Review: Crown of Souls by Ronie Kendig

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

Six months after stopping a deadly plague, Cole "Tox" Russell and his team are enjoying a little rest. That peace is short-lived when a sniper shot hits Tox. The enemy is discovered to be one of their own, a rogue Special Forces team operator.
 
Alec King is perhaps the only person as skilled as Tox, and he's out for justice. Furious with orders that got his men killed, he intends to make those responsible pay. And he insists Tox join him, believing they are the same breed of soldier.
 
Afraid his old friend is right, Tox battles a growing darkness within himself as he and his team engage in another deadly encounter with antiquity. It appears Alec is cheating--he's using a mysterious artifact, a crown that history has linked to some of the worst slaughters in humanity. Racing to stop Alec before his vengeance is unleashed, Tox must fight the monster without becoming one.

My Review

Once again, I was drawn into the intense world of Tox and his team as they race to try and get ahead of the devastation being wrought by a powerful crown in the wrong hands. There are many facets to the story that weave together and enhance its complexity, including flashbacks to ancient times when we see the crown in use in another dangerous era. Tox and Haven's relationship is still new and is tested when they once again work together under extraordinary pressure and circumstances. I loved the way they look to each other for emotional support despite the tension that often arises between them. I missed Chiji in this book but felt like Haven stepped up in his absence to balance out Tox's thoughts when they get dark. Some of the deeper themes of the book are addressed in Tox's wrestle with where the line is between justice, vengeance, and evil. We got to know Ram a little better, as well as Ram's sister Tzi who has some drama of her own going on (which I hope we get to the bottom of in the next book!) There is a quick pace to the book and just when things seem like they take a pause, the plot ramps up again even more. I can totally see this book playing out as a fantastic action movie with just the right amount of romance. I'm not going to give away any details, but know that this is a book that keeps the reader enthralled and turning the pages!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

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Don't miss the FREE prequel novella in the Tox Files series, The Warrior's Seal and the first full-length book in the series, Conspiracy of Silence, which I gave 5 stars!

Synopsis

A Special Forces team is thrust into a war with the past to save the president after an artifact unleashes a deadly toxin.

Special Forces operative Cole "Tox" Russell and his team are tasked in a search-and-rescue--the U.S. president has been kidnapped during a goodwill tour. The mission nosedives when an ancient biblical artifact and a deadly toxin wipe out villages. Tox must stop the terrorists and the toxin to save the president.

(Read my review here)

Synopsis

Four years after a tragic mission decimated his career and his team, Cole “Tox” Russell is persona non grata to the United States. And that’s fine—he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed at an archaeological dig where three Bronze-era censers are found, Tox is lured back into action. Partnered with an archaeologist and an FBI agent who’s an expert in deception, Tox and his team are pitted against a secret society, a plague dubbed the New Black Death, and a revered codex—which may hold the key to stopping the deadly outbreak.