The 5th of Ilona Andrews’ Innkeeper series, each of which began life as a serial on their blog. In this reality galactic citizens travel by portal, and Earth, by virtue of being in the middle of the cosmic everything, enjoys a privileged status as a stopover.* Inns grown (literally) with help from magically talented human innkeepers play host to the travelers and sometimes entire events. (I’ve often wondered what kind of a room Dina and Gertrude Hunt would design for me should I come to stay. I’d probably never leave.) A fully realized fantasy world, with some of the best ensemble characters imaginable, especially the aliens. Just for example, take Orro, a gigantic hedgehog and Dina’s very own Red Cleaver chef. There aren’t enough stars in Michelin to assign Gertrude Hunt Inn with Orro in the kitchen.

In this chapter Dina faces her biggest challenge yet, to host the Twelve Star Dominion’s contest to find a mate for their sovereign. And if you’ve been a faithful follower of the series, the last scene is both tear- and gasp-inducing.

I’ve been a fan of this husband-and-wife writing team since the Edge series but the Innkeeper Chronicles have supplanted all the others–even the Kate Daniels series!–as my favorite. They say there will be only one more Chronicle. I can only hope that inspiration smotes them with such force for more that they can’t resist. In the meantime, the Innkeeper Chronicles as is are such fun reading and so worth rereading.

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*Reminds me of Clifford Simak’s Way Station, an oldie but a goodie from the Golden Age of Science Fiction and, miraculously, available on Kindle and in audio here.

Book Review Monday Chatter Ilona Andrews Innkeeper Chronicles