undertaking this task will require all her heat and courage as she summons the untested power within her, a power capable of consuming her if she cannot control it.

And eve if Lady Cassidy survives her trial by fire, other dangers await. For the Black Widows see within their tangled webs vision of something coming that will change the land - and Lady Cassidy - forever. 

From Goodreads: 
New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop's "darkly fascinating" Black Jewel novels have enthralled readers and critics alike with their mixture of fantasy, intrigue, and romance. Now in Twilight's Dawn, Bishop returns to the Blood realm with four all-new captivating novellas.

Winsol Gifts

Daemon, the Black Jeweled Warlord Prince of Dhemlan, is settling into his first year of married life with his Witch Queen Jaenelle. But as the thirteen-day celebration of Winsol draws near, Daemon finds himself being pulled in too many directions as he plays host to his formidable family…

Shades of Honor

Still recovering from the ordeal that left her wounded and angry, Surreal returns to Ebon Rih on the orders of Prince Lucivar. And when her former lover Falonar ruthlessly challenges the rule of her family, Surreal may finally succumb to the darkness burning inside her…

Family

When someone lays a vicious trap for Queen Sylvia and her sons, the fallout completely disrupts the lives of the ruling family of Dhemlan. Now, they have to uncover the identity of the warlord known only as No Face, before he returns to finish what he started…

The High Lord's Daughter

After losing the two most important people in his life, Daemon has assumed his father Saetan's role as High Lord of Hell and built a wall around his heart. But when he inadvertently forges a new connection, will it be enough to break him free from his loveless life?

My Review:
Yes, wow, loved reading these books so much! I started reading them for the first time right now because the release of the latest book, The Queen's Bargain, is coming out soon, and since it's on NetGalley, I've requested it, so fingers crossed there.

I loved having more of this world. The Invisible Ring is a bit of a stand alone, but it's the history for the kinda duology in this series, The Shadow Queen and Shalador's Lady. While I didn't know how much of a time jump there was between it and the initial series, we find out it's about 300 years. Which is a little sad, how much pain and heartache happened after there was such hope at the end of Invisible Ring. But it did all work out in the end! Those two books were pretty intense, I mean, the whole series is intense, I think I read the whole series thus far in about 4 days. Such great stories!

I really enjoyed both sets of short stories, in Dreams Made Flesh and Twilight's Dawn. They gave us looks at bits of the world that either we didn't know we wanted like what happened when Saetan lost his first child, or we knew we wanted, but hadn't gotten so far, like Lucivar and Marian falling in love. Because that happened between 2 and 3, so it was so great to read it!

Tangled Webs was interesting, because it's the only one that truly the only connection is that it's in this world with these characters. It's plot doesn't affect other books besides the emotional scars of what happened. It's connected, but it's the least connected, you know? And I enjoyed reading it, it was a great escape room/thriller/mystery read!

Honestly, I cried two times during these books. Once near the end of Shalador's Lady, when the kidnapping attempt was made, that was pretty heart wrenching. And in The High Lord's Daughter, because there's so much loss because of the time jump, and I think I'd recover and we'd be hit with another detail, and it hurt, to know these characters were gone! Bah! Such a fantastic story, both because it meant that the previous build up meant that we cared, and that while it hurt, it was so great to read!

Loved reading these books so much, they were so fantastic, and I can't wait for The Queen's Bargain!

Author: Anne Bishop
Series: The Black Jewels #4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Read: January 25th, 25th, 25th, 26th, 26th, 26th, 26th, 2020
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Loved the first 3 books, and I had to read the rest of the series! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2020 Books!
Publisher: Roc, Ace
Published: October 1st 2000, October 4th 2004, January 2nd 2005, March 4th 2008, January 1st 2009, March 2nd 2010, March 1st 2011

The Invisible Ring:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Price:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Dreams Made Flesh:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Tangled Webs:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Shadow Queen:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Shalador's Lady:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Twilight's Dawn:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars