Witches and warlocks. Good vampires and not so good vampires. And so much more. I had quite the experience reading this trilogy.
Learn more about Lauren Hodge’s Discord Trilogy and enjoy my reviews.
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The Golden Apple of Discord – Book 1
MY REVIEW
How could I resist a story starring four sisters, and they’re witches. At least, in the beginning they all are. Then Taralie gets kidnapped and turned by some vampires with their own agenda.
When the sisters turn to The Twelve, the decision makers for the Milunfran, its ordered that they kill Taralie. Being halfings, the purebloods don’t much care for them and this comes as no surprise. This is the thanks they get after banishing all sorts of evil beings, protecting humans from evil.
The sisters have no intention of killing Tara, so they go into hiding. With the Milunfran and the vampires after them, they find some unlikely allies in a group of vampires also in hiding.
The halflings have been dropped right in the middle of the vampires long raging civil war.
It became quite interesting when the vampires joined the sisters. I knew something big would have to happen for the alliance to work. Something huge happened and it bumped up my excitement. I also knew there was going to be some romantic entanglements and I was right. Throw some funny, kick butt witches and some sexy, alpha vampires together, and there’s bound to be powerful attractions. I caught myself trying to play matchmaker.
Besides great characters, the author wrote some lively dialogue, sprinkling humor here and there. She also built a complex world and added lots of suspense and dangerous situations for her characters.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next, in Abomination.
4 STARS
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***Winner of the Compulsion Reads Quality Book Endorsement***
Synopsis
Taralie Severin and her three sisters are a powerful coven of modern-day witches who banish mythical creatures in between classes and shifts at the police station. But when Taralie is kidnapped by vampires and converted into the undead, her sisters are ordered to execute her for crimes against the Milunfran order. Refusing, the sisters become fugitives from both their kind and vampires alike.
Ignorant and hunted, Taralie becomes entangled with unlikely allies, a band of vampires in hiding from the ruling vamperic government. With this new addition to their coven Taralie must balance duty with desire while learning not everything is as it seems, their enemies are worse than she knows, and she could be on the verge of ending a thousand-year-old civil war.
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Abomination – Book 2
MY REVIEW
This being the second book in the series, I’ll try not to put in spoilers.
Tara and her sisters have formed a kind of truce with the Noricum, the vampire rulers, and things have returned to a more normal rhythm.
Now the excitement is all about an upcoming wedding. But things change quickly and the truce is broken. The Noricum will tolerate no threat to their rule and the sisters, along with their mates can either serve the vampires or die. There is no bargaining. Just those two choices. Serve or die.
Told through the perspective of Alex, Tara’s new husband, this second book was harder to take.
While on their honeymoon. they stumble upon some local vampires preparing to feed on a human couple. This is something Tara can’t turn away from and the results of her actions are tragic. One beloved character loses their life, the truce with the vampires is shattered, and Tara will pay a horrific price for her choice.
I applaud the author for not being afraid to put her characters in difficult, sometimes, unsurviveable situations. By the time I reached the end of this book, I felt like I’d been put through an emotional wringer. Such sadness, hopelessness, and anger were evoked. I couldn’t believe what happened to Tara and now that I’m moving on to the third book, I fear the outcome.
4 STARS
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Synopsis
Taralie Severin and her sisters have secured a non-aggression pact with the rulers of the vampire world, the Noricum. Having relocated to Cannon Beach, Oregon, Alexander prepares to marry his beloved Tara. But when an encounter with average vampires goes wrong, the Severin coven’s fragile amnesty with the Noricum is destroyed. With the supremacy of their rule challenged, the Noricum set out to restore the balance of power, leaving the Severin family two choices – Die on their feet, or live on their knees.
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Rubicon – Book 3
MY REVIEW
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The Noricum are still after the Severin coven, so they take shelter on the water, living on a boat while they wait to see whether Tara will ever be herself again. She survived the abomination, but now she’s only partially recovered and without their leader, the clan is more at risk than ever.
The author kept me busy with so much drama, but it was always in the back of mind, what about Tara? I couldn’t stand it that she was so reduced, so not in control. It wasn’t until about half way into the story that I got some hope.
And my trust of the Severin coven was almost non-existent. In the beginning of this series, they had no compunction about ordering Tara’s death. And throughout the series, I felt they were self-serving and held themselves above the Milunfran witches. I didn’t see why that would change now and had little hope they’d choose to help the sister’s clan over their own skins.
I’ll provide no spoilers, give no hints about where the rest of the story goes. But, I will say this is a thrilling, nerve-wracking next installment. One that still lingers, still has me recalling how far this story came from the beginning.
4 STARS
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Synopsis.
Hidden away on a Caribbean island, Tara’s body survived abomination while her mind did not. Strangled from within by Verus’s accumulated memories, the eldest Severin sister struggles under the weight of so many conciseness inside her mind. But the Noricum are not idle, nor are they forgiving. Enraged by Tara’s murdering of their princess, they hunt the Severins relentlessly. After turning a powerful halfling and declaring open war, the Severin coven must choose between defending the Milunfran witches protecting humanity or their own extinction.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’m Lauren Hodge, a chemist turned author with three children, a lot of friends no one else can see, and a swearing habit. Writing is something I stumbled into on accident. I was reading fiction for the first time as an adult and wondered if I could do it. It never crossed my mind to publish until my twin got a hold of my manuscripts and pressured me into it like the cool drug seeking kid from the After School Specials. Because of that, my books are different. I don’t write because I have a story to tell. I write because there is a story inside my head and it’s merely using my fingers to get out. I enjoy writing protagonists that are flawed and enemies that aren’t. Not everyone is all good or all bad and I love the philosophical process of defining that grey area. There are two parts of communication. What is articulated and what is received for only the latter can compel action. You, the reader, are more important than me, the author. I relish understanding what you receive from my articulation. To help with that, I have editors – lots and lots of editors. Editors are the heroes authors need, but not the heroes they deserve. As an author, I strive every day to be worthy of professional editors. I’m the oldest of seven and have an identical twin/perfect organ donor.
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