I recently finished reading a book from one of my favorite fantasy series, and I have to say it was another great addition to my collection! The author's creativity shines through in the plot and the way the story is told, and I found myself fully immersed in the world they created.

The story was a bit difficult to get into at first, as the storytelling style was a bit unconventional. However, after reading around 100 pages, I found myself fully invested in the world and the characters. The author does an incredible job of crafting unique and interesting characters, and in this book, we get to see many of them from their own point of view. This added an extra layer of depth to the story and made me even more invested in the characters.

What I appreciated the most in this book was the character development. It is rare to find a book where the characters are so well-crafted that they feel like real people. The author does a fantastic job of making the characters relatable, which made it easier for me to empathize with their struggles.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone who loves epic fantasy done well. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next and final book in the series. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and I am excited to see what the author has next in store for us!

Thank you Tor books for my copy of this title!
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Will definitely be posting reviews when I have finished but I already recommend this to everyone who loves fantasy!

Another amazing instalment in one of my favourite series by one of my favourite authors. Great plot, great characters, and a fantastic overarching story. Love Jenn's work so much!

This book took awhile to get used to. We're back to Senera documenting the story, and it's not quite as fun as when Thurvishar does it. She is an acquired taste with her storytelling methods. Although, I do appreciate that in her book, she does write down the locations AND when things are happening with each new chapter heading. It's both entertaining and helps keep things straight. Senera is still working for Relos Var. So while Thurvishar's stories have been documented for Tyensto to read, Senera's have been for Relos Var. Even if she starts the book off by saying that she means to betray him. It's not really a spoiler at this point. Now we have to figure out WHY she might turn on him. And as always, the author is kind enough to write a comprehensive recap of the series so far leading up to this fourth book, and it is available for reading at the start of this book. It is built seamlessly into the story enough where the recap is actually very helpful reading even if you're reading the books back-to-back.

As always, the following review will contain spoilers for the previous books, because it will be impossible to NOT mention some main points that have transpired since.

Content notes include death, depression, violence, mentions of grooming, mentions of domestic and emotional abuse, pregnancy, internalized fatphobia, and body dysphoria.

We see a lot of returning characters in this book that we learned were NOT dead. The gods, however, who died in the last battle are still very much dead - the people you kind of want to see returning to life the most, if only for their powers. But we do see the return of Galen D'Mon (once believed to be Kihrin's brother in the first book only to find out he is actually Kihrin's nephew), Galen's wife Sheloran, the mimic who captured Kihrin in the first book called Talon, and Kalindra who is a Black Brotherhood assassin Kihrin had been infatuated with on the island of Ynisthana in the first book. All these returning character were more properly introduced in book one. And in all honesty, I had no idea what large roles they would play in this series when we had first met them? I even completely forgot about Kalinda being sent off on assignment in the first book, but we learn what she's been up to since then.

It's actually quite genius that the characters have returned to the storyline so prominently because all of them have a sort of connection to Kihrin and that's key to everything that's happening, because they are both his greatest strength, but also his weakness. The present-day timeline is that Senera winds up doing a large spell that winds up tying the mystical and magical Lighthouse of Shadrag Gor to Vol Karoth's prison in Kharas Gulgoth. The Lighthouse had previously been a place where scholars like Thurvishar can hide away for months at a time, and little time would've passed in the "real" world. It is an enchanted place where Kihrin was also jailed with Talon in the first book.

This book takes place roughly a month after the battle at the Well of Spirals (at the end of book three), and in that last book Kihrin had essentially offered himself up to Vol Karoth and gave Talon his body (to kill and eat). Talon, the mimic, can then impersonate Kihrin fully and Kihrin had a mind to be able to talk to Vol Karoth and...try to come up with a deal? I admit, the plan was very fuzzy and just sounds like a terrible plan I'm shocked Thurvishar agreed to go along with. But the reality is, Kihrin is currently physically dead and now we're seeing the ramifications of that choice. This is Senera's plan to save him. Because as much as she would never, ever admit it, Senera does have a heart and cares deeply for those around her.

