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The Outlands Pentalogy #3
A Promise of Return
When Thom Anteros is arrested after breaking into the Building of Historical Records, he demands to be taken before the King. A laughable demand for anyone else, Thom's request is granted and the King spares his life. Yet what's to become of him is left in the hands of the one person Thom truly fears – Mickey Taenia, the King's Hangman.
Infuriated by Thom's refusal to reveal the whereabouts of Nate and Catherine, the Hangman sends Thom to one of the worst places in the Kingdom – the slave markets of Muntenia. It is there that Thom is bought for the Red Arena: a barbaric, gladiator-type competition where the children of convicts and other unlucky souls are forced to fight to the death.
Twenty wins is release. One loss is death.
With the help of Charles Thoreau, a fellow captive, Thom begins not only to survive, but to thrive. A master of words becomes a master of death, and Thom's prowess in the arena frightens even him.
But death isn't the only thing haunting Thom. As the days go by, he dreams of his brother, and the promise he cannot forget.
I will return.
Infuriated by Thom's refusal to reveal the whereabouts of Nate and Catherine, the Hangman sends Thom to one of the worst places in the Kingdom – the slave markets of Muntenia. It is there that Thom is bought for the Red Arena: a barbaric, gladiator-type competition where the children of convicts and other unlucky souls are forced to fight to the death.
Twenty wins is release. One loss is death.
With the help of Charles Thoreau, a fellow captive, Thom begins not only to survive, but to thrive. A master of words becomes a master of death, and Thom's prowess in the arena frightens even him.
But death isn't the only thing haunting Thom. As the days go by, he dreams of his brother, and the promise he cannot forget.
I will return.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2022
3 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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September 1, 2021
R A T I N G: 4.5 stars to A Promise of Return! ★ ★ ★ ★
'Even if they should fail, even if they should die, it would not be for lack of effort.'
'I presume he intended me to die, but I've found even I'm hard to kill.'
Before getting into all things that promise to return I must drop a confessional reading quirk. Since my earliest reading days I confronted an inability to habituate to multiple or shifting POV changes. Generally speaking, I love and am a desperate devotee to a hero/heroine dual POV, but where each character claims a solitary book in a wider series, derailed becomes my Interest, stymied becomes my enthusiasm and I find myself discreetly shifting towards the one-and-done world of standalones.
Besides disrupting the flux and flow of building a territorial relationship with a character I feel comfortable with, who I then must let go of in exchange for another to light the way? Having to re-adapt all over again with a fresh new installment featuring a fresh new character gives me the coldest of cold feet. Positively icy. It speaks to my history of attachment as much as a phobia for change. I easily took to Nate’s POV because firstly, I love him and secondly he emulated the hero part of the hero/heroine narrative, even if his and Kitty's POVs stay strict to their separate books.
My cold feet froze but my trepidation quickly broke with the ice of befriending a new book. My aversion aside, my reservations swiftly scattered to the winds as Rebecca Crunden opens up the narrative to the farer ranges of the Kingdom and to the darker economies of organised slavery. Thom’s character study is an equally ruinous addition to the series, gives readers a chance to know him intimately, sympathise with his ghastly undoing and grim remaking, follow his evolving profile and reflects off of what became of Nate’s cool-headed, eagle-eyed brother in the time synchronous to Nate and Kitty’s escape.
Thom Anteros has a story as compelling, as traumatic, as disaster-worthy and action-prostrate as the books that come before him. It didn't take long to find my footing at all. As with the page-turning quality of the previous books, this follows in the exact same vain: irresistible reading, character-driven intensity, an impelling narrative and a menacing, miasmic misadventure that calls to the morbid provocateur within me. I surmised long ago that disaster does think fit to become me. You can't stop a steady downpour, you can't stop adrenaline mid-strike and I've realised that despite my reading foibles and nurtured peculiarities, you also can't railroad a series that has already laid a claim to your deference. Ms. Crunden, you enchantress you.
We were lured into the man Thom was by way of Nate and Kitty's fond memories and gritted bereavement in the books preceding. Their grief tells a story of how much Thom was loved by them. To spin this third on its heel, we get to see how much Nate and Kitty mean to Thom, what he'll be forced to do to keep a promise to his brother as he falls into his own living bane. We get the unabridged tale of what happened to him after he was separated from his lover and his brother, after a detour in choice expedites a finale to life as he loved it.
I enjoyed reading from Kitty in A Touch of Death. I relished reading from Nate in A History of Madness and I delighted in Thom's touch to this series in A Promise of Return. We knew Thom as Kitty's betrothed, her love that she grieved. We knew him as Nate's blood brother, the other half to his soul. While Thom has a short presence in the first book, it’s only then that this threesome are seen to share the same space Indefinitely. The deeper you fall into a series, the trickier it becomes to tackle a review without letting those pesky spoilers seep through the rifts so I aim to keep this a surface-surfing ordeal…
Instead of picking up from the events that end book two, the author rewinds and back-pedals two entire books and picks up Thom's story where we last see him in A Touch of Death. Where Nate is the most feared, Thom is the Kingdom's favoured Anteros brother, esteemed and adored, loved and charmed, but he's also a man of powerful sway, who has bought and bargained for Nate's life over and over again with practiced leverage and a masterful mind. He's sharp. He's shrewd. He's serpentine. But he's about to find out there are situations where even his mind can't save him.
It's when he gets caught trying to break into a forbidden building, in a desperate effort to save his brother and Complement, that commences Thom's own brand of mutation, an existential flux, a beginning to an end, the demise of his refined, civilised life, the ruin of his soul, the rebirth of a fighter and a battle royale that haunts his becoming, shreds his composure and lights a match to his developing rage and blooming bloodthirst. While Nate is a man of radical action, Thom is a man of engineered influence, of frightening composure. And it's with an air of controlled finesse that has even the King spare his life from death, if not from a fate that holds its weight in dread and horror.
Far from the wealth end of Anais, Thom finds himself in the outlying north, sold to the slave markets of Muntenia. There is no mercy. No escape. No mindfully manoeuvring his way out of the fray. And he's just been purchased like a prized mare to participate in, what the synopsis accurately describes as a ‘gladiator-type' tournament, where it's slaughter or be slaughtered. Marble-faced by necessity and meticulous by design, he's about to hone his body, by force and fear and fury and violence, with a poise and precision he had only ever whittled his mind.
I had pictured Thom as this supremely cool and cautious, acutely measured and perspicacious member of their circle who I was intrigued by even if I was removed from him (hence worried about how I’d adapt to him). We know him second hand through Nate and Kitty’s perspectives, both holding him in such high opinion, lauding him as their all-knowing problem solver, the smoothest operator, the silent strategiser. Probably why I was taken aback to see Thom crown Nate as the stronger brother when it’s Nate who echoed (having me believe) the same sentiment about Thom.
Fooled I was but these brothers are steadfast fools for each other. I’m realising that while they underpin each other like mountain rock, their strength originates within the life of the other. Their bloodied bond is a fantastically fated one. I thought Thom’d perhaps be the most put together and wily of them, and he is, but it humanised him (for me) to see him as fallible and flawed and as disposed to losing himself as Nate and Kitty were. The author writes him just as reactionary and fraught with feeling in spite of his cunning. Since both his brother and his Complement got their reckoning, poor Thom was bound to have met his harrow scathed too.
The Red Arena is a literal death trial where every slave purchased has to scrimmage for their life or die trying. They gain their freedom after twenty wins. But twenty wins means twenty deaths felled by their own hand. It means twenty striped scores to a soul and Thom has been relegated to human livestock, his undamaged hide sold to the underworld economy. What troubles Thom profoundly is his conflict between what he has been forced to do and how good is he is at what he’s been forced to do.
A Promise of Return, third in succession, is a thrilling, atmospheric and soul-shredding campaign for repossession that appraises Thom’s exemption from a bestial tournament known as The Red Arena. This book is no less intense or gravelly, no less fierce or bare than its earlier born siblings. This story takes us to the mountain ranges of the north where Thom is at the mercy of criminal persecution and sanctioned slave trading. The darker themes continue to lace this instalment and while we have the re-emergence of the Plague that’s escalating through the Kingdom, we’re also reacquainted with the reaches of victimisation, suffering communities and the exploitative maltreatment this society sows without clemency.
Just like Nate’s loyalty to Thom is unparalleled, we’re In no way fooled into thinking that Thom’s loyalty to his brother isn’t beyond compare. Having been reduced to little more than a killer, an expendable body, a money-making captive with twenty innocent slaves to level before reuniting with his brother, that level of loyalty is more that heavily priced when he has to leave behind a line of bodies.
I also really wanted to touch on this. This is a society where same-sex relationships aren’t legitimised which is why I especially appreciated the orientation diversity with the characters. If you harbour the insights allotted via the first two books, you'll know that this society operates through heterosexual arranged partnerships (partners assigned from childhood for the purpose of procreation called Complementation). Another example of how all citizens are beholden to dictated law really. Where you can't quite love who you want, unless like it's alluded to in every book, true love affairs happen in the dark, in secret, and even for heterosexual couples, 'in the closet' so to speak.
The character intimacies are strong and Rebecca Crunden cares to maintain the realism, the serrated atmosphere, the sharp bites and blunt attitudes broken up with the comforts of incidental humour. Also in cahoots with continuity is the autocratic leadership and the dark angst borne from the grinding and callous severity. Also, very over the moon that I got my Nate and Kitty fix in this one! Although I keep true to my word and hope that I haven’t been the bringer of seedy spoilers, I’m downright excited to see how this varied group of mixables and unmixables function as a dynamic. The final chapter already sports some rifts and disagreements within the group and can I just say how I long lovingly for that drama? The disharmony looks as though it might spread something fierce and their ambitions look to cleave their fragile unit apart. Peachy. And don't I just love it.
Here’s what you’re shaping yourself up for with Thom’s saga: A bisexual hero who must reap death to save his life and avow a promise, a slow-burning M/M romance, overwhelming odds, an expanded assortment to the disaster cast, orientation diversity, a gamut of angst, desperate friendships and the Anteros brotherly fidelity that swears fealty through any distance. While Nate remains my favourite Anteros brother, I considered it a privilege to follow his brother through the thick of barbarity. He’s written with individualism and contorted humanity and his story is one to cave, care for and imagine as the horror comes to life. But now? If it isn’t time to dance with some lies...
*A big thank you to the author for sending over a copy of this book in exchange for a review!*
______________________________________________
E X T R A_T H O U G H T S
1) Within any society you'll get the deeply unsavoury and within the Radiant clans they're called the Outcasts. Seems like there are going to be potential complications within the group too with all the arguments that are already brewing discord, and I say bring on the drama!! :D
2) While we get to know more about Thom and what kind of person he is, there is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding him (he’s not really an open book) so I’m hoping the author goes into whatever questionable things he might’ve done? Also, really curious here about Kitty’s dad and why Thom is so frightened of him…
3) Riddle and Thom? What is going on there I imagine. While Charles and Thom, we know, are very much together I have a suspicious instinct that they may not last. I don’t mean to be a fatalist here but I don’t think things are going to work out well between them. You know that age old sentiment where one person loves more than the other? I think Charles’s affections outmatch Thom’s. I’m also thinking that the two strands of humanity (human and Radiant) may form a love match in Thom and Riddle - I could be completely off the mark here but if this is the case, It should be interesting considering they can’t physically touch each other. Even if whatever connection they share is platonic, I think there’s definitely a story there.
