This is a series that just gets better and better! The world is becoming more and more well defined with intricacies that I really enjoy. The narrative structure remains the same here, but with the addition of more point of view characters, enabling the author to open up the world. The plot is fascinating and gripping, with great pacing and lots of twists and turns. Finally, the characters are top tier! I love Khirin, Janel, Teraeth and Thurvishar and the additional characters in this installment have brought more depth to the story. Overall, this is definitely one of my favourite fantasy series of all time and I would urge anyone to give them a try.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This series is a whirlwind, one which doesn't allow you to pause for breath because if you do, it'll leave you behind and you'll have no clue what's going on, among the complex character dynamics, the interweaving backstories, and the continually unique narrative style. I read a lot of fantasy, so it's not often I'm fazed by a large number of characters and plot lines... but this series really tests my limits of these things! Overall I did enjoy it, and look forward to continuing the series, but these difficulties mean I gave it 3 stars.

All I can say is wow! This book has cemented the fact that this series is now one of my favourites! The developments and reveals that we get in this book regularly had me gasping and I just love it so much!

I can't wait to move on to The House of Always!

This book has … Dragons! I was sold on that alone. The world building is extensive, told in multiple different timelines has everything from ancient prophecy to magic, wizards, shapeshifters and gods. For fans of Sanderson and Rothfuss.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I think I was expecting this to be a trilogy - spoiler alert! It’s not! 😂🙈 So that definitely threw me once it became clear. Though - yay more books!!

That aside though, I continue to totally adore this series. It very much follows in the veins of books one and two, so if you enjoyed those, you’re in a for a great time. This spends a good amount of time slowly ravelling in all those plot threads, and really shows how it all ties together.

Also, I didn’t need to reread the first two before picking this up, which is both good and bad - good because they’re huge and bad because they’re excellent and I would have enjoyed that lol. Lyons does a great job of giving a little overview at the start, making it super easy to just dive right in.

I particularly like the past lives element completely messing with all the characters. There’s a scene about two thirds of the way through that is full of this and made me laugh as well as appreciate the brilliance of the writing. It’s hard enough to write an epic fantasy without the characters all being more than one person!

The narrative continues to be excellent, and as I have largely read these in audio form can I shout out to how well the narrators do? They really add to it. I love the way it’s told as a story - and the elements of infighting between the narrators is always hilarious too. And the stories always have a point, which makes it really work - sometimes this format can get a bit tired, and these really are some big books, so it’s even more impressive that it continues to really add to the book.

I honestly can’t wait for book four! 4.5 stars.

THE MEMORY OF SOULS by Jenn Lyons is the incredible third book in A Chorus of Dragons. It kept me engaged from the very first page and had a fantastic ending that left me desperate for book four. I love all the complex characters in this series, especially the romance between Kihrin, Teraeth and Janel, and the grey morality of so many of the cast.⁠

I'd highly recommend this fantasy series. It has dragons, magic and wizards but set in a 21st-century framework challenging patriarchy.⁠

The Memory of Souls is another fantastic addition to the A Chorus of Dragons series.

One of my favourite aspects of the series is the annotations. Another element has been added with Kihrin also making comments on what Thurvishar had written up. I especially when Kihrin pulls out certain things aspects of the story that he doesn't want others reading.  I also enjoyed the fact there is mention that other people in there would have read the first two books.

Jenn Lyons fits a lot within the 612 pages. There is always more to the story than you are made to believe. As well as having different storylines happening which no connection to the other storyline but is weaved together beautifully till they do connect. It works and makes sense.

Another aspect I enjoy is that you are unsure if the main characters are doing the right thing as the other powerful people have their own agenda. I find it interesting trying to figure it out and what everyone true motives are.

There is romance in The Memory of Souls, it's great to see character find happiness and romance but not in the standard format. Also how gender is fluid, that people can change gender. Also that in some places in their world normal gender roles don't apply.

