Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop

Title: Etched in Bone

Author: Anne Bishop

Series: The Others #5

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: March 7th, 2017

New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop returns to her world of the Others, as humans struggle to survive in the shadow of shapeshifters and vampires far more powerful than themselves…

After a human uprising was brutally put down by the Elders—a primitive and lethal form of the Others—the few cities left under human control are far-flung. And the people within them now know to fear the no-man’s-land beyond their borders—and the darkness…

As some communities struggle to rebuild, Lakeside Courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, though Simon Wolfgard, its wolf shifter leader, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn must work with the human pack to maintain the fragile peace. But all their efforts are threatened when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother arrives, looking for a free ride and easy pickings.

With the humans on guard against one of their own, tensions rise, drawing the attention of the Elders, who are curious about the effect such an insignificant predator can have on a pack. But Meg knows the dangers, for she has seen in the cards how it will all end—with her standing beside a grave

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Perfect ending to the story arc!

The main theme of the book is how much human to keep? 

Which could be interpreted as: Is the Terra Indigene at risk of becoming more human? or is all humanity on the brink of getting eradicated from this world because some humans overstep their boundaries? 

The Elders, the most powerful Others, are almost ready to make a decision about Thaisia but before they do it, two Elders leave the wild country to watch over the Courtyard. The Elders are intrigued about Simon and Meg. Their curiosity has been picked. They want to know how a blood prophet has changed the dynamics in the Courtyard and their leader Simon Wolfguard.  

“You would kill the sweet blood not-Wolf?”

When detective Montgomery's brother Cyrus arrives at the Courtyard unexpectedly, everyone can smell trouble.  The Others know he's dangerous but the Elders want to learn more about him. They want to know how one human can create problems for both human and Terra Indigene interacting together. 

To say the least, Cyrus is definitely a rotten apple. He's nothing like Montgomery or his mother Twyla. Twyla has become like a grandmother to most of the Courtyard. Even the Others have a hard time denying her things. She has taken special affection towards Skippy. A certain scene involving both had me crying. 

Etched in Bone has the same winning recipe. The characters are all important. Yes, Simon and Meg's relationship is the glue that keeps these two worlds together (and I love them both) but I'm as much invested in the human pack, the Others living in the Courtyard, the blood prophets, the Intuit people, Prairie Gold and the characters living in Great Island to name a few. 

I'm sad this part of the Others' world has come to an end. It's hard for me to part ways with so many great characters and I can only hope we get to see some of them in the next book. 

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Title: Marked in Flesh 

Author: Anne Bishop

Series: The Others #4

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: March 8, 2016

For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

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Another great addition to The Others series. 

I can honestly say that I hate the Human First and Last Movement (HFL). They are awful people and they put in danger everyone else due to their selfish and ridiculous beliefs. Nothing made me happier than the boat scene. Finally!

“Do you know what the Sharkgard call humans on a ship?

So what's the plot for Marked in Flesh. As we know the humans are trying to gain more territory. To this end, they'll kill any Terra Indigine interfering with their plans. So it's humans vs humans & Terra Indigine. Nicholas Scratch is causing trouble through Thaisia and Cel-Romano. The name of the game is distraction and everyone is at risk. This includes the Courtyard and the areas were the Simple Life folk and the Intuits live. What the HFL is not counting on is on those beings called the Elders and their power.

“The first card was a beautifully rendered but terrifying representation of what Henry guessed was one of the Elders’ forms. Next was half a Wolf cookie. Last was a card that had a simple drawing of a smiley face. “That is sooooo wrong,” Merri Lee said, shuddering. 

I'm enjoying this series so much. They are addictive. The world-building, plot, character development and humor is fantastic. Marked in Flesh adds depth to the long arc while introducing new characters like Jesse Walker, Tobias, Shelley Bookman interacting with Joe Wolfguard and Tolya Sanguinati.

I love how Hope Wolfsong is trying to find her own way. She, as Meg, is dealing with the best way to avoid the addiction to cutting. Thankfully, she has Jackson and Grace to stand by her.

Simon and Meg's romance is advancing, slowly but surely. The Trailblazer is still not sure what her feelings for Simon are and of course, Simon can't tell what love is even if it's hitting him on the face. If you are looking for a hot romance this series is not for you. Their relationship as friends- and hopefully mates- is unhurried.

“He gently kissed that scar and felt something changing inside him - just a flutter of change, there and gone, but leaving its mark.” 

In the aftermath of the fight between the HFL and the terra indigene, only one question is unanswered:

How much human do the terra indigene want to keep?

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop

Title: Murder of Crows

Author: Anne Bishop

Series: The Others #2

Publisher: Roc

Release Date: March 4, 2014

Return to New York Times best-selling author Anne Bishop’s world of the Others - where supernatural entities and humans struggle to co-exist, and one woman has begun to change all the rules.…

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murder of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard - Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader - wonders if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now, the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet - and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

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“She kicked me off the bed!” 

In this second installment in The Others series, we get the world building expanding. 

Meg Corbyn is living in the Lakeside Courtyard. Besides her job as the liaison between Terra Indigene and the humans, she is also a blood prophet, a cassandra sangue. But Meg not only has to wonder about her prophesies and how many cuts she can have until she goes crazy or dies but now she's questioning her relationship with Simon after an awkward wolf-human moment. They have become friends but she's not sure if he wants more and neither does he. For Meg all of this is new. She's still learning what she wants and how to help her friends within the Others and her human pack too. When her next prophecy involves the death of crows, she's scared for her friends in the Crowgard. Soon, they discover that someone is using the drugs Gone Over Wolf and Feel-Good to harm humans and Terra Indigene and we all know that the Others can decimate a city or continent in seconds if they believe humans have broken the rules. After all, Thasia is controlled by the Terra Indigene and they just lend the land to the humans. 

Murder of Crows continues an exquisite world-building. We're introduced to new characters and we are given more details in the lives of the old ones too. 

The most important of the new ones is the Intuit people. These are humans that can sense things. They know when trouble is coming even if they don't know what it is. Steve Ferryman is the Mayor of Ferryman’s Landing and a strong Intuit. He plays a big part in this book. 

We get to learn more about Monty, Burke, Kowalski and Dr. Lorenzo. I'm worried about Monty's daughter and I hope he can protect her.  Burke's presence is heavy in this book. He seems very smart and he understands that humans won't ever win. He knows in order to keep the peace, he will help Meg and the Terra Indigene in any way he can. Kowalski relationship with Ruth Stuart is also furthered discussed. Dr. Lorenzo still annoys me at times. Not sure how long he'll survive if he doesn't get one hundred percent behind the Terra Indigene.

When Meg had the vision of the crows getting hurt, I was so scared for Jenni Crowgard. Crows love shiny things and it could be so easy for any of them to get hurt. 

I just can't express enough how many great characters this series has. There are some gory scenes but also some funny ones too.  

“Are there weapons in a bookstore?''It's a store full of books, which are objects that can be thrown as well as read,' Monty replied blandly.The Crows cocked his head. 'I had no idea you humans lived with so much danger.” 

One of the things I like about this arc is the romance. It's a slow building one. Both main characters are still unsure of what they are feeling not so much the readers, we know where this is going. 

“Do any of them realize that Simon Wolfgard is falling in love with Meg Corbyn?” 

Jumping to the next one.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs