“Ivan is the perfect, deadly warrior, a man trained from childhood to be the ultimate protector to the Rios family. His focus on keeping her safe is intense–and a little intoxicating. When the threat of danger cracks his icy control, Maricela realizes she’s not the only one fighting against temptation.”
After the beautiful and fully completed Beyond series, starting Gideon’s Riders was simultaneously a great balm to my feelings of loss at finishing a long series and a smidge frustrating. I’m a huge sucker for an ensemble cast, and having to get to know a new one makes me cranky. With Ivan, third in the series, I finally feel at home with the Riders – if “at home” means “I ship them all, most specifically with their greatest and most complete happiness in life”.
Ivan’s blurb makes it clear that you’re in for some slow-burn, we-shouldn’t-but-we’re-gonna, and the story more than lives up to that promise. Ivan and Maricella’s chemistry is electric and consuming.
The book also expands on the cast of characters beautifully, while still leaving time to dive deep into Ivan and Maricella. We learn how Maricella is dealing with certain events from the Beyond series (not well) and how Ivan’s upbringing as the son of a saint and nephew to traitors affects him still (immensely). I found the latter storyline especially compelling – without spoiling Ivan’s progression, he frankly explores the possibility that he has depression. The depiction of his symptoms and the turmoil of his path to managing them touched me deeply, since they mirrored a lot of my own. It’s also astoundingly refreshing to see a portrayal of a brooding, taciturn man who’s bad with words and feelings…and realizes he wants to do something about that, and utilizes the resources he has to change it. (I don’t think it’s weird to swoon over normalizing portrayals of mental health care, do you? I’m swooning anyway.)
I would be remiss if I relayed my reactions to this book without mentioning the worldbuilding, but I also desperately don’t want to spoil the most exciting scene on that front. Suffice it to say that the world is expanding for our characters in the wake of the war with Eden, and the glimpses we’re getting of where that is going have me very excited. We also learn more about Sector One, both through Ivan’s back story and some of the action in this book.
Ivan is possibly my favorite character we’ve seen in the Sectors, and this book definitely ranks up there as well.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Be First to Comment