The Memory of Fire is an epic fantasy book that has;
Action
Romance
Dragons
Demons
Revelations
Magic
Drunk Wizard
Fights
Royal politics
Life & Death
My Rating for The Memory of Soul is 5 out of 5.

Thank you very much Jenn Lyons for destroying me with the end of this book, the good news for me is that this isn’t a trilogy and there are future books, so I’m hoping nothing is definite and things can or will change !
No spoilers here because I do not believe in ruining people’s book love, but I can tell you this if you loved the first two books you will freakin’ love this third instalment. The fine twisty threads of amazing plot that have been weaving, turning and bending in the first two books are slowly coming together, it’s a testament to the amazing writing skills and clever brain Of Jenn Lyons in how well she does this. These are books you need to pay attention too, they can be confusing and chaotic at times when you do (but so addictive) but a lot more starts to play in here, the past lives slowly come together and have important meanings and connections. This is epic fantasy at its best, a book and series full of amount of hidden meanings and story twists you will never see coming. It’s like an enormous puzzle, we as the readers untangle the web as we read each book a bit at a time.
I’m mixing metaphors now ! I think my love for this book and series has my mind blown. It’s impressive also what Jenn Lyons does with gender and it’s infinite possibilities, characters who can alter appearance, reincarnate , mimic or change gender from birth. It’s definitely full of great representation and great discussion, exploration is made across these books. There is so much going on here relationship wise that your head will spin at times, but despite sometimes being confused, my head spinning, I absolutely adore these books, even when Jenn destroys me and ruins my world I want more, I need more and now I have an agonising wait for the next instalment, hoping for relief, but even if it’s more agony, more destroying of my world, I’ll sign up today, where do I sign ?


Thank you Tor Books, PanMacmillan, Netgalley for a free copy of this book in return for an honest opinion.

While the first two books were very good reads in their own right, now that we’ve got the backstories out of the way the series really kicks up a gear and The Memory of Souls pushes the story forward to what looks like is going to be an epic conclusion in the last two books. There wasn’t a moment I was bored reading it, all 600+ were excellent.

The story picks up immediately after The Name of All Things with the characters dealing with the consequences of what happened and moving closer to stopping Relos Var in his quest to free Vol Karoth from his prison.

When I say that I enjoyed reading all of the characters, I mean that. Kihrin has always been a favourite and I very much enjoyed reading his story right up to the chocking cliff hanger at the end of the book. I didn’t see that coming but it makes sense given some of the revelations throughout the book. The other characters are just as good to read and I like that we got to see a number of them have POVs in this book. If you weren’t keen on the narratives of the first two books then you’re still not going to like it in this one but I’ve found the way Lyons writes the series to be innovative and very interesting.

I’m not going to pretend that I understand everything about the incredibly complicated relationships between the characters but I like reading about them. You have a father and son in this life being married to the same person in a previous life so the family tree makes the Habsburg family tree look positively normal in comparison but the past lives certainly give the present character relationships an interesting dynamic and it does lead to quite a lot of romantic angst, which I am always a big fan of. I did spend the entire book wanting Kihrin, Janel and Teraeth get it on because, let’s face it, the sexual tension between all three characters is palpable and they just need to get together. All three of them.

Lyons also continues with her unique exploration of gender which I loved. In The Memory of Souls we are introduced to a people who are always born male and transition into females later in life so being female is seen as being a great honour. I love this so much. I complained in my review of The Toll that the gender issue seemed shoehorned in, but Lyons makes it such a natural part of the books. The characters aren’t just defined by gender and while it is a constant presence, it’s just the way it is.

The Memory of Souls was amazing from beginning to end. The plot is moving forward nicely and the characters undergo a great deal of growth throughout the story. It is fantastic and I highly recommend it. I’m just desperate to see what happens next because it looks like it’s going to be epic.

3.75*

I have mixed emotions regarding The Memory of Souls. It takes the best parts of book two, The Name of All Things, and the world Lyons has created, but brings back the worst part of book one, The Ruin of Kings: unnecessarily convoluted.