4) So we know that Thom never loved Kitty the way she loved him, though this book definitely does express how much she means to him, how much of a part of his life she is but there was a conversation between Blaise and Thom that twitched my morality meter: 'He told me something similar,' said Thom. 'He never told me not to see others, but he said that if I was going to, under no uncertain terms was I to let Cat find out. He never wanted her to be hurt.' - Nate knew that Thom wasn’t in love with Kitty and apparently had this discussion with Thom knowing that one day he might secretly fall in love with someone else. And if he did, he was to keep it secret so Kitty wouldn’t find out. Now, we know that love matches aren’t acceptable in this society as this world function via arranged marriages. Even still, whether Thom has cheated on Kitty I’m not sure (and you could argue that he had every right to as he wasn't in love with her and didn't get to choose her) but I’m really hoping that he hadn’t while they were together. This is a really besides the point mention but I’m really strong on the betrayal factor and relationships correctness (and I saw the way Kitty grieved for him so I'm territorial over her. I’m hoping that while she was in love with Thom, there was loyalty between them in that sense. You just don't know with Thom but pretty please?
5) Right, about this prophecy.
----------------------------------------------------
Visit my blog for more reviews: V.L. Book Reviews
T W I T T E R: @VicariousHearts
I N S T A G R A M: @Vicarious.Hearts
----------------------------------------------------
'Even if they should fail, even if they should die, it would not be for lack of effort.'
'I presume he intended me to die, but I've found even I'm hard to kill.'
Before getting into all things that promise to return I must drop a confessional reading quirk. Since my earliest reading days I confronted an inability to habituate to multiple or shifting POV changes. Generally speaking, I love and am a desperate devotee to a hero/heroine dual POV, but where each character claims a solitary book in a wider series, derailed becomes my Interest, stymied becomes my enthusiasm and I find myself discreetly shifting towards the one-and-done world of standalones.
Besides disrupting the flux and flow of building a territorial relationship with a character I feel comfortable with, who I then must let go of in exchange for another to light the way? Having to re-adapt all over again with a fresh new installment featuring a fresh new character gives me the coldest of cold feet. Positively icy. It speaks to my history of attachment as much as a phobia for change. I easily took to Nate’s POV because firstly, I love him and secondly he emulated the hero part of the hero/heroine narrative, even if his and Kitty's POVs stay strict to their separate books.
My cold feet froze but my trepidation quickly broke with the ice of befriending a new book. My aversion aside, my reservations swiftly scattered to the winds as Rebecca Crunden opens up the narrative to the farer ranges of the Kingdom and to the darker economies of organised slavery. Thom’s character study is an equally ruinous addition to the series, gives readers a chance to know him intimately, sympathise with his ghastly undoing and grim remaking, follow his evolving profile and reflects off of what became of Nate’s cool-headed, eagle-eyed brother in the time synchronous to Nate and Kitty’s escape.
Thom Anteros has a story as compelling, as traumatic, as disaster-worthy and action-prostrate as the books that come before him. It didn't take long to find my footing at all. As with the page-turning quality of the previous books, this follows in the exact same vain: irresistible reading, character-driven intensity, an impelling narrative and a menacing, miasmic misadventure that calls to the morbid provocateur within me. I surmised long ago that disaster does think fit to become me. You can't stop a steady downpour, you can't stop adrenaline mid-strike and I've realised that despite my reading foibles and nurtured peculiarities, you also can't railroad a series that has already laid a claim to your deference. Ms. Crunden, you enchantress you.
We were lured into the man Thom was by way of Nate and Kitty's fond memories and gritted bereavement in the books preceding. Their grief tells a story of how much Thom was loved by them. To spin this third on its heel, we get to see how much Nate and Kitty mean to Thom, what he'll be forced to do to keep a promise to his brother as he falls into his own living bane. We get the unabridged tale of what happened to him after he was separated from his lover and his brother, after a detour in choice expedites a finale to life as he loved it.
I enjoyed reading from Kitty in A Touch of Death. I relished reading from Nate in A History of Madness and I delighted in Thom's touch to this series in A Promise of Return. We knew Thom as Kitty's betrothed, her love that she grieved. We knew him as Nate's blood brother, the other half to his soul. While Thom has a short presence in the first book, it’s only then that this threesome are seen to share the same space Indefinitely. The deeper you fall into a series, the trickier it becomes to tackle a review without letting those pesky spoilers seep through the rifts so I aim to keep this a surface-surfing ordeal…
Instead of picking up from the events that end book two, the author rewinds and back-pedals two entire books and picks up Thom's story where we last see him in A Touch of Death. Where Nate is the most feared, Thom is the Kingdom's favoured Anteros brother, esteemed and adored, loved and charmed, but he's also a man of powerful sway, who has bought and bargained for Nate's life over and over again with practiced leverage and a masterful mind. He's sharp. He's shrewd. He's serpentine. But he's about to find out there are situations where even his mind can't save him.
It's when he gets caught trying to break into a forbidden building, in a desperate effort to save his brother and Complement, that commences Thom's own brand of mutation, an existential flux, a beginning to an end, the demise of his refined, civilised life, the ruin of his soul, the rebirth of a fighter and a battle royale that haunts his becoming, shreds his composure and lights a match to his developing rage and blooming bloodthirst. While Nate is a man of radical action, Thom is a man of engineered influence, of frightening composure. And it's with an air of controlled finesse that has even the King spare his life from death, if not from a fate that holds its weight in dread and horror.
Far from the wealth end of Anais, Thom finds himself in the outlying north, sold to the slave markets of Muntenia. There is no mercy. No escape. No mindfully manoeuvring his way out of the fray. And he's just been purchased like a prized mare to participate in, what the synopsis accurately describes as a ‘gladiator-type' tournament, where it's slaughter or be slaughtered. Marble-faced by necessity and meticulous by design, he's about to hone his body, by force and fear and fury and violence, with a poise and precision he had only ever whittled his mind.
I had pictured Thom as this supremely cool and cautious, acutely measured and perspicacious member of their circle who I was intrigued by even if I was removed from him (hence worried about how I’d adapt to him). We know him second hand through Nate and Kitty’s perspectives, both holding him in such high opinion, lauding him as their all-knowing problem solver, the smoothest operator, the silent strategiser. Probably why I was taken aback to see Thom crown Nate as the stronger brother when it’s Nate who echoed (having me believe) the same sentiment about Thom.
Fooled I was but these brothers are steadfast fools for each other. I’m realising that while they underpin each other like mountain rock, their strength originates within the life of the other. Their bloodied bond is a fantastically fated one. I thought Thom’d perhaps be the most put together and wily of them, and he is, but it humanised him (for me) to see him as fallible and flawed and as disposed to losing himself as Nate and Kitty were. The author writes him just as reactionary and fraught with feeling in spite of his cunning. Since both his brother and his Complement got their reckoning, poor Thom was bound to have met his harrow scathed too.
The Red Arena is a literal death trial where every slave purchased has to scrimmage for their life or die trying. They gain their freedom after twenty wins. But twenty wins means twenty deaths felled by their own hand. It means twenty striped scores to a soul and Thom has been relegated to human livestock, his undamaged hide sold to the underworld economy. What troubles Thom profoundly is his conflict between what he has been forced to do and how good is he is at what he’s been forced to do.
A Promise of Return, third in succession, is a thrilling, atmospheric and soul-shredding campaign for repossession that appraises Thom’s exemption from a bestial tournament known as The Red Arena. This book is no less intense or gravelly, no less fierce or bare than its earlier born siblings. This story takes us to the mountain ranges of the north where Thom is at the mercy of criminal persecution and sanctioned slave trading. The darker themes continue to lace this instalment and while we have the re-emergence of the Plague that’s escalating through the Kingdom, we’re also reacquainted with the reaches of victimisation, suffering communities and the exploitative maltreatment this society sows without clemency.
Just like Nate’s loyalty to Thom is unparalleled, we’re In no way fooled into thinking that Thom’s loyalty to his brother isn’t beyond compare. Having been reduced to little more than a killer, an expendable body, a money-making captive with twenty innocent slaves to level before reuniting with his brother, that level of loyalty is more that heavily priced when he has to leave behind a line of bodies.
I also really wanted to touch on this. This is a society where same-sex relationships aren’t legitimised which is why I especially appreciated the orientation diversity with the characters. If you harbour the insights allotted via the first two books, you'll know that this society operates through heterosexual arranged partnerships (partners assigned from childhood for the purpose of procreation called Complementation). Another example of how all citizens are beholden to dictated law really. Where you can't quite love who you want, unless like it's alluded to in every book, true love affairs happen in the dark, in secret, and even for heterosexual couples, 'in the closet' so to speak.
The character intimacies are strong and Rebecca Crunden cares to maintain the realism, the serrated atmosphere, the sharp bites and blunt attitudes broken up with the comforts of incidental humour. Also in cahoots with continuity is the autocratic leadership and the dark angst borne from the grinding and callous severity. Also, very over the moon that I got my Nate and Kitty fix in this one! Although I keep true to my word and hope that I haven’t been the bringer of seedy spoilers, I’m downright excited to see how this varied group of mixables and unmixables function as a dynamic. The final chapter already sports some rifts and disagreements within the group and can I just say how I long lovingly for that drama? The disharmony looks as though it might spread something fierce and their ambitions look to cleave their fragile unit apart. Peachy. And don't I just love it.
Here’s what you’re shaping yourself up for with Thom’s saga: A bisexual hero who must reap death to save his life and avow a promise, a slow-burning M/M romance, overwhelming odds, an expanded assortment to the disaster cast, orientation diversity, a gamut of angst, desperate friendships and the Anteros brotherly fidelity that swears fealty through any distance. While Nate remains my favourite Anteros brother, I considered it a privilege to follow his brother through the thick of barbarity. He’s written with individualism and contorted humanity and his story is one to cave, care for and imagine as the horror comes to life. But now? If it isn’t time to dance with some lies...
*A big thank you to the author for sending over a copy of this book in exchange for a review!*
______________________________________________
E X T R A_T H O U G H T S
1) Within any society you'll get the deeply unsavoury and within the Radiant clans they're called the Outcasts. Seems like there are going to be potential complications within the group too with all the arguments that are already brewing discord, and I say bring on the drama!! :D
2) While we get to know more about Thom and what kind of person he is, there is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding him (he’s not really an open book) so I’m hoping the author goes into whatever questionable things he might’ve done? Also, really curious here about Kitty’s dad and why Thom is so frightened of him…
3) Riddle and Thom? What is going on there I imagine. While Charles and Thom, we know, are very much together I have a suspicious instinct that they may not last. I don’t mean to be a fatalist here but I don’t think things are going to work out well between them. You know that age old sentiment where one person loves more than the other? I think Charles’s affections outmatch Thom’s. I’m also thinking that the two strands of humanity (human and Radiant) may form a love match in Thom and Riddle - I could be completely off the mark here but if this is the case, It should be interesting considering they can’t physically touch each other. Even if whatever connection they share is platonic, I think there’s definitely a story there.
