Review: Den of Mercenaries: Volume One by London Miller (Den of Mercenaries #1-#3)
Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
“Is the man who leads the lamb to slaughter not just as guilty as the man who slits its throat?”
I could have probably finished Den of Mercenaries: Volume One in one go, but I stopped in between each book (there are four of them in this first volume) because they had to be savored individually, and hello, a lot happens in every single one and if I hadn't taken those breaks, I would have probably experienced the mother lode of book hangovers. Prior to diving into this four-book collection, I had only read one other London Miller novel, Crooks & Kings, which is the first in her Wild Bunch series, which, in turn, is the spin-off of the Den of Mercenaries series, WHICH is a spin-off of her Volkov Bratva series. Whew! So, I'm basically working myself backwards, and it's all worth it--even if my to-be-read list is probably cussing the hell out of me at this point--because all it took was that first ever read for me to take note of Miller's writing and how much it just clicked with me. Now, on to my review...
Den of Mercenaries: Volume One is composed of the first four books of the ongoing series: Red., Celt., Nix., and Calavera. The first two books can be read as standalones while the third and fourth ones need to be read in order. However, I'm seriously and highly recommending that you read the four books in order because there is a series arc with regards to the head of the Den, a man only known to the mercenaries as The Kingmaker. Each book has a coda at the end, and this enables readers to better understand The Kingmaker, his motivations for having taken over the Den from Z, everyone's former handler, and the role he played in bringing in each member of this clandestine group. A quick peek at Goodreads has an upcoming trilogy entitled The Kingmaker, so I'm guessing that that'll be another spin-off for us to await, and yes, I've already got it jotted down on my never-ending TBR list.
Red. is the story of Niklaus "Red" Volkov and Reagan O'Callahan, Celt. is that of Kyrnon "Celt" Murphy and Amber Lacey, while Nix. and Calavera. is about the husband-and-wife team of Kit "Nix" Runehart and Luna "Calavera" Santiago. I'm not going to give you any details with any of the books because I've been trying to curb my enthusiasm when I write reviews for books I obsess over since I'm constantly worried I'm spilling one bean too many as I verbally gush on my blog, an e-retailer, or Goodreads. Suffice it to say that, the four mercenaries--Niklaus, Kyrnon, Kit, and Luna--have rather traumatic and intense personal histories and back stories that led them to become what they are. Add to that the fact that what they do as part of the Den isn't exactly child's play and there's a great deal of darkness that comes with it, so expect reads that have action, suspense, and loads of angst.
London Miller has found a niche for herself with these underground groups that are paid to do far from legal things but have individuals who are seeking their own kind of vengeance and retribution on those who have wronged them. There are resolutions in books one, two, and four, and since this volume contains all four books that are currently available, you won't need to get all stressed out over having to wait to see what happens after book three. I read this book over four days (one day per book), but if you're going to read the entire thing in one sitting (okay, maybe not ONE sitting since this is more than 900 pages and I'm guessing you'll want to get up and stretch and eat and stuff!), I salute you in advance. I wanted to do the same thing because it was difficult to NOT continue reading, but life got in the way. Go and read the five-plus-starred Den of Mercenaries: Volume One this weekend! ♥
Den of Mercenaries: Volume One is composed of the first four books of the ongoing series: Red., Celt., Nix., and Calavera. The first two books can be read as standalones while the third and fourth ones need to be read in order. However, I'm seriously and highly recommending that you read the four books in order because there is a series arc with regards to the head of the Den, a man only known to the mercenaries as The Kingmaker. Each book has a coda at the end, and this enables readers to better understand The Kingmaker, his motivations for having taken over the Den from Z, everyone's former handler, and the role he played in bringing in each member of this clandestine group. A quick peek at Goodreads has an upcoming trilogy entitled The Kingmaker, so I'm guessing that that'll be another spin-off for us to await, and yes, I've already got it jotted down on my never-ending TBR list.
Red. is the story of Niklaus "Red" Volkov and Reagan O'Callahan, Celt. is that of Kyrnon "Celt" Murphy and Amber Lacey, while Nix. and Calavera. is about the husband-and-wife team of Kit "Nix" Runehart and Luna "Calavera" Santiago. I'm not going to give you any details with any of the books because I've been trying to curb my enthusiasm when I write reviews for books I obsess over since I'm constantly worried I'm spilling one bean too many as I verbally gush on my blog, an e-retailer, or Goodreads. Suffice it to say that, the four mercenaries--Niklaus, Kyrnon, Kit, and Luna--have rather traumatic and intense personal histories and back stories that led them to become what they are. Add to that the fact that what they do as part of the Den isn't exactly child's play and there's a great deal of darkness that comes with it, so expect reads that have action, suspense, and loads of angst.
London Miller has found a niche for herself with these underground groups that are paid to do far from legal things but have individuals who are seeking their own kind of vengeance and retribution on those who have wronged them. There are resolutions in books one, two, and four, and since this volume contains all four books that are currently available, you won't need to get all stressed out over having to wait to see what happens after book three. I read this book over four days (one day per book), but if you're going to read the entire thing in one sitting (okay, maybe not ONE sitting since this is more than 900 pages and I'm guessing you'll want to get up and stretch and eat and stuff!), I salute you in advance. I wanted to do the same thing because it was difficult to NOT continue reading, but life got in the way. Go and read the five-plus-starred Den of Mercenaries: Volume One this weekend! ♥
Release Date: 04 May 2017
Date Read: 01-04 May 2017
Learn more about London Miller.
Purchase Den of Mercenaries: Volume One on Amazon.
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