fiainros reviewed The invisible ring by Anne Bishop
Review of 'The invisible ring' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This review was first written when my 18-year old was only a newborn. I didn't have a lot of time to read. However, when I happened to be looking for books at amazon on my husband's request, I was delighted to see Anne Bishop had another novel out, The Invisible Ring. Granted, this novel came out in October, so I was a little behind the times. Initially, I planned on waiting until "a good time" to read this novel, but I loved her previous trilogy, so I sat down to read it almost immediately upon getting it from UPS. My newborn son enjoyed the time just sitting with Mommy, so it had extra benefits.
The story did not disappoint. Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord Prince, a very dangerous man. Even more-so is the fact that he is a Queen killer, the worst thing someone of Blood can be, for the …
This review was first written when my 18-year old was only a newborn. I didn't have a lot of time to read. However, when I happened to be looking for books at amazon on my husband's request, I was delighted to see Anne Bishop had another novel out, The Invisible Ring. Granted, this novel came out in October, so I was a little behind the times. Initially, I planned on waiting until "a good time" to read this novel, but I loved her previous trilogy, so I sat down to read it almost immediately upon getting it from UPS. My newborn son enjoyed the time just sitting with Mommy, so it had extra benefits.
The story did not disappoint. Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord Prince, a very dangerous man. Even more-so is the fact that he is a Queen killer, the worst thing someone of Blood can be, for the Queens are the center of the Blood. For his crime, Jared is sent to the slave auctions where it is assumed he will be sent onto the salt mines of Pruul, a death sentence.
However, Jared is bought by an even worse prospect, the Gray Queen. The Gray Queen has cut all transportation to her land off, except by a dangerous overland trek. Besides that, no slave that has ever been bought by her has been seen again. When Jared is purchased, the Queen removes his Obedience Ring and places the Invisible Ring on him. The significance of this eludes Jared for much of the book, although it seems to be on the tip of his mind.
Dorothea SaDiablo returns in the book (and chronologically it takes place before The Dark Jewels Trilogy), sending her Master of the Guard to trap and kill The Gray Queen. Even though this book is timeline before The Dark Jewels, Dorothea's character is not painted as vividly. Anne Bishop seems to rely on the reader having already read her previous trilogy. Much to the reader's thrill, we get a couple glimpses of Daemon Sadi again. This time he is a side-character and not fully explored. Having already read the Dark Jewels Trilogy makes his appearance very cool, but it would be diminished if this were the reader's first Anne Bishop novel.
Anne Bishop again uses many characters. The Gray Queen has purchased many slaves, almost none of whom make any sense to purchase, and the group must make a dangerous overland journey. The reader knows long before the characters do, that there is a sabatour among the group. While I am usually very good at determining who this might be, I did not until the person was revealed. However, a more astute reader who is not drawn into the romance aspect of the novel probably will figure it out long before the pet is discovered.
If you loved the Dark Jewels Trilogy, you'll like this novel. I'd suggest starting with the trilogy to become familiar with the Realm. However, if you cannot easily find Daughter of the Blood, this novel is a sufficient start.