Forest of Spirits

<u>3.5 stars</u><br /><b>I like the story but, at the same time, feel nothing at all.</b><br />The writing was incredible. I say it in every review, but it just gets better with every book. <br />Sadly, the characters felt flat compared to other of her works. It could just be me, considering this is my third book by Sanders this week. I will try to restrain myself from reading any more until her new book comes out later this month.

<strong>LOVE this writer but this book.sucked</strong><br /><br />I hate leaving a negative review for a writer whose work I adore but I just gotta. The hero in this one was such an irredeemable jerk. The heroine a doormat. The character development here was awful.

<strong>Not quite 3 stars</strong><br /><br />Pros- the world and story were one of a kind. I loved the unique descriptions of the creatures.<br />Con- I found the characters to be flat. I didn't love the h and the H was slightly better but was not enough to elevate the couple. The h fell flat for me, she just went along with the flow forgiving everything and not thinking for herself. She could have been great and gotten into lots of trouble within the new world she found herself. She also was very trusting considering where she was and I found her a bit uninteresting due to that.<br /> Spoilers:<br /><br />Also some things were off. She makes a point to ask if he has been hugged and held a child, then later his son pops up and they hug. Then he claims he has held so many babies he has lost count? I felt like I was reading about two different characters. One who is socially undeveloped and lonely, and the other as having a great and loving family. It has three stars because it wasn't bad, I just felt like it was hard to keep interested when things were conflicting.

SJ Sanders can we have a RH in this world? The talk of mtn trolls intrigued me. I love this series so much. Silvas and his kingdom were so well done. This is her best book yet. The characters are fully fleshed and the world building fantastic.

First and foremost, this story was truly awesome. I honest to goodness devoured it. It deals with a lot of ancient mythology (Etruscan; how cool is that?!) and just a whole lot of magic and who doesn't love that? Also, this has to be one of the best covers. They did a great job capturing the character, but also it's just neat looking. And to note: I did not read book 1. I do not feel like I was left confused despite that, even though I wish I had read it first.<br /><br />There is so much to this book that it's really hard to give you much to go on without ruining something for you. There are a lot of twists and turns, plenty of heart wrenching moments, darkness in spades, and sensual people coming out of the woodwork (literally, tehe). Silvas is the god of the eternal woods playing at being a mere immortal king after a rather bad war and is as arrogant and assuming as that implies. His mother is the goddess of love, Turan (most would know her as Aphrodite) who has decided enough is enough and it's time for him to take a mate after several millennia of avoiding it (no spoilers, this is the plot from the prologue). I actually really liked Turan in this.<br /><br />Diana, a simple human huntress living alone along the edge of the woods after the great ravaging, is the hapless soul who is tasked with the legendary fate to tame the beast. And boy is he a beast, that poor girl. She's a strong female lead, with heaps of independence and plenty of spunk. She works for her HEA but wonderful woman that she is, she makes Silvas work for it, too, after he does a number of stupid things to her.<br /><br />As with most reviewers, I really liked Raskyuil the troll quite a bit. Also, Dorinda was pretty awesome. The missing star is because holy cow did this need another proof read. Nothing that ruined the story, but enough to jar me out of my flow way too often. Story-wise, it's totally five stars in my book. If you're looking for a great fantasy ride with some re-imagined gods/creatures/magic, lots of steam and sensual characters, action filled adventures, an epic battle, and some humbling of stupendous proportions, you should definitely give this a go.

Im so disappointed... I was so happy when the book came out, but i really REALLY disliked Silvas. Wow. What a piece of work! Yes, they were in lust, but i missed the love and true caring aspect in their weird relationship.<br /><br />I loved Havoc of Souls with the wonderful lovestory of Charu and Meredith. It was genius!!!<br /><br />But the second book is just horrible. I really tried, but their „love“ was never believable. Just sad...

<strong>Loved</strong><br /><br />I honestly think I loved this story more than I did the first one in this series. My only complaint is how whiney Diana was at times. I just wanted to yell SUCK IT UP. However the story really played out to its fullest potential. S.J definitely takes you on a little adventure with a well thought out plot and great story pacing. And it’s on KU!

SJ Sanders really knows how to build a compelling world and create characters that I love!<br />We start the story with Diana, a human just trying to survive and make somewhat of a life in her family home on the edge of the newly expanded woods. She hunts there regularly and this is where she meets the creature depicted on the cover of the book, Silvas.<br />From there begins a whirlwind of an adventure, with a couple of very menacing foes and a great cast of side characters. This is a bit of a slow burn, it takes until about 50% of the way in for them to finally “bond” in the way that fate has planned.<br />To be fairly warned, this does have a lot of dark and gory scenes, as well as some seriously heartbreaking conflict between the couple. It does end with a HEA though!<br />I really enjoyed this book and I like how Silvas is a complex god with numerous issues that they work out together through time. It makes it more believable.<br />

<strong>Good story</strong><br /><br />I liked this book but it did drag a little in places and I found myself skipping the odd paragraph here and there. I did enjoy it and liked the characters created but less flowery bits would have seen it a 5

Let me illustrate the ways that S.J. Sanders books rock (from chapter 13):<br /><br /><blockquote>“Beer?” she asked. It had been a long time since she enjoyed a good Bud.<br /><br />“Of course,” he returned. “I brew it myself.” He paused, no doubt seeing the longing that she felt twist through her. One thick, dark eyebrow rose. “I might be persuaded to share it with a fair bargain.”<br /><br />It could be hot and stale, and she would still drink it like it was ambrosia. She was so tired of water and the rare treat of fruit juice. Someone in town had started a cask of wine, but this crop of grain was considered too valuable to waste on brewing. Still, call her suspicious, it sounded a little too convenient.<br /><br />Diana’s eyes narrowed. “Like what?”<br /><br />“That you will leave when we return to the palace. I will find you an escort back to your world. I can’t guarantee where you will arrive, but at least you can find your way home.”<br /><br />Her brow fell. She should have known it would be something like that. “Fuck you. I gave my word to Silvas, and I will not go back on it.”</blockquote><br /><br />In literally every other book in this genre, our heroine would have taken him up on the offer. They always want to escape, and are never honourable. S.J. Sanders heroines are honourable, strong, brave, everything I enjoy reading about.<br /><br />5 FREAKING AMAZING stars. Of awesomeness. Wow. Seriously just wow.<br /><br />I hurt. I seriously hurt right alongside Silvas and Diana. It was awesome. And the grovelling Silvas did, and how Diana got to rail at him, <b>so satisfying</b>! Ugh everything about this book was awesome.<br /><br />S.J. Sanders gets better every single book she writes. I am ready to create a shrine to her books XD