The Unfinished Song books #3 and #4 by Tara Maya: Review by AimeeKay

Love is not stronger than Death. Except in faery tales... 

Welcome to Faearth. The world is still young, fairytales are real, and humans are trapped between the immortal fae and the minions of Death. The war between the fae and the Deathsworn will tear apart two lovers and determine who will rule the world…the humans, their ancient rivals, the Aelfae…or Death. 

About SACRIFICE, the third book in The Unfinished Song series 

As war looms on the horizon, Kavio continues to teach Dindi forbidden magics. Dindi’s cohort of fellow Initiates secretly select her to be the target of a vicious prank; an enemy of Kavio has targets her for an even viler crime. Meanwhile, Brena seeks allies hidden among the enemy, which puts her on a collision course with her former captive and husband, Rthan, who is sent to stop her by any means necessary. As powerful magic spins out of control, the fae themselves are in peril, and what started as a tribal war could become the cataclysm that wipes humans from Faearth. For, in Faearth, there is a price to be paid for breaking taboos, and it can only be atoned for with a terrible sacrifice.

First let me say thank you to Melissa for letting me read these!!! She started me on this series with the first two books and I have to say they have been quite enjoyable to read! Book three, Sacrifice, picks up right after the peace envoy and the shunned they have saved from Bluewaters Clan have arrived back at the Golden Bear tribe lands. (Unlike its predecessor which picked up exactly where it had left off in the first book) It wasn't so far removed from the previous novel time wise so I really didn't feel lost or anything. Again as in the previous two books we see the story through multiple sets of eyes, Dindi, Rthan, Brena, Kavio, to name a few. I really enjoyed this as it gave the reader (ME) a chance to get into more than just the main characters head. It also helped to show why there was so much misunderstanding between certain characters. Although sometimes it made me want to reach into the book and just shake Dindi or Kavio and scream at them to just say what they're thinking, because it would have made things easier for both of them.

Dindi is still being trained in secret by Kavio. He has given her hope though, that if she keeps dancing and learning the Tamas that maybe she will gain some magic. She is still basically an outcast from her people. They still think she is a misfit and useless. It gets so bad that the other initiates decide she will be "duck" of that year. Being the "Duck" means that basically they all band together and torture and pick on her relentlessly. They actually consider it good luck if the "Duck" takes his or her own life instead of dealing with them anymore. The elders turn a blind eye to it because it is an initiation rite that has taken place for generations.

Rthan and Brena still find themselves separated by their clans hatred for each other. But now Rthan knows exactly who in her clan killed his wife and child, so the revenge he wanted so badly in the first book seems as if it is almost in sight for him. Especially since the man who did it is now the war chief of Brena's tribe.

Gwenika, Dindi's only friend, has finally stopped making herself sick with her own chroma,and has even started to step out from her mother and sister's shadows and become a healer. Unfortunately Gwenika makes more than one foolish decision that leads to her betraying Dindi completely and outing her actions to the entire tribe.

This story drew me back into Maya's Faearth completely. I was a bit worried about that since I read books one and two back in June of last year and sometimes I find it hard to get back into a series. Maya, however, didn't disappoint. I found I still actually care about her characters. I did spent most of the book waiting for Dindi to finally get the recognition she deserved. The ending broke my heart. There are suppose to be 12 books all together in this series. This is only book three so I knew while I was reading two things, one it was gonna be a cliffie and two that obviously not everything would be resolved in a neat little package at the end of the story.

Well first, I was right about the cliffie. Although it is a bit of a steeper drop off then the second book, it is not a complete cut as with the the first. Second, while there were some happy endings for some of the characters and huge questions were answered regarding Dindi and the Corn Maiden, as well as a few other points in the book coming to a close, not everything was neatly ended. In fact most of the answers about Dindi lead to more questions, which will I assume lead perfectly into book 4. (which fortunately I have in my greedy little hands to begin reading as soon as I finish writing this part of the review!!) I think on the whole though that those who have read the first two books will definitely get some satisfaction out of this one.

I think that it is a bit darker than the first two. Especially in some of the scenes with the Corn Maidens memories. But nothing so bad as to deter me from wanting to read more.

The only main problem I had with this book was during the war scenes. ***Spoiler alert-not a major one, but still kinda spoilish*** The view point switched back and forth between a few of the characters, as it had in the rest of the book. The problem was that when it switched to another characters point of view it just seemed off. There are sections where one character sees another in battle, and then when it switches to that characters point of view it seems they are doing something completely different. I also kind of wondered how during the entire battle and afterwards Kavio seems to have forgotten completely about Dindi. I understand he is fighting a battle and his best hope of protecting her is to end it as quickly as possible so he can get to her. But even after the battle is over he seems to have completely forgotten about her. The timeline at this point also becomes a bit confusing. Dindi was suppose to dance for three days and it seems as if the battle has only taken one, maybe two if you count the cleaning up that was done afterwards. It's seemed to be implied that Kavio simply lost track of time in the battle and that it lasted longer than he remembered. But then how come it seemed to last a shorter time for the rest of the characters as well?***end spoiler*** That honestly was my biggest issue with the book, but I am so enthralled with Maya's world that she has created and the people she has populated it with that I can't help but let it slide.