4) So we know that Thom never loved Kitty the way she loved him, though this book definitely does express how much she means to him, how much of a part of his life she is but there was a conversation between Blaise and Thom that twitched my morality meter: 'He told me something similar,' said Thom. 'He never told me not to see others, but he said that if I was going to, under no uncertain terms was I to let Cat find out. He never wanted her to be hurt.' - Nate knew that Thom wasn’t in love with Kitty and apparently had this discussion with Thom knowing that one day he might secretly fall in love with someone else. And if he did, he was to keep it secret so Kitty wouldn’t find out. Now, we know that love matches aren’t acceptable in this society as this world function via arranged marriages. Even still, whether Thom has cheated on Kitty I’m not sure (and you could argue that he had every right to as he wasn't in love with her and didn't get to choose her) but I’m really hoping that he hadn’t while they were together. This is a really besides the point mention but I’m really strong on the betrayal factor and relationships correctness (and I saw the way Kitty grieved for him so I'm territorial over her. I’m hoping that while she was in love with Thom, there was loyalty between them in that sense. You just don't know with Thom but pretty please?
5) Right, about this prophecy.
----------------------------------------------------
Visit my blog for more reviews: V.L. Book Reviews
T W I T T E R: @VicariousHearts
I N S T A G R A M: @Vicarious.Hearts
----------------------------------------------------
November 25, 2019
Sickness is ravaging the land. Thom makes a desperate move to help Nate and Catherine, but it all goes wrong, very wrong. Has Thom been executed or, as Nate believes, is he still alive?
Thom Anteros’ life is revealed. Where was he? What happened to him? Now existing in a living hell for not revealing the whereabouts of Nate and Catherine, Thom will need to channel his keen mind into a well-honed killing machine, or be killed himself, but at what cost to his soul?
A PROMISE OF RETURN is Rebecca Crunden’s third book in the Outlands Pentalogy. It is overflowing with grit, emotionally raw and often horrifyingly brutal as Thom’s loyalty to his brother is rewarded by being sold as a slave/gladiator for the Red Arena where competitors must fight to the death, all in the name of entertainment. Has the soul of society as a whole degenerated so viciously into the darkness?
Kill or be killed, ill-prepared, Thom finds an ally and more in Charles, a fellow captive with a burning fire of rage and an iron will to survive. Will Thom become the monster he despises? Is it worth his promised freedom to coat his body and his soul in the blood of innocents, friends and fellow captives? He once made a promise he intends to keep, he will return to his brother, but who will he be when he finds Nate?
Rebecca Crunden has ratcheted up the stark, raw, edginess of this series and given readers Thom’s story, the size of his heart and a flickering spark of hope to reunite with his brother. Powerful reading, intense, heartbreaking and soul shuddering, Ms. Crunden’s ability to tell a riveting tale that feels alive is astounding. No holds barred writing in a story told with bold strokes. Fabulous reading comes to life between the covers!
I received a complimentary copy from Rebecca Crunden! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Series: The Outlands Pentalogy - Book 3
Publication Date: November 3, 2017
Publisher: Rebecca Crunden
Genre: Dystopian | Romance | Survival
Print Length: 281 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Thom Anteros’ life is revealed. Where was he? What happened to him? Now existing in a living hell for not revealing the whereabouts of Nate and Catherine, Thom will need to channel his keen mind into a well-honed killing machine, or be killed himself, but at what cost to his soul?
A PROMISE OF RETURN is Rebecca Crunden’s third book in the Outlands Pentalogy. It is overflowing with grit, emotionally raw and often horrifyingly brutal as Thom’s loyalty to his brother is rewarded by being sold as a slave/gladiator for the Red Arena where competitors must fight to the death, all in the name of entertainment. Has the soul of society as a whole degenerated so viciously into the darkness?
Kill or be killed, ill-prepared, Thom finds an ally and more in Charles, a fellow captive with a burning fire of rage and an iron will to survive. Will Thom become the monster he despises? Is it worth his promised freedom to coat his body and his soul in the blood of innocents, friends and fellow captives? He once made a promise he intends to keep, he will return to his brother, but who will he be when he finds Nate?
Rebecca Crunden has ratcheted up the stark, raw, edginess of this series and given readers Thom’s story, the size of his heart and a flickering spark of hope to reunite with his brother. Powerful reading, intense, heartbreaking and soul shuddering, Ms. Crunden’s ability to tell a riveting tale that feels alive is astounding. No holds barred writing in a story told with bold strokes. Fabulous reading comes to life between the covers!
I received a complimentary copy from Rebecca Crunden! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Series: The Outlands Pentalogy - Book 3
Publication Date: November 3, 2017
Publisher: Rebecca Crunden
Genre: Dystopian | Romance | Survival
Print Length: 281 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
May 7, 2024
gripping
This series just gets better and better. Thom”s story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, full of torment, pain and sorrow. I’m hoping he begins to find some peace in the next book.
This series just gets better and better. Thom”s story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, full of torment, pain and sorrow. I’m hoping he begins to find some peace in the next book.
August 24, 2020
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Book Review for A Touch Of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy Series #1)CLICK HERE
Book Review for A History Of Madness (The Outlands Pentalogy Series #2)CLICK HERE
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you Rebecca for sending me an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A Promise Of Return by Rebecca Crunden is the third book in The Outlands Pentalogy Series. This series is a fantasy/science-fiction set in a dystopian world. I am so thankful to Rebecca for her patience because this book has been sitting on my shelf for some time now. I planned to read this book as soon as I finished A History Of Madness. Unfortunately, I had a lot of books that I had committed before this book and so I scheduled it for August. I have been dying to get back to reading this book and I am so happy to say I finally finished it. Boy oh boy, what a ride it was. With each book, this series keeps getting better!!! It is so goooodddd!!
We follow Thom's journey after he gets caught by the guards and we follow him through his entire journey up until the point when Nate meets him. That climax in the second book was so good but it left us in a bit of a shock. But I am so happy to see that Thom is safe or at least as safe as he can be considering the situation he is in. Thom will go through the most rigorous tests of his life and he has to fight for his life not just with his wits and intelligence, but also physically. He trains regularly to keep his strengths and skills honed. He finds himself finding a new family and being a support system and helping them as well. We get to see him find love and having to fight for his life.
I have to say my heart broke for Thom and everything he had to go through to even be free of the Kingdom. His experience with the Kingdom, their rules, and the Outlands were just as traumatizing as it was for Nate and Kitty. Their experiences shape them and it haunts them. The PTSD and panic attacks they suffer through makes things even more difficult for the group to find some peace. We see them struggle to be who they were before everything went haywire. Their group is still tight-knit, having more people helping them out, exploring new things. I love that despite his negative experiences, he is open to new beginnings and hope for a better future. This book was just as amazing as the last book, if not more.
If you haven't picked this series yet, what is wrong with you?? Just kidding. 😉But seriously, what are you waiting for? This book is for everyone who would love to break the endless chain of reading the same old YA. This book will blow your mind and with each series, it gets better and better, and the tension is so good that it will keep you at the edge of your seats. The flawed main characters you can't help but love, the world-building, issues of morality, corrupt Kingdom and rulers, found families, budding friendships, and a good amount of tension that will seal the deal for any dystopian sci-fi/fantasy lovers is what this series is. I highly recommend this series for every YA reader out there. You guys need to check it out or else you will be missing out on an amazing series. I gave it 5 stars and I am so pumped for the rest of the series. I hope I get to read them as well. Make sure to check this series out, I guarantee you will love it.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL : YOUTUBE
FOLLOW ME ON : TWITTER INSTAGRAM
Book Review for A Touch Of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy Series #1)CLICK HERE
Book Review for A History Of Madness (The Outlands Pentalogy Series #2)CLICK HERE
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you Rebecca for sending me an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A Promise Of Return by Rebecca Crunden is the third book in The Outlands Pentalogy Series. This series is a fantasy/science-fiction set in a dystopian world. I am so thankful to Rebecca for her patience because this book has been sitting on my shelf for some time now. I planned to read this book as soon as I finished A History Of Madness. Unfortunately, I had a lot of books that I had committed before this book and so I scheduled it for August. I have been dying to get back to reading this book and I am so happy to say I finally finished it. Boy oh boy, what a ride it was. With each book, this series keeps getting better!!! It is so goooodddd!!
We follow Thom's journey after he gets caught by the guards and we follow him through his entire journey up until the point when Nate meets him. That climax in the second book was so good but it left us in a bit of a shock. But I am so happy to see that Thom is safe or at least as safe as he can be considering the situation he is in. Thom will go through the most rigorous tests of his life and he has to fight for his life not just with his wits and intelligence, but also physically. He trains regularly to keep his strengths and skills honed. He finds himself finding a new family and being a support system and helping them as well. We get to see him find love and having to fight for his life.
I have to say my heart broke for Thom and everything he had to go through to even be free of the Kingdom. His experience with the Kingdom, their rules, and the Outlands were just as traumatizing as it was for Nate and Kitty. Their experiences shape them and it haunts them. The PTSD and panic attacks they suffer through makes things even more difficult for the group to find some peace. We see them struggle to be who they were before everything went haywire. Their group is still tight-knit, having more people helping them out, exploring new things. I love that despite his negative experiences, he is open to new beginnings and hope for a better future. This book was just as amazing as the last book, if not more.
If you haven't picked this series yet, what is wrong with you?? Just kidding. 😉But seriously, what are you waiting for? This book is for everyone who would love to break the endless chain of reading the same old YA. This book will blow your mind and with each series, it gets better and better, and the tension is so good that it will keep you at the edge of your seats. The flawed main characters you can't help but love, the world-building, issues of morality, corrupt Kingdom and rulers, found families, budding friendships, and a good amount of tension that will seal the deal for any dystopian sci-fi/fantasy lovers is what this series is. I highly recommend this series for every YA reader out there. You guys need to check it out or else you will be missing out on an amazing series. I gave it 5 stars and I am so pumped for the rest of the series. I hope I get to read them as well. Make sure to check this series out, I guarantee you will love it.
December 3, 2019
wow this was really good.. interesting and action packed... fast read because it held my attention.. it was fun to read and i liked these characters.. cant wait to see what happens next.
September 15, 2019
"His wrath had always been more powerful than his fear."
Despite inoculations, many are falling sick. Trips into town are followed by vigorous cleaning and bathing rituals. It's only a matter of time before the Plague destroys the human race. Upon Thomas noticing his Complement Catherine and his beloved brother Nate growing sicker, he asks Nate to look after Catherine, with a promise to his brother he'll return.
In book III of The Outlands Pentalogy, A Promise of Return by the talented Rebecca Crunden, we are taken along for the ride on Thomas' truly incredible journey when he was separated from Nate and Catherine. Like the previous installments, this book is big on action, adventure, and excitement.
"... can you kill twenty innocent people?"
First things first, I was delighted to see it mirrored book II but from the perspective of Thomas! This installment complements the previous one nicely; having Thom's POV really filled in a lot of the gaps, bringing more life into an already lively story-line. I loved seeing the other side to the story and smiled when I came upon elements I remembered from the previous installment. I think this was a really fun way to follow up a sequel and it's not a method I see often, unfortunately.
For instance, in addition to learning what Thomas had been up to on his journey apart from Nate and Catherine in Book II, the reader gets to witness the moment Thomas learns what had become of his Complement.
"I'm a son of Anais. I don't know how to fight."
Like Book II showed the growth of both Nate and Kitty, Book III also saw Thomas evolving in surprising ways, strengthening his friendships, and even finding romance in an most unlikely environment. There were a lot of bombshells that left me open-mouthed and the fight scenes were so gruesome and gory I could taste the blood the characters shed. Basically, it was everything I could have asked for in a dystopian novel. Crunden has outdone herself with this series.
I also want to mention that despite the grim themes, there are a good share of lighter moments too, giving this series a great balance. Some of these characters are genuinely just plain funny; their lines have me literally LOL. There was one scene with Thomas, Charles, and a pair of boots that had me in absolute stitches.
