Iron Will (The Shifting Tides #4)

Candy

Rating: really liked it
The worlds of the different kingdoms must find a way to come together to fight this new enemy & to survive as a people. Dion & Chloe do as they were both taught & bring about what no others have ever come close to accomplishing. With the help of many of their friends they find the strength & will to unite all people & eldran alike together. This a brilliant ending to an amazing fantasy series. These books have taken me on a journey far & wide while coming to this final epic battle that holds the fate of all these amazing characters in it's hand. James Maxwell brings to end the lands far away filled with magic & mystery. Thank you for this trip into the unknown. I will read these books again & again.

I voluntarily reviewed a Net Galley copy of this book.

Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers

Rating: really liked it
The final book in this series gets 3 stars. Which is what the whole series boils down to and not just bc of the star average.

I’ve belabored my dislike of Dion, the Hero of this saga enuf in the 2 previous books, so I won’t Repeat myself. HE’S WEAk!!!

Ok, couldn’t help myself. At least there was no whoring or impregnating other women in this one...

Let’s talk action:
The plot and how everything comes together and why they came together that way was meh. That’s why the whole series gets 3 stars. A couple of areas were extremely anticlimactic- like when (view spoiler)[Marrix is still alive and is just an island and somehow slept hundreds of years and thengets killed off by a skull basher within 20 pages of awakening. WHAT??? Then what was the point of all that explanation and awakening and etc? (hide spoiler)]

Predictable.

And if I’m getting no romance in my fantasy, I better have a freaking amazing plot!!!! Nope. It was meh.

World building was fine, maybe 4 stars.

Kargan - knew u would be a decent character. Honestly everyone grew except for Ehric and Dion.

Shout out to my man Zachary, who, along with Karagan might be my fave characters in this whole series.

I mourn the poor enunnch from bool1 who was shafted (literally).

Thta’s About it. Prob won’t Read more from this author.

(Stupid autocorrect!! Took me waaayyy too long to write and edit this thing!

Zitong Ren

Rating: really liked it
I mean like look, it’s a decent ending, everyone’s happy, blah, blah, blah. At the same time, it’s an extremely boring and predictable ending that really chose the easy way out. There were so many other ways he could have taken it instead of the actual way he did. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the sexualisation of 12/13 year old Sofia as pretty, or growing up to become beautiful is frankly just gross. I really don’t support that sort of stuff in modern fantasy even if it is set in an older setting. Despite some good moments, it is also anticlimactic and feels rushed as hell.

Cati

Rating: really liked it
Just as good as the rest of the series, though predictive in its conclusion😁

Kyrie

Rating: really liked it
I liked this series a little more with each book. It had its flaws, but I found the characters very likeable and by the end I couldn't put the book down! Definitely recommend this series to fantasy lovers 😊 a little bit predictable but I dont always mind that.

Jennifer

Rating: really liked it
[ At the beginning of the book, the realm is on the brink of full-scale war. The insatiable Palemon has an army of powerful dragons that are unstoppable, until.....something goes wrong with the magic that created them. They turn from controlled steads to wild demons intent on eating human flesh, any human flesh. The threat of these ravenous creatures that are systematically annihilating each kingdom serves to unite the previously at odd

Carmina Valdizán

Rating: really liked it
At the beginning I thought this was going to be a trilogy, when I heard about the 4th book I was slightly disappointed, I hate when authors keep the sagas going only to sell more books. This was not the case, it was necessary to finish the story, I can see that now. I love the book and the conclusion of the story. James Maxwell created a fantastic world with wonderful characters, a wonderful journey and a great read.

Danae Mckain

Rating: really liked it
I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It was a series we started in book club and I went on by myself and finished it. It’s not my normal genre of books that I enjoy but these were very well done. I liked the characters and all the different plots that rolled into one.

Taddie

Rating: really liked it
I just kept reading after book 3 and was through the final in no time. Good finish of this series which really picked up after the first book.

Mr A Dhanani

Rating: really liked it
Riveting

This does not disappoint. It is a lot faster than the previous books and I did not see the twist that was very clever. Well worth a read.

Maria

Rating: really liked it
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book was released January 16, 2018.

This is book 4 in the Shifting Tides series.

