Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Final Heir by Faith Hunter Series: Jane Yellowrock #15
Published by Ace on September 6, 2022
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.
With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her.
Now we come to the final book in the Jane Yellowrock series. The style of Final Heir felt very different to me. As usual, the point of view is Jane’s with her thoughts and where she is and what she sees. Because she is now often in a more political role, directing things, and being protected, we don’t see many of the battles and only wait to hear what happened and who might be hurt or dead.
I understood the Younger’s protecting Jane when she was fighting the cancer but it seems strange. Is it because she has lost many of the skills she had before when she was better able to shift or time walk? She is more human now in some ways. She hasn’t learned to draw on her powers from the crown or Glob or Dark Queen or even those skinwalker powers. It feels weird how little fighting she does, leaving other humans like Eli, her Consort, Bruiser, and the vamps and witches to do the fighting.
So much of the time, I felt like I was waiting for the attack, the battle. It was clear Jane didn’t know enough, about the attackers, about what they wanted, about her own powers. There was only a very slow, meandering to get that information. On the other hand, the invaders seemed to know a lot.
The handling of the last book aspects were excellent. There was a bit of an old home week feel as we saw some characters we hadn’t seen all the time. I really enjoyed having more witches around, especially Molly with her family including Angie Baby. It was awesome having Gregoire and Edmond back from Europe also. I enjoyed seeing Leo with his struggle and his new role. Reach came into things just a little. Deon and his food were a joy.
There were also more emotional scenes in Jane’s mind where she cared for certain people or characters so deeply. There were many more sex scenes and connected moments with Bruiser. The Youngers really shone in their skills and their outstanding support of Jane. Angie Baby had so many key parts in the story. Leo and Brute were others with big roles in how things played out.
I was surprised by how little Beast was part of the story, maybe because she was so strongly in True Dead. I also expected more of Gee and her brother, Ayatas. The last time she saw Aggie was shocking after I thought they were so close as she healed. The arcencials were not very helpful or prominent.
As an urban fantasy story, these books need to be read in order. Even when read in order, they are complex with many details and characters to follow throughout fifteen books. If you haven’t read them, much of this won’t make much sense to you. It’s been a great journey and I like where it has arrived. Thank you, Faith Hunter.
Q&A with Faith:
When is Queenie gonna teach Leo a lesson? He needs a good kick in the ass.
Jane – Leo is … Leo is a nutcase psycho, with about as much empathy as a pile of bricks. When I first met him, I figured if I kicked his ass, he would never learn anything, he’d just come back kicking harder. I figured I’d have to be the splinter in his toe, not the blade in his side. I’d have to needle him, not stab him. Unfortunately, Leo outsmarted me and gave me Edmund. And then made me a blood clan leader. Then … Well, it’s possible that he made me the Dark Queen. I mean, it’s possible that Leo knew that le breloque was in South Louisiana and that
I’d be drawn there. He was drinking the blood of the Son of Darkness, after that son had been bitten by an arcenciel. So… I think it’s possible that instead of me kicking his ass, Leo maneuvered me into a position of power, one that left me no choice but to take over. A nutcase psycho, with about as much empathy as a pile of bricks, but really, really smart.
What do you think Angie baby and Edmund’s pledge to each other is going to mean to you?
Jane – nothing but trouble. Like TROUBLE. So far, on the surface, she seems to be accepting that she can’t marry him, but I can’t trust her. She’s adorable, but let’s be honest here. She will find a way to get what she wants eventually. And I’d hate to be in Molly and Evans shoes when she tries for Edmund someday. Worse? I’d hate to be in Edmund’s. (rolls eyes)
Can you read the Jane Yellowrock and the Soulwood series as separate entities or do you have to follow a timeline?
Faith – You can, but you miss lots of good stuff. I was about eight or nine books in to the Jane Yellowrock series when I began to consider a spin off. With a spinoff there is always a common backstory that overlaps, and that overlapping grows organically. What I didn’t expect to happen was the lingering coinciding that came from Rick LaFleur’s presence in both series. I could have taken the easy path of just killing him off, but he was interesting. Dark. So, instead, I moved him into Nell’s life, let him become one of the reasons Nell has multiple stories to tell, and gave Jane a different love. So yes. You can read either series alone or together and with or without the novellas and shorts in BLOOD IN HER VEINS and OF CLAWS AND FANGS.
Jane’s character seems to be more intense than Nell Ingram’s even though they both have struggled with dark incidents in their pasts. Do you have more of an affinity with Jane or Nell? Which character has been more fun to write?
Faith – I don’t like or dislike either Jane or Nell more than the other. Both are fabulous to work with for entirely different reasons. Jane is harder to write simply because there is so much backstory in her life. The Jane Yellowrock series will finish at 15 books, the last FINAL HEIR. To keep Jane fresh, I’ve had to write in some major changes and obstacles to overcome, and her challenges are always more physically dangerous and physically difficult than Nell’s will ever be.
That said, Nell has to overcome so many social and emotional problems that Jane never will, because Nell was raised in (and escaped from) a polygamous cult. Her place in the real world is uncertain, and because she started out as the only one of her kind, Nell is stumbling along in the dark, finding her way. When put in context, with Nell as a law enforcement officer, there is a layer of internal conflict that Jane will never face.