Overall, a great dystopian speculative fiction novel featuring remarkable characters and a rich story-world. Highly recommended to readers who crave a fresh start and enjoy apocalyptic and dystopian fiction! 5/5 Stars.
Despite inoculations, many are falling sick. Trips into town are followed by vigorous cleaning and bathing rituals. It's only a matter of time before the Plague destroys the human race. Upon Thomas noticing his Complement Catherine and his beloved brother Nate growing sicker, he asks Nate to look after Catherine, with a promise to his brother he'll return.
In book III of The Outlands Pentalogy, A Promise of Return by the talented Rebecca Crunden, we are taken along for the ride on Thomas' truly incredible journey when he was separated from Nate and Catherine. Like the previous installments, this book is big on action, adventure, and excitement.
"... can you kill twenty innocent people?"
First things first, I was delighted to see it mirrored book II but from the perspective of Thomas! This installment complements the previous one nicely; having Thom's POV really filled in a lot of the gaps, bringing more life into an already lively story-line. I loved seeing the other side to the story and smiled when I came upon elements I remembered from the previous installment. I think this was a really fun way to follow up a sequel and it's not a method I see often, unfortunately.
For instance, in addition to learning what Thomas had been up to on his journey apart from Nate and Catherine in Book II, the reader gets to witness the moment Thomas learns what had become of his Complement.
"I'm a son of Anais. I don't know how to fight."
Like Book II showed the growth of both Nate and Kitty, Book III also saw Thomas evolving in surprising ways, strengthening his friendships, and even finding romance in an most unlikely environment. There were a lot of bombshells that left me open-mouthed and the fight scenes were so gruesome and gory I could taste the blood the characters shed. Basically, it was everything I could have asked for in a dystopian novel. Crunden has outdone herself with this series.
I also want to mention that despite the grim themes, there are a good share of lighter moments too, giving this series a great balance. Some of these characters are genuinely just plain funny; their lines have me literally LOL. There was one scene with Thomas, Charles, and a pair of boots that had me in absolute stitches.
Overall, a great dystopian speculative fiction novel featuring remarkable characters and a rich story-world. Highly recommended to readers who crave a fresh start and enjoy apocalyptic and dystopian fiction! 5/5 Stars.
February 20, 2022
I was provided with an e-copy of the book by the author in exchange for a honest review.
"Arrogance is the downfall of even the best of men."
Crunden created this set of really complex, realistic characters that you can't help falling in love with. Especially the three main characters - Kitty, Nate and Thom. And you see, the first book was about Kitty. We see her development, her path that begins with her as Catherine Taenia, a young woman respectful of the laws of a rotten kingdon, and ends with her as Kitty, the young woman willing to fight for her freedom and what's right. The second book was about Nate. We see his struggle, his constant fight against his demons. We learn more about this brave man who is one of the most well-written male characters I've ever seen. A man whose strength comes from love. Who won't give up until he finds his way back to the woman he loves. Who won't let go of the hope of seeing his brother alive again.
So, it leaves Thom witnout a book. Which means it would be only fair if the third book is about him. And it is. So, 🎉🎉!!
Thom caught my attention since book 1. A master of words willing to do anything to save his brother and Kitty. Someone who navigates the intricate political sphere of Cutta like no one else. I really wanted to know more about him.
And I did get to know more about him and I didn't get disappointed by what I learnt - it only made me like Thom more. It is a heartbreaking story of survival, a clever way to make the readers like Thom while making us hate the kingdom even more.
I think most of the impact this story has is due to the fact thag Crunden cares deeply for the human side of stories - the effects every single action has on those experiencing them. There are so many authors who use rape or abuse or violence as a way to "spice up" the book and forget to mention it affects the characters that live through those experiences. Crunden doesn't. Everything that happens lasts, everything that happens matters. And while it makes the book more complex and sometimes even a little bit hard to follow, it also makes it much more interesting, special and unique.
Reading about Thom in the Red Arena is heartbreaking not only because of the actions as they happens but because of their lasting effects. We see a man who has always talked his way out of trouble, unable to do that. Forced to fight, to kill, so he can survive. We see, as the synopsis says, a master of words become a master of death, a murderer. And we see the nightmares, the pain, the emotional destruction it causes on Thom. However, Crunden doesn't lose sight of who Thom really is and that's the best part. He may have became a master of death by circumstances, but he is, first and foremonst, a master of words, a master of manipulating odds for them to be in his favour. And he keeps playing games of power, he is willing to sacrifice himself and to pay any price for those he grew to love in a place meant to destroy.
The lasting effects and consequences of being in a place like the Red Arena aren't exclusive to Thom, though. All the new characters that we meet are affected as well. We see breakdowns, tears, deaths. Pain. Which, obviously, makes it all even more realistic.
Among these new characters, it's Charles. Another strong man, really well-written and credible. I love how realistic Crunden's characters can be. Charles is tough and brave, but he can also be sweet, he can also be caring, he can also love. And he is far from perfect. Including physically. In fact, I think it's the first character I've ever meet who fights and has asthma. Which is great.
And there's yet another great thing about the story. So far I've told you how this is a heartbreaking story of survival. I haven't told you yet how it is also a reminder that love can flourish even in the darkest places. If Nate is one of the best male characters I've ever seen, Thom and Charles' relationship is one of the most beautiful relationships I've ever seen. It is so sweet and amazing, although it is kind of forced by circumstances. Hopefully, I'll get more about them in the fourth book and we can see if it can thrive or not.
There's something else, aside from the relationship itself, that I liked. The fact that Crunden doesn't make a fuss around the matter. They are in love and that's it. It doesn't matter if they are straight or gay. What matters is that they are in love and happy and their love is something good they get out of that horrendous circus of death. They love each other and that's all that matters and I'm really glad Crunden made things that way.
I must also praise Crunden's writing style. It is truly beautiful (although sometimes it makes the story a little bit more complicated to follow than it needed to be) and I mean, what story doesn't benefit from a great writing style?! Especially when it brings life to every single aspect of the story - descriptions, narrative and dialogues. Yes, dialogues. Some of the most lively and realistic dialogues I've ever read. That not only manage to sometimes ligthen the mood with jokes thrown in always at the right time, but also manage to strengthen an aspect of the story I've come to realize that will be a central point of the series - Thom and Nate's relationship.
In book 2, we see how Nate won't give up on Thom. Despite what logic says, despite being told otherwise by everyone, he doesn't allow himself to believe Thom is dead. He doesn't let his hope of seeing his brother again die. Now, we have Thom, that even before Charles came into the equation already had a reason to live - Nate. Thom promised him he would return to him and he was fighting so he could keep that promise. The bound between the brothers is stronger than anything, even stronger than the bounds each of them has with their love interest. And, as I'd already said, the dialogues make that fact even more clear: everytime Thom speaks about his brother, it's impossible to miss the love and worry that comes with every word.
So, there are all these beautiful things about this book. And yet I couldn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the first two. Which breaks my heart. And considering that I love most things about the book, my only guess is that I couldn't enjoy it as much because I knew how it would end (most of the story at least). There wasn't this blind panic and concern about Thom for not knowing if he would survive - I knew that he would because of the ending of book 2. I was enjoying the story and it was importanto to know what Thom went through, but I wasn't actually concerned about him.
Overal, it's a beautiful book, just like the last two, but I honestly think Crunden gave too much away in the ending of book 2 to have a book 3 like this. If I didn't know what would happen to Thom, I think it wohld have been different. I would be worried and that would make me get much more invested in the story. As it was, I was enjoying the story (who wouldn't when it is this as well-written as this one?!) and meeting these new characters, but I was lacking the kind of worry and fear for Thom's life that would have made me unable to put a book down.
SCORE: 3.50 out of 5.00 stars
You can also find this review on my blog
"Arrogance is the downfall of even the best of men."
Crunden created this set of really complex, realistic characters that you can't help falling in love with. Especially the three main characters - Kitty, Nate and Thom. And you see, the first book was about Kitty. We see her development, her path that begins with her as Catherine Taenia, a young woman respectful of the laws of a rotten kingdon, and ends with her as Kitty, the young woman willing to fight for her freedom and what's right. The second book was about Nate. We see his struggle, his constant fight against his demons. We learn more about this brave man who is one of the most well-written male characters I've ever seen. A man whose strength comes from love. Who won't give up until he finds his way back to the woman he loves. Who won't let go of the hope of seeing his brother alive again.
So, it leaves Thom witnout a book. Which means it would be only fair if the third book is about him. And it is. So, 🎉🎉!!
Thom caught my attention since book 1. A master of words willing to do anything to save his brother and Kitty. Someone who navigates the intricate political sphere of Cutta like no one else. I really wanted to know more about him.
And I did get to know more about him and I didn't get disappointed by what I learnt - it only made me like Thom more. It is a heartbreaking story of survival, a clever way to make the readers like Thom while making us hate the kingdom even more.
I think most of the impact this story has is due to the fact thag Crunden cares deeply for the human side of stories - the effects every single action has on those experiencing them. There are so many authors who use rape or abuse or violence as a way to "spice up" the book and forget to mention it affects the characters that live through those experiences. Crunden doesn't. Everything that happens lasts, everything that happens matters. And while it makes the book more complex and sometimes even a little bit hard to follow, it also makes it much more interesting, special and unique.
Reading about Thom in the Red Arena is heartbreaking not only because of the actions as they happens but because of their lasting effects. We see a man who has always talked his way out of trouble, unable to do that. Forced to fight, to kill, so he can survive. We see, as the synopsis says, a master of words become a master of death, a murderer. And we see the nightmares, the pain, the emotional destruction it causes on Thom. However, Crunden doesn't lose sight of who Thom really is and that's the best part. He may have became a master of death by circumstances, but he is, first and foremonst, a master of words, a master of manipulating odds for them to be in his favour. And he keeps playing games of power, he is willing to sacrifice himself and to pay any price for those he grew to love in a place meant to destroy.
The lasting effects and consequences of being in a place like the Red Arena aren't exclusive to Thom, though. All the new characters that we meet are affected as well. We see breakdowns, tears, deaths. Pain. Which, obviously, makes it all even more realistic.
Among these new characters, it's Charles. Another strong man, really well-written and credible. I love how realistic Crunden's characters can be. Charles is tough and brave, but he can also be sweet, he can also be caring, he can also love. And he is far from perfect. Including physically. In fact, I think it's the first character I've ever meet who fights and has asthma. Which is great.
And there's yet another great thing about the story. So far I've told you how this is a heartbreaking story of survival. I haven't told you yet how it is also a reminder that love can flourish even in the darkest places. If Nate is one of the best male characters I've ever seen, Thom and Charles' relationship is one of the most beautiful relationships I've ever seen. It is so sweet and amazing, although it is kind of forced by circumstances. Hopefully, I'll get more about them in the fourth book and we can see if it can thrive or not.
There's something else, aside from the relationship itself, that I liked. The fact that Crunden doesn't make a fuss around the matter. They are in love and that's it. It doesn't matter if they are straight or gay. What matters is that they are in love and happy and their love is something good they get out of that horrendous circus of death. They love each other and that's all that matters and I'm really glad Crunden made things that way.
I must also praise Crunden's writing style. It is truly beautiful (although sometimes it makes the story a little bit more complicated to follow than it needed to be) and I mean, what story doesn't benefit from a great writing style?! Especially when it brings life to every single aspect of the story - descriptions, narrative and dialogues. Yes, dialogues. Some of the most lively and realistic dialogues I've ever read. That not only manage to sometimes ligthen the mood with jokes thrown in always at the right time, but also manage to strengthen an aspect of the story I've come to realize that will be a central point of the series - Thom and Nate's relationship.
