The Invisible Ring (Black Jewels Book 4)

I thought I had read it before. I was wrong. Picked up where I thought I had left off in the series years ago and decided to go back and reread the earlier ones. Must have purchased this and life got in the way of reading it Great read and important to read before The Shadow Queen and Shaladors lady.

There is a huge gear shift in this book as it is a prequel to the events in the first trilogy of the series. I actually wasn’t really excited to read it as I loved the characters from those books so much. But once you get past that the story in The Invisible Ring flows really well and again it was difficult to put the book down. The few cameos we get from The Sadist were just enough to add to the story but not take it over and show some of the little ways he rebelled against Dorthae long before Witch was born.Jared was a pleasure slave, until the night he broke and killed both the Queen he served and her brother. He is supposed to be sold to the salt mines to be worked into death. That is until a Gray Lady shows up and buys his contract. Now Jared is on his way to the one of the only courts successfully evading Dorthae’s slow war to take control of all the lands and infect them with her cruel servants.The only problem, there are lots of people trying to kill them while on route, a traitor in the midst of the traveling party and the Gray Lady, well she isn’t exactly what she seems to be either.You have to have a solid foundation in this world so even though it is a prequel it shouldn’t be read until after books 1-3. How the Gray Lady and Jared staved off Dorthae and the army is what gave Janaelle the bones of how to save the land and the blood in Queen of Darkness.It was good to see a few more characters that were good and not twisted into what Dorthae makes people into. We get to see how she took a man with ambition and a streak of cruelty and made him the worst version of himself, until he was almost as cruel as she was.Great story set in a world I’ve grown to really like, despite its cruelties.

This is a prequel to the Black Jewels trilogy. Because some of the characters come from long-lived races, there are a couple of characters who appear in the first trilogy. The villain of this piece is Black Widow and Priestess Dorothea SaDiablo who is also the villain of the first trilogy.In this one, we see Dorothea's plots and plans as she tries to eliminate any woman of the Blood who might rival her strength and encourage those women who share her views. She is spreading her corrupt version of the Blood to nearby countries. She would especially like to get rid of the Gray-Jeweled Queen who rules a territory called Dena Nehele.The second continuing character is Daemon Sadi, a major hero in the first trilogy, who is a pleasure slave owned by Dorothea and lent out to other queens. He is doing everything he can to undermine Dorothea's plans and support those who oppose her.The hero of this story is Jared, a Red-Jeweled Warlord from Shalodor, who has been a pleasure slave for nine years. The story begins with him at auction because he killed the Queen who owned him and her Prince too. He is destined to die in the salt mines of Pruul until he is purchased by the mysterious Gray Lady.Jared finds himself among a group of slaves purchased by the Grey Lady and on his way to Dena Nehele. He decides that he will escape as soon as he can and head home to Shalador where he needs to make things right with his mother.Plans quickly go awry when the group finds itself hunted by the Master of the Guard for Dorothea - a thoroughly corrupt man who will do anything to keep himself safe from Dorothea's punishments. The story is filled with adventure and action and danger for our heroes. It was interesting to watch Jared remember what he was taught as a child about honor and service and watch him pledge that service to his Gray Lady.This was an engaging Dark Fantasy that adds to the Black Jewels series by letting readers get a glimpse of how the world of the first three books came to be.

The Invisible Ring is a Prequel to the Black Jewels series. The story takes place way before Witch is born.A pleasure slave, Jared, is ready to be sent to die in the salt mines after killing his queen who had abused him. He's ready for his destiny when he’s purchased by the Gray Lady.Jared has heard of the Grey Lady and what he knows is that people fear her. When a slave is bought, by her, they are never seen or heard from again.Before the journey to her home in the mountains begins, she removes the Ring of Obedience and replaces it with the Invisible ring.Besides purchasing Jared, The Gray Lady buys more slaves: Blaed, Thera, Garth, and Brock to mention some.As the journey begins, it seems someone wants to capture and destroy the Gray Lady. At first, Jared is just trying to stay alive but when he starts noticing that Lia, the Gray Lady, is not what she seems, he starts having mixed feelings. He becomes protective of her. At some point, Jared must decide between staying with her or running for his freedom before all of them die.A good addition to the series. This story happens before Janelle is born. I like all the characters: Lia, Blaed, Thera, and Jared. It was a good mixture of personalities and Craft.Cliffhanger: No4/5 Fangs

I've read every Anne Bishop book I can get my hands on, although the Black Jewels trilogy is definitely my favourite.This looks like the start of a new serious set in the same world as the original Black Jewels books, and I look forward to reading the rest.I understand some readers will be disappointed that the book is not about the characters from these books, although there were a couple of great cameos, but it is set in the world I've come to enjoy, the sense of humour and character building is strong - I couldn't ask for more.

I have no clue why I like this series so much because they don't skimp on the horrific torture and violence in loving detail but all the love scenes are sketchy and fade to black. That willingness to describe violence graphically, and sexual abuse graphically, but not so much the healthy, loving ones was what put me off Outlander and Kushiel's Dart. But I adore this series I think it's probably the unusual choice to emphasise male sexual vulnerability (and normally I couldn't care less about men's problems but in this case they are the ones often used and thrown away and are beholden to the females and are chided for being emotional). I think it might just be that I fell in love with Daemon Sadi...

A good novel, set in the same land as the black jewels trilogy but before. Enjoyed it a lot!

just got my copy this morning....couldnt put it down till i had read it

great book I love it