We do jump between storylines where we see the occupants at the Lighthouse (Teraeth, Janel, Thurvishar, Senera, Qown, Galen, Sheloran, Kalinda, Xivan, Talea, and Talon) and soul!Kihrin in Vol Korath's mind prison fighting Vol Karoth. It's a battle of wills and memories? For some reason Kihrin and Vol Karoth try to prove themselves justified in why friends may or may not be important and they use the Lighthouse's occupants' memories to tell this story. There's something involved with telepathy or something? The mechanics of all this is beyond me, but the storytelling aspect of this is fascinating because it works to catch us up on Galen, Sheloran, Qown, Xivan, Talea, and Kalindra's stories since we last saw them. Kihrin's argument is that having friends is important and they can be trusted, while Vol Karoth (drawing on his experience in his past life as S'arric) was betrayed immensely by his friends and most of all, his brother Rev'arric (also known now as Relos Var).

Honestly, the back and forth between the stories is both interesting AND boring at the same time. It's like we do miss a bit of the momentum we had from the third book and now we're trapped in one place all over again starting anew to figure out what's going on. I have never read a book with characters endlessly drinking as much tea as the characters in this book. I don't have a problem with them constantly drinking tea, but I feel like they don't go to the bathroom enough considering all the tea they're consuming. But that's really neither here nor there. Just my observation.

Important things we learn from this book is that Galen is no longer the scared and abused boy we met in the first book. He is a married man, and while he is still only attracted to men, he very clearly loves his wife Sheloran. She's the only reason he was Returned from death at all, because she had put in the request while Sheloran's parents had put in the request for her to be Returned. Galen and Sheloran had both been killed by Kihrin's mother after her rampage killing most of the D'Mon household. I can't even say her killings weren't justified after all she went through as their slave? But she did kill everyone in the WORST of ways, so it's all a mess where she's concerned. Also, the aftermath with her and Therin is just...added mess. Anyways, back to Galen...he had the BEST speech in this book, or maybe even this series so far. It was at a funeral for a friend and when he told everybody off, it was GLORIOUS.

There is a mystery of sorts where the count of people in the Lighthouse was always off by one, but not immediately explained. The revelation surprised me. I would've never guessed. Although it is kind of funny I guessed a pregnancy before it was revealed, even though THIS revelation had absolutely nothing to do with a pregnancy at all.

And in other things I would not have guessed, the last book revealed how Xaltorath came to be and I AM NOT OKAY. All this time we were seeing Xivan go after the witch-queen Suless because Suless had killed Xivan's husband and son. But MOST IMPORTANTLY in the last book, we see how Suless becomes Xaltorath.

Which brings up a further confusing storyline into the series, and it's something I've always hated in stories - time travel. Like, I LOATHE time travel books. I don't seek out the stories. I can't stand them. But in this case, the actual bits ABOUT the time travel are minimal and nothing you should really think about too hard because it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things? The gist of all of this is that this series takes place in this one timeline, and Xaltorath has the knowledge of how to reset timelines so if things don't go their way, they can just have another redo. Things like how far back the time travel goes and what that means whenever characters get reincarnated and how everything is affected is...not really answered? So, like I said. Don't try too hard to piece it all out. You'll only get more confused. The only relevant piece of news for now is that this means there are TWO Xaltorath's in the current timeline and you can bet both will only want to be the single Xaltorath, while not letting their other self live.

Cornerstones play a big part in this series with cornerstones being powers in their own right, but also the solution to heal the dragons and their insanity. Do I understand how cornerstones REALLY work? Not really. But it's just another thing in this book where I just kind of nod and keep reading. There's a lot of that in this book, but at least I can focus in on the relationships happening even if I understand nothing else.

