I received this as an advanced reader copy and I loved it. It's incredibly long, as is the first of the series, but it draws you in so completely until you're unable to put it down. I read it in one long extended session in which I was unable to put my e-reader away (Even at work, don't tell my patrons! I'm a terrible, voracious reader, of a librarian!)

I cannot wait for the next book to come out and would recommend this series for anyone who loves an unexpected romance and an ancient world of gods and magic.

~TheBibliothecary ( )

As I had not read the first tome of the trilogy, I started by reading This crumbling pageant, which partially explains why I took much longer than the others to come to the end of The dead shall live and to write a review.

The Fury Triad takes the reader into a country that is both known and unknown, as the story takes place in Great Britain - London, Wales, Ireland - which is known country, but at the same time the main characters are 'Magi' and live in a kind of parallel world where 'ordinary' people cannot intrude, with gateways which allow the magi to make incursions into the ordinary world. The author makes good descriptions of both the countryside and the characters, who are mostly believable. The two main characters, Vespasian and Persephone, hate each other in the beginning of the first book, but they are repeatedly placed into situations where they must work together against a greater evil, and their relationship evolves little by little into appreciation, trust, and even love, although they do not say it and keep bickering, to our delight. The other characters are not left out and also have a mind of their own, including Persephone's horse (more present in the first book) or the dog Gelert who attached himself to her. Persephone's close family, her father, brothers and friends, however unrealistic as it may seem, are depicted time and again as refusing to believe their daughter / sister / friend. They are in thrall to the villain whom Persephone and Vespasian fight against, and because of him decide to injure her in order to 'save' her from herself.

Fantasy books have always had my preference, and the story in these two books has kept me reading along... but the third tome is not yet written and I am left pining for the end of the story. ( )

This is the middle novel in Patricia Burroughs Fury Triad, and IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS "This Crumbling Pageant". Persephone and Vespasian are trying to discover their true relationship to one another and to the Darkness within them, while travelling to Ireland on their path to bring down the Usurper. Burroughs' world-building is exemplary, and her writing skill is, if anything, better in this book than the first. (But if Vespasian and Persephone don't quit SMIRKING I'm going to smack them both silly!) However, Burroughs didn't quite escape the "middle-book-of-the-trilogy" trap. Even though this is really one long book split into three parts, we still have a slight whiff of finishing up the first/setting up the third (or just a draggy middle section). But I'll take that over 90% of other authors any day. ( )

The Dead Shall Live is the second book in a series starting with "This Crumbling Pageant". What I liked about this book was the relationship between Persephone and Vespasian. Their unlikely marriage binds them together and they must remain committed to each other despite not wanting to be in the marriage. Both resent the other, for a variety of reasons. While the main characters are tied together through their magic, I like that they are also working on accepting their own magic themselves. This aspect worked well with the process of accepting each other. One complaint I did have was that I felt the book was mostly about them, and the other subplots were secondary. I feel like there wasn't as much focus on the rebel movement as there could have been.

As readers we are pulled deeper into the world of the Magi which is an exciting ride. The author creates some wonderful new characters, well-developed and believable. Some parts were slower than I would have liked but, I found myself being subtly drawn in until I was fully immersed in Persephone's journey. Persephone is a strong female lead, with a huge weight on her shoulder. I actually like Vespasian, and I might be the only one who actually wants their marriage to work :)

An exciting read, story flowed well, loved the fantasy and magic aspect and thoroughly enjoyed the second book.

This review will contain spoilers.

This is a staggering novel that kept me up late every single night until I finished reading - a masterful blending of fantasy, mystery, and romance. And if you're a sucker for romance like I am, you will not be disappointed.

I am putty in the hands of an author who can portray a protagonist whose journey checks off all my boxes. Give me a man from a family cursed with poverty that brings about neglect of all his needs, emotional as well as physical. Let him have a past in which he does things, both good and bad, for ignoble reasons. Now, give him an epiphany of understanding that drives him to do the right things for his people, regardless of the consequences for him personally. Have him deny himself any solace as self-imposed punishment for his sins.

Now bring in a woman who sees through to the core of him and chooses him anyway. Chooses him over and over again, regardless of who asks the question.

Persephone is a mighty heroine, acknowledged by all - even her impossible husband - as the most powerful magician in recent memory. As a child she had an insatiable drive to learn. As a woman, she is able to channel that learning into finding the full meaning of the prophecy that drives the Earthborn rebellion.

I waited for what felt like forever for this book to be published. It is the second book in the Fury Triad, preceded by This Crumbling Pageant.

There is a different feel to this book, in that it has a somewhat narrower focus. The first book immersed me in the world-building of the Regency-era Magi and specifically, the role Persephone plays in the struggle to crown the True King of Magi England. The Dead Shall Live focuses on Persephone and the Earthborn rebels - on what they must do to survive to fight another day. Persephone, with the help of her difficult husband, Vespasian Wyllt, has decimated the entire army of the pretender to the throne, but in spite of her best efforts, the pretender survives.

The Dead Shall Live begins exactly where This Crumbling Pageant ended. Literally in the same scene. The Earthborn have lived with the prophecy of the coming of the True King for a long time. As The Dead Shall Live opens, their Seer has just named Robin Fitzwilliam, Persephone's erstwhile fiance, as the True King. It is no surprise that Vespasian utterly rejects the proclamation, but he is a bit surprised when Persephone repudiates it as well. She knows Robin is too weak to be their king.

Persephone has loved Robin since she was thirteen years old, but she is a married woman now. Robin and all the Fury family believe that she was kidnapped and forced into marriage with Vespasian, but Persephone is quick to contradict that notion every time it's expressed. Vociferously. She didn't marry for love, and virtually no kindness exists between her and Vespasian, but she chooses to align herself with the Earthborn and their leader, her wretched husband.

This book takes us from Wales and the sacred grove where the Earthborn sheltered, to a wooden-masted ship sailing the Irish Sea, to the town of Youghal in Ireland. Throughout the journey, we watch the dance between Persephone and Vespasian. Both are too intelligent and learned to be understood by anyone else. Both have deep resentment toward the other for a variety of reasons. But both have also experienced the stupendous power they wield when they blend their magic together.

And say what you will about either of them, but the power they share is more of an aphrodisiac than any love potion.

I received an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. ( )