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joi, 5 decembrie 2013

Review & Giveaway "Order Restored" by Ioana Visan - The Impaler Legacy #3


Title: Order Restored (The Impaler Legacy #3)

Author: Ioana Visan

Format: ebook

Release date: December, 2013

Age group: Adult

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal

Read HERE The Impaler's Revenge (#1)
           HERE Sweet Surrender (#1.5)
           HERE A Victory that Counts (#2)
           HERE Casualties of War (#2.5)

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Despite their five centuries at war, the pandurs and the vampires work well together when they ally against a common enemy. Led by Little Council member Liana Cantacuzino and a thousand-year-old vampire Maximilien Hess, they descend on South Island, New Zealand, to search for the new breeds’ base.

With Dr. Jesse Carver kidnapped by the new breeds and Liana’s feelings for him muted thanks to Hess’ compulsion, Liana is forced to act like Jesse means nothing to her while she is dying inside. Asked by the new breeds’ leaders to betray her cause and losing the support of her people one by one, she needs to destroy the new breed-making facility before her entire world falls apart and everyone has to run for their lives.

The third novella in The Impaler Legacy series, a vampire saga like no other.


My Review:
After the loss of Dr. Carver, Liana's and Max's forces are more eager to find the new breeds' camp, near Mount Cook, where Max thinks they were hiding. In a slipping accident Liana falls into a cave inside the mountain and after she realizes that help will come later, she starts exploring the surroundings. To her surprise, she finds the vampires' hiding place and their human source of blood. The image is terrible and she realizes that the situation is worse that she believed. 

She doesn't stop from her path and soon she encounters Jesse in a very bad condition, almost drained of blood. He seems glad to see her, but he is not blind to her change of heart that comes from Max's compulsion. Even if she still worries about his safety and she remembers every moment they have spent together, she cannot express those feelings. At her will, Spânu appears to feed on Jesse again and takes Liana to his masters. 

Sonya Ramirez and Rudrich are already waiting for her, but Liana is not intimidated by their threats and after the "dispute" they reach an agreement: to save everyone she has to bring Max to them. Liana asks Spânu to take her out of the cave and in order to save Jesse she requests him a last favor. When she gets back to her group she has to keep some things to herself to fulfill her part of the bargain. But is she capable of betrayal to win the war, considering her lack of feelings? Will she succeed on saving Jesse and Spânu?
           
The novella starts after the events from "Casualties of War" with a different Liana Cantacuzino than we got used to. She has suffered a necessary change induced by the powerful vampire Max and I didn't know what to expect from her most of the time. It was very difficult, but convenient to guess her next move and I was afraid she might forget her true self in the process. 

In this last part of the series everything happens at full speed and the characters' choices take me by surprise. More and more problems magically appear and they have to be careful not to make mistakes to cost their life. Like in every battle, there are collateral damages and it made me very angry and sad, since I really liked them. Also, the idea of getting Max killed was unbearable and I hoped now to see it happen.      

Fighting for the better good alongside the vampire has made Liana to respect and understand them more, but there are times when her education comes back and reminds her of her duty and values. When she struggles and she is convinced she must kill all the vampires without exception, Max shows her that there are other ways to see the world (see Quote), that not everything is what it seems. In the end, working as a team is all it takes to save the day.

As a conclusion, I really enjoyed Ioana Visan's fantasy series, an original story about vampires, with attractive characters and thrilling action. I was hooked from the first pages, due to the author's writing style and the way she created this unique universe that appears so real for the readers.       

I recommend the Impaler Legacy series to all of you who want to enjoy an amazing and different story about vampires. Don't miss it!        


Quote:
   "I chose the most human friendly vampires with combat skills I could find, knowing it was the only way I could get out two forces to cooperate," he said. "But no matter how well they behave, you still barely tolerate them. And the irony is they actually like you."
   "You mean fear me."  
   He put on a thin smile.
   "That too, but they also look up to you. They admire the ferocity with which you defend your people. They never had that. Being a vampire is a solitary business."
   "Are you trying to make me feel sorry for them?"
   "I'm trying to make you understand we're not always the bad guys," he said calmly, though his eyes peered into mine with burning intensity.

Note: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.


5 out of 5 butterflies

About Ioana Visan:
Award-winning writer Ioana Visan has always dreamed about reaching the stars, but since she can't, she writes about it.

Her stories have been published in on-line magazines like Argos, Nautilus, Gazeta SF, SRSFF, Revista de Suspans, Suspans, SFera Online, EgoPhobia, Every Day Fiction, and they have also been featured in several Romanian anthologies, “Dansând pe Marte şi alte povestiri fantastice” (2009), ”Steampunk: A doua revoluţie” (2011), ”Venus – Povestiri erotice science fiction” (2011), "Cele 1001 de scorneli ale Moşului SF” (2012), "Zombii: Cartea morţilor vii" (2013), "Călătorii în timp. Antologie de povestiri SF" (2013).

So far, the highlights of her writing career have been having her Romanian short story collection “Efectul de nautil” published by Millennium Books in March, 2013, and being awarded the Encouragement Award by The European Science Fiction Society at Eurocon 2013.

She made her debut in English with a short story published by Every Day Fiction, and also has one included in Evolved Publishing's "Evolution: Vol. 2" short story collection. After fighting the apocalypse aftermath in "Human Instincts", she played with shapeshifters in “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, and then she dealt with vampires in “The Impaler’s Revenge”, before tackling longer works like a fantasy trilogy and a science fiction series.
 


Keep up with Ioana's writing news on her website, her blog, Facebook and Twitter.

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