The Bones Beneath

Monica Enderle Pierce — 2019

Once they were royalty, now they're renegades.Halina and Gethen are the last fighters standing against the evil engulfing Quoregna. Newly allied Nalvika and Ursinum march against their eastern neighbors in overwhelming numbers. Citizens are conscripted or killed, their possessions seized. Shrikers roam the lands, stealing children's souls to empower King Waldram's necromancy, while mages and hedge witches are seduced by the dark magic feeding his madness. Besera teeters on the brink of collapse and Or-Halee is under siege. Only distant Teleyansk remains free from war's chaos.Relentlessly hunted by their enemies, Gethen and Halina must journey to Quoregna's farthest reaches in search of allies. Can they muster aid from strangers, or will fear of Waldram's combined armies force the militess and the mage to travel a deadlier road to raise a force against his tyranny?Magic, adventure, suspense, and love return in the third novel of the Militess and Mage series. Epic fantasy that's perfect for fans of sword and sorcery with a touch of romance.

Reviews

Sarah Escorsa@shrimpy

Mar 8, 2022

💀 DNF at 30%. This captivating book in a nutshell: Joy, merriment and gleeful elation! A cure for insomnia has been found at long last! I think someone should edit the author’s bio on Goodreads to reflect this most momentous event. Instead of saying that “Monica Enderle Pierce’s characters have been kicking the crap out of evil since 2012,” it should say that they’ve been kicking the crap out of acute sleeplessness since 2012, one snooze-inducing fest at a time. Such a spectacular achievement should not go unnoticed! “Anything else to report about this magnificently thrilling tale?” you ask. Well, the heroine is an arrogant know-it-all with TSTL tendencies, who thinks cursing like a sailor makes her a baddass amazingly gifted military strategist. She’s a slightly exasperating, somewhat irritating Mary Sue invincible and Super Extra Clever (SEC™), her very many scars and chopped off fingers make her Super Extra Hot (SEH™), and she’s got a Super Extra Sexey dark mage-type husband. Well I think he’s her husband, anyway. I mean, the author refers to him as such 96 bloody shrimping delightful times in the story (and to her as his wife 101 bloody shrimping enchanting times), so I guess it must mean they’re kinda sorta married and stuff. Maybe. (view spoiler)[ My thoughts exactly. (hide spoiler)]. ➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): The average rating for this book is 4.27 stars (view spoiler)[🙄🙄 (hide spoiler)]. I’m suspecting some very dark witchery is at work here. How else would you explain so many people reading this book so wrong? Their Despicable Book Taste (DBT™), you say? Huh, could be. Now now, don’t be like that. Taste is purely subjective and you simply cannot blame innocent bystanders for their utter lack of judgement honest opinion. No, you cannot. Some things are just NOT done and stuff. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] 💌 A very private message to Karen, who also rated this book 2 stars: · Book 1: The Shadow & The Sun ★★★ · Book 2: A Castle to Keep ★★★★ · Book 2.5: To Give Her Heart ★★ [Pre-review nonsense] This is the third book I DNF in two weeks! I'm on a roll! Go me and stuff! ➽ Full review to come and stuff.