Scatter of Light

I can’t believe we are finally at the last book in this series, and I enjoyed every darn minute of it. It has been a little while since the book before this one, and I missed all the characters, especially Riley, Clay, Taylor…OK, just about all of them! LOL! Senator Rice is after all of those who have magic no matter who stands in his way. Good thing Riley and company have many tricks up their sleeves to stop him. This was filled with action, laughter, tears, surprises, and above a really good time. I am going to miss this universe, and I’m holding out hope that we’ll get to see these characters again. I’d like to see Dalton and Taylor’s story. Anyway, I loved this series ender. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Getting access to this title forced me to get caught up with this series. I hadn't read the book before this one, Shades of Memory. I am very sorry to see this series end. It's been so enjoyable and my first foray into Ms. Francis. After this I will have to dive into Horngate. Anyway...this was a fantastic end to this very suspenseful series. I am really going to miss Riley, Clay and Taylor the most...although I will miss the rest of the supporting characters as well. I loved Riley's self-discovery during the series and how she became more collaborative and realized she had many people she could call on and depend upon. It was a great series and it's one I will reread again in the future.

This book is the last book I a 5 book series. To truly enjoy the book you really need to have read the first 4 books in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and recommend. If you enjoy fantasy, magic and romance you will live this series. The use of the Mafia is a bonus.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Bell Bridge Books for granting me a copy in return for my honest opinion.

It's been several years since I read the previous books in this series and I didn't remember all of the details, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up. Happily, Scatter of Light proved to be a great wrap-up to all of the dangling story threads and a wild adventure in which all of the main characters had an important role to play.

All of the main characters from the series are fully integrated into the plot and get a chance to shine and to contribute to the action in a meaningful way. We get plenty of revelations about Riley's past and her family. Plus there's a huge plot line involving Riley's sister, Taylor. In this book, she has a pivotal role to play, discovers a potential new love, and learns things about her own past that recasts her entire life and experience to date. The theme of found family also continues, with Riley fully embracing her role at the center of her group of friends, truly alone no more. The book was rather long, but it never dragged and was filled with enough action to keep me turning the pages and just the right balance of back story so that I was neither overwhelmed by too much detail or lost by the current action.

The previous book, although necessary to advance the overall plot, was rough going for me as Riley and Price spent most of the book separated and there were just too many crises for one book. This book solved those problems with one major overarching plot, in which Senator Rice, who hates all magic and wants to imprison magic users, uses the previous book's chaos as an excuse to seize control of Diamond City and proceed with martial law. Riley and her group are the only people can stop him. The best thing about the book was that Riley and her friends (and Price!) spent most of the book together, solving each new problem, trusting and relying on each other. I wish some of the basic magic details had been better explained as I'd forgotten some details there, but really, I have no complaints. This was a fitting end to a fantastic series and I'm very glad I read it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sad to be at the end of the this series, but so happy with this ending. This book was just a fun non- stop trip though the surprises, scares, and final challenges for Diamond City. I will always wish for just a little more from my favorite series’s- and this is definitely one of them. But, now I can hope for Witchkin 2.

4*= I liked it. This was a pretty epic wrap up to the Diamond City Magic series and it made me want to do a reread since it's been awhile since the last book. Not to worry though, the auther does a pretty good job of reminding us readers what happened in the previous four books. This story is told from two main POVs Riley, who was the original protagonist in the series and her sister Taylor with a couple additional short POVs tossed in to fill in some blanks. This is great because over the course of the series a real ensemble has developed around Riley and this gives the story telling additional depth. It does mean that in order to get the full payoff the reader will want to start at the beginning of the series with Traces of Magic and not just jump in here. It is worth it to experience the Diamond City world with its magic and gangs and the development of Riley's powers and relationships with the family that surrounds her - both found and by blood. This is mainly UF with a touch of romance.

So I am so glad that I got to see Riley and crew one last time.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - this is an unpaid review.

The fifth book in the Diamond City Magic series, Scatter of Light feels like the Happily Ever After and conclusion at least for the main protagonist.
The book is more of a supernatural action adventure than a romance. The spicy bits only appear at the end and feel a little underwhelming. The pacing was a little off for me and I kept putting the book down. The author wrote in multiple points of view which is okay, but I started to feel the second female protagonist (Taylor) was a bit of a clone of Riley. A lot of the inner dialogue was the same tone and not individualized as much as I would want to be able to enjoy having two female narrators. The last book did a better job defining the two.
Overall, it was a nice culmination of the overarching story, even if it did end in a very nicely wrapped bow. I wouldn’t re-read this and I’m not unhappy that it’s over. Other series from Francis were more captivating.