Fun things that happen in this book is that the flirting gets dialed up to an 11 here (on a scale of 1 through 10). There's a LOT of couples in this book where you're rooting for all of them to have a HEA by the end of the series. But is that realistic when the book is marketed as a fantasy and is not a Romance book outright (with the capital R)? I feel like you just wind up shipping everyone, even if the way the book goes about detailing some of these relationship is a bit...off and I want to give the author a bit of a side eye. More on that later.

There's so much flirting in this book, I almost didn't get through all the Kihrin, Teraeth, and Janel scenes because every time they were in a scene together, I was just YELLING. Their flirting is so cute. And look, this series is not explicit and the most you can really hope for is that characters kiss or have sex off the page, but they definitely keep me entertained with how much they like each other and show their affection.

I would be remiss not to point out Qown and his scenes. He's the one person who is most affected by Relos Var's plans and had once viewed the man as a father figure and someone he just really looked up to. More than Senera or Janel, Qown was incredibly loyal to Var and wanted to do nothing more than to please him. This book shows just how emotionally abused Qown was by the man in question, that even after Var had gaeshed (enslaved) Qown, Qown still went back to him because he thought that was the right thing to do and isn't that ultimately the most devastating thing? Qown is a sweetheart and really just one of my favorite characters in this series. He's been hurt so much, physically and emotionally. All he deserves is true happiness. All the characters in this series have been through shit with shit relatives, but Qown's story is probably one of the worst because Relos Var PRETENDS to be a good person and like he cares about Qown's wellbeing when the only person Var really cares about is himself and what he believes "saving all humanity" to mean. Everyone else at least is upfront about the way they treated their children.

Which brings me to Qown and his identity. Qown was perfectly happy to take the vow of the Vishai faith to remain celibate. But we have learned that the Vishai faith is something Relos Var only put together under a pseudonym and it was to have a large number of witches under him who would do as he says. Help protect a cornerstone? Have a lot of people under his control? All the above? I'm not sure. But I think it was a way to stroke his ego, that people would look to him as a teacher and for him to feel better about everyone hanging onto his every word when that was something he resented his brother S'arric for.

In any case, Qown doesn't know how to handle Galen flirting with him, or any other man flirting with him. And that's understandable. What makes me uncomfortable reading this book is how much everyone seems to be trying to PRESSURE Qown into a relationship, to kiss someone, to have sex. Qown has grown up in Quur, a place where queer relationship may not have been illegal but certainly something people did behind closed doors and not out in public. He doesn't know how to handle the attention of people flirting with him, much less men he finds hot. The constant nagging from everyone for Qown to get together with someone/anyone and for Galen to throw a bit of a hissy fit being all hurt or whatever that Qown doesn't return his affections within the short(-ish) amount of time they've known each other just rubs me the wrong way. I don't love how Qown was treated from anyone. Maybe only Caless is the one to see Qown correctly.

And adding to the pressures of sexual attraction in this book, the first more...explicit attempt at a sex scene came off as more of a sexual assault scene for the sapphic characters (Xivan who is maybe bi? and Talea who is a lesbian). I don't think that was necessary at all actually. Sure, the point was that Xivan and Talea needed to split up for the plot or what have you, but there's a whole lot that didn't sit right with me in that regard. I LIKE Xivan and Talea together, but this whole scene where Xivan hurts Talea during sex paired with how Qown was treated in this book was a bit on the icky side for me and I'm surprised. More thought was put into the previous books when it came to gender identity and what consent means. This book went way too far. And yes what happened in the last book between Therin and Khaeriel was actually pretty awful in its implications of what transpires between them, but we didn't SEE any of that in any sort of explicit detail that's in your face like it is here.

As far as the audiobook narration goes, Talon's voice sounds way too sickly sweet voiced by Lauren Fortgang here compared to Soneela Nankani who voiced Talon in the first book. Soneela is not back for this series, so we're stuck with how she sounds like here moving forward. I'm not a fan. On a better note it seem like we've come to an agreement on how to pronounce Qown's name in this series and that's with the pronunciation from the audiobook for book three, not book two. And since I'm annoying and follow along with the text while listening to the audiobook, I should point out that Lauren Fortgang makes no noticeable errors reading the footnotes in this book like I had noticed with the audiobook for book two. So, that was great.

