Title:  Cast in Atonement
Author:   Michelle Sagara  
Genre: Fantasy     
Rating:   

In the City of Elantra, only one holds the key to peace—or eternal darkness.

At the end of three long wars, Bellusdeo is the last of her kind, the sole surviving female Dragon in the City of Elantra. When she appears one evening on the doorstep of her former roommate, Corporal Kaylin Neya, her demeanor is dreadful—more so than what’s expected of the Dragons’ notoriously tempestuous temperament. Kaylin’s new roommate, Mrs. Erickson, is quick to see the reason for Bellusdeo’s despair—the eight ghosts of the Dragon’s dead sisters, chained to her and unseen. Pleading for release, revenge and, above all, peace.

Now Kaylin and Mrs. Erickson must embark on a perilous journey, from the hallowed halls of the Academia to the depths of forbidden magic, to confront the very essence of mortality itself. Can Kaylin help release the untapped power within Mrs. Erickson to save Bellusdeo’s sisters…or will unlocking the past plunge the realm into an unfathomable darkness forever?

I do love the Chronicles of Elantra series! The layers and depths in this series are engrossing to me, and this novel was no exception. I loved seeing Bellusdeo’s story unfold and twine more with Kaylin’s—and I love how Kaylin’s mind works. I enjoy all these characters and love seeing their further adventures.

Michelle Sagara lives in Toronto. Cast in Atonement is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

"Cast in Atonement"
by Michelle Sagara

Wow! Number 18 in the series and I still feel like I have so much to learn about all of the characters and the world Sagara has built.

Another fantastic adventure with Corporal Kaylin filled with action.

I could not put this one down!

Cast in Atonement is the Eighteenth installment in author Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra. This book is a continuation of Cast in Eternity. Two weeks ago, Corporal Kaylin Neya’s pragmatic belief that ghosts were stories meant to terrify children into better behavior was permanently broken. Even though she grew up alone on the streets of Elantra where things were not normal. It was broken, in large part, by a much older woman who spends her days baking and coming to the public desk of the Halls of Law to report what her ghost friends are seeing.

The youngest of those ghost friends have now—finally—passed on, and Mrs. Erickson has become part of Kaylin’s household after making a promise never to control ghosts. Imelda and Helen are getting along swimmingly since Helen enjoys the company. But Imelda has also brought with her the most difficult and alien of her ghosts. If they were the ghosts of people—any people of any race Kaylin has ever encountered—it might be less of a problem. But whatever these ghosts were when they were alive is a mystery.

Unfortunately for Kaylin, her home, and the rest of her roommates, the problem isn’t academic. Helen has always been confident that she can accommodate any guest of any race regardless of their living requirements—but these guests are very different. Especially with Terrano around making mischief at every turn. Kaylin, who has been told that she must learn magic by the Emperor himself, but always seems to find a way to get into more trouble, has the Marks of the Chosen over more than half of her body. She was given those marks for a reason—but no one thought to tell her what that reason was.

But her suspicion is that the words are meant to somehow finish the story of the lives of those left behind or trapped in places they shouldn’t be. And she really, really hopes that suspicion has at least some foundation in truth, because if it doesn’t, she might just lose her home and roommates to the very unnatural changes that are occurring in the wake of these new guests. With Mrs. Erickson’s unusual vision, and the power of both her home and the Barrani friends who share it, Kaylin has to unravel the mystery of the life and death—or possible death—of whatever these ghosts once were before more than just her own reality is destroyed.

And to make things much more difficult, Evanton, the Keeper of the Garden which is home to the four elementals, decides to find out more about Mrs. Erickson, and disappears which causes great amounts of consternation and trouble. Way back in the early stages of this series, Kaylin found herself with a dragon egg. That egg eventually revealed the last female dragon in existence; Bellusdeo. It was also about this time that she found herself with a familiar she named Hope who most of the time they can't connect unless they are touching.

What we didn't know at the time, was that Bellusdeo is actually a combination of 9 sisters who grew up together in the Aerie, but Mrs. Erickson is the only one who can see them. Bellusdeo also has to make up her mind whether she is with Lord Emmerian, or not. Oh, yes, and we're not done with Azoria yet, or her secrets that lead to some boring internal conversations throughout the book. This means more time spent at the Academia and Kaylin trying hard to to offend powerful ancient beings with silly questions. I would have preferred less internal dialogue, and more action, but 18 books in, I don't think I am going to get my wish any time soon.

Return to Elantra!

