THE HOURGLASS THRONE by K.D. Edwards – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Hourglass Throne by K.D. Edwards
Series: The Tarot Sequence #3
Published by Pyr Books on May 17 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Pages: 379
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: K.D. Edwards concludes the first trilogy in his epic fantasy series with intricate characterization and world-building, thrilling action and plenty of emotional gut punches, all of which add up to another stellar entry in The Tarot Sequence.

With The Hourglass Throne, K.D. Edwards brings the first trilogy of his planned nine book series to a close, and in quite a spectacular way. The author packs a lot into this installment, giving his story an epic feel in less than four hundred pages. If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, do be aware that there will be minor spoilers for The Last Sun and The Hanged Man.

Rune Sun is preparing to reclaim the Sun Throne after the events in The Hanged Man and has moved back to Sun Estate with his extended family. His relationship with Addam continues to be deeply satisfying for both of them, his unique bond with Brand is as strong as ever, and he’s about to be coronated Lord Sun, finally restoring the House after it tragically fell twenty years ago. Things are looking up, that is until a vicious attack on the Rejuvenation Center shakes the foundation of New Atlantis. A video captured by one of the victims suggests that the murderer might be an older, unidentified woman who appears to be unhappy with the effects of her rejuvenation treatment.

As Rune and his friends try to hunt down the mysterious and dangerous woman, who they nickname “Lady Jade,” she’s already laying more traps for them. And when Quinn and Max go missing, Rune knows Lady Jade is responsible, and it’s going to take powerful magic to defeat her. Rescuing Quinn and Max is top priority, but it soon becomes clear that their foe is unlike anything they’ve dealt with before. Lady Jade might have ties to the Hourglass Throne, a Court that was disbanded many years ago for crimes against Atlantis, and it appears she might be using the timestream illegally in an attempt to overthrow the Arcana of New Atlantis. With lives hanging in the balance, she must be stopped at all costs, but Rune’s horrible past has come back to haunt him, and with it, his deeply buried secrets.

The Hourglass Throne was a joy to read from start to finish. Full of the humorous banter Edwards is known for, thrilling action scenes and hard hitting emotional moments, this book has it all. It’s especially gratifying to see how the characters have grown and changed over the course of the series. Rune has some very complex relationships in his life, and things aren’t always smooth sailing, but I appreciate the way Edwards deals with relationship issues and keeps things real. My favorite of these relationships is still the one between Rune and Brand, and when you add Rune’s lover Addam to the mix, things get a little complicated to say the least, but the three manage to coexist despite their unconventional relationship. I also liked the fact that Rune must deal with court politics as part of his new role, and I found the political intrigue fascinating. 

Two other main characters really made an impression on me in this book—Lady Death and Lord Tower. Lady Death is almost a mother figure to Rune, and she has plenty of advice for the new ruler of the Sun Court. She’s also full of warmth and humor, and she has many unexpected magical surprises up her sleeve. In that same vein, Lord Tower is a stand-in for the father Rune lost many years ago, as well as an extremely powerful man who has stepped in to save the lives of his friends many, many times. He’s a Gandalf/Dumbledore sort of character who brings life and heart to every scene he’s in. 

And then there are the many side characters who round out the story, some playing bigger roles than others, but each interesting in their own way and an important piece of the fabric of Edwards’ vast world of New Atlantis. We have the “kids,” as Rune calls them, Corbie, Anna and Quinn, who are destined to take on bigger roles in future books, I’m quite sure. There are glimpses of great power in these three, including Anna who shows signs of being a leader someday, and little six-year-old Corbie, who has bonded with a unicorn named Flynn. It would be impossible to talk about all the characters and their quirks, so if you’re a reader who loves complex characters and relationships, you must read these books.

Aside from the characters, the world-building is probably my favorite part of this series. Edwards imagines a world where the city of Atlantis was real, and the descendants of those people now inhabit a land called New Atlantis. New Atlantis was built by a type of magic called translocation, which is more or less stealing famous buildings and historical sites from history in order to create an odd hodgepodge of a city. I spent some time googling a lot of the structures (in all three books!) to see if they were real, and yes they are!

One of my favorite settings in the book was the Warrens, an underground mass of tunnels and corridors inhabited by the lost and destitute, a place where crime is commonplace, drugs are readily available (and ooh there are some weird, scary drugs in this story!) and where bad people go to hide. In fact, each chapter title is a different location (“The Warrens,” “The Manse,” “The Carriage House”), describing where the action is currently taking place, and I loved the way this not only sets the tone for each chapter, but ramps up the anticipation, as in some cases I knew what was coming and I could prepare for the horrors ahead! Oh, and I loved the Manse, an old mansion where lights aren’t allowed, and visitors must navigate in the dark. Really, I could go on and on about the world-building, but I’ll stop there!

And get ready for plenty of emotional moments in The Hourglass Throne. Readers finally learn more about the terrible fall of the Sun Court and the brutal massacre that Rune barely escaped as a teenager. Because this story centers around time travel, Edwards uses that to revisit the past in some truly horrifying ways. It’s so hard to watch Rune have to relive his past trauma, but at least he is finally able to get the answers to some mysteries that have been haunting him.

There are other shocking events near the end of the story, none of which I can talk about, of course. One event in particular nearly had me in tears, but I loved the way it was handled, although I may never forgive the author for writing it! The last few chapters are particularly well done and lay the groundwork for the next book in the series. Yes, this is the conclusion of the first trilogy (three in total are planned), but Rune’s story goes on, and based on the hints and suggestions of what’s to come, I can hardly wait to see what’s next. If you haven’t started The Tarot Sequence, this is the perfect time to catch up before the next trilogy takes off. As always, highly recommended.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.