Review: Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

Marked in Flesh

The Others, #4
Anne Bishop

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Roc
Date of Publication: March 8, 2016
Number of pages: 417

Available at the following retailers:
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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…

This is the forth book in The Others series by Anne Bishop, and what a book it was. This is a series that is best read in order, as the story is an ongoing adventure. I started the series in Audio format, and can highly recommend it. My review today is of a print ARC and there may be some spoilers to previous books. One nice thing about switching from Audio to print is that I know how to pronounce all the strange verbiage unique to Namid’s world; though I did miss Alexandra Harris’ wonderful voice.

Meg has come a long, long way from that scared young woman who stood shivering in Howling Good Reads after literally running for her life, and meeting Simon Wolfgard for the first time. After being named Meg the Trailblazer, she is now working towards living up to that name. I was excited to finally see more than just the hope of a romance between Meg and Simon, although it is still very, very much in an embryonic stage yet. Still, I can't stop from smiling as I anticipate the direction their courtship may take.

If you have been following the series, you know that Nicholas Scratch has been stirring up trouble in Thaisia with the Humans First and Last Movement. I don’t think it’s too spoilery to say that this is the book where all the crap he’s been stirring hits the proverbial fan. That’s right, a whole bunch of peeps get their comeuppance, and I for one was cheering Namid’s Teeth and Claws on. Especially after a big final stunt is instigated. I’m not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes and was reading just as fast as I could flip pages.

Basically, the last book was in large part a build up to events that culminate in this book.  Major changes take place and the ending leaves us wiped out emotionally, cautiously holding our breath, waiting see what will come next. And then, at the very end, we get the merest hint of what is to come. I must have read those last couple of pages half a dozen times trying to get every ounce of nuance out of them. This book left me breathless with anticipation for the next one. A 5 Star read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Roc for the opportunity to read and review this book.