Review: The Last Cleric (The Blackwood Saga #3)

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:
Trapped in a world where wizards rule, the Blackwood brothers from New Orleans have become entangled in events that threaten to upend the Realm.
Oldest brother Val, sentenced to die in wizard prison, is forced to undertake a quest for the Congregation to try to win his freedom—but which might cost him his soul.
Reunited with an old companion, Caleb must overcome his personal demons as he braves the dangers of the Barrier Coast to warn his ancestors of the coming invasion.
And in a distant unexplored jungle, Will must find his warrior spirit as he and Mala lead a party of adventurers in search of the Coffer of Devla, a fabled artifact thought to reside in the lost pyramid of Yiknoom Ukab K’ahk, the most powerful sorcerer king who has ever lived. Used to annihilate the enemies of its possessor, the coffer might be the only hope for the struggling revolution.
Yet even if Will’s expedition is a success, prophecy holds that the coffer can only be used by a cleric of Devla.
And no true cleric has walked the Realm for centuries . . .

The third instalment doesn't 't leave anyone cold. Keeping the readers on the edge of their seats the entire length of the book requires talent and maybe a little bit of magic, and Layton Green has them both.

The brothers are back at again. Separated to walk their own paths for a while, two of them by choice, the eldest not so much. Their journeys are full of life-threatening battles with the dangers of the world they currently have to call their home.

The character development in the books published so far is astounding. Looking back to the first book The Brothers Three there has been no downhills nor lulls in their development. Neither has there been any of those in plot development or in the writing style at all. I enjoy the way all the books are written and especially the way The Last Cleric was written. There is no gap between the previous books, they are respected and honoured and brought up in the third. The story flows throughout all of them creating a continuum which promises there is much to come.

The cliffhanger, in the end, left me craving for more. I have to know what happens next, I need to. You got me hooked in this series, Layton Green, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Review: The Spirit Mage (The Blackwood Saga #2)

'' The youngest Blackwood wanted to be a hero, while the eldest was shooting for Emperor of the Universe. Caleb just wanted to enjoy the New Orleans nightlife, chow down on Cajun food, listen to tunes, travel when he could afford it, spend some quality times with friends. '' 

★★★★☆

From Goodreads:

Valjean thought about how impossible it seemed that there was another world out there from which he had narrowly escaped. A world of manticores and cave fiends, magic swords and potions, spirit mages and necromancers. Wizard-monks who could shatter walls with their fists, a city of coloured spires so beautiful it took his breath away . . . and a world in which Val's brothers were still trapped.

Desperate to help his brothers, high-powered attorney Val Blackwood manages to find a way to return to the world of Urfe. After landing in the dangerous underbelly of New Victoria, he concludes that the only way to find Will and Caleb is to enrol in the Abbey--the school for wizards--and somehow gain access to a portal called the Pool of Souls. Yet to succeed, he not only has to pass the entrance exam and survive the rigours of the school, considered the most demanding in all the Realm, but also avoid a lethal assassin targeting students.

As Val struggles to survive, his brothers undergo an even deadlier trial. Reeling from the loss of Mala, an adventuress lost in the mysterious Place Between Worlds, Will and Caleb and Yasmina are captured by slavers and taken to the mines beneath Fellengard Mountain. Even if they manage to escape, a feat no one has ever accomplished, they must still find their way out of the vast and untamed caverns of the Darklands. A place even the wizards fear.

Trapped in a land of dreams and nightmares, the brothers must somehow stay alive and learn to adapt to their new surroundings--or risk losing their homeworld forever.

Review: The Brothers Three (The Blackwood Saga #1)

'' Those who lose dreaming are lost.''

★★★☆☆

I'm stunned. The ending came out of the blue. Unexpected and leaving me craving for more.

The Blackwood Brothers, Will, Caleb, and Val,  have always kept together even when miles away from each other. They are brought together by their godfather, Charlie, when he summons them to hear an urgent message concerning the brothers' father. To their surprise their father isn't what they believed him to be. When Charlie is kidnapped by a necromancer the brothers world isn't the same anymore. They embark on a dangerous journey to save their godfather and on the side they discover new sides of themselves they never thought possible.

Told from three point of views, the brothers, the story follows all of their struggles in finding their places in the new reality they have to face. The story starts with the youngest brother's, Will's, point of view, as are most parts of the story.