Sooo… Like a good parent, I didn’t answer to say which of my children I prefer. (gives cheeky grin)
Excerpt:
Talking to a werewolf in wolf form was difficult. At the house, we had a soundboard that Beast could tap on to communicate. It was new and it made our lives so much easier, but out in the wild we were still stuck with the Q and A, yes and no, method of communicating, a series of questions to which Brute could respond with a no head- shake or a yes nod.
“Brute. Is there trouble?” Brute nodded.
It was daylight or near enough, so that meant the trouble was not likely a vamp. “Is one of my humans in trouble?”
Head shake.
I asked my way through the list: witch, were-creature, cops, ICE (who had, lately, gone after vamps because the long-lived ones didn’t believe in documentation), para-haters, PsyLED—the Psychometric Division of Homeland Security—and half a dozen others before Brute made a disgusted chuffing sound and stared at the sweathouse. I turned to see Aggie, standing in the open doorway, her right side hidden, probably carrying the knife. “One of the tribal people?”
Head shake. He looked from Aggie to the firepit, now with only a few glowing coals left.
“Oh,” I said, feeling stupid. “You know something about the angel?”
Brute nodded. “What is it?”
He turned and disappeared into the gray light. “Crap,” I sighed out. “Not a yes/no question.” I looked at Aggie. “He doesn’t usually run away when I mess up.”
Aggie frowned and turned her back on me, picking up a leather scabbard and sheathing the blade. Her shoulders were hunched, her head down. I didn’t know if her posture was angry, exhausted, shamed at drawing a weapon, or something worse.
“Aggie?”
She shook her head, the motion weary, and asked, “Could your vision be in a graveyard? You’ve fought battles there before, and blood drinkers frequent them.”
I frowned, thinking. Watching her move, the stress and uncertainty in her jerky movements. Fear, again. She was afraid and I didn’t understand.
She turned to face me, the scabbard nowhere in sight. “A church?” she asked. “A cathedral?”
Tour Wide Giveaway:
There’s a tour-wide giveaway open to US residents!
- 1 winner will receive a Yellowrock Securities leather bracelet
- 5 winners will receive a Beast is Not Prey leather bracelet
- 4 winners will receive their choice of a $25 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
About Faith Hunter
Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. She writes three Urban Fantasy series: the Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires. The Soulwood series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. And the Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. (There is a role playing game based on the series, ROGUE MAGE.)
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 30+ books in print in 29 countries.
Hunter writes full-time, tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their rescued Pomeranians to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 22-COYER
I find it notable that this series is still holding up after 15 books. Never imagined it would take so long for me to begin listening to it. Great post, Anne💜
It’s complex in its magic systems and character development. I plan to do it as a Read-along in a couple years so I can read them all in a shorter time period.
The series is on my list.
What a great post. Thanks for all of this!
Thank you Debbie! It’s a favorite series.
Jane and Beast
I love this series, thanks for sharing your review of Final Heir and have a terrific day!
Thank you Eva. I’ll do a Read-along at some point. It’s such a great series.
That would be fun! I’m looking forward to it!
Nice review. I wondered, based on the title, if this was the last one. My review partner reads them and her review will be later this week. I listened to the first three, but didn’t get any further. Maybe someday!
I know this one was less of interest to you. I will do a Read-along in a couple years. It’s a great series.
I haven’t read any of the series yet, but I’m sure I will love the books and all of the characters.
I’ll do a Read-along in a few years. Right now I have just read them all. I’ve really loved this series.
This series sounds like one I need to dive into. Great review, Anne.
I’ve really enjoyed it and will do a Read-along at some time.
It’s always sad to read the last book in a loved series! But when the author does it well, then it’s also good. 🙂
Very true. It also gives me a chance to plan a Read-along in the future when I can read them all close together.
Leo
I can’t decide how I feel about Leo. I hate him. I love him. He’s a complex character.
What a wonderful long-standing series. It’s something that an author can keep the interest for so many books.
It’s a wonderful read. I’ll want to do a Read-along to read them all close together some year. I love the diversity and complexity of this series.
I only tried the first book but I have the second at home and I need to get into it!
I’ve really enjoyed them. I’ll do a Read-along down the road.
I honestly haven’t read this series yet. I have been slowly collecting them as I find them on sale and have about 3/4 of them. Since I am a series junkie I have to have them all ready to go before I start them so I can binge them all at once when I finally start!
I am also a series junkie. I will do this for a Read-along but a few years down the road.
Jane is my favorite. Angie has potential for her own, future, spinoff. I could even see a YA series.
yes I love Jane and Angie Baby. I don’t know about YA, maybe after Angie grows up. It’s a pretty dark and dangerous world. Although Jane has foiled a lot of plots which were years in the making.
This is another series I want to try. Nice to know it ended well!
I really want to do a Read-along of this in a couple years so you could join me. I’ve read it all so I won’t do it for a few years though.
That’s a great idea! That would get me to read the series. 🙂
This is a series that I really do want to read and have collected many of them over the years. Now that the series is complete, I may need to tackle it soon. Great review!
Thank you Carole. I plan to do a Read-along for the series sometime but not now when I’ve just read them all. So it’s a couple years out. If it holds to form you will read the series the year before I do. lol
Loved that teaser! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I love having extras from the publisher or publicity team to share.