Gates of Rapture, A Review

The Vampires of Ascension have returned and are in full scale sexiness!! Caris Roane has ridden this wave to it's peak and now lets forth the fury of her words and allows it to crash to the shore!!!

We have watched the Warriors fall one by one and finally we see Leto find his way. We left Second Earth with Grace having found out that she has not one but two Breh.. an unheard of concept and Grace choosing Casimer not Leto.. seriously? Leto is all that is noble, having given up decades of his life to the cause and Casimer was nothing but a hedonistic sadist.. and that was his best quality. How could Grace have made that choice?

Grace Albion has spent her entire life seeking solace, finding faith, serving the "greater good" (a phrase I personally loathe and use in a less than complimentary manner, Caris never used this term, it is my implication). She despises the war and all it stands for but even more so she has issues with the actual acts of war, both those on the side of right AND those on the side of might, so it has to be hard for her to accept that she is Breh to one such as Leto or Casimer for that matter. We find Grace on Fourth Earth with Beatrice and Casimer hoping to make a difference in Casimer's life. She senses that Casimer must live in order for Leto to live. Grace has choices to make, does she return to Second Earth and the earthiness that is Leto or does she stay on fourth, in sanctuary (in a way)? For Grace who has accepted that yes, she did have two Brehs but had spent a decade writing erotic poetry (while cloistered with the sisters) all the while imagining Leto as her muse, returning to Second Earth was her only choice.

Leto, had given his life for the cause. Decades spent as a spy amongst Greaves' elite Warriors, building his armies, even taking dying blood knowing it's addiction, now finds himself returned to Endelle's service without his Breh and having a confusing new er talent. Seems Leto has become Second Earth's very own Incredible Hulk.. and just as any other Hulk, he has absolutely no idea how to control it. Convinced that he is atoning for abandoning his brethren in the fight against Greaves, seeing no purpose in what he spent the past years doing, wondering how he could ever redeem himself, he still manages to go on. To create a militia within the hidden colonies on First Earth. A respected man but an outcast in his own mind. After all had he been truly good, his Breh would have chosen him.. Grace's return changes everything!

Leto and Grace are an interesting couple, both have so much they think they have to atone for. So much duty fills them that they have problems letting go of control. While they both accept the Breh-heddon, and are willing to submit to it, both also accept that something is missing. They know it is the right thing to do. Seems to me that duty always prevails with these two.. oh but what a luscious duty it is for the rest of us. Steamy, sensual, a simply sinful delight, these two prove that sometimes sex really can fix just about anything *grins*. But seriously Caris writes a wicked world as she maneuvers these two in the direction they need to go.

Grace must figure out how to work her part of the Obsidian Triad and learn how to use it in tandem with Fiona and Marguarite.. Figuring out not only how to use it but why they have it. Together the three of them learn of powers untold and they use it in some really creative ways.. And in the process really tick Greaves off.

I want to just go on and on and on about this book, it was that good but I am going to slow down.. there was just so much happening, a whirlwind of facts dancing on the edges of this spectacular relationship. Grace and Leto create quite a core unit and it's great that we get to see all the other Warriors and their Breh. The only ones really missing were Malechi (Parisa makes a brief appearance) and Gideon's Breh Elise.. it sorta of irked me. Yeah I know get over it.

The end battle of this book was rather anti climatic even though it was well written and served the book and it's purpose wonderfully. Endelle was rather subdued in Gates, but I do like that maybe she too might get... *grins*

I also enjoyed the explanation of the name for this book.. it was a beautiful use of the term.

If you missed the point.. I absolutely ADORED This book. Caris wrote a wonderful conclusion to this part of the Ascension Series. I understand that she will be writing Novellas to add to the series so I am hoping all of the Warriors will get their Brehs. After all there are still three Warriors who haven't met their match yet.

Intrigued? Make sure you come back tomorrow! We are part of Caris' Warm up your winter blog tour and have some fun stuff for you, including an excerpt, a Bio on Caris and yes some really cool prizes!!


Shauni

 This review is based on the ARC of Gates of Rapture provided by netgalley and is scheduled for release on December 24, 2012