As I have mentioned in previous reviews, Lyons has created a wonderful world. It’s deep with culture, history and diversity. I cannot help but be impressed. There are a variety of cultures, each with their own legal and political systems, history, and heritage. Daemons. Tiers of gods, who are not actually gods, but each have their own domains. Dragons, each with their own history, quirks, and abilities/powers. Tenye. Tisali stones. Reincarnation. And so much more.

Furthermore, Lyons does a great job of writing diverse characters and diverse relationships, such as the love triangle between Kihrin, Janel, and Tereath. Their relationship dynamics are great to read, the emotional pushes and pulls they each feel is complex. It’s clearly, for me, heading towards a polyamorous relationship. Gender fluidity is also an aspect explored in this series. We have the Joratese system of mares and stallions, which isn’t defined by gender; people being reincarnated multiple times and not always of the same gender; and, something that we learn in The Memory of Souls, there is a people who can change their gender later, but I won’t spoil this.

As I am sure you can imagine, with such a complex world, there are many characters, and much is happening/has happened. This creates a complex story, which is rich and very interesting. But, the format for this book created what, at least for me, are unnecessary distractions. Book one was convoluted and tough for readers to follow, or at least immerse themselves. Book two was far superior in my opinion. Not at all convoluted. I think that is a theme you’ll likely find in reviews where readers have taken the time to write a review which is more than a quick sentence or paragraph.

So, book three. The Memory of Souls is littered with endnotes. They are everywhere. There was one section I read which had ten endnotes! I don’t know about you but I do not want to be flipping back and forth through pages to check out an endnote as I hit the, I also don’t want to get the end of a section, then go back ten times to check how the endnote fitted with that section of text. I found this massively distracting in the early stages of the book, and I also found the endnotes to be 90% a waste of time. Once I got to around 20% in the book, I had trained myself to ignore the little numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. within the text, then skip the endnote. This greatly improved the flow of reading and made the experience much more enjoyable. I could enjoy the world and immerse myself in its history and current happenings.

Now, I know some people will say, but you are reading a chronicle: the story is told by Kihrin and Thurvishar, who alternate retelling events. Therefore, they are adding endnotes to the chronicle. I’m of the opinion it is still entirely unnecessary. If you’ve worked in academia, or studied a degree or higher qualification, you’ve likely had lecturers, or at least you should have had lecturers, tell you to absolutely minimise footnotes/endnotes unless absolutely necessary. More often than not, you should be able to put that context in the main body of writing. It’s distracting to flip back and forth through text.

Furthermore, at times there are small interludes where Kihrin and Thurvishar talk between the texts, which gives the impression they are reading, or reciting these stories to one another. You wouldn’t have endnotes in a verbal discussion. Though, I get this is a written chronicle.

Anyhow, here are some examples or endnotes:

‘Funny as in odd, not funny as in humorous’ – I can surmise this from reading the text. There are several occasions where you have this kind of endnote.

‘An erotic dance.’ And ‘Talon uses this term to refer to the collection of personalities she’s absorbed.’ I knew both of these because I’ve read the first two books. Again, this is a common type of endnote.
‘Guilty.’ ‘That’s fair.’ ‘I have zero trouble believing this.’ ‘Technically. Physically anyway.’ ‘Technically still true.’ ’I take offence.’ ‘He’d gone gambling.’ - With these examples, I can understand, or already know through the text, but these could easily be in the main body. I don’t enjoy seeing a number in the middle of a sentence, flip forward several pages and see ‘Guilty’ and then go back. Or the reverse, where you hit the end notes and flip back through the book. As I said earlier, one section had ten!

Thankfully, the endnotes eased up later in the book. They were still there, but not in numbers of 4+. Or maybe, I’d trained myself to completely ignore them.

Should you read this? Of course. It’s a great story and wonderfully complex world. For me, this series is made for TV. I would not be surprised to see this picked up by a TV production company at some point.

The ending was pretty epic too! So, I am looking forward to how thing develop in book four… I just really hope we go back to the format of The Name of All Things.