A Book Obsession..: Review: Labyrinth of Stars by Marjorie M. Liu

Review: Labyrinth of Stars by Marjorie M. Liu

, by Kt Clapsadl

Labyrinth of Stars by Marjorie M. Liu

Hunter Kiss #5

Tattoos with hearts, minds, and dreams. Created to be the armor that protects my body, these obsidian shadows come alive at night—demons made flesh.

After the Aetar nearly kill Maxine’s unborn child, and a betrayal within her own ranks leaves Maxine’s husband, Grant, poisoned and dying, Maxine is forced to attack a race of beings that possesses almost unlimited power. Doing so will require she make a deal with the devil—the devil that lives inside her—risking both her sanity and her soul as she slowly transforms into something more than human.

But even that might not be enough to save Grant, because the very thing that Maxine is becoming is destined to destroy the world.

I feel like the entire series has been building to Maxine's pregnancy as that would be start of her end, since it's The Boys who keep her practically immortal, at least until they abandon her for her daughter. So, I thought I had known how things would go, but imagine my surprise when the author through a pretty big twist in there. It just goes to show that you shouldn't count your eggs before they are hatched, and I love being kept on my toes, so this was really impressive with me. Now don't worry, we still get all the great family dynamics and the softening change in Maxine is still there due to the new mothering instincts, it's just that things aren't going quite as originally thought. But if anyone could throw a wrench into tradition, it's Maxine.

One of the best thing about these book is the character dynamics. I absolutely love how every single one of them are fully fleshed out, even to the most minor of characters. I have to say that while I love the romance between Grant and Maxine, it's the relationship between Maxine and The Boys that really steals the show for me. There is so much love and devotion between them that it just melts my heart. And when you add in the fact that they are quite possibly the most powerful beings in existence and yet so vulnerable at the same time, I absolutely love it. And again I have to mention the twists in this book as they directly relate to this dynamic , bringing it from great to quite possibly perfection as I loved how it changed things up.

LABYRINTH OF STARS was an enjoyable installment as it hit all my top must haves, an exciting plot, character development, romance, and a good progression. However, one thing to note is that it doesn't really feel like a series ending book, so I was completely caught off guard when I found out that it was. Sure, Marjorie has said that there may be more short stories or novellas set in the series, but as this is the last full length in the series, I can't help feeling like things were left a bit too incomplete for my tastes. This leads me to some difficulty in choosing a rating as the book itself was great, but not so much for a series ender. I think to be fair, I'm going to rate based on the book itself, not it's role in the series, and just leave this note here on the series ending aspect. So that being said, fans of the series will be pleased with LABYRINTH OF STARS as it only made me fall more in love with Maxine, The Boys, Grant, and all the rest of the characters. I'll definitely be looking to see what Marjorie has coming next.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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