It didn't wow me but it was good and improved with re-reading. Parts of the story strongly echo Written in Red and Meg's emotional journey. It's a good mix of mystery, urban fantasy, and a hint of romance. Story, world building, and characterization all done well.

I always love Anne Bishop's book. Absolutely a fantasy series I'll recommend for anyone looking for a bit of a buried treasure in the fantasy world.

Bishop delivers. Quiet, intense. Feel of the Wild, Wild West - only better. You find yourself rooting for the Others, even if it means the humans lose.

I LOVE The Others (minus some complicated feelings about book five, which I think every single fan of that series has), and I was THRILLED to learn that there would be a new series in this world. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about spinoffs by now, but apparently not.

Most of the time, I won't say a book was bad, but this was bad. It's such a massive disappointment, and a waste of the amazing world building set up in the prior series. It's sort of like how the plot and characters of The Force Awakens are almost exactly the same as those in A New Hope>, only if instead of Rey the main character was Jar-Jar. That's a little harsh on this book, but only a little.

A couple of main things made The Others really work:
1) The world building - this is the one factor that is still good, because it's the exact same world.
2) Meg - hufflepuff queen. She's a blood prophet who has been raised in captivity as people cut her skin for prophet profit. Because she has never lived in the outside world before, she has a youthful feel to her and a naivete, but she's not stupid and not a pushover. She just doesn't have any of society's ideas of what is and is not okay, so she judges everyone by their own merits and not prejudice. She wins over the terra indigene because of her genuine, sweet personality.
3) The slow, slow, torturous burn romance between Meg and Simon - the chemistry is amazing, hate to friendship to love with banter and cuteness all the time.
4) The real connection Meg develops with everyone in the settlement. She gets to know them and the things that make them unique. I had real affection for pretty much everyone in the courtyard by the end.

Lake Silence tries to do the exact same thing: a naive woman attempts to start over only to find herself living in the middle of terra indigene, but she's okay with it and helps them understand/like humans, and together they must face evil, scheming, environment-destroying, patriarchal humans. Literally, it's the same in broad strokes.

Unfortunately, the new characters are boring at best and awful at worst. Where Meg was charmingly genuine and constantly learning about the world around her, Vicki DeVine deserves her name. She's a divorcee dealing with body image issues and anxiety from her ex-husband's verbal abuse. But, despite that, she's attempting to refurbish the Jumble, a B&B type thing she got in the divorce settlement. Unbeknownst to her, the terra indigene want her to be a sort of liaison for them in this town. She doesn't mind, but she's kind of scared of them, but also optimistic. Her character didn't make much sense to me. I relate to body image issues, and I think that she could have been an interesting character if the book had really dealt with any of that, but it absolutely didn't. All that happens is that if a man is at all mean to her, she shuts down.

As I write this, it doesn't sound that bad, but the thing you need to understand is that Vicki's POV reads like a tween writing her diary. She's got the hots for Ilya Sanguinati, her lawyer, and it squicked me out every time because it sounded so childish. Vicki's in her thirties! She's been married; she's successfully renovating a property. It felt like Bishop created a new heroine but then just gave her a bunch of Meg's lines, which really super did not fit in this character.

Aside from Vicki, the other characters are flat as pancakes. Ineke is a badass who runs the other bed and breakfast. Wayne Grimshaw's a hard-boiled good policeman stereotype. Her ex is a cheating rat bastard, slimeball stereotype. Marmaduke Swinn is a bad cop stereotype. Only the crows and the Sanguinati are really around, so it seems like all of the animal-type terra indigene are also childish, even though I know from the other series that they're not. Only Julian isn't a stereotype, but again it felt like Bishop didn't know what to do with his character.

There's a hint here and there at a romance between Julian and Vicki, and I could not be more thrilled that this did not come to pass. *shudders*

While I don't think the writing style is that different from the books I loved, the characters do not fit. This has absolutely none of the magic of The Others, and I do wish I had DNFed early on. I wasn't enjoying it from the start, but I hoped it would get better. I was wrong.

Not my top read because I loved Meg and her story but this one grew on me. Took a minute to get into but then as I progressed into the story enjoyed it more and more.

I know this storyline has been done before but it is one that I always love and this author executed it particularly well. The only thing that disappointed me about this book was how quickly I read it, I never wanted it to end!

Fans of the previous Others novels should enjoy this one. The world is familiar, but the new setting and inhabitants allow new stories to be told, injecting new life into the series.

Some familiar species of Others make an appearance, while new species are introduced. The interactions of the Others with the humans sharing their world make for great entertainment, and there are definitely some fun and humorous moments.

