Vicki DeVine didn’t realize her lodger was one of the Others until the day she finds Aggie Crowe about to heat up an eyeball. Unfortunately, the eyeball is the least of her worries as Vicki has a dead man on her property. Vicki has been trying to settle in at The Jumble, slowly renovating the property under the requirements set forth through her divorce decree. Now, Vicki has detectives investigating her for murder and the suddenly quiet world she’s been living is full of chaos and confusion.


LAKE SILENCE is the sixth book in <i>The Others</i> and the first book in the spinoff series, <i>The World of the Others</i>. Unlike the previous five books which focused on the Lakeside Courtyard, LAKE SILENCE introduces us to a whole new set of characters. As much as I love Simon and Meg and want to see more of them, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Vicki, Ineke Xavier, Wayne Grimshaw, Aggie, and a whole host of other new faces. The tension starts with the very first page (and the discovery of an eyeball) and doesn’t relent one moment as we see humans and Others navigating a very sticky situation.


Anne Bishop is nothing short of amazing! Her gift for world building leaves me stunned even now, as the brilliance of LAKE SILENCE only serves to enhance the overall haunting and dangerous beauty we’ve fallen in love with through her Lakeside Courtyard stories. The world the Others and the terra indigene inhabit is deadly and nightmare worthy- and yet it captivates me like no other world I’ve explored. I want to see more of the Elders and the Elementals, even as I would fear meeting them as just one accidental brush from them can kill.


And oh, the Sproingers! I have fallen in love with the Sproingers and want to know everything there is to know about them. Anne Bishop has created one of the most unique creatures with the Sproingers, crafting them with an air of mysterious cuteness that you can see turning deadly. In a way, they are the Others’ version of the Tribbles I dearly love from Star Trek (and yet they are nothing like the Tribbles; I envision them more as mini kangaroos).


Anne Bishop proves once again what a masterful storyteller she is! LAKE SILENCE is a must read for any dark fantasy fans. Anne Bishop’s exquisite use of language paints a hauntingly dark tale where hope still thrives, even as humans and Others seek to find some sort of balance in a clearly unequal world. If you read just one dark fantasy series, make it this one by Anne Bishop!

*review is in the editing queue of Fresh Fiction*

I adored this book. It was an interesting take on The Others world. It was nice to move away from Lakeside and Meg and focus on something different. This one was more of a mystery (almost like a cozy mystery.) as opposed to a romance. And romance really wasn't the point with this book. I liked the crows and the Ilya and the Inuit.

Vicki DeVine had received The Jumble as part of her divorce settlement, a rustic resort on the edge of Lake Silence in the town of Sproing. There are lots of Others in the area, supernatural creatures and beings, that don't always hold to human law, but there had never been a problem until her tenant Aggie Crow finds a dead body. Suddenly she's in a lot of trouble, and the Others are not happy with that status quo being disrupted.

While this is a book within a series of others about the Others (haha, pun absolutely intended), it was easy to drop into this world without having read them. It's a parallel world to ours, in that there's an Atlantik Ocean and other recognizable parts of geography that are twisted in small ways, but the biggest difference is that the supernatural exists alongside humans. They're described in rather clever ways and have their own quirks and personalities separate from the mythologies that we know.

The mystery surrounding the dead body that Aggie found unfolds with the help of a number of investigators. Some are human, and some clues are found by Others. We also see into the characters' backgrounds in a very fluid way, so that it doesn't feel like a massive infodump of backstory, and we get more of an idea about their motivations. I cared a lot about Vicki, Wayne, Aggie and the rest of the werekin, and found it fascinating to see their friendships and Vicki's interactions with the Others develop. It's a great story and makes me want to find the rest of the books in this world and read them as well.

Lake Silence marks the next story arc in Anne Bishop's The Others series. And while I recommend that you read the first five books in the series, I think you could easily start with this book without getting lost. This book acknowledges that the world of The Others has changed after the first arc, but it doesn’t refer to events in the previous books much other than that.

The story is a bit different this time around. Where the first arc was mostly told from the points-of-view of the Others in the Lakeside Court, Lake Silence deals more with the human side of Thasia and specifically, it's a chance for us to really see the consequences from The Great Predation especially what it did to the smaller settlements. In addition to focusing more on the human side, we also get a lot more focus placed on the Elders and Elementals which were more on the side lines in the first arc. They're still super creepy, in my opinion.

