Marked In Flesh: The Others, Book 4

Author: Anne Bishop
Book Name: Marked In Flesh
Series: The Others
Order: #4
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:  Favorite

Blurb:  For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community…

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

Review:  Yes, yes, YES!  Seriously, you just can’t get much better than this.  I knew it was going to be good because I love Anne Bishop, but even going in knowing that, expecting that, I still got way better than that.

I also knew going in that this was going to be one of those intense books since this was the Humans against the Others collision that had been getting built up in the previous books, so that part wasn’t a surprise.  It isn’t often though that the book I’m reading forces me to get up and move while I’m reading because I just can’t sit still.  I was antsy all the way through this.

My biggest complaint with this is really the same one I always have with these books (not that is any kind of real complaint) and that is that there just isn’t enough.  I want more Meg and Simon and Sam and all the rest of the Lakeside Courtyard cast because they are my absolute favorite parts of these books.  I also want more story because I am never ready to hit that last page, knowing that I’m done until the next release.  Even giving myself the time to reread the first three books before this one came out, I’m still not ready to walk away from some of my absolute favorite characters.

Part of what kept me on edge was feeling like this had to end up being the last book in the series, because where can it go from here after such a huge shift, but just not ever really knowing for sure as there were possibilities either way all the way up until the end.  Thankfully, it doesn’t look like Ms. Bishop is ready to let this wonderful world go just yet.

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