I was unable to finish this book. The story unfolded far too slowly and the details and writing was very dense, with little character dialogue. I've read Bishop's Others series and loved it, so I assumed I would enjoy this off-shoot series. Possibly I was not in the right frame of mind when I tried to read it, so I'll likely try again in a few months.

Like so many others, I was disappointed when I realized this book was going to be set in the world of The Others, but wouldn't feature any of my favorite characters from the Lakeside Courtyard. While there is a passing mention of some of the characters, this novel features a new cast.

I believe this is one of the "Crowgard Cozies" the Lakeside Female Pack was so enamored with. I was fully engrossed in the novel, and very much look forward to the next installment.

This was a great addition to the series. I usually lose interest in series' after the first few books but I can't wait to read the next one.

I forget how engrossing these books can be. Lake Silence takes place in the same world as the first five books, but it's set in a new town with new characters. The climax for the arc from the first books is...substantial, and I appreciate that Bishop didn't try to go for a larger conflict here. The story centers on a woman who received a piece of property in Sproinger from her ex in their divorce settlement. Now that she's cleaned up the place, her husband and his rich businessmen "friends" want it back. It's a human-sized conflict that takes place in the Wild Country, a fact that the businessmen don't seem to grasp.

I was a little hesitant to read this book, because I loved the characters in the first 5 books, and they weren't present here. But I really enjoyed Lake Silence and look forward to reading more about the Sproinger crew.

Bonus features: secret society, comeuppance, and the sproingers the town is named after (described as hoppy critters similar to animals in Australia that smile a lot - I'm picturing a cross between a quokka and a wallaby).

I simply cannot get enough of the Others. This new series is fun, even if I can't connect to the characters quite as much as I do Simon and Meg. Hopefully we will get to see more of them in the future. I will definitely be eating the next book!

I did something bad... well...sort of... basically I jumped into this one without being up to date with The Others series (I'm about to read book #3).

Which mainly caused 2 things first, every time they mention the Great Predation or The Elders, I was a bit lost, but thought of it as a previous event that eventually would make sense. And second, and more important, I didn't suffer as much, because although I love Meg, Simon and the rest of the gang, I am not as emotional attached to them as I would if I had read them in the correct order.

Which made me enter the story so much quickly. I wasn't facing the "she's not the Meg" effect. Sure, some situations were a bit too familiar to me, but. they quickly vanished. I really liked Vicky. More important, I loved how the others interacted with Vicky. The care and respect they had for her. Similar, but different than with Meg. I think what I liked the most, was to have a Crow as a support character so enjoyable as Aggie. She stole the show.

This book is a very solid addition to the others universe, and proves that there is so much more to know, even if we don't have Simon and Meg.

A must read

Lake Silence, by Anne Bishop, is technically #6 in the Others series, but rather than being a continuation of the story from the first five, it is a brand-new story set in the Others’ world. This review may include some minor spoilers for earlier books.
Lake Silence centers around the character of Vicki DeVine. Vicki is a sassy, 5’4”, self-described plump woman, who loves crime and cop shows. She also happens to be a woman who suffered mental and emotional abuse on the part of her ex-husband Yorick, and now suffers from pretty severe anxiety attacks because of it. Not your typical heroine for an urban fantasy novel. As part of her divorce, Vicki received a resort called The Jumble that sits right on Lake Silence, a lake known to have supernatural beings who inhabited the world long before humans came along, both surrounding it and living in it, called terra indigene. Vicki has decided to try to make a real living with The Jumble and open it to the public. As the story begins, she has just recently had it renovated and it now houses her first tenant, Aggie, who happens to be a Crow, one of the terra indigene.
As Vicki is just about to start prepping to open the resort, she discovers a man has been murdered on the surrounding property. As law enforcement comes in to investigate, Vicki is initially accused of murder. After this, she finds herself still being bullied by her ex-husband who she thought was out of her life, and she becomes suddenly involved with the terra indigene far more than she ever bargained for. So, this book is a bit of mystery, a bit of urban fantasy, and a bit of horror all wrapped up into one.
Let’s start with what I didn’t care for in the book. Honestly, there wasn’t much. I really do enjoy Anne Bishop’s books. I find her writing style very approachable and easy to get into. However, the biggest issue I had was how stupid the antagonists were. I don’t want to say too much to give the book away, but honestly, I typically like intelligent villains. Part of the issue here is that the people the villains are up against, meaning the terra indigene, are extremely hard to kill and they are part of a group that is fiercely protective of one another. Because they are so hard to kill and dangerous there isn’t a lot at stake because you pretty much know that they are going to win. However, in this book it is a real “poke the bear” scenario, in which the supernatural beings in question have demonstrated their might multiple times against humans, pretty much letting the humans know they are really only able to survive in the world by the grace of the terra indigene.
Despite this, I enjoyed the book. I really did like the character of Vicki. As I stated earlier, she isn’t your typical urban fantasy heroine. I like the fact that she still had a lot of gumption, but she was also vulnerable due to the abuse she suffered. It left a lasting impression and I liked the fact that Bishop did not shy away from portraying this. As the story advances we see that she has been taken under the wing of not only the terra indigene, but also many of the locals in the community who are human, and with them standing by her side it would be nearly impossible for someone to actually hurt her, although several someone’s try in the course of the story. So, in addition to being a bit of a damsel in distress story with a surrounding mystery, it is also a story of found family and community. Vicki quickly endeared herself to the terra indigene, by not only helping them acclimate to being around other humans but by just treating them with respect.
So, I encourage you to read the Others series. There is a lot of drama in all the books, but there is also a lot of humor. I certainly am looking forward to the next book and seeing where Anne Bishop will take these new characters we have been introduced to. I hope you all join me in that journey.