In book 2, we see how Nate won't give up on Thom. Despite what logic says, despite being told otherwise by everyone, he doesn't allow himself to believe Thom is dead. He doesn't let his hope of seeing his brother again die. Now, we have Thom, that even before Charles came into the equation already had a reason to live - Nate. Thom promised him he would return to him and he was fighting so he could keep that promise. The bound between the brothers is stronger than anything, even stronger than the bounds each of them has with their love interest. And, as I'd already said, the dialogues make that fact even more clear: everytime Thom speaks about his brother, it's impossible to miss the love and worry that comes with every word.
So, there are all these beautiful things about this book. And yet I couldn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the first two. Which breaks my heart. And considering that I love most things about the book, my only guess is that I couldn't enjoy it as much because I knew how it would end (most of the story at least). There wasn't this blind panic and concern about Thom for not knowing if he would survive - I knew that he would because of the ending of book 2. I was enjoying the story and it was importanto to know what Thom went through, but I wasn't actually concerned about him.
Overal, it's a beautiful book, just like the last two, but I honestly think Crunden gave too much away in the ending of book 2 to have a book 3 like this. If I didn't know what would happen to Thom, I think it wohld have been different. I would be worried and that would make me get much more invested in the story. As it was, I was enjoying the story (who wouldn't when it is this as well-written as this one?!) and meeting these new characters, but I was lacking the kind of worry and fear for Thom's life that would have made me unable to put a book down.
SCORE: 3.50 out of 5.00 stars
You can also find this review on my blog
September 2, 2019
5 CRANKY STARS
This is book 3 in the series and at the beginning is a rehash of some of the events that happened previously. This one is from Thom’s perspective. For some reason, Nate was much sicker than Kitty and Thom feels it is his responsibility to help him find a cure or treatment. The Kingdom dictates that a sick person must be turned over to the medics. If that happens to Nate, no one will ever see him again. He has caused too much trouble for the government in the past. They have also found out that whatever is wrong with Nate and Kitty is very strange. They can’t tolerate the touch of a human; it burns their skin. From the books that Nate has read, it appears that they may be infected with something that has made them part or all Radiant. There is no way Nate wants Thom to enter the science building to check the files. But, of course he does just that and gets caught which is Nate and Kitty’s worst nightmare.
As I said, this is the story of how Thom was taken to prison and what happened to him once there. The country was told that he had been put to death. In reality, he was alive, just barely, and exiled. What happens to him next is beyond anyone’s imagination. Kitty is devastated but Nate is sure he is still alive somewhere. Everything Nate does from now on is to ensure that Thom can find him. Thom’s adventure makes him over into a stronger individual and a leader in his own right. Now he must find a way to escape and find Nate and Kitty. These stories overlap so as I said before, they must be read in order. You won’t be able to stop until the series finishes.
This is book 3 in the series and at the beginning is a rehash of some of the events that happened previously. This one is from Thom’s perspective. For some reason, Nate was much sicker than Kitty and Thom feels it is his responsibility to help him find a cure or treatment. The Kingdom dictates that a sick person must be turned over to the medics. If that happens to Nate, no one will ever see him again. He has caused too much trouble for the government in the past. They have also found out that whatever is wrong with Nate and Kitty is very strange. They can’t tolerate the touch of a human; it burns their skin. From the books that Nate has read, it appears that they may be infected with something that has made them part or all Radiant. There is no way Nate wants Thom to enter the science building to check the files. But, of course he does just that and gets caught which is Nate and Kitty’s worst nightmare.
As I said, this is the story of how Thom was taken to prison and what happened to him once there. The country was told that he had been put to death. In reality, he was alive, just barely, and exiled. What happens to him next is beyond anyone’s imagination. Kitty is devastated but Nate is sure he is still alive somewhere. Everything Nate does from now on is to ensure that Thom can find him. Thom’s adventure makes him over into a stronger individual and a leader in his own right. Now he must find a way to escape and find Nate and Kitty. These stories overlap so as I said before, they must be read in order. You won’t be able to stop until the series finishes.
July 18, 2021
Thank you to the author, Rebecca Crunden, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I am not going to lie, I was a bit more hesitant to start this book than the previous two due to the shift back in time, as I really wanted to know what would happen next instead of what had already happened… But I needn’t have worried because this book was just as amazing as the others! It gives so many new insights into the world and characters and I can’t wait to see where the fourth book takes the story!
As mentioned in the review for the previous book, you can really see how the author’s writing is growing throughout the books and I really love that! The writing style is clear and powerful and doesn’t soften any edges which makes it a really fast and compelling read!
"I'm a son of Anais. I don't know how to fight."
As I have come to expect of this series, it features many dark and grim themes that are worked out and explored really well through the perspective of the characters. At the same time, more light-hearted and sometimes even funny parts are also present which gives the overall storyline a perfect balance while still not downplaying any of the horrible things that happen in the kingdom and to the characters.
Like the previous books, this one shows yet another side of the dystopian world the story is set in. I really love how with each book you get to know more about the world and its history as well as its present. The way the author writes about everything makes it feel so realistic which is rather frightening if you think about it. But that is a big part of what makes dystopian worlds so interesting to me, they can resemble reality more than you initially might think and this series is no exception.
“He wondered how many of the truths he possessed could help bring the Kingdom to its knees. The thought was frighteningly appealing.”
By far my favourite part of this book and the whole series in general is the vast array of diverse characters that are part of the story. There are so many unique voices, and you can’t help but fall in love with all of them! As mentioned, I was a bit hesitant about this book as I didn’t really know Thom as a character, but I have definitely grown to love him during this book. The addition of a whole new cast of characters and the way Thom interacted with them was also very much appreciated and I really hope to see more of them in future books!
All in all, another great novel in a wonderful dystopian series that really moves the story forward despite going back in time chronologically. It shows different sides of the story that which adds to the narrative as a whole in a great way! I can’t wait to see what else is in store for all these characters!
I am not going to lie, I was a bit more hesitant to start this book than the previous two due to the shift back in time, as I really wanted to know what would happen next instead of what had already happened… But I needn’t have worried because this book was just as amazing as the others! It gives so many new insights into the world and characters and I can’t wait to see where the fourth book takes the story!
As mentioned in the review for the previous book, you can really see how the author’s writing is growing throughout the books and I really love that! The writing style is clear and powerful and doesn’t soften any edges which makes it a really fast and compelling read!
"I'm a son of Anais. I don't know how to fight."
As I have come to expect of this series, it features many dark and grim themes that are worked out and explored really well through the perspective of the characters. At the same time, more light-hearted and sometimes even funny parts are also present which gives the overall storyline a perfect balance while still not downplaying any of the horrible things that happen in the kingdom and to the characters.
Like the previous books, this one shows yet another side of the dystopian world the story is set in. I really love how with each book you get to know more about the world and its history as well as its present. The way the author writes about everything makes it feel so realistic which is rather frightening if you think about it. But that is a big part of what makes dystopian worlds so interesting to me, they can resemble reality more than you initially might think and this series is no exception.
“He wondered how many of the truths he possessed could help bring the Kingdom to its knees. The thought was frighteningly appealing.”
By far my favourite part of this book and the whole series in general is the vast array of diverse characters that are part of the story. There are so many unique voices, and you can’t help but fall in love with all of them! As mentioned, I was a bit hesitant about this book as I didn’t really know Thom as a character, but I have definitely grown to love him during this book. The addition of a whole new cast of characters and the way Thom interacted with them was also very much appreciated and I really hope to see more of them in future books!
All in all, another great novel in a wonderful dystopian series that really moves the story forward despite going back in time chronologically. It shows different sides of the story that which adds to the narrative as a whole in a great way! I can’t wait to see what else is in store for all these characters!
April 12, 2019
4.5
A Promise Of Return by Rebecca Crunden is the third book in The Outlands Pentalogy and the sequel to A History Of Madness . This was an absolute page-turner. I loved how the author explored Thom's journey in this book apart from Nate and Kitty which helped the reader in understanding him better and more intimately.
We get to see and know more about the amazing universe that the author has created and some fresh characters which hopefully would be making an entry in the next parts. I enjoyed this book even more than the first two books and I can't wait to dig in the next one! The writing, the plot and the characterization along with the plot-progression, world-building and the pacing and tension - everything, seems to develop for the better consistently throughout this series as far as I am concerned. And I am very sure that the next two books will have a lot in store for their readers.
I'd highly recommend this book and the entire series to dystopian lovers! If you are into sci-fi fantasy and have a special love for well-written books, then you simply cannot miss this amazing series.
You can also read this review on www.thereadingbud.com
A Promise Of Return by Rebecca Crunden is the third book in The Outlands Pentalogy and the sequel to A History Of Madness . This was an absolute page-turner. I loved how the author explored Thom's journey in this book apart from Nate and Kitty which helped the reader in understanding him better and more intimately.
We get to see and know more about the amazing universe that the author has created and some fresh characters which hopefully would be making an entry in the next parts. I enjoyed this book even more than the first two books and I can't wait to dig in the next one! The writing, the plot and the characterization along with the plot-progression, world-building and the pacing and tension - everything, seems to develop for the better consistently throughout this series as far as I am concerned. And I am very sure that the next two books will have a lot in store for their readers.
I'd highly recommend this book and the entire series to dystopian lovers! If you are into sci-fi fantasy and have a special love for well-written books, then you simply cannot miss this amazing series.
You can also read this review on www.thereadingbud.com
May 20, 2020
I have read the first two books in this series and while I enjoyed them, I see a difference in this book. Whether it is the seasoning of the author or just that I enjoy the character Thom more than his brother or Kitty, this book was a step above the first two.
This series/author does a great job of giving the reader some closure with each book but at the same time leaves the door slightly open for the next episode. I really enjoyed the linking of character and various points of view to show the different experiences of characters going through the same scenes.
This series/author does a great job of giving the reader some closure with each book but at the same time leaves the door slightly open for the next episode. I really enjoyed the linking of character and various points of view to show the different experiences of characters going through the same scenes.
November 12, 2017
She's done it again! The third novel in the Outlands Pentalogy draws us further in to the convoluted future world of the human race where man has evolved in radically different ways above and below ground. This time we follow Thom from his arrest to his reunion with his brother Nate and his Complement Catherine.
Most notable in this book, Crunden leads us through the outlying lands, where the local economy is bound up with the exploitation of criminals on a par not seen since Rome or Nazi Germany. Morality is shifting and relative. Horrifying, yes, but always true to life. The reader cannot help but cheer for the heroes, however flawed they may be.
I applaud this author for her ability to keep me spellbound every step of the way and say with a resounding shout, WELL DONE!
Most notable in this book, Crunden leads us through the outlying lands, where the local economy is bound up with the exploitation of criminals on a par not seen since Rome or Nazi Germany. Morality is shifting and relative. Horrifying, yes, but always true to life. The reader cannot help but cheer for the heroes, however flawed they may be.
I applaud this author for her ability to keep me spellbound every step of the way and say with a resounding shout, WELL DONE!
January 21, 2019
After the highly anticipated wait to get my hands on this book, I finished reading it over the weekend. There is something so realistic about this world that Ms. Crunden has created. I often find it hard to put this series down. I loved reading about Thom’s experiences after being separated from his brother and of course his relationship with Charles. I’m already counting down the days till the next installment is released!
