Previous rating: 4 stars. New rating: 8 stars. ➻ Why the higher rating, you ask? Because I'm an idiot, that's why. Or because I was drunk the first time I read this. Or high. Or both. Because Shanti is even more awesome than I remembered her to be. And even funnier. And even more badass. And because Cayan is not entirely unpleasant. And because I'm in love with the Honor Guard kids. And because Sanders is much cooler than I remembered. And because the plot isn't kind of messy and the writing isn't all over the place like I wrote in my first review. Damn, I must have been really drunk and high back then. ➻ I first reviewed this Piece of Awesomeness just 4 months ago, so you're really naïve if you think I'm going to review it again. I have a life you know. Things to do, places to go, people I have to bully and whose brains I need to eat. Besides, my first review was crappy enough, believe me when I tell you you don't want me to write another one. Which means you are left with two choices here: ① Read the above-mentioned crappy review anyway ← you're so brave, I'm so proud of you right now. ② Read my lovely friend Shelly's review ← that's the better alternative, if you ask me. I mean, it's always good to read different opinions about a book. Broadens your perspective and all that ← yes, this is an attempt at humour. Just pointing it out in case you didn't get it. Because you can be, you know, kind of slow sometimes. But I love you anyway. Of course I do. Well, more or less. [May 2015] ⚠️ Friendly warning: super crappy review ahead. Read at your own risk. Okay. I've been trying to review this book for 10 whole days. I just can't do it. Never happened before. I mean, it's not that complicated: vaguely mention the book and then ramble on and on and on about meaningless stuff. Easy right? Well no, not this time. Sigh. What makes it worse is that I loved this story. I loved it despite the messy plot and confusing writing. I ♥ LOVED ♥ Shanti, the heroine. But every time I try writing this review my two grey cells (appropriately named Ben & Jerry) just go poof! Sigh again. Okay, I guess extreme lack of inspiration calls for extreme measures. So. Time to hold your breath, my dear friends and nemeses, for I have no idea where I'm going with this (view spoiler)[ "So what else is new?" I hear you ask your little selves (yes, I am a mind reader and know what you're thinking from thousands of miles away). You're thinking that me having no idea where I'm going with a review is not entirely surprising. Ha. Some friends and nemeses you are. Unbeknownst to you, writing meaningless, uninformative, inconsequential, never-ending reviews requires a lot of painful thinking, time and dedication. And vodka. Yes it does. (hide spoiler)] Here we go and stuff. ➽ This book survived being read after my third Magic Bites reread. And I gave it a 4-star rating. Now this should tell you something. Yes it should. ➽ Not only is this book a Kate Daniels survivor, it also is the perfect antidote to this spectacular piece of crap and its suicide-inducing heroine. ➽ This book is about Shanti, badass heroine extraordinaire, whom I may want to be when I grow up. Well I'll be Kate Daniels first but I wouldn't mind being Shanti in one of my next lives. The Perks of NOT Being a Wallflower when you have been Chosen to save your people from doom and destruction: ① You were born and bred to kick ass. ② You started kicking said ass and crushing minds at the tender of 5. A little mass slaughter never hurt anyone now did it? ③ You're a ruthless warrior who leads men into battle. ④ You're a lean mean killing machine who cuts-cuts-cuts and slices-slices-slices until she's drenched in blood. ⑤ You manipulate minds. Jericho Freaking Barrons and his Voice lessons are a total joke compared to you. ⑥ You don't take crap from anyone, especially not men who think of women as the weaker sex. What a joke. The Downside of NOT Being a Wallflower when you find yourself stuck in a foreign land where women are only good enough to stay at home, wear pretty dresses and be generally stupid: ① You have to wear said pretty dresses. You're kidding me right? You wear pants. Or nothing at all. Clothes are overrated anyway. ② Knife sharpening & polishing is not an acceptable pastime. Neither are fighting, shooting and hunting. Needlepoint is considered appropriate. Sigh. But no one said you couldn't draw explicit gestures in needlepoint to pass time. ③ You have to further your knowledge of the local language. But you have to watch your mouth. No "fuck," no "ass," no "shit." Too bad, you love the startled faces when you use those words. ④ You inherit a hopeless horde of funny boys to watch over you. But no one said you couldn't make a project of said boys. And teach them a thing or two. And kick them, throw rocks at them, thump them, punch them in the throat. Live and learn ragtag. ⑤ You are expected to be nice, behave and be prudish. Too bad. You were destined to be a royal pain in the ass. ⑥ You are expected to blindfully obey and worship all members of the almighty male species. HA. HA. HA. These foreigners are too funny. ➽ That's Shanti for you. Bloody amazing character. A non-TSTL heroine, who has been in a position of power all her life and doesn't take crap from stupid men who expect her to behave like a weak, brainless broodmare. YES PLEASE. I originally wanted to give this book a 3.5-star rating. Because yes, the plot is kind of messy and yes, the writing is a bit all over the place. But I've obviously had some time (haha) to think about it since reading the book and decided to go for 4 stars anyway. Because this was unexpectedly entertaining. Because this was unexpectedly funny. Because this was unexpectedly kick ass with blood-and-gore-yay-very-cool scenes. But most of all because this was unexpectedly thought-provoking in terms of gender stereotypes and prejudices against women. ➽ And the moral of this story is: Sir + Mam = S'am. Ha! P.S. To the delightfully hilarious people who shelved this as romance: any damage to your grey cells lately? Everything working properly up there? Oh don't get so easily offended, it's just a friendly question! 😬 · Book 0.5: Forged in Blood ★★★★ · Book 2: Hunted ★★★★★ · Book 3: Shadow Lands ★★★★ · Book 4: Invasion ★★★★★ · Book 5: Siege ★★★★★ · Book 6: Overtaken ★★★

3 ⭐️

Great fantasy series that I plowed through in a week of solid reading. Shanti is just this side of psychotic, but she is a total BAMF (Bad Ass Mother F***er). You can't help but love her. :). Highly recommend if you're looking for a good kick ass fantasy with lots of action and a good dose of humour. I'm going to be picking up more of Ms Breene's books based on how much I enjoyed this series. It is available on Kindle Unlimited ... and makes me think that KU does indeed have some gems available.