I guess the one thing I noticed a lot more with this book is that there's a lot of modern day words and meanings put into this fantasy story than in the previous books. It's not a big problem, but they are strangely noticeable when those sorts of things came up in the story because the times they do, it's all a bit jarring. It's also a bit odd to hear that characters have read Thurvishar's accounting of book one as if it were an in-universe text everyone has read now, instead of something that should be outside it? If that makes sense. I know the book was addressed to Tyentso but it's a bit too meta? But that's a minor pet peeve I didn't know I would have a pet peeve about.

The thing that gets revealed about Kihrin and Vol Karoth makes no sense at all to me at the end when everything was said and done. (view spoiler)

Another question I had is whatever happened to Veixizhau and Nexara? Veixizhau was in Xivan's husband's (Azhen Kaen) harem and had a daughter, Nexara. In the third book it was mentioned they might have been sent to the temple with the Vishai priests. And well, after what happens to them in this book, are we to assume they died? No mentions of them in this book at all and just looks more like a dropped plot point. BUT I REMEMBER.

Not necessarily a plot hole, but I question what size harp Kihrin is lugging around in these stories he's telling. Harps are famously not small instruments and even the smallest size is not insignificant. They are not the size of a piccolo. I have a hard time imagining the scale of carrying a harp everywhere. It seems inconvenient.

The underwater (above water??) city also makes no sense at all. Just the layout and how to get there is baffling to me and I cannot picture it in my head at all. The descriptions of how Kalinda winds up there, and how the pirate crew wind up there seem quite at odds with one another and I couldn't tell you what was going on at all. If only we had drawings of what the author meant, because I can't even begin to describe that city or how it works and functions.

The epilogue in this book is fun, because you know everything is about to go down in the next book since it's the end of the series. The author so far has managed to write quite satisfactory action scenes, and I can imagine things are going to only get much more intense as the series comes to a close. I'm worried too for all my couples and if they'll get their hard fought HEAs! There's two I know I won't have to worry about as much because I am a menace who read the last pages before starting my reread for book one again and committing to actually reading this series. Everyone else is a toss up.

This book is probably my least favorite of the series and definitely took me the longest to read, even by audiobook. The narration here was actually great with Lauren Fortgang and Vikas Adam returning, so I have no complaints in that area. But the story itself was both interesting and not. There were weird lulls where I got bored and it took some pushing through to read it, even though there WAS so much going on in the book but they still couldn't hold my attention like the previous books. This is still a solid book for bringing back old characters and setting up the events for the last book, but out of the four books so far, this book ranks lowest for me.

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this e-ARC to read and review***

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic installment in what is one of my favourite fantasy series! The creativity of both plot and narrative structure is ramped up in this one and I absolutely loved it, although I will say that it did take me about 100 pages to fully get to grips with the narrative style. As always, the characters are wonderful and here, we get to see so many of them have their own POV, which was great. I am anxiously awaiting the finale in the series and will continue to recommend this series to anyone with a love of epic fantasy done right!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As an editor, I often find a section or two of a book that I'd cut or rearrange to help pull the narrative forward. In this installment of the Chorus of Dragons series, I found myself wanting to slice away most of it. THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS feels like a filler episode with too many baffling, backstabbing flashbacks that did little to engage the reader or develop the characters. At times, I felt like I needed a spreadsheet or a mind map to catalog which narrative was which, who was in whose head, and who was having sex with (or trying to murder) whom in past lives.

Did we really need the first 90 percent of the book to get to the last 10 percent that sets up THE DISCORD OF GODS? I'm not convinced.