So warning you might get confused at the war scenes. Just a heads up as you go into reading the book. Maybe if you expect it you won't get that annoyed with it and can just enjoy the rest of the story. Also maybe if you expect it going in, you can maybe find a part that I might not have gotten? That makes the whole timeline make more sense? If so please feel free to tell me. I would rather feel stupid for having missed something, then have something take away from any of my enjoyment of the book.

I'm off to read the next book! (Yay for me and yay for Melissa who was nice enough to get her hands on it for me!)

Dindi knows her life is forfeit if she cannot solve the faery riddle of the Unfinished Song. But to do that, she must first unravel the mystery of why the Aelfae hexed her whole lineage long ago.

Meanwhile, Kemla and Tamio connive together against her. Desperate to prevent Dindi from dancing in the upcoming competition, and Kemla convinces Tamio to seduce Dindi. If at first they don't succeed, they aren't above hexcraft to get their way...

And then there is the Man in Black. Devastatingly handsome, darkly powerful...and determined to kill her. If at first he doesn't succeed, he isn't above starting a war to get his way.

Ok, I'm back! . Book four picks up after Dindi has returned to The Lost Swan tribe from her initiation at Yellow Bear. While she has been made a Tavaedi thanks to her dancing in the fairy circle and NOT being killed by the fairys, everyone still assumes she has no chromas (magic for those not familiar with the series) and she is still treated as basically nothing better than a slave. The White Lady aka: Vessia aka: The Corn Maiden. is on the move. She has heard of her son Kavio's agreement with her nephew Zumo to hold a Vooma. A Dance contest amongst the top female dancers in Faearth. The best will be named the Vaedi and she will choose who will rule The Rainbow Labyrinth.

This series is getting better and better. Maya is doing an amazing job of taking the characters introduced in Dindi's visions in the previous books and bringing them into Dindi's present. Plus she brought in quite a few new interesting characters, such as Umbral, a deathsworn warrior, and Amdra, the daughter of Vumo and Nangi the thought eater. Or the new star of Dindi's visions, Mayara, an orphaned Aelfae who might just hold the key to solving the fairy's riddle.

I really liked the fact that Dindi finally seems to be coming into her own. While she is still ridiculed by the members of her tribe, she is more sure of herself. While others don't see or sense her magic, she is able to use it and at least can see it herself. Honestly I didn't know if I could make it through the book if Dindi didn't at least get some sort of good coming her way. In the first three books she is beaten down constantly, and while I liked them, I kept waiting for things to start going in her favor. I also liked how Maya expanded into even more of Faearth. We get to meet the Raptor Riders of Orange Canyon, as well as the people of the Green Woods tribehold. Plus I got to find out more about the Deathsworn. 

I was drawn into the story. I have to admit though that I knew where the story was going. Boy was I surprised, and not just at the end. The real reason Tamio falls in love with Dindi, where Kavio has been. I thought I knew the answers to both, but when the big reveal game...Well one I kinda suspected, but the other...OMG, I was soooo off. But it makes me eager to see were the 5th book will take Dindi in Faearth on her quest to hold up her end of the bargain with the fairys. Of course it is another cliffie....definitely a bit more severe than book 3. ***Spoiler alert*** But she softened it a bit with a final vision of Mayara. It actually made me tear up it was so sweet. ***end spoiler***

So far this was one of the more satisfying books in the series. FINALLY a whole lot of questions about how Dindi's chromas were hidden and where they came from in the first place were cleared up

The only thing I really had questions about, had nothing to do with the story itself. I was actually curious about the cover of the 4th book. It's beautiful, no doubt about that, but it is sooo different from the other 3 books. It just threw me for a minute.

If you've read the other 3 definitely pick this one up. If you haven't...Where have you been??? I admit the whole cliffie ending of the first book was definitely a buzz kill, but as long as you have the second book handy you'll be fine. The third and fourth books continue the cliffie mania, but not as severely as that first one, and considering its a 12 book saga, I kinda figure the cliffies will just keep on coming. The twists and turns however in the story just keep getting better and better, I don't know how the author plans to keep it up for 12 books without it starting to drag at some point, but I gladly will keep reading to see how she does it. Thanks again to Melissa for being cool enough to let me review these books for her blog! :)