PortiaAuthor: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #5
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | New Adult
Release Date: 27th October 2015
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
Source: Review Copy - Sparkle Book Tours
Rating:
Unlike her famous older brother Maxon, Princess Portia isn't known for killing demons or attracting admirers. The reason why is simple: a spell was cast on Portia, and the magic has marked her to one day transform into a dreaded Void demon.
To fight this horrible fate, Portia�s spent her life hiding in libraries and learning magic. But when the Void demons threaten to destroy all the after-realms - and the handsome dragon Emperor Tempest offers his help - Portia suspects that her future holds more than just a demonic metamorphosis.
Fate is calling the bookworm princess onto the battlefield, and it�s a fight against both deadly enemies and her heart�s desires.
Ah, now see, Portia is the book I was hoping Maxon would be, which is both fabulously great news for Portia and terrible news for Maxon. It's not his fault, he was just more difficult to relate to, and his storyline wasn't quite as exciting, although it focus a lot on mental illness and recovery. Still, I most definitely enjoyed Portia a lot more than I did Maxon, both the character and the novel itself, oh, and did I mention dragons who actually did dragon things and became dragons? Bauer has not only redeemed my love for dragons, but she's also created a super solid and sad closing to a much loved series I've been on one heck of a journey with. Bare with me, there will be tears.
So, where did Portia go right? I shall hold off on the dragon swoons for now because, I mean wow, we'll get to them rather soon, but first Portia herself. I really quite like that Portia was set from the outskirts as somebody who was passionate that knowledge, skill and passion was key to anything, and could help anyone achieve anything, She was surrounded herself with books, with answers to questions, with learning and teaching others and I related to her so much. She never felt like she belonged, like she was respected or consider important enough, and oh, beautiful Portia, I just felt so sad for her. She was a nervous, scared character at the start, but her progression, her development, her god damn soul searching that wormed out every inch of badass she had in her from her parents was just so good to see. Her transformation from timid, shy and scared Princess to utterly powerful Empress was so awesome and awe inspiring, I was totally absorbed in her story for the super quick two hours it took me to read Portia. It was amazing.
I do feel as though the spin-off Offspring novels have struggled to convey as strong storylines as Angelbound and Scala did. The storylines themselves feel extravagant, full of new world, new magic, new adventures and new characters, all while trying to stay faithful to the older, more original characters and it's sometimes been hard to keep up. I for one sometimes struggled to make sense of some of the travels in Portia and in Maxon as the world grew larger and the books themselves were shorter, it felt as though less time was spent on developing these new, bigger, more exciting worlds, and that is a tad sucky. Still, I cannot deny that the magic in Portia was pretty cool, and I definitely loved learning more about the different types available for study and practicing.
Okay, I also loved the dragons. I read Talon earlier this year, and wooooah, that book was a catastrophe in dragons in comparison to Portia. Black badass dragons with lots of flying, lots of fire breathing, lots of general immenseness, oh, and a red Empress dragon being hot damn amazing. Yes, Portia gets a big thumbs up in terms of dragons.
The storyline too, I actually quite liked how it got straight into story without ever feeling like there was a big 'this is the mission, let;s go!' feeling - it just happened. Tempest and Portia got to work, and throughout the really great paced out plot that was oh so good, the swoons. I swore they'd never take me alive, but they did, and I'm so madly in love with the relationship. I mean, yes, it's not as well developed as Myla and Lincolns in Origins, and neither was Maxon and Lianna's, but I guess that's one of the things that comes with squeezing more into a shorter story, but Portia and Tempest were so hot and so cute and so fun, and so perfect.
Tempest was the perfect dragon gentleman with utter respect, honour and adoration for Portia, her beauty, her passion and her brains, while Portia's confidence boost through Tempest, how he helped bring out the inner demon in her with the power, brash personality and boost it takes to be a super awesome fighting female - they complimented each other beautifully.I was so swooned by the clear passion that flowed between them, how Tempest made Portia's toes curl, how she was so much more confident around him, and how he made her feel important, worth a lot more than her family ever had, I couldn't respect him more, and I couldn't love how Portia came to love him, no matter how quickly it may have been. Dragons are allowed pretty quick love falling, am I right?
I did have my issues with the world building, or the slight lack thereof, and I do still get a little confused by how much the world has developed with every installment, BUT, (and it's a big but, it's in capitals, see!) I seriously loved Portia so much, I actually cried when I finished reading it. I felt as though Bauer closed this series so perfectly. It never felt forced, and neither do the loose ends feel tangled. Every character has a happy ending, and I never realised how perfectly it all worked out until I took a breather to wipe the tear from my eyes. I will be so sad to not have a new Angelbound novel to look forward next Spring, and I will dearly miss the magic, the demons, the dragons and the battles that this series has given me. Goodbyes suck.
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