First line:I wouldn’t have known about the dead man if I hadn’t walked into the kitchen at the moment my one and only lodger was about to warm up an eyeball in the wave-cooker.

Summary:In this latest novel of the Others, the story takes place away from the Courtyard, and we are introduced to a new cast of characters and locations. Crows, Bearguard, Wolfguard and the Sanguinati are all present. Vicki, the main character is a somewhat timid woman who lived in the inn she got out her divorce. There’s a whole lot more going on there than she has any idea about.

Highlights: Once again, Anne Bishop nails the world building and character development. I love that we are introduced to a whole new part of this world and new characters, with cameo appearances and mentions of our favorites. This story was tightly woven and I knew there was a lot more going on, but I couldn’t put all the threads together and the twists were so good. I can’t wait for the next one in the series!

Lowlights (or what could have been better): Nothing.

FYI: I can’t think of anything to warn about, but I do recommend reading the other books in the series before picking this one up.

This series is so damn good! I was bummed that Lake Silence would shift to different characters in a different area because I love Meg, Simon and all the rest of the Courtyard inhabitants and would miss them. However, I knew Bishop would still give us something great. I mean, it’s still the freaking Others! Bishop definitely has a certain formula she prefers to use in her books and it’s easy to see the parallels, but she still manages to make them feel fresh and unique.

When are humans going to learn they are not in charge? Human laws only go so far. The terra indigene run this shit and allow the humans to exist. Thank goodness for good humans like Vicki and Grimshaw, though, or they’d all be goners. I really enjoyed these new characters and watching them try to navigate their surroundings and it’s inhabitants while dealing with some pretty slimy people who deserve a trip to the wilds.

I love that the Others are truly something to be feared and respected. Elementals are still my favorite type! Fire truly portrayed it well, he can be helpful and protect but is also dangerous and not to be trifled with. At the same time, it can be very entertaining and humorous when the humans and certain terra indigene interact.

I really enjoyed Lake Silence and look forward to the next book. While I suppose this could stand on its own, I highly suggest starting with the first book.

This book was definitely different from the rest of the The Others world. I enjoyed it but I had a very hard time between the POV 1st/3rd changes back and forth.

As always, another great book by Mrs Bishop. Truth be told I started this one with some apprehension, but forgot about them only a few pages in.
This time, same universe different city. We learn about a whole new set of characters with their flaws and quirks but oh so easy to fall in love with, especially Aggie Crowe. Of course we can find some familiar face but all in all, you'll definitely want to know what happens to Vicky and her new Other friends.
Beware though, Others deals with lawbreakers differently than Humans ! Faints of heart, you've been warned !

The transition between the first five books and Lake Silence felt mostly pretty seamless. I think it helped that Anne Bishop didn’t give us a character who was Meg’s opposite in every way. Personally, the innocence and gentleness of Anne Bishop’s female leads has always been what sets this world apart from other Urban Fantasy books.

That’s not to say I thought Meg and Vicky are too similar. Vicki has a different personality type than Meg does. Despite her abuse, she does still find a way to make a new home.

Another thing I enjoyed about Lake Silence was, if there’s a romance, it’s very slow. So slow there’s not much talk about a relationship at all. I can see where one might, and probably will, develop but it wasn’t blatant. I liked the characters for their individuality, not as any potential couple. And actually, the development of the humans in Lake Silence felt stronger to me than in the original series. The Terre Indigene have always been larger than life, which can cause the humans to feel like footnotes. That’s not true of the characters in Lake Silence. I enjoyed Grimshaw and Julian just as much as I enjoyed Ilya and Aggie.

So, if you can’t tell, this read was very successful. It was a very solid start to what I think will be another excellent series in the world of The Others.

A great read! This author is one that is a must have on my shelves. Loved! #mustread #iamreading #keeper #wow