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Book Review of Heroes at Risk (Hero, Bk 4)

Heroes at Risk (Hero, Bk 4)
jai avatar reviewed on + 310 more book reviews


This is the fourth book in the Heroes series. Shield Dunleavy (Lee) Mallorough and Source Shintaro (Taro) Karesh are back on the mainland (they henceforth only refer to Flatwell as "that damned island") and have to face their old life and friends again.

This was a good one. I don't know what it is, but I love to analyze these characters, especially Lee, and we get a lot of fodder for discussion when Lee as usual gets everything all wrong by assuming things in her own blind way. Oh god do I want to shake this woman! Of course, if she was the type of person who was better at reading people (or even as half as good as she thinks she is), I don't think this series would be as fun. As people have commented to me, she's the ultimate unreliable narrator. I was amused that in this book Lee's faults such as this one, are pointed out to her face, much to her irritation. I agreed with Lee that it was rude, but I think she should listen to some of these criticisms sometimes.

The primary relationship I love to observe is of course Lee and Taro's. Watching things come to a head was one of the reasons why I love this series. While I'm obsessed with gleaning meaning from every interaction between Taro and Lee, the story is really not primarily focused on their relationship. Lee spends a lot of time in the city trying to learn about the new trend in dabbling with magic. She questions why it's considered illegal if it is supposed to be all fake anyway, and her discoveries raise some interesting questions. This intersects with some of the other odd discoveries that she and Taro have made over the past few books regarding their powers and their world. I'm not sure where the author is going to take this, but I sense she has a plan, and I'm really curious to see how it all comes together.

Overall: Possibly my favorite book in this light fantasy series so far. I'm loving Lee and Taro's relationship, and the way the series is unfolding has me very interested in where it's all going.