As always I’m transfixed by Corporal Kaylin Neya and the menagerie she gathers around her. Corporal Severn Handred, the cohort of Barrani rescued from the marshes, Lord Bellusdeo the gold dragon who much to the dragon’s ire has become the hope of the Dragon future. Add to this Mrs. Erickson, who it turns out is a lovely lady but a necromancer, who’s living with Kaylin so that Helen might contain and protect her. Then there’s the supposed dead dragon Azoria An’Berranin, whom everyone thinks is dead but who might be in some place else.
The garden is disturbed and the Keeper Evanton disappears.
To cap it all off, Mrs, Erickson sees the ghosts of five of Bellusdeo’s sisters!
Everyone’s disturbed from the Dragon Emperor to the Academia and somehow it’s all resting on Kaylin’s shoulders. Sure she’s the Chosen but now what?
Another far reaching episode in the Elantra series.

A Harlequin ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Michelle Sagara continues her saga of Kaylin Neya in Elantra, ruled by a dragon and inhabited by several types of beings. At this point Kaylin is involved with trying to resolve the only female dragon, Bellusdeo's true form and find out what happened to the dead ancient found in the previous story. Kaylin is maturing and becoming accepted as a full team member. A great fantasy series and a great addition to that series.

I enjoy this series and always look forward to each book. I find it well written with interesting characters. I am very vested in reading what happens next with the characters.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating: 3.5

I absolutely love Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra series and I always enjoying diving back into this world with all its different races and unique magic. This book continues the storyline from Cast in Eternity (book 17) and Cast in Ruin (book 7) and deals with Bellusdeo, Mrs. Erikson and the Ancient.

This is sadly my least favorite of the series. I wasn't a huge fan of Mrs. Erikson’s story line from the last book but it was interesting enough dealing with the different ghosts and the ghost house that I still enjoyed it. With this book it felt like the first 50-60% was just Kaylin running around doing a lot of talking but not advancing the plot. I was most excited about meeting the Ancient again and learning more about them but there was only a small scene with them at the end where we didn’t really learn anything.

While I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the others I’m still excited to continue this series and look forward to Kaylin’s next adventure.

Michelle Sagara is a mastermind at world-building and a well-thought-out plot. This is an excellent continuation of a very creative series. I highly recommend you read the previous books in this series before reading this novel. You will not be able to follow the story, but each part is well thought out, from the characters down to every detail of the scenery.

"In the City of Elantra, only one holds the key to peace - or eternal darkness.

At the end of three long wars, Bellusdeo is the last of her kind, the sole surviving female Dragon in the City of Elantra. When she appears one evening on the doorstep of her former roommate, Corporal Kaylin Neya, her demeanor is dreadful - more so than what's expected of the Dragons' notoriously tempestuous temperament. Kaylin's new roommate, Mrs. Erickson, is quick to see the reason for Bellusdeo's despair--the eight ghosts of the Dragon's dead sisters, chained to her and unseen. Pleading for release, revenge and, above all, peace.

Now Kaylin and Mrs. Erickson must embark on a perilous journey, from the hallowed halls of the Academia to the depths of forbidden magic, to confront the very essence of mortality itself. Can Kaylin help release the untapped power within Mrs. Erickson to save Bellusdeo's sisters...or will unlocking the past plunge the realm into an unfathomable darkness forever?"

I love that the "Cast in" series keeps on going strong!

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of CAST IN ATONEMENT (Book 19 of the Chronicles of Elantra fantasy series) by Michelle Sagara in exchange for an honest review. Kaylin and Bellusdeo learn that, though Kaylin’s action in consolidating Belusdeo’s name saved Bellusdeo’s life, it left Bellusdeo incomplete and left ghosts of Bellusdeo’s sisters suffering in despair. So begins the quest to, once again, save Bellusdeo and her sisters. However, to Bellusdeo’s infinite frustration and anger, there are other things going on that are more urgent to the empire. First, the empire; second, the empire’s future.

I like this series. It’s one of my favorite fantasy series. I recommend the series to fans of high or urban fantasy featuring dragons, elves, hawk people, humans, psychics, lion people, magic, politics, and so very much danger.

#CastinAtonement #NetGalley

I've read books in this series before and enjoyed them however you cannot just jump in anywhere in the series and know what is going on. There is so much backstory and character involvement that this book is definitely not stand alone. The first ten percent of the book doesn't even really involve the main character much as more than a set piece. There is also quite a lot of rehashing prior storylines, occasionally repeatedly. This book is also extremely cerebral in that a large portion seems to be dedicated to having the characters narrate how the universe works. This can get old fast. As far as action goes it doesn't. It is a "we have to rush to save the world" but let us sit and discuss everything over tea first. I cannot handle it. I enjoy this author's work but this novel just didn't do it for me, I had a hard time getting through it.