Clearly ambitious but ultimately a strange, convoluted letdown after Kihrin's sacrifice in THE MEMORY OF SOULS.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

This book was incredible! This series just continues to become more and more epic, Jenn Lyons is a mastermind. The stakes are higher than ever in THE HOUSE OF ALWAYS and I am not ready for THE CHORUS OF DRAGONS saga to come to an end. This is truly a wonder of a novel,

Aaaaaah thank you Tor for sending this set to me I loved this installment so much. This series just keeps getting better and better and better! It’s way too complex for me to specify my opinions but I love the entire cast!

This one is just as complex as the others! People are being attacked in the dreamscape, there is a kraken attack, more resurrection and reincarnation and so much more!

The current narrative occurs while other perspectives are brought in. They’re detailed and more in-depth than we’ve had before which just adds to the layers of the story. Relos Var stays at least one step ahead at all times and it’s frustrating to watch as Khirin struggles to prevail. Then Khirin makes the ultimate sacrifice, asaahhhh will he succeed? It’s a very grandiose plan!

This one had me spinning in circles, and oddly enough, I wasn’t as entranced. POV’s would end abruptly multiple times and while I get that was part of the intrigue, if I had to read, “Then the world changed….” one more time I was going to scream. It definitely had the opposite effect than intended.

I have high hopes for book 5 but my attention is waning. I wondered if the series was starting to lose steam but after referencing some reviews, I’m the unpopular opinion. Which I’d actually prefer, the series has so much potential. But this one just didn’t entertain me like it did the others. Crossing my fingers for book 5!


Thank you to Tor for the gifted copy!

What a fun story!!
Description
For fans of Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss, The House of Always is the fourth epic fantasy in Jenn Lyons' Chorus of Dragons series that began with The Ruin of Kings.

What if you were imprisoned for all eternity?

In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed.

The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin's enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he's willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies.

Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin, too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they have all sworn to destroy.

I am 1000% bias when it comes Jenn Lyons and the A Chorus of Dragons series...No seriously! The books can do no wrong for me and that includes this glorious fourth installment. I am still blown away by Jenn's ability to write such interesting and complex stories that keep me captivated and baffled. All of the characters are loved by me -- even the evil ones.

WARNING
If you are NOT a fan of complex stories, reincarnation, complex magic systems, footnotes, multiple POVs and/or non-linear stories this is NOT the book for you.

TRIGGERS
This book also includes a ton of topics and things that may trigger you such as: extreme violence, explicit sex, poly romance, homophobia, references to rape, mind control, imprisonment, bullying, violent hazing, psychological abuse, grooming, body dysphoria, eating disorders and more.

In the fourth installment we begin with Khirin gone -- which breaks my heart -- and in the mind of Vol Karoth, his other, older self. The battle between the two is insane from the start. Words tossed to and from, the blows swung -- these two were so intriguing that enjoyed their scenes the most.

I enjoyed seeing the remaining gods and dragons, my honey buns Taraeth and Janel, Thurvishar, Senera, Xivan and the other characters. I found myself enjoying Qwon shockingly enough in this book though he is still a backstabber to me.

I loved the setting of being in Vol Karoth's mind and then going back in time through the memories of the characters and seeing how twisted and changed they all became over the course of the series. Some characters still piss me off like Relos Var -- I think I will forever hate him, but characters like Talon, Senera and Vol Karoth make me smile.

Did I mention that I love each and EVERY single dragon in this series? They talk, the interact, they attack, they express emotions -- they are REAL! I adore them all and learning about their personalities. The magic in this world will forever be a favorite. The plot twists -- especially the one with Jareth -- are always unexpected and well written.

I truly stand behind the series and will always tell people to give this a try. I can't really articulate my thoughts too well after reading this about three times, so once I can gather my complete thoughts I will do an update review!

Can we talk about the STEAM that is this book. I loved the trifecta action between Khirin, Janel and Taraeth. I ate up the scene with Khirin and Taraeth. The romance brewing between Galen and Qwon shocked me. Xivan and Talea were an interesting pair. The romances were just GREAT!!!