December 29, 2017
Okay, wow. I absolutely loved this book. It's easily my favorite so far.
For the last month, I haven't been able to find the time to simply sit down and read this book. But once I did, I tore through it in about a day or two. There were so many things I loved about it--where do I start?
First of all, the pace of this book was great. The first two books of this series really got me hooked on the story, but I always felt like I was getting a very rapid synopsis. However, "A Promise of Return" felt so much more rational in terms of the timeline. The plot points weren't rushed by, and I feel like Rebecca was really taking her time exploring the world she has created, and telling her story.
The pace of this book also resulted in a some great character development. I loved how in this book Rebecca took us back to the beginning from the point where Thom was just leaving to help Nate and Kitty and through to the point where they were together again in the Outlands. I love all of Rebecca's characters, but Thom is by far my favorite. While I enjoy reading about Nate and Kitty, I still struggle to fully understand them as characters and my personal interaction with them as a reader feels awkward at times. But reading about Thom wasn't like that.
At the start, most of what I knew about Thom was based off of what information from Kitty and Nate. I knew he was smart, kind, civilized, and incredibly loving; however I had no idea how much of a badass he is. Nate and Thom are constantly compared by everybody around them, including themselves. When it comes to their personalities, I think Nate is seen as the reckless badass, while Thom is seen as the good boy--and uhhh, that's wrong. In this book, we come to learn that Thom is witty and a fast learner, and is a master in the art of getting what he wants. We are also exposed to a more racy side of him as well which just adds to the excitement of Rebecca's book. Overall, I feel like Rebecca took her time with Thom, and exposed us to the complexity of his character by immersing us in the story, and therefore allowing us to understand his struggles and experiences.
So, yes. I love the Thom. But in addition to that, I loved the arena fighting. Although it was sad to see the characters suffer and constantly fear for each other, I thought it brought an exciting and essential element to the story. Without the arena, Thom wouldn't have changed, we wouldn't have seen his amazing development, and we wouldn't have been introduced to the characters like Charles and Elara.
On the topic of Charles-- I was surprised when he actually ended up joining the group in the Outlands. I think it's going to be interesting to see how his presence affects the group chemistry. Will it create tension and pin characters against each other? I mean, he's dating Thom and has ties to Zoe and Tove, but he doesn't get along with Nate which obviously causes issues. Also, Thom is so in love with Charles, but really they want complete opposites and I'm interested in seeing how that affects their relationship in the future.
This book was amazing. I loved the characters. I loved the story. I have so many questions, and I'm so excited to see what Rebecca has in store for us next.
For the last month, I haven't been able to find the time to simply sit down and read this book. But once I did, I tore through it in about a day or two. There were so many things I loved about it--where do I start?
First of all, the pace of this book was great. The first two books of this series really got me hooked on the story, but I always felt like I was getting a very rapid synopsis. However, "A Promise of Return" felt so much more rational in terms of the timeline. The plot points weren't rushed by, and I feel like Rebecca was really taking her time exploring the world she has created, and telling her story.
The pace of this book also resulted in a some great character development. I loved how in this book Rebecca took us back to the beginning from the point where Thom was just leaving to help Nate and Kitty and through to the point where they were together again in the Outlands. I love all of Rebecca's characters, but Thom is by far my favorite. While I enjoy reading about Nate and Kitty, I still struggle to fully understand them as characters and my personal interaction with them as a reader feels awkward at times. But reading about Thom wasn't like that.
At the start, most of what I knew about Thom was based off of what information from Kitty and Nate. I knew he was smart, kind, civilized, and incredibly loving; however I had no idea how much of a badass he is. Nate and Thom are constantly compared by everybody around them, including themselves. When it comes to their personalities, I think Nate is seen as the reckless badass, while Thom is seen as the good boy--and uhhh, that's wrong. In this book, we come to learn that Thom is witty and a fast learner, and is a master in the art of getting what he wants. We are also exposed to a more racy side of him as well which just adds to the excitement of Rebecca's book. Overall, I feel like Rebecca took her time with Thom, and exposed us to the complexity of his character by immersing us in the story, and therefore allowing us to understand his struggles and experiences.
So, yes. I love the Thom. But in addition to that, I loved the arena fighting. Although it was sad to see the characters suffer and constantly fear for each other, I thought it brought an exciting and essential element to the story. Without the arena, Thom wouldn't have changed, we wouldn't have seen his amazing development, and we wouldn't have been introduced to the characters like Charles and Elara.
On the topic of Charles-- I was surprised when he actually ended up joining the group in the Outlands. I think it's going to be interesting to see how his presence affects the group chemistry. Will it create tension and pin characters against each other? I mean, he's dating Thom and has ties to Zoe and Tove, but he doesn't get along with Nate which obviously causes issues. Also, Thom is so in love with Charles, but really they want complete opposites and I'm interested in seeing how that affects their relationship in the future.
This book was amazing. I loved the characters. I loved the story. I have so many questions, and I'm so excited to see what Rebecca has in store for us next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2019
Probably the best in the series so far, and still...STILL...at an immaculate quality. Series' like this is why Goodreads 5-star rating is crap. It should be out of ten. Because none of these books could be lower IMHO, even though they're getting even more urgent and intricate.
In APoR we're given not only the journey of Thom after he left Nate and Kitty in AToD, but we also get to find out how he ended up on that pike. We get to to see the relationship between him and Nate properly, which to be fair, I'd been waiting for. I love stories about brotherly relationships, and this one has some currently unknown deeper, and odder connection to it, and this is probably my favourite conflict/union in the series--summink big's a'comin...
Thom goes on what is probably a harder journey than Nate (in the same vein as Kitty), in the sense that Nate's always been fighting, so he doesn't really know what it is not to. Whereas Thom is a clean-living boy (on the outside, at least) who uses manipulation and smarts to get his way. But he revelations in this tale gave me a slap for thinking I knew what was going on, when I really didn't. The proverbial fans got hit with ton of proverbial horse shit in the multitude.
Without spoiling too much, the relationships and journeys of Thom and his new comrades in arms were fab, and his more intimate one, well, that only added to the powder-keg this story is becoming. That particular conflict later on in the story, where Thom is caught in the middle, caused a hell of a lot of it in me, as it is continuing to in the fourth. It's like watching someone put up the biggest, most beautiful house of cards in the universe...but one hurricane and...
These people are basically my family now, until I know how it ends, or maybe long after. I really, really give a shit what's going to happen, as much as I do in my own work.
Anyway, currently on Book 4. Currently trying not to sit up in bed until the wee hours again because it's bad for my eyes, but hey, whatever, it's a Saturday night, right? Put on the blue-light filter and have at it.
I cannot advise enough to go a read A Touch of Death, right now, then book yourself out of life for a couple of weeks for the rest of the series.
And to hark back to my cover comment in the review of AToD, this one is actually one I really love.
In APoR we're given not only the journey of Thom after he left Nate and Kitty in AToD, but we also get to find out how he ended up on that pike. We get to to see the relationship between him and Nate properly, which to be fair, I'd been waiting for. I love stories about brotherly relationships, and this one has some currently unknown deeper, and odder connection to it, and this is probably my favourite conflict/union in the series--summink big's a'comin...
Thom goes on what is probably a harder journey than Nate (in the same vein as Kitty), in the sense that Nate's always been fighting, so he doesn't really know what it is not to. Whereas Thom is a clean-living boy (on the outside, at least) who uses manipulation and smarts to get his way. But he revelations in this tale gave me a slap for thinking I knew what was going on, when I really didn't. The proverbial fans got hit with ton of proverbial horse shit in the multitude.
Without spoiling too much, the relationships and journeys of Thom and his new comrades in arms were fab, and his more intimate one, well, that only added to the powder-keg this story is becoming. That particular conflict later on in the story, where Thom is caught in the middle, caused a hell of a lot of it in me, as it is continuing to in the fourth. It's like watching someone put up the biggest, most beautiful house of cards in the universe...but one hurricane and...
These people are basically my family now, until I know how it ends, or maybe long after. I really, really give a shit what's going to happen, as much as I do in my own work.
Anyway, currently on Book 4. Currently trying not to sit up in bed until the wee hours again because it's bad for my eyes, but hey, whatever, it's a Saturday night, right? Put on the blue-light filter and have at it.
I cannot advise enough to go a read A Touch of Death, right now, then book yourself out of life for a couple of weeks for the rest of the series.
And to hark back to my cover comment in the review of AToD, this one is actually one I really love.
December 16, 2017
This is the third book in the Outlands series, and while they've all been great, this was my favorite so far!
This book is all about Thom's story, and we find out what happened to him after he was separated from Nate and Kitty. It's in many ways a dark and brutal story, but it's also a story about love and friendship and family, and about being willing to do anything to fulfil a promise and get back to the people you love.
It's a real pageturner of a book, especially the first half, and I could hardly put it down. I was curious to learn more about Thom after the previous books, and he quickly became a favorite of mine together with Charles, one of the new characters we are introduced to in this book. I also love how we keep learning more about this universe, and while it's dark and far from perfect, there are still beauty and hope and things worth fighting for.
This is one of my favorite series at the moment and I can't wait for the next book!
This book is all about Thom's story, and we find out what happened to him after he was separated from Nate and Kitty. It's in many ways a dark and brutal story, but it's also a story about love and friendship and family, and about being willing to do anything to fulfil a promise and get back to the people you love.
It's a real pageturner of a book, especially the first half, and I could hardly put it down. I was curious to learn more about Thom after the previous books, and he quickly became a favorite of mine together with Charles, one of the new characters we are introduced to in this book. I also love how we keep learning more about this universe, and while it's dark and far from perfect, there are still beauty and hope and things worth fighting for.
This is one of my favorite series at the moment and I can't wait for the next book!
June 29, 2020
4.5/5
A Promise of Return follows the story of Thom Anteros. Thom is Nate’s brother and Catherine’s Complement. Thom left both of them in the first book and break into the Building of Historical Records. He gets arrested and he is later presumed to be dead. This book tells Thom’s story right from when he left his brother and partner.
The book begins in the city of Muntenia where a new character Elara Carlow is introduced. A majority of the events in the book take place in Muntenia. We also finally meet Blaise, Nate’s charming best friend who has been mentioned in the previous books.
Thom fascinated me as much as Nate did. He was similar to him and even Cat in some aspects, but also very different. He was smarter than either of them. He was diplomatic and manipulative. I didn’t know what he was going to do the next moment which kept me on edge. It was a bit scary how calm and smart he was. When he was introduced in the first book, he gave the impression of being a very nice guy and not arrogant, but he isn’t exactly like that. His journey was as rough as Nate and Cat’s has been.
I have grown attached to these characters. The author did a great job of making sure there would be a bond between the characters and the reader. It’s not an easy thing to do that because in many books, while you may like the characters it doesn’t necessarily mean you care about them. The only downside of this (but not actually a bad thing) is that I was scared that they’ll die the next moment.
It’s interesting that the author decided to create a sibling bond that is so incredibly strong. Nate and Thom are soulmates in a sense and they are that person to each other who is the most important to them in the world, and who they couldn’t live without.
Even though I liked focusing on one character’s story throughout, I still would’ve liked a couple of more chapters from Nate and Cat’s perspective. Since the first two books had been only their journey, it felt strange to have a disconnect from them.
The writing of all the books in the series has been good so far, but this was by far my favorite. I loved how deeply the author delved into Thom’s character. That depth was shown beautifully through the writing and narration. I’m trying not to play favorites but for now, Thom is my favorite character in the series.
