Yield the Night (Steel & Stone, book 3) by Annette Marie
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Edition Reviewed: Ebook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Yield the Night (2)
After surviving a round-trip to hell, Piper figures she can survive anything. After all, she just lived through the devastating loss of her Consul apprenticeship and a torturous stint at boarding school. How much worse could it get?
Well, she wasn’t expecting a group of crazy radicals to burn her home to the ground and take her prisoner.
The Gaians, a.k.a. the crazy radicals, plan to rid Earth of daemons and they need Piper’s help. In exchange for her cooperation, they promise her the answer to all her problems: magic. With her own magic, she could reclaim her apprenticeship, the only future she’s ever wanted. But her magic comes at price — it could kill her.
With the life she’s always known crumbling around her and her future slipping from her grasp, she needs Ash’s help one more time. But the greatest danger of all lies within her, and no matter what she does, she may lose everything — including him.
Review: The Steel & Stone series has easily become one of my favorite Young Adult Urban Fantasy series. Surpassing many other popular ones from traditional publishers/authors. To be honest I was really nervous about how things were going to go with Piper going to human boarding school. Thank goodness the story picks up when Piper gets home to the consulate skipping all that school crap. The general gist is given of what school was like, but minus angsty school drama stuff. Yeah! (Besides we already knew human boys can't handle Piper.)
So I figured after we dealt with Ash's Samael problem the next step would logically be Piper's mother. Her mother and the radical Gaians. Nailed it. What I enjoyed most was that both sides of Gaians and Consulates could be seen. They both have good and bad. Though one is clearly a fanatical group that has no conscience. Willing to hurt humans and daemons for "the" cause. Even killing their own members.
She sighed. She must be jaded: being kidnapped just didn't faze her anymore.
So Piper gets kidnapped again. Yeah. But let us be honest, it's a trope that happens in pretty much every Urban Fantasy series. (Heck, and a lot of PNR titles.) Marie does the smart thing though. The kidnap reminds interesting and gives the world a lot of expanding. Especially what its like to be haeman outside of the Consulate, because they don't pick up haemons for training. In fact humans and demons kind of shun them, and they don't have teachers or schools for them. (Which is odd as I had assumed up until this point they'd have something for their magical training at least.) Family's disown them unwilling to deal, or cope, with them. Haemon children may have no idea that they are haemon until their powers manifest. It's scary and it's interesting seeing the Gaians prey upon them and the Consulates ignore them. It's an eye opener that the Consulates need to expand the job quota and get reorganized.
So I can predict this series pretty easily. I knew that the Gaians would be next and her mom would get what her fanatical heart wanted. I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I know not everyone is good at predicting where a story is going. I've enjoyed the mythology surrounding the Sahar Stone. Boom! It is sentient and I'm very happy about that, but considering that a soul has been trapped in there it's out for vengeance. Because she's still angry and very mad. Hell hath no furry, like a haeman scorned.
Considering Piper had risked her life to save Seiya from imprisonment and torture, the girl seriously lacked gratitude.
The progression of this series is wonderful! I love that Marie knows where this series is going to go, how each book should be, and doesn't give readers fillers. I will admit I did not like how Seiya was acting in this book. The short after this book helps to give readers more insight. But it still feels over dramatized. Why Seiya blames Piper for putting Ash at risk. Not to mention that I thought Seiya could be an awesome friend for Piper, not an enemy. It's something I've become aware of lately, and tired of, where other females hate/are jealous of the female lead.
Ah, Ash. He's back and the fire between him and Piper is amazing. I'm positive at this point that Lyre is simply a succubus friend to Piper. He understands that Ash and Piper have something. He'll flirt and be a succubus, but he's there for his friends. I like how much Lyre understands people and that he wants to help Ash out so much. But I doubt I'm going to get the bromance I've been dying for from this series. (Or a love triangle where Lyre hearts Ash. Girl can dream. There was sparks in that first book I tell you!)
She was done letting other people risk their lives for her. She was done letting Ash bleed for her. She would fight her own battles from now on.
Piper's growth is amazing! How she handles learning truths about her dreams and the reality of what's happening around her is perfection. She's grown up from the first book. (I'm so proud of her.) Her progress with the magic in her life is handled well and I love how rich the lore is. Instead of the Underworld Piper heads on over to the Upperworld (AKA Heaven). Which was amazing.
I'll be honest some of the hints and plots in this book where really in-you-face-obvious. Every page was sheer pleasure though, and at the very least it all made since how it got there. I'm bothered by how much of Quinn and Piper's relationship is ignored in these books. Heck, I think I understand the crazy mother more than I do Quinn! I'm pretty sure it can't be ignored in the next book. (But I do find my self saying that after each book!) Ash and Piper's relationship is on point. I love the buildup this series has created. The burn. The passion! The respect for one another. Not to mention trust. Thank you. Also, I love that it's not really a love triangle. Lyre is a friend to both Ash and Piper. It breaks my heart to think that I've got only two books left in the series.
Oh, hot book my mind is ready! But my feelings are so confused. Never let it end.
Sexual Content: Sexual content, minor dark themes talked about, some (hot as hell!) make out scenes, and still overall clean for the kiddies.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
