Highly recommended to fans of the sword & sorcery / romantic fantasy genres.Well, Sharon Shinn is the effing uncrowned Queen of Political Intrigue in the romantic fantasy genre, and no mistake. I read the kindle format & kind of missing Jennifer van Dyck’s excellent reading it aloud to me – but the audiobook series switched to a male narrator whom I did not particularly like after having been offered a sample.I did not like the book as much as the first 2 installments of the series, but it was a...

Did I spend my Valentine’s Day finishing this book? Yes! Did I buy this whole series as a valentines gift to myself? Yes! I love, love! This series makes my heart all warm and fuzzy! Gosh, I was squealing as I closed this book! I don’t want this series to end 🥰

Originally posted here.Dark Moon Defender is the third book in the Twelve Houses series by Sharon Shinn. Reading order: Mystic and Rider, The Thirteenth House, Dark Moon Defender, Reader and Raelynx, Fortune and Fate. Should the books be read in order? Yes. Also, don't read any of the synopses of the latter books if you haven't read the earlier ones. They contain spoilery bits. Even the summary for this book has some spoilers. Dark Moon Defender is all about Justin, Tayse's fellow Rider. He's pr...

I couldn't get behind this romance, and it didn't seem like there was all that much going on outside of it. Some Sharon Shinn romances totally work for me -- I'm looking at you, Archangel and Troubled Waters -- but this one held no suspense and very little chemistry. Way too much hand-wringing. Your mileage may vary. I just prefer heroines who give as good as they get.

Book three in the Twelve Houses series turns its focus to Justin, the street urchin turned Kings Rider. He's stationed near the convent of the Pale Mother with orders to watch out for signs of rebellion under the power hungry Halchon and Coralinda Gisseltess. After saving a young novice from the convent, Ellynor, he begins to learn more about her while experiencing the true evil of Coralinda and her hatred of mystics firsthand.To be honest this book fell a little flat for me. Let's first say I l...

Probably the weakest of the series so far - a 2.5. I don't feel like enough was done with Justin, either in terms of his character or his actions in the book. There really didn't seem to be much of an internally-logical reason (as far as the plots taking place WITHIN the book) to keep him alone in Neft for so long, other than to spin out the plot OF the book (basically, to pair him up with Ellynor). It's not like he really learned anything during this extended spying expedition that wasn't alrea...

I love this series! This is my third time reading it and I just sigh with happiness every-time I finish. This is the third book and Justin's story. Justin becomes more his own character as he is sent out on a lone mission. This is one of my favorite love stories it has so many great elements and everything comes together so well. This one is also a great one for the other characters who are growing and going threw there own changes. This book brings the band of 6 even closer together and sets up...

Some have said that of the Twelve Houses books thus far, this is Sharon Shinn's weakest effort ... well, I beg to differ. I loved it. I think I liked it better than the first two, probably because I had a chance to see such a tremendous change in Justin's character. Wow! I knew I always liked him for a reason. *grin*

Starting off a little slow...Didn't get much better. A slow middle-of-the-series book. The love story was particularly unattractive and the end a little too easy.

Reading this book during Hurricane Sandy yesterday was the perfect distraction. I didn't have any idea what Ms. Shinn would do with Justin's story so I let her lead while I followed.This one is more of a love story and didn't really move the series forward for me so I took a star off for that and the ending. I don't like the fill-in the details endings even if I can see it clearly.This series has characters that hold me in a sweet thrall. Justin, like Tayse, is a man of honor and purpose. I wond...

2.5 stars , rounded up.On my quest for more vaguely intelligent brain-candy, I picked this book up. I can't say it was terrible but there were lots of issues. But first, I'll talk about the good stuff. For an atheist, I really like reading about gods, magic from gods, etc. I enjoyed reading about the Black Mother and her relationship with the Lirrenfolk. I don't really care if some mystics are overpowered; I've come to accept that Mary Sues and Gary Stus are inevitable in brain-candy reads.But

Third in Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series, centering this time on Justin. So far, this was my favorite installment of a series which I have really enjoyed. Justin is one of the original six main characters, a surly and cynical Kings Rider with a harsh past. Asked to reconnoiter the city of Neft, nearby the convent of mystic hating, Pale Mother fanatics. He meets Ellynor, a novice sent to the convent by her family to watch her unruly, impulsive cousin.Justin's protective instincts are activate...

The book focuses on Justin and his love interest. The overarching plot thickens as we see Cordelia murdering mystics left and right. Justin is sent to obtain proof of such violence, and along the way he meets Ellynor. It's very typical and not particularly exciting. I never got attached to Ellynor, to be honest. The plot suffered a bit, mostly due to the needed scenes of attraction between our two main leads. Only read if you want to finish out the series. But to be honest, stopping at the Myst...