The world-building in the series is happening gradually. I’m really enjoying that since there is not a lot of information thrown at us or very sudden developments. It’s smooth and constantly keeps a mystery surrounding the story.
It’s tricky to get the middle books in a series right and the author did a great job with this. Just like the previous book, I flew through this one too. This book is a page-turner and I was on the edge of my seat even more than the last book. There were some very unexpected turn of events that made me love this book even more. I didn’t expect this series to be this thrilling and I can’t wait to read more.
Trigger warning – violent situations
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A Promise of Return follows the story of Thom Anteros. Thom is Nate’s brother and Catherine’s Complement. Thom left both of them in the first book and break into the Building of Historical Records. He gets arrested and he is later presumed to be dead. This book tells Thom’s story right from when he left his brother and partner.
The book begins in the city of Muntenia where a new character Elara Carlow is introduced. A majority of the events in the book take place in Muntenia. We also finally meet Blaise, Nate’s charming best friend who has been mentioned in the previous books.
Thom fascinated me as much as Nate did. He was similar to him and even Cat in some aspects, but also very different. He was smarter than either of them. He was diplomatic and manipulative. I didn’t know what he was going to do the next moment which kept me on edge. It was a bit scary how calm and smart he was. When he was introduced in the first book, he gave the impression of being a very nice guy and not arrogant, but he isn’t exactly like that. His journey was as rough as Nate and Cat’s has been.
I have grown attached to these characters. The author did a great job of making sure there would be a bond between the characters and the reader. It’s not an easy thing to do that because in many books, while you may like the characters it doesn’t necessarily mean you care about them. The only downside of this (but not actually a bad thing) is that I was scared that they’ll die the next moment.
It’s interesting that the author decided to create a sibling bond that is so incredibly strong. Nate and Thom are soulmates in a sense and they are that person to each other who is the most important to them in the world, and who they couldn’t live without.
Even though I liked focusing on one character’s story throughout, I still would’ve liked a couple of more chapters from Nate and Cat’s perspective. Since the first two books had been only their journey, it felt strange to have a disconnect from them.
The writing of all the books in the series has been good so far, but this was by far my favorite. I loved how deeply the author delved into Thom’s character. That depth was shown beautifully through the writing and narration. I’m trying not to play favorites but for now, Thom is my favorite character in the series.
The world-building in the series is happening gradually. I’m really enjoying that since there is not a lot of information thrown at us or very sudden developments. It’s smooth and constantly keeps a mystery surrounding the story.
It’s tricky to get the middle books in a series right and the author did a great job with this. Just like the previous book, I flew through this one too. This book is a page-turner and I was on the edge of my seat even more than the last book. There were some very unexpected turn of events that made me love this book even more. I didn’t expect this series to be this thrilling and I can’t wait to read more.
Trigger warning – violent situations
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October 14, 2021
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I don't think it is a secret at this point that I love this series. The previous two books both received five stars from me, and I was greatly anticipating reading this one after the cliffhanger of the second book. Unsurprisingly, this book exceeded all of my expectations. The writing was as engaging as ever, and the pacing kept me glued to the pages waiting to see what happened next. I've also really enjoyed getting to see the story through the eyes of the different characters. It has kept things fresh in a way that I didn't expect. At first, I was a little worried that this book goes back all the way to the beginning to tell Thom's story, but I ended up loving it so much. His journey illustrated the immense growth of a citizen content with the status quo, who primarily used his looks and manipulation to get his way, transforming into a tough fighter who wanted to burn the whole system down. The events that catalyzed this growth were brutal, and I'm convinced this author enjoys torturing her characters. Thom's story also allowed for the exploration of some pretty heavy topics/themes, including slavery, sex work, and morality. I especially enjoyed the philosophical aspects of the shifts in Thom's moral reasoning from conventional to post-conventional. The romance in this book was also well done, and I loved Thom's new partner. Their relationship seems like it will continue to provide an interesting backdrop to the debate between doing what is best for you vs. what is best for society. Additionally, this story provided a little more information about the mutant civilizations and proposed some interesting ideas about how to structure society to avoid tyranny. The ending left off with unsettled arguments between the characters that will decide the fate of the group, as well as seriously impact all of society. I'm excited to see how it all plays out over the last two books. If you like dystopian stories with great characters, LGBT rep, and cringeworthy torture scenes, you will love this series. I rate this book an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars.
I don't think it is a secret at this point that I love this series. The previous two books both received five stars from me, and I was greatly anticipating reading this one after the cliffhanger of the second book. Unsurprisingly, this book exceeded all of my expectations. The writing was as engaging as ever, and the pacing kept me glued to the pages waiting to see what happened next. I've also really enjoyed getting to see the story through the eyes of the different characters. It has kept things fresh in a way that I didn't expect. At first, I was a little worried that this book goes back all the way to the beginning to tell Thom's story, but I ended up loving it so much. His journey illustrated the immense growth of a citizen content with the status quo, who primarily used his looks and manipulation to get his way, transforming into a tough fighter who wanted to burn the whole system down. The events that catalyzed this growth were brutal, and I'm convinced this author enjoys torturing her characters. Thom's story also allowed for the exploration of some pretty heavy topics/themes, including slavery, sex work, and morality. I especially enjoyed the philosophical aspects of the shifts in Thom's moral reasoning from conventional to post-conventional. The romance in this book was also well done, and I loved Thom's new partner. Their relationship seems like it will continue to provide an interesting backdrop to the debate between doing what is best for you vs. what is best for society. Additionally, this story provided a little more information about the mutant civilizations and proposed some interesting ideas about how to structure society to avoid tyranny. The ending left off with unsettled arguments between the characters that will decide the fate of the group, as well as seriously impact all of society. I'm excited to see how it all plays out over the last two books. If you like dystopian stories with great characters, LGBT rep, and cringeworthy torture scenes, you will love this series. I rate this book an enthusiastic 5 out of 5 stars.
March 27, 2019
Wow! Excellent. Absolutely outstanding! Ms Crunden's phenomenal character and world building abilities finds you quickly vested in the outcome of each characters path. Thom's story! While not at all what I had expected.. it was even better! I am so looking forward to the next one in the series.
There should be an option to give more than 5 stars as this book definitely deserves a much higher rating. I suggest that you make sure you have plenty of time available when you begin these books as you will not want to put them down once you begin.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
There should be an option to give more than 5 stars as this book definitely deserves a much higher rating. I suggest that you make sure you have plenty of time available when you begin these books as you will not want to put them down once you begin.
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
July 22, 2020
The third book in "The Outlands Pentalogy" is "A Promise of Return" by Rebecca Crunden reveals the story of Thomas. As I had guessed, this book was from Thom's point of view who was the younger brother of Nate and complement of Catherine aka Kitty.
First of all, I loved the execution of different characters pov in the different book in the series. I felt so much connected to all the three main characters because I know what were their thoughts and what others thought about them. This made me understand the characters even more and I think this is the main positive point in this series.
Since the first book, I wanted to know more about Thom because his character was displayed only from the view of Nate and Kitty. I was so much familiar with how much Nate loved his brother Thom. In this book, it was so great to know how much Thom had cared for Nate even from his childhood. Their brotherhood was something that I adored from the beginning.
At first, I felt like the story was a bit dragging because it didn't resume from where it was left in the second book. Later on, I got to know about Thom, his change in character and how much the cruel Kingdom with its wicked rules has taken the good inside him. The world-building was great than the previous books which literally means the author was exposing the cruelty of the Kingdom of Cutta to the fullest.
I did miss Nate and Kitty in this book as there was only a little part of them. But it was balanced by the new character Charles. He was more like Nate so I liked him. I wish to see more of Charles and Thom in the next book. I love this book as much as the preceding books in the series.
(Exactly 4.5/5)
First of all, I loved the execution of different characters pov in the different book in the series. I felt so much connected to all the three main characters because I know what were their thoughts and what others thought about them. This made me understand the characters even more and I think this is the main positive point in this series.
Since the first book, I wanted to know more about Thom because his character was displayed only from the view of Nate and Kitty. I was so much familiar with how much Nate loved his brother Thom. In this book, it was so great to know how much Thom had cared for Nate even from his childhood. Their brotherhood was something that I adored from the beginning.
At first, I felt like the story was a bit dragging because it didn't resume from where it was left in the second book. Later on, I got to know about Thom, his change in character and how much the cruel Kingdom with its wicked rules has taken the good inside him. The world-building was great than the previous books which literally means the author was exposing the cruelty of the Kingdom of Cutta to the fullest.
I did miss Nate and Kitty in this book as there was only a little part of them. But it was balanced by the new character Charles. He was more like Nate so I liked him. I wish to see more of Charles and Thom in the next book. I love this book as much as the preceding books in the series.
(Exactly 4.5/5)
November 15, 2019
If you’re looking for a book with great world-building, realistic characters and some slow-build M/M romance, look no further than this one. I haven’t read many dystopian books that I’ve loved, mostly because I find they tend to fall back on tired clichés and overdone plot lines. A Promise of Return is the exact opposite of that, with a unique story and characters that shine not in spite but rather because of both their strengths and their weaknesses, as well as their varied and complex relationships. Recommended!
February 11, 2018
Wow addictive and stellar
A fantastic third installment. I am addicted to these characters and this world. This is definitely my favorite of the three and I can't wait to see where this story goes next. Love it! I was so consumed by this book that it took up most of my day. So worth it! What a great ending too.
A fantastic third installment. I am addicted to these characters and this world. This is definitely my favorite of the three and I can't wait to see where this story goes next. Love it! I was so consumed by this book that it took up most of my day. So worth it! What a great ending too.
May 20, 2021
A Promise of Return is the third book in Rebecca Crunden’s Outlands Pentalogy and I’ll just say it does not suffer from middle book syndrome! In this installment, the reader follows the story of Thomas Anteros from when he left Kitty and Nate in his home to the present. What Thomas goes through in this story is horrific. When he left Kitty and Nate, they were infected and sick. Thom fears their fate as he in locked away and presumed dead by everyone. When he cannot name where NAte would take Kitty, the Hangman decides on a different fate for Thom. One that would assume death, while also giving him a long shot at his freedom. Win twenty death matches, don’t die in training and most importantly, don’t get traded…or you start all over again. How will Thom, who mastered the world through manipulation and words, handle this new world of violence and death. And most importantly, how will this change him?
Thom goes through a lot of challenges that he never thought he would face in his lifetime. The decisions he made for caused him a lot of grief and throughout the novel, he grapples with what happened to Nate and Kitty. His journey really shows the depths of the cruelty of the Kingdom of Cutta. While there is light through the friendships and relationships he makes in the darkness of places, the situation he is thrust in really highlights the unequality and wickedness of Cutta’s society. Thom goes through defintiely a crisis of morality and self. Although it would break most people, he holds out by remembering the promise he made to both Kitty and Nate; and Thomas Anteros keeps his promises….
Kitty and Nate play a part in this novel, although their actual roles are small. Through Thom’s POV we learn more about Nate and Kitty as they were before the events of the first book. There is a definite view of their character growth and how their relationships are created through learning of their past. Of course, we see the mirroring of Thom’s and Nate’s relationship through A History of Madness and A Promise of Return as these two books and A Touch of Death‘s events intermingle through the differing perspectives. .
Rebecca really compliments the world building she has done through the first two novels with this third. It really builds on the Kingdom and we learn more about what is going on at all levels of the society and in many diverse locations within the Kingdom itself. The pacing was great. There were moments where you we holding your breath and moments where it gave you a chance to breathe. Rebecca’s writing continues to impress with the altering views telling the story and the POVs are all distinctly different, while also flowing together to make an intricate plot with twists and turns throughout. I cannot wait to see what happens in A Dance of Lies.