That ending killed me!! I was not expecting the truth about Vol Karoth and Khirin. I was shook, happy and excited.

Overall -- EPIC series. Fantastic characters. Awesome world and magic. Can't wait for the conclusion, The Discord of Gods next year.

This wasn't a bad novel but if did feel repetitive way things and if me if hard too want to continue reading

DNF at 46%

I requested an eARC of The House of Always via NetGalley without realizing it was the fourth book in a series, and I didn't make it around to this book before the publication date. I put myself on the hold list for the audiobook via Libby in an attempt to finish, but alas I'm throwing in the towel at 46%. I'm giving this book an optimistic 3 stars, and I do feel I've read enough to give an opinion on it, but please keep in mind that I am not a returning reader of the series.

The House of Always follows eight immortal beings trying to save and destroy each other in equal measure as they hop through memories, realities, planes of existence, etc. It has a Greek mythology flavour with lots of great LGBTQIA+ representation and very engaging dialogue.

With that said, there's so much jumping around, so much "then the world changed," with a large cast of POV characters. I can't keep it all straight! I'm sure jumping into the series this far in doesn't help, but I doubt everyone who has read the previous books is following this easily. Not every jump seems to serve the plot, and while there are eight important characters I feel like I got to now somewhere between 3 and 5 of them well. I'm not even sure exactly how many.

If you're familiar with this series, or if you're willing to read the earlier books first, Lyons is a strong writer and this book seems like it's probably a pretty great ride if you know what's going on. If you're like me and you haven't read the series, don't try to jump on the train here.

This is book four in what I surmise is a very complicated series. I have not read the other three books and after reading the précis, I realized there is no way I should start with this book. I am interested in starting from the beginning and will revisit this one. I’m not going to penalize the author because I didn’t pay attention and realize this was book four. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is another perfect addition to the series, these books just keep getting better and better. The character development that has happened over the last four books along with the outstanding plot just makes these books stand out amongst the rest. It is definitely a new favourite series.

The beginning of the end has begun in this series. The climax occurred at the end of the last book—"The Memory of Souls"—yet the consequences of the actions and the choices in the previous chronicle must play out before the story can reach its conclusion. "The House of Always" is that book in "A Chorus of Dragons"; and A LOT happens before the story can begin to end.

"The House of Always" is a unique story that gears up readers for the series’ conclusion. The final battle in the war is approaching, and the Dramatis Personae must decide which side they are on. Unfortunately, neutrality is no longer an option, so a decision has to be made. Not to mention, “the plan” must be finalized and agreed upon by EVERYONE. Now, we must wait until the 5th and final book to be released to learn who survives the apocalypse.

This epic fantasy series continues to be compared to ones written by George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and other authors who write similar books in this subgenre. To fantasy fans and readers who are still indecisive on whether or not to read this series, DO IT! You are running out of reasons for NOT reading this series!

This is the fourth in Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons fantasy series. It has lots of some deep lore and a big cast. New readers definitely shouldn't start here, but pick up book one, "The Ruin of Kings," instead. After the 10-minute precis, I realized there was no way I could start here.

The Chorus of Dragons has an interesting take on modern fantasy. The most intriguing part of the series is the narration style, I haven’t read anything like it during my time within the genre. The beginning of the story, when Khirin is battling Valcorath, was interesting at first but after a certain point, it felt repetitive. In terms of the romance, I wasn’t really invested. Teraith is my favorite character from the series, and I don’t care much for Jannelle or Khirin, which makes it harder for me to root for their relationship. I think the lore is the strongest aspect of the story, the complexity shows that a lot of thought went into the world-building.

I liked this installment well enough, but at this point in the series, there are so many POV's, past and present lives/ reincarnations, present tense/ a few weeks before timelines, dalliances, empires, laws, customs, magics, gods/ demons, alternate dimensions, etc, that it was almost impossible to follow along. I was confused for the majority of the time. The ending cleared up a bit, but still it was mostly a big jumble for me.