Golden Age – 4/5 Shape-shifters
Silver Road – 5/5 Warships
Copper Chain – 5/5 Political Assassinations (My review)
Iron Will – 4/5 Red Dragons

What is it about?

Iron Will is the fourth and final installment in the Shifting Tides series. As a conclusion, it is hard to describe without spoiling things for books 1, 2, 3. Let’s just say that in these dark times allies must pull together or risk facing destruction, kings must make difficult decisions, and the fate of all man-kind and eldren is uncertain.

Was it good?

I really enjoyed this book. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that I thought some of the story threads were heading toward a different final confrontation and I was sad when one or two of these just fizzled out on the sidelines. Overall it was a very solid and exciting story. It was a very final conclusion which left no doubts about what would become of the world thereafter.

Now that it’s over..

I highly recommend this series for fantasy lovers. People who love kings, strong women, dragons, shape-shifters, or any combination of the above should find something to love in these beautiful books. The whole series was written consistently well.

sh(e)reader

Rating: really liked it
... and it's the end of the series. I got though all four books in a little over a week. Experiencing the audio editions (Kindle Unlimited) I was listening any chance I had. As the series started, I didn't think I was going to like this series as much as the Evermen Saga ... but I did.

If I have one complaint, it would be the repetition. Dion ... is flaxen haired, we know. As he transforms into a dragon he pictures himself elongating etc, etc ... it happens a lot, and is described the same way every time. And the word INDOMITABLE ... seems to be a favorite of this author, or maybe one that just stood out to me (also indefatigable *Ü*).

This conclusion was full of battles and dragons and death. But here also, the author has a way of making things less than black and white. Characters that we hate ... maybe we don't hate them quite as much as we thought we did. Some interesting thoughts (ala the oracle) on why things happen.

Parental perspective ... no foul language (just doesn't exist in this fantasy world), there is some sex, although nothing at all explicit. Violence ... a lot of that.

Rachel Alice

Rating: really liked it
The final book in Maxwell's Shifting Tide Series, Iron Will is fantastic!!

I loved loved loved this book. It has been a while since I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading a book, and I couldn't put this book down! What a fantastic conclusion to a great series.

Chloe and Dion once again have their work cut out for them, as the world is thrown into a truly dire situation. Quite literally, everyone could die. This book is messy, people die, sacrifices must be made and it is written so compellingly .

There are a lot of things things in this book that resonant in the world today. The core message I have come out of this with is acceptance of diversity. Through the whole series there has been this message but it really comes home in this final book. Only through unity can the world be at peace. Only through unity can the true evil in the world be defeated. Only through unity can all nations thrive.

I sincerely recommend this series - especially if you like a fantasy story that is more action than romance.

Megs C

Rating: really liked it
Really impressed how the author tied this series up, and made it all work out in the end without seeming to be too unrealistic. You can see there will still be matters of intrigue and political skirmishes among the people, but their shared history and plan for a UN of sorts bodes well for the future. I wish the “green shards” were explained a bit more- how much magic remains, will it increase, is it limited to only Sindara, etc. Also just throwing the three kingdoms of Dion, Chloe, and Tanus together in the end- not sure how that would work. I guess they all went under Xanos rule after all. Long live the king, so long democratic process?

Anyway- highly satisfying series, I loved it all, each book was unique, and the ability for redemption stories among the characters was great. I was waiting the whole time for Javid to be revealed to Chloe as Tomays (sp? Cant remember) brother. The whole time! What a miss- that would have been cool. Unless I imagined that link up, but I’m pretty sure I did not. Oh well!!

Cata Grui

Rating: really liked it
The final materia

Iron Will gracefully closes the loop on magic and conflict, wrapping together the past with the present, allowing the glimpse of a bright future to shine through the text of the final pages. Smartly written, with minor hiccups here and there, the story is fun, thrilling and exciting to follow. It’s easy to read, the characters ‘behave’ as expected and the flow of the action makes it quite nice. There are minor hiccups in he storyline, seemingly forcing the characters and events to play out for the sake of the narrative, but they are easily overshadowed by the rest of the book, which, overall is very good. It’s also the last novel of the series, so newcomers will probably not benefit from the entire backstory and nuances. It’s best read in its intended sequence, after the previous 3 books. Overall, again, very nicely written, believable plot and likable and relatable characters. Definitely worth it.