Rating: 5🌈
A Vigil in the Mourning, fourth in the Soulbound series, sees Patrick pursuing a case and artifact to Chicago as the divide between factions widens to enormous impact.
It’s a division on every level. From gods of various Pantheons choosing sides to the impending godpack were wars of NYC that Jono and Patrick’s pack will have to fight.
But first, Patrick must go to Chicago, on orders from both the gods and his bosses to find Morrigan’s Staff.
Each installment in this series brings us a new group of gods/immortals to become familiar with and in Chicago we find the Norse court,with one remarkable addition.
Odin, Thor, Frigg, the Valkyries and more are fleshed out , and powerful., weaving their mythological god threads substantially through this section of the arc with great consequence.
The city of Chicago is a perfect setting for both this story and the Norse court . Chicago figures heavily throughout the novel as the sites, restaurants, neighborhoods and politicians play an important role in every aspect of this tale.
Jono and Patrick’s relationship is a constant struggle of trust and balance. Between the new small packs coming to Jono and their pack for protection and new alliances needed to be made, the couple deals daily with trying to maintain the needs of their growing pack responsibilities with that of Patrick’s job as well as the overwhelming demands of the gods with claims on their souls.
All that while coming to grips with their own Soulbound, still new relationship, and Patrick’s traumatic history, which is always a part of everything that occurs.
Turner’s characters, no matter whether they be gods, were, mage, or , human, are complex , believable beings, capable of being right for all the wrong reasons as well as the opposite. In other words everything is grey, nothing can be relied upon to be as it seems. A very stressful existence for all.
Turner does include humor, usually in the being of dragon fledging Wade, a favorite of mine. It’s also within the intimate dialogue between the characters who have deep friendships with each other. I’m thinking of the amazing Nadine here. It’s needed when things go south quickly. As they do often.
The fight scenes are over the top incredible, exciting, and heart stopping. Full of nonstop battles , white knuckle worthy and fantastic! Even as all the combatants lay waste to everything around them, well known locations and objects included.
All this makes for a turbulent , fabulously complicated book full of relationships always teetering on the edge of both hope and absolute disaster. It’s definitely a 5 star ride all the way.
None of these stories can be taken out of sequence. They must be read in the order they were written, especially as the group’s path is taking them towards multiple wars.
I’m onto the next, trying not to run through this fantastic series because I know I’ll be bereft at ending it.
I’m highly recommending this book and series. It’s just an incredible journey I’m on with these characters. I can’t wait to see where the author takes us next.
Soulbound series:
✓ A Ferry of Bones & Gold #1
✓ All Souls Near & Nigh #2
✓ A Crown of Iron & Silver #3
✓ A Vigil in the Mourning #4
â—¦ On the Wings of War #5
â—¦ An Echo in the Sorrow #6
â—¦ A Veiled & Hallowed Eve #7
A Vigil in the Mourning (Soulbound Book 4)by Hailey Turner4.8 out of 5 stars 490
Synopsis:Special Agent Patrick Collins is dispatched to Chicago, chasing a lead on the MorrÃgan’s staff for the joint task force. Needing a cover for his presence in the Windy City, Patrick is ordered to investigate a politician running for mayor. In the lead up to election day, not everything is what it seems in a city where playing to win means appeasing the gods first and the electorate second.
But Chicago brings its own set of problems outside the case: a stand-offish local god pack, a missing immortal, and Patrick’s twin sister. Fighting Hannah and the Dominion Sect provides Patrick with a sinister reminder that some blood ties can never be cut.
Left behind in New York City, Jonothon de Vere finds himself targeted by hunters who will go through anyone to kill him—including the packs under his protection. With a bounty on his head, Jono is forced to make a choice that Patrick would never approve of. Doing so risks breaking the trust he’s built with the man he loves, but not acting will give the rival New York City god pack leverage Jono can’t afford to give up.
When Patrick and Jono reunite in Chicago, Patrick must confront the fraying of a relationship he’s come to rely on for his own sanity. But fixing their personal problems will have to wait—because Niflheim is clawing at the shores of Lake Michigan and the dead are hungry.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 