I would like to thank Rebecca Crunden for sending me a copy for my review.
Thom goes through a lot of challenges that he never thought he would face in his lifetime. The decisions he made for caused him a lot of grief and throughout the novel, he grapples with what happened to Nate and Kitty. His journey really shows the depths of the cruelty of the Kingdom of Cutta. While there is light through the friendships and relationships he makes in the darkness of places, the situation he is thrust in really highlights the unequality and wickedness of Cutta’s society. Thom goes through defintiely a crisis of morality and self. Although it would break most people, he holds out by remembering the promise he made to both Kitty and Nate; and Thomas Anteros keeps his promises….
Kitty and Nate play a part in this novel, although their actual roles are small. Through Thom’s POV we learn more about Nate and Kitty as they were before the events of the first book. There is a definite view of their character growth and how their relationships are created through learning of their past. Of course, we see the mirroring of Thom’s and Nate’s relationship through A History of Madness and A Promise of Return as these two books and A Touch of Death‘s events intermingle through the differing perspectives. .
Rebecca really compliments the world building she has done through the first two novels with this third. It really builds on the Kingdom and we learn more about what is going on at all levels of the society and in many diverse locations within the Kingdom itself. The pacing was great. There were moments where you we holding your breath and moments where it gave you a chance to breathe. Rebecca’s writing continues to impress with the altering views telling the story and the POVs are all distinctly different, while also flowing together to make an intricate plot with twists and turns throughout. I cannot wait to see what happens in A Dance of Lies.
I would like to thank Rebecca Crunden for sending me a copy for my review.
July 17, 2022
I honestly don’t know how Rebecca Crunden does it, but some how every book in this series is better than the last. I struggled at first to get used to the new perspective and cast of characters but I quickly grew to love them as much as I love Kitty and Nate. On to book 4!
June 7, 2020
I’ve become attached to our characters, Kitty, Nate and Thom are like family now. We took a turn in this book that I didn’t expect as I don’t read the synopsis of sequels and it is my favourite so far!
I love the world building in this series, I was able to fully imagine the Red Arena and The Outlands. What I love about these books is Rebecca’s ability to draw me in and make me care about these characters and the plague that is wiping out so many in the Kingdom.
The rest of my review is here: https://feedthecrime.wordpress.com/20...
I love the world building in this series, I was able to fully imagine the Red Arena and The Outlands. What I love about these books is Rebecca’s ability to draw me in and make me care about these characters and the plague that is wiping out so many in the Kingdom.
The rest of my review is here: https://feedthecrime.wordpress.com/20...
January 25, 2022
The third book in Rebecca Crunden’s ‘Outlands Pentalogy,’ A Promise of Return is bold and hard-hitting, with an undeniably exciting plot, great characters and a memorable dystopian setting.
A Promise of Return is a self-assured, impactful novel that builds brilliantly on the two books that come before it in the ‘Outlands Pentalogy.’ It has much to recommend it, from a keen, suspenseful plot to great characterisation and prose, and it offers a reliable testament to the high quality both of Crunden’s prose and the admirable series as a whole.
While I genuinely enjoyed every element, I found Crunden’s description of the connections that formed between the characters to be particularly impactful, and, given the setting and the conditions in which those characters fought for survival, believable in their intensity and their importance. Further, familial and platonic relationships are given as much time and space to develop as romantic relationships in Crunden’s ‘Outlands Pentalogy,’ thus ensuring that each novel is both gifted with excellent plotlines and enriched with genuine emotion.
Read my full review on my blog, chatterverse.wordpress.com.
A Promise of Return is a self-assured, impactful novel that builds brilliantly on the two books that come before it in the ‘Outlands Pentalogy.’ It has much to recommend it, from a keen, suspenseful plot to great characterisation and prose, and it offers a reliable testament to the high quality both of Crunden’s prose and the admirable series as a whole.
While I genuinely enjoyed every element, I found Crunden’s description of the connections that formed between the characters to be particularly impactful, and, given the setting and the conditions in which those characters fought for survival, believable in their intensity and their importance. Further, familial and platonic relationships are given as much time and space to develop as romantic relationships in Crunden’s ‘Outlands Pentalogy,’ thus ensuring that each novel is both gifted with excellent plotlines and enriched with genuine emotion.
Read my full review on my blog, chatterverse.wordpress.com.
my-books
February 26, 2023// a note from the author //
A Map for The Outlands Pentalogy.
A Map for The Outlands Pentalogy.
December 13, 2021
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
It should be painfully obvious by this point that I love this series. The author was nice enough to give me all five books, so be ready for a lot more rambling on how fantastic it is.
This might be my favorite book in the series so far. I love Thom. He has been my favorite character form the beginning. I was so heartbroken when I thought he was dead. I didn’t want yet another queer character to be killed off. Instead I got Thom and his story in book three, which is exactly what I needed.
I loved it. The first 53% or so was fascinating, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know every detail of every thought he had. About half way through things calmed down and the book slowed down, but I still wanted to read. It just wasn’t as compelling. Maybe it was that there was less threats of death and less graphic violence for a little while? Not totally sure.
I love how the relationship between Thom, Nate, and Kitty got incredibly complicated in this one. It finally got addressed that Thom and Kitty were Complemented. It finally got addressed that Thom and Nate don’t exactly have the healthiest of relationships. So much happened that I needed to happen.
There is just so much man on man kissing. There is no doubt Thom is into men. He sleeps with a few women, but he seems to prefer men overall. Which is not how bi ever seems to be written. It was amazing to see a bi guy prefer men. It was amazing to see how he was unapologetically into the people he was into. There was no whining or “am I less of a man?” Stuff that sometimes comes with butch queer male leads. Thom was just Thom.
If you want action, tons of blood, and some hot male/male action, this is the book of the series for you. It’s potentially one that can be read on its own, until the 3/4 mark it gives all the information you need to understand without reading the first two. I really do recommend this series though! So close to five stars, but I have hopes for the next one!
I got an ARC of this book.
It should be painfully obvious by this point that I love this series. The author was nice enough to give me all five books, so be ready for a lot more rambling on how fantastic it is.
This might be my favorite book in the series so far. I love Thom. He has been my favorite character form the beginning. I was so heartbroken when I thought he was dead. I didn’t want yet another queer character to be killed off. Instead I got Thom and his story in book three, which is exactly what I needed.
I loved it. The first 53% or so was fascinating, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know every detail of every thought he had. About half way through things calmed down and the book slowed down, but I still wanted to read. It just wasn’t as compelling. Maybe it was that there was less threats of death and less graphic violence for a little while? Not totally sure.
I love how the relationship between Thom, Nate, and Kitty got incredibly complicated in this one. It finally got addressed that Thom and Kitty were Complemented. It finally got addressed that Thom and Nate don’t exactly have the healthiest of relationships. So much happened that I needed to happen.
There is just so much man on man kissing. There is no doubt Thom is into men. He sleeps with a few women, but he seems to prefer men overall. Which is not how bi ever seems to be written. It was amazing to see a bi guy prefer men. It was amazing to see how he was unapologetically into the people he was into. There was no whining or “am I less of a man?” Stuff that sometimes comes with butch queer male leads. Thom was just Thom.
If you want action, tons of blood, and some hot male/male action, this is the book of the series for you. It’s potentially one that can be read on its own, until the 3/4 mark it gives all the information you need to understand without reading the first two. I really do recommend this series though! So close to five stars, but I have hopes for the next one!
October 31, 2019
With the second and third installments in The Outlands Pentalogy, Crunden proves her mettle as a solid dystopian author as she brings each of the book’s narrative threads together for a highly absorbing, intriguing next installment.
In A History of Madness, Nate Anteros is once again sent to a work-camp, this time in Argon Basin for five years of hard labor, after the king cancels his execution. But it’s hard for Nate to wait that long while his friends’ fate is unknown to him. In A Promise of Return, Crunden takes the reader back to the harrowing journey of Thom Anteros as he escapes death by execution at the king’s orders but is sold in the slave markets of Muntenia to fight a gruesome battle of survival.
Despite abundant violence with graphic scenes of gruesome killings including a disturbing scene of feticide, the readers will eagerly immerse themselves in Crunen’s vividly constructed world which is both deeply intriguing and vastly imaginative. Crunden does a great job of balancing the romance element of the storyline with a hard-core dystopian theme. Her characters are well-developed and multifaceted, her prose elegant, and characters’ emotions run deep in the story. Series fans will welcome the addition of new faces in the second and the third book.
Beautifully written, filled with poignant emotions and intrigue, and featuring damaged but endearing characters, each book in the series tops its predecessor and makes the reader fervently wait for the next installment.
A stellar dystopian series that fans of the genre can pick without thinking twice.
In A History of Madness, Nate Anteros is once again sent to a work-camp, this time in Argon Basin for five years of hard labor, after the king cancels his execution. But it’s hard for Nate to wait that long while his friends’ fate is unknown to him. In A Promise of Return, Crunden takes the reader back to the harrowing journey of Thom Anteros as he escapes death by execution at the king’s orders but is sold in the slave markets of Muntenia to fight a gruesome battle of survival.
Despite abundant violence with graphic scenes of gruesome killings including a disturbing scene of feticide, the readers will eagerly immerse themselves in Crunen’s vividly constructed world which is both deeply intriguing and vastly imaginative. Crunden does a great job of balancing the romance element of the storyline with a hard-core dystopian theme. Her characters are well-developed and multifaceted, her prose elegant, and characters’ emotions run deep in the story. Series fans will welcome the addition of new faces in the second and the third book.
Beautifully written, filled with poignant emotions and intrigue, and featuring damaged but endearing characters, each book in the series tops its predecessor and makes the reader fervently wait for the next installment.
A stellar dystopian series that fans of the genre can pick without thinking twice.
March 21, 2021
Thank you very much to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
How is it that this series manages to improve by leaps and bounds with each new installment? However it’s possible, I am here for it, and everyone needs to know about it!
It isn’t often that you can actually see a writer become more and more brilliant at storytelling, but with every installment of this series I can see the effort and the polish and refinement shining through even more brightly every time. Some of the same issues I had with the previous books still remain, however it all fits in exactly the right way to keep me hooked on every word. Everything feels as though it is all coming together perfectly, building up towards the ultimate climax in this series, and I am so excited to see how it finally comes about. There’s a lot to love in this book, and it only seems to get better every time.
A Promise of Return is an excellent addition to a series that just keeps building up it’s fantastic cast of characters. I have no idea what is going to happen next in this series, but I am absolutely dying to find out!
Check out the review on my blog for more details!
How is it that this series manages to improve by leaps and bounds with each new installment? However it’s possible, I am here for it, and everyone needs to know about it!
It isn’t often that you can actually see a writer become more and more brilliant at storytelling, but with every installment of this series I can see the effort and the polish and refinement shining through even more brightly every time. Some of the same issues I had with the previous books still remain, however it all fits in exactly the right way to keep me hooked on every word. Everything feels as though it is all coming together perfectly, building up towards the ultimate climax in this series, and I am so excited to see how it finally comes about. There’s a lot to love in this book, and it only seems to get better every time.
A Promise of Return is an excellent addition to a series that just keeps building up it’s fantastic cast of characters. I have no idea what is going to happen next in this series, but I am absolutely dying to find out!
Check out the review on my blog for more details!
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