This book introduces us to Vicki DeVine, a human living in the little town of Sproing. She received an old run-down resort known as The Jumble in her divorce settlement and has been fixing it up and getting it ready for guests. Soon after she's completed renovations, a dead body is discovered on the property. The body could possible connected to her ex-husband and a plot to reclaim The Jumble. Unfortunately, most of the police are wanting to blame Vicki for the murder. When her friends and neighbors come to her defense and help her investigate, she realizes that she’s been surrounded by more of the Others than she ever thought she was. By claiming The Jumble as her own, she’s become part of their world.

I really liked Vicki! She's a woman who has been through a brutal marriage and still struggles daily to get past the poison her husband ingrained in her throughout the years of their marriage. But she is moving on albeit slowly. I loved the glimpses we get of her unguarded thoughts that show us how spunky she is. It makes the brutality of what her husband did her stand out more because she's so unsure of herself and she censors herself because she has been told repeatedly that her place is to be unseen and hidden. I look forward to the series continuing and seeing Vicki break out of that shell she's formed around herself. Also, it looks like we're going to get another great slow burn romance in this arc and I am totally here for it!

Vicki's only paying lodger Aggie, a Crowgard, is also a wonderful addition to this series. She's inquisitive like the Crowgard we met in the first story arc, but she seems to understand the humans a bit more than other terra indigene in this series. That understanding comes through in her investigative skills when she's able to put herself into the mindset of the humans in certain cases. I loved the parts of the story that were told from her point-of-view! I'm interested to see where her character goes from here.

Lake Silence drew me in like all the other books in this series and I can't wait to see where this new story arc goes from here.

In Lake Silence, Bishop takes the reader away from the familiar Courtyard to visit another community within the control of the Others. Vicki DeVine, runs a rustic lodge near Lake Silence. The lodge is a place for the Others to learn to safely interact with the humans in the community. When Aggie Crowe brings home an eyeball and asks Vicki to cook it in the wave-cooker (that's a microwave to the rest of us), Vicki gets pulled into a murder scene on the edge of her property and life gets much more complicated.

Although I was a little sad to see a departure from the Courtyard and it's familiar faces, it was interesting to see a cast of new characters. Like all of Bishop's books, this one is filled with rich storytelling and a biting sense of humour that makes it difficult to put down.

Reader's unfamiliar with this series would fine Lake Silence a good place to start if they are looking for a taste of the world of the Others.

It was great to revisit Anne Bishops very unique world but I missed the original characters. It would have benefited from more crossover to help the story along.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley for an honest review.

Vicki has settled in the Territory in a rustic resort she was awarded as a part of her divorce settlement. The resort has been in her ex-husbands family for generations. There are specific instructions that must be heeded to own it. You can not build any new structures. Aggie Crow is one of her lodgers. She is there to learn how to interact with humans. When a dead body is found on her property, she has to report it to the authorities. Things just get worse when her ex-husband shows up to dispute her claim on the property. More bodies or pieces of bodies show up and the Elders show up. This is a great book to the Others series. We have new characters and story arc to love. I recommend this book and series to everyone. I give Lake Silence (World of the Others, The) 5/5 stars.

I loved that this story was a branch off from the rest of The Others books, we get a view of the world outside of Lakeside, which really adds a depth to the series. I love Simon, Meg, the SweetBlood thread, and all the others (lol) in Lakeside, but knowing more about their world and the rest of the Others who are adapting is super interesting.
Vicki DeVine is trying to start over. After divorcing her husband she received The Jumble, a ramshackle collection of cabins around Lake Silence as her sole settlement. She spent months working to get the cabins and main house up to some semblance of comfort and has her first official tennant- Aggie, a Crowguard. But then Aggie finds a dead body and Vicki calls the police. The responding officers aren't all that they seem and humans, a threat against The Jumble, and The Others all come close to ending a tenuous peace.

While reading LAKE SILENCE I felt just a bit of deja vu, but in the best possible way. Many elements of the story felt similar to the first set up in the Others world. Everything was different, don't get me wrong, but similar feeling all the same with each setting bringing something different to the table. I had worried a bit that I would miss Meg and Simon and the Courtyard immensely, but these new characters and the Jumble pulled me in right from the start, making it feel like coming home again.

Just like in previous books in the series the main characters are fantastic, but the supporting cast is just as three dimensional and enjoyable. Our caretaker of the Jumble is Vicki. Like Meg, she's rather damaged, but very strong inside, and endears all of the Others two her. It put a huge smile on my face to see just how quickly the Others adopted her as well. Then of course you have all of the various humans and their shops on the good side of things. Plus a gruff but great cop named Wayne, and a seeing Intuit, Julian Farrow thrown in the mix that I really adored. Then getting into the Others, both large and small, they added a rich depth to the book. I particularly enjoyed the Sanquinati, Ilya, and the role he played in this book. He's scary but noble all at the same time, and I loved the juxtaposition. Add in the larger role the mysterious Elders play, and the Lady of the Lake, and LAKE SILENCE had one heck of a cast.

