In this volume 4 of the Eli Monpress series, as in the previous volume, the story grows darker as more of the previously hinted-at backstory is revealed. When the story opens, Miranda, Spiritualist (a type of wizard who works with the spirits inhabiting animate and inanimate entities, not the spirits of the dead as the word would normally indicate), travels with the bear-headed Shaper called Slorn to the Shaper Mountain. Slorn's reception is not, on the face of it, positive, but there are agendas within agendas. Miranda learns a great deal about the backstory - the fact that the Shepherdess, one of the three Powers that underpin creation, is undermining the world's existence, and the fact that her favourites are called Stars and that Eli is one of them, along with other information previously hinted at in earlier volumes.

Despite this, Eli does not figure largely in this volume which concentrates instead on the fate of his friend Josef, who has a surprising origin and perhaps because of his blunt and no-nonsense attitude, makes a surprisingly effective King, at least in a wartime situation, and to some extent on Nico, who is still mastering her control over the demonseed placed inside her years before. Only in the tour de force conclusion does Eli play an indispensible part at great personal cost. In fact, Josef, Nico and Miranda all experience loss in this story, which pits them against a seemingly invincible enemy, the Immortal Empress, as the Shepherdess uses this ex-favourite of hers against Eli.

I found the beginning quite slow and around page 100 actually laid the book aside to read another, but I did eventually go back to it, and it built well once Josef returned home to face his responsibilities. After that, there was non-stop action and intrigue which built to the tense and exciting climax. So I am awarding this a 4 star rating. ( )

Sometimes reading can be addicting. And I don't mean that in a cute, instagramy, way. I mean that feeling when you just can't stop reading. Not because you enjoy it but everything on paper is better than real life.

I'm a firm believer in anything that bring people joy has the power to make people an addict. I was. To reading. Even in the darkest days of my depression I read. To try, to get myself to feel anything. And I couldn't stop. I clung to reading as if that was the only thing keeping me sane. Maybe in a way it was.

Now after a long time I feel my mind is in a good space. I can just enjoy stories. But even better I can feel them again. I can gasp, cry, laugh and curse again. And feel my emotions.

But even better... I feel like I can put a book away without fearing the outside world of that book.

This story made me feel. Everything. Which, truth to be told, I did not expect from this series. ( )

(My video reviewing the whole series can be found here: https://youtu.be/5pTfKp2QW-o )

I think this might have been my favorite book of the series so far. The last three books felt like they were growing a little predictable, but this one really seems to have sent the story off in a new direction that's focusing on the more interesting aspects of the world (the Shepherdess, the nature of spirits, etc.) rather than on the smaller-scale things that have been the focus. I really enjoyed the scenes in the Shaper mountain, and I'm particularly interested in learning more about the nature of the sky.
As far as complaints, I only have some minor ones. As always with this series, Rachel Aaron has created some overpowered characters that seem to just be able to do too much. There was one point in the series where I found myself wondering why there was even a fight happening at all when one particular character seemed capable of making everything go their way instantly if desired. The character did have an emotional weakness, but I still think Aaron might want to rein things in a bit.
I also noticed a funny habit one of the main characters (Miranda) has of coming across bigger and bigger rooms. It seems that, in every book, she enters a room that is remarkably big, and in every book, she makes a point of thinking in the narration that it's even bigger than the big rooms she's seen in previous books. For someone who had a pretty good imagination when she heard "big room" the first time around, things are really starting to get out of hand in my brain.

Overall, however, this made for an enjoyable read, and I think the next book may be more interesting still. ( )

The Spirit War is the fourth in The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron. The stakes are continuing to raise for our group of unlikely heroes and the world. Once you get this far into a series it becomes hard to summarize without spoilers. That said...

The Immortal Empress has decided it's time to continue her conquests to rule the world and has her sights set on Osera, an island in the Council Kingdoms. The Queen of Osera needs her wayward son to return and take his rightful place to lead their people to battle. To that end she sets a bounty to get his attention. A bounty higher than Eli's! The only thing crazier is that this prince is none other than Eli's companion: Josef Liechten.

Following the previous pattern, this book focuses on one character's background and it is finally Josef's turn. I did not see him as a runaway prince so that was fun. I truly loved learning the backstory as to how he became the wielder of the Heart of War. It's unfortunate he became so dour and stubborn for most of the book. Thankfully he eventually comes around and has some truly spectacular scenes towards the end.

One of my favorite things about this series so far has been the world building. Each volume continues to add layers to the world and this installment is no exception. This time we're finally given insight into Benehime and her role in the world along with just how bad things have become due to her neglecting her duties. Benehime is quite a piece of work! She's uber creepy and doesn't understand or care about other people's boundaries at all. I felt so bad for Eli as her attention towards him comes across as almost rapey.

We're given a much more complicated story as Aaron begins to tie all the elements together in this penultimate volume. Many side characters get more page time, which helps the reader to understand just how vast the implications of events have reached, though it means less time for Eli and his antics. That's ok though as we really need these other points of view to understand what's happening in the world in general.

I hate to say it but the biggest downside to the story is Miranda. Her character comes across as over zealous and preachy for most of the book. As much as I love Gin, I really wasn't looking forward to her chapters.

The book ends in one heck of a cliff hanger. I'm so glad this series is already published so I can continue to the final book soon. ( )

Oh my god I don't know why more people don't have this series on their shelves. This was a phenomenal book! I cannot wait until the next one is out. Do yourself a favor and read this series, a unique fantasy series. ( )