WOMS: A Tapestry of Spells

Continuing with Lynn Kurland’s Nine Kingdoms series, this week we’re reviewing book four in the series, the start of a new trilogy: A Tapestry of Spells.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as absorbed by this book as its predecessors, but this is not at all a comment on Kurland’s writing. Rather I just had too much on my plate, so I didn’t get to sit down and just let myself fall back into the world of the Nine Kingdoms and forget about life for a while as I would have preferred. Instead, I had to read this in snippets here and there over the course of about two months, which means my grasp on the content isn’t as thorough as I would like.

That said, I enjoyed this book as much as the last trilogy and have already purchased all the books in this trilogy so I can let myself dive back into the Nine Kingdoms.

Here’s what I love about Kurland’s unique style. She hasn’t written twelve books in the Nine Kingdoms series as one continuous plot like the Wheel of Time, but rather has broken it up into four separate adventures that are all interconnected as one massive epic. Each trilogy focuses on one to two character’s quest (usually they become romantically involved), but somehow she weaves them altogether into one ornate story so they combine at different moments.

For example, she takes key moments from books one through three and has them appear in book four, either from one of the new character’s perspectives as they experience the same event or just moments after a big turning point to reveal what else occurred after our “original” characters Morgan and Miach left the scene. Meaning, the events of book four happen simultaneous to books one through three, and I adore how intertwined they all are.

Of course, if you know me, then you can probably already anticipate what I’m going to say next: the interconnectedness of the stories deepens and enriches the world-building, which I love oh so very much!

Here’s why this is fascinating and a excellent “marketing” scheme as an author: I literally have no idea what is going to happen in this trilogy because despite having some events occur simultaneously, these new characters are going on their own “side” quest. But really, it’s not a side quest at all! It’s merely their own, and they’re entirely ignorant of the other book’s characters quest, too!

I’m really hoping come book six or book twelve all the characters from all the books sit down and have this massive pow-wow and see how all their journeys have woven together in the greater tapestry of the Nine Kingdoms because I am a sucker for those moments!

Hasn’t happened in book four yet, and I’ve just started book five, Spellweaver, so I’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

There’s romance, there’s humor, there’s mystery and intrigue—these books seriously have it all. I cannot recommend them enough. And I realize I didn’t share much on the content to convince you, but like I mentioned before, I didn’t get to absorb this one as much due to life circumstances demanding a lot more, perhaps too much more, of my attention. However, this book is no disappointment in comparison to the first trilogy I read. It hits the same beats, dishes out all the tropes in successful ways, and delivers just as excellent an adventure leaving me wanting to read them all! If that isn’t enough to convince you, then perhaps you should try them anyway.

And if you do, let me know what you think!

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Also, next week is the long expected BOOK LAUNCH of my upcoming publication! Check out the details for that here!