Valley of the long Elven names

So, Blade of Empire by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory picks up not long after the last book, as Vielessar Gets physically throned on the Unicorn throne. She sends a few folks north and westm and we hear no more of her forf the rest of th ebook, instead mainly focusing on her unwilling bonded,
Runacar, who goes from War Prince of one of the 100 Houses to leader of a rag tag army of Beatstling, basically sentient Otherkin, like centaurs, minotaurs, gryphons, and bearkin. We get a few interludes, as the dark ones begin the Red Harvest in the Windsward, and more than a little bit of politicing around the Sanctuary of the Star, but yeah, we're mainly focused on Runacar as he sweeps folks to take the coast.

Which is odd, since most of the Otherkin hate the elves. Yet he earns their trust, and ultimately leads them to victory over the remaining coastal cities with help from the Waterkin.

It's one big campaign, and it's mentioned that no one has heard from Vielessar since the enthronement, in what they refer to as the Great Silence.

By far the biggest problem here is that any concept of time goes out the window. I think by the end, we figure out 10 years have passed between the beginning and end, but the sense of time is really awkward.

PAst that, it's a good follow up, and I hope they actually finish the trilogy eventually.

Elves from California

It took quite a slog to get through Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory's Crown of Vengeance, but it was mostly worth it.

As a prequel to two other trilogies in the same world, it took some time getting used to centering on only the elvish race, with occasional interludes to the Endarkened. The map this time, however is basically the Western US, with Elvish kingdom's stretching from the Mississippi to the Pacific even though most everything is centered around what we would consider California. (We end somewhere near El Paso.)

For the sake of my sanity, we'll refer to our heroine, Vielliessar, as V, and use initials for any other characters needing named, since Elves seem to enjoy long freaking names that put everyone else to shame. V is the last of House Farcarion, who's father died in battle, betrayed by his allies and who's mother died in childbirth at the Sanctuary of the Star. the Astromancer in charge of the Sanctuary believes V to be the fulfillment of the prophecy that will doom the Hundred Houses and lead the Elves in battle against a greater darkness. Which doesn't help when she gets schlepped back to the Sanctuary at 12 by the Lady of the most powerful house after the fall of V's original house.

Anyway, V is exiled by the Lady, basically. She does eventually figure out who and what she is, and most of the rest of the book is her figuring out how powerful she is, uniting most of the Houndred Houses, figuring out she's love bonded with R, Heir Apparent to the House she grew up in (and neither of them are exactly happy about this) and essentially leading everyone into a war that violates all the old rules.

It's a long trek.

It's a good trek.

The plotting in this setting is much more involved than what one might expect, and war and politics dance under the stars, and the reader is never sure exactly who is actually a decent person.