The nineteenth book in the Chronicles of Elantra series has a lot to do with ghosts. Mrs. Erickson has moved into Helen at Kaylin's request. She's a shaman and likely a necromancer. She's also a kind, gentle and lonely old woman who has made friends in the Hawks. And she's a woman who can see ghosts and who as a child couldn't tell ghosts from the living apart.

For many years she lived with the ghosts of four children who became ghosts when Azoria an'Berranin, an evil Barrani, separated their souls from their bodies. Azoria had big plans for Mrs. Erickson too but couldn't manage to take over her body. Azoria is dead now, but the problems she created in her quest for power continue.

Bellusdeo has a problem or two too. The only female dragon has moved out of Helen to take control of one of the sentient towers that watch out for incursions of Shadow but she is being troubled by ghosts too. She once had eight sisters, but all died in the battles against Shadow. Only they aren't gone and aren't happy. Mrs. Erickson would really like to help her but first she has to deal the Ancient who is troubling the garden of elements Evanton where Evanton is the Keeper.

This was an engaging episode in a long-running series. It is a complex fantasy world where questions of death and reality are often at stake. Kaylin is the Chosen of this generation even though she doesn't know what that means or what she can do with the powers she isn't at all sure she wants. She almost always finds herself in situations where she is obliged to use her instincts to save the world. This episode was no exception.

While I wouldn't recommend starting the series here, fans will be engaged with this latest episode.

LOVE. I have been a LONGTIME fan of this series. I will never not recommend this series. Kaylin, Severn, Bellusdeo, Teela, Terrano and Mangoran are some of my favorite characters of all time. I do love how every adventure gives us recurring characters we love but not always the same ones and always lets us meet new people to add to the group.

Cast in Atonement by Michelle Sagara, these books are always so detailed and build so well on top of each other that I have a hard time waiting for the next book she writes, and this one is no exception.

I enjoyed this story - book 18 in the Elantra series- but not quite as much as some of the other books. There was a lot of talking and less action, although the action there was, was excellent and the epilogue was wonderful. With so many books, the world is now a very rich and complex place with a lot of characters and past events to keep in mind, but I was happy to see so many characters and events from earlier books come back to the forefront.

Both Bellusdeo and Evanton have big roles in this story and I was happy to have them, the cohort, and the rest of the dragons back again. I also really love Mrs. Erickson's character and abilities and she was a big part of the story as well.
Kaylin is her usual self in this story - a determined, stubborn, inspired, loyal chaos bunny.

The storyline follows directly from the previous book, Cast in Eternity and it would be confusing, I think, to read this series out of order. So start with the first, Cast in Shadow and enjoy the ride!

An absolutely astounding continuation of a series I love. All of my favorite characters were back and I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs.Erickson's addition to the cast. I did wish that we got more of Nightshade, but only because it's been a while since we have heard from him. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Michelle Sagara for this ARC!

This is the latest book in the Chronicles of Elantra series. Private Kaylin Neya is a Hawk, a law enforcement officer working for the Halls of Law. She’s mortal, in a city ruled by Dragons. When Kaylin was a child, mysterious runes appeared on her skin, and have never left. Throughout the series she learns about these markings and their power, tries to keep her city safe, and becomes increasingly entangled in the politics of races far more powerful and magical than herself.

It's hard to give a good plot summary 18 books in without major spoilers, so I’ll just say that I really enjoy this series, despite some flaws, mostly due to world building. If you’ve read Sagara’s other work then you’ll be very familiar with her style, and if you enjoyed the House War books (written as Michelle West) then you’ll love these.

It’s fairly slow paced, even during action scenes, and there’s a lot of talking, characters lecturing and philosophizing. This is not a world with hard and well defined magic rules. This is explained away by Kaylin not understanding the marks so we don’t understand the rules, but she often just goes by instinct and waves a hand and something new and wild happens and just works. Normally I hate this in fantasy, but here I love Elantra, the Dragons, Barrani, Leontine, etc and it makes up for the flaws.

In this entry we get a lot of Bellusdeo (yay!) and not nearly enough Severn. (Boo.) The last several books seem to lack Severn, who used to be a pretty major character, and I’d love to see more with him and Kaylin.

If you prefer a fantasy world with well defined rules and a concrete magic system, this probably isn’t the one for you. But if you want a character that’s clawed her way out of the slums and made a life for herself, and you don’t mind a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, then I’d recommend this series. It’s a dessert book for me – it’s not a filling dinner, but it’s a perfect dose of sweetness that I’ll consume in one sitting and I’ll enjoy the whole thing.