Gathered Storm by Ash Leigh

Elaine has gathered together the most powerful women in the kingdom. Mariel, who can talk to animals. Avril, who is super intelligent. Jasmine, who wields fire. Nicole, who can enter the dreams of others. Maria who can shape change. Alicia, who can communicate with the dead when she dances. All of them have suffered at the hands of the evil king and queen, and they are now ready to use their magical gifts to end the malign monarch’s reign of terror.

I love this series. There is a sweetness to each book that cheers me up, even though the plots deal with suffering and hardship.

Each character has similarities to famous fairytale princesses, but the author puts her own spin on them. I like how each book reveals the back story of the magical women in stand alone chapters.

Elaine has really come into her own in this book, and it was a joy to see. She is a good leader, making the difficult decisions and staying true to defending the kingdom from the wicked royals.

It was nice to see more of the kingdom in this book as Elaine and her team set off for the palace. The scenes showing the hardships the people are forced to live with were suitably upsetting. There are some exciting action scenes as the group cross the mountains.

I was so glad that Renard, the fox shape shifter, was back in this book. He had a great role in the first book, but was sorely lacking in the second. I was so happy to see him playing an important part in book three.

Some of the action scenes were a little confusing, which was a shame as the set ups were great. A map would have been nice to help visualize their route to the palace.

I notice that the covers have changed on Amazon to a photo manipulation, but I much prefer the original illustrated covers like the one pictured above.

Altogether a highly enjoyable book and my favorite of the series so far.

I award Gathered Storm…