Annabel Chase‘s Crossroads Queen series starts off well enough with nothing really to complain about, featuring a nicely varied set of personalities and event development which doesn’t come across as forced or particularly questionable. That said, I’m not in the mood for another ‘independent loner discovers the joys of companionship’ series right now so I’m not sure when if ever I’ll pick up the continuations.
The Portal Wars Saga, by James E. Wisher, is roughly split into two halves: The first four books cover the subjugation of the main continent, while the remaining three focus on the protagonist’s quest for immortality. That first half is pretty good if you’re looking for an anti-hero themed ‘persecution-to-domination’ story but suffers a bit where female characters are concerned. I have no idea why the author seemed so dead-set on sidelining the MC’s wife, but all it managed to accomplish was create a bunch of needless awkwardness that drags the story down.
As for the second half, I doubt I’ll ever bother with it since the whole immortality subplot doesn’t seem very interesting.