This is the third book and I love this one because its about Justin. HE IS SO CUTE. AND HIS GIRLFRIEND IS SO CUTE TOO. Also, this one has a soft sex scene (just a heads up) Which I really liked actually.The funnest part of The Twelve Houses series, is that it manages to explore a different magic in each book. This one is of the lesser known goddesses and I think she is super duper cool.(spoilers?)Justin is lowkey brilliant in this one, he was really well chosen for this mission. I like the part

Dark Moon Defender is the third of the Twelve Houses series by SHaron Shinn.In the earlier two books we meet and get really involved with the adventures of Senneth, Tayse, Justin, Kirra, Donnal and Cammon as they traveled around the land of Gillengaria at the behest of their King. There is much unrest in the Kingdom. One powerful Lord is trying to foment rebellion and usurp the throne. The minor vassals of the Twelve ruling houses of the land are trying to use the unrest as a way to gain their o...

I seriously don't even know how this happened! I like and empathize with Justin; something went terribly wrong somewhere and I am just not sure where along the way that I was sucker-punched. To be honest, Justin is still nowhere near my favorite character but I understand him and his way of thinking a lot more and his about face from the beginning of the series is nice to see (view spoiler)[ even better that he ends up married to a mystic. *snickers* (hide spoiler)] I am sure that it helped tha...

Beautifully written though it is, this entry in Shinn's Twelve Houses series is the least satisfying of all her novels. The romance between King's Rider Justin and the Lirren mystic Ellynor is touching and well-drawn, but it is not enough to sustain the whole book. In a faster-paced, more action-packed book, I might have overlooked the tedious repetitiveness and numerous minor inconsistencies, but Dark Moon's sheer lack of drama and suspense made those small crimes more visible. But the biggest

Sharon Shinn is an indulgence. Her stories aren't particularly complex and to be honest, perhaps slightly misogynistic. But I guess she writes smoothly and the stories are always easy to read.I had to read Dark Moon Defender coz I read the earlier ones. Heh. But it's not a very tight narrative I think. The whole thing about Justin getting married at the end... it just felt a teeny bit trite.

The first half of the book was enjoyable and similar to its predecessors, but the second half was so bogged down by drippy Ellynor and treacly romance that I barely made it through. I certainly hope this book is a novelty and the remaining ones don't go in a similar direction.

Justin is the shiznit.

Loved this one, too! Really an excellent series that's gaining depth as events progress. Loved every bit of this book.

*squeals in joy* I am so happy I didn’t let the second volume of this beautiful series to deter me from continuing on with the third! Even if I didn’t like Kirra’s story in “The Thriteen House”, I still enjoyed the world, as well as the group of friends working together, so I stayed close to the story and I powered through, hoping that the next one would be better. Luckily, my patience paid off: “Dark Moon Defender” is a delight.The best parts:1. It centers on Jason, whom I have always found end...

4.5 stars // I don't mean to say this again, but this series is so good. It was fun to get to know Justin and Elynor was interesting as well as learning the more behind-the-scenes of the Lumanen Covenant. Every romance in this series just hurts so good. The group dynamics are wonderful. There were a few times I almost started crying at work because ugh, they all care about each other so much! It was hard to get into, because on a small level, I don't want new characters. But Elynor found her way...

Yes, I love Justin and was looking forward to his story. But I didn't find it as intense as Book1 or as funny as Book2.My best parts involved the 6 main characters more than the romance itself. On to Cammon!

Justin is my least favorite character, so I went into it already not thrilled. But I love Ellynor and I love learning more about the Lirrinlands.

This is Justin, the King's Rider's story about reconnaissance and falling in love in enemy territory. (Better than the second book.)It has been a fun story to read over a holiday weekend.

This one is more like 4.5 stars instead of a solid 5, but I'm rounding up out of general love for the series and the characters. My biggest quasi-complaint is that out of the core 6 characters, only Justin gets any solid screen time. It was nice that Senneth and Tayse had some scenes of their own, but I would have liked to have the others around for a larger chunk of the book. I liked Ellynor well enough, but her POV was not nearly as enthralling as the rest of the gang, and that's my reason for...

this book... sucked. i did not expect it to be worse than the second book because that one was pretty awful too but it actually is worse than the second book. and it took me like 2 months to read it so it was boring in too on top of awfulusually in these reviews i just jump from point to point but this book such a disappointment from the first book that I am literally drafting this in the notes app so I can make this organized. I literally never care enough to do that. SO:part one: the character...

Dark Moon Defender, or, A Story in which More Members of that Odd Group Enter Inappropriate and/or Odd Relationships and Snark at Each Other.Justin was never my favorite character from this series. Sunny Kirra, kickbutt Senneth, and adorkable Cammon are tops. But I have a soft spot for Justin, in part because his name is Justin. Aerith and Bob, anyone? Justin is not a fantasy name. Justin is not a warrior's name. Justin is the guy who shares his notes when you miss class. The basic plot continue...

Welll, it might be because I've been reading all the Twelve Houses books in a row, but I think I finally hit on one that's a wee bit too saccharine for my liking. Still, I loved it. I love the characters, and I love the progression of Senneth & Tayse's relationship (and I totally went all girly at the public proposal scene and the wedding). Ellynor was obviously the 'weak' link, but Shinn displays a self awareness of Ellynor's character. Not every woman can be as perfect as Senneth and Kirra. An...