Then you have the plot, and oh boy was it a doozy. Vicki's claim on the Jumble is threatened, and to put it mildly, the Others do not take this well. You would think by now humans in general would know better, but I guess there's no limit to some people's greed. Their idiocy and shenanigans made for an interesting read, just seeing how bad things could get.

All in all LAKE SILENCE was an incredibly enjoyable read. Fans of the first books in this series will be more than pleased with this new direction. I can't wait to see where things go next.

Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and I especially like books by Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and Anne Bishop. Lake Silence, Anne Bishop’s newest, however, was not one of my favorites. Vicki DeVine received the property known as The Jumble in a divorce settlement. Her ex--who consistently called her fat and ugly, saying she was lucky he stayed with her as no one else would want her—was almost like a one-dimensional Snidely Whiplash type villain.. I thought her memories of his demeaning comments were mentioned much too frequently--they started to overpower the story of The Others who lived on the land. (The Others tolerated humans, but had no qualms about brutal retaliation when their rules were violated.) I’m hoping Bishop’s next one will have less about the evil Yorick and has nasty bad-guy cronies, and more about the denizens of Sproing—human, vampire, shapeshifter, and Other.

Four and half stars: An engaging spin off with entertaining characters, fantastic settign and more of The Others.

Vicki Devine isn’t looking for trouble. She is busily trying to renovate the land left to her after her bitter divorce from her controlling ex husband. She inherited a piece of land called the Jumble, nestled next a lake, but it is smack dab in the middle of the Others territory. Vicki is following the rules and doing what she is supposed to, but danger finds her when her her lodger, Aggie Crow, tries to cook an eyeball belonging to a dead man found on the boundary of Vicki’s property. That brings Officer Grimshaw to the area, another man who wants no trouble from the Others. Things quickly spiral into dangerous territory as Vicki and Officer Grimshaw, along with some of the Others, uncover a conspiracy aimed at Vicki and her land. Will the Others be forced to retaliate again against the meddling humans?
What I Liked:
*I was delighted to dive back into the world of The Others even if it is in a new territory with different characters. This one doesn’t disappoint. It delivered all that I love in Bishop’s series. Top notch characters, outstanding setting, thrilling story and plenty of paranormal. If you haven’t tried Anne Bishop’s books, what are you waiting for.
*This latest book introduces us to a new cast of characters. It took awhile to get to know them, but I enjoyed them just the same. The book centers around Vicki Devine, a woman who is damaged an emotionally unstable after years of abuse by her ex husband. Vicki is kind and big hearted, but she is also naive, bumbling and she is quick to speak her mind. She reminded me a bit of Meg with her naivety. Officer Grimshaw is a police officer assigned to the area. He is a good cop, one who takes his time to investigate, and he is motivated to do the right thing, he is much like Monty in the previous series. Julian is a retired police officer who has the gift of prophecy. He wants nothing more than quiet and solitude, but quickly finds himself pulled into the mystery. There are also many new faces courtesy of the Others. I had a great time getting to know these new faces, and I certain in time, they will grow on me and become favorites.
*The Sproingers were something new and different. They are a hundred furry rabbit like creatures that serve as eyes for some type of Other. I am anxious to learn more about these furry guys.
*I liked that the plot of this one was not overreaching like the previous series. The story stays confined within this book, so everything is easy to follow.
*The bad humans are as bad as ever, and they make stupid mistakes that cause them to come face to face with the Others, including the deadly Elders. There is something so satisfying about a bad human getting what is coming to them at the hands of the Teeth and Claws.
*The ending is satisfying. It ties up the story without leaving much undone. I am eager for more, but happy this was a complete story.
And The Not So Much:
*I have to admit, I was disappointed that there wasn’t a tie in with the characters from the first set of books. There are mentions of Meg and some of the Others in the Lakeside Courtyard, but they never come into this story. I was wanting to catch up with all my favorite friends.
*I was confused going into this one. During the last book in the first series, there was set up I thought for this book. Characters were being introduced and set out in another part of the land. I thought for sure these would be the characters featured in this book, but alas, they were not. Not sure what is up with that?
*Even though I loved this book, I felt there were too many similarities to characters and events that occurred in the first books. I wanted more diversity.
*I was hoping for a bit of romance for Vicki. Perhaps it will come later?

Lake Silence is a promising new start in The Others spin off series. I enjoyed the characters, the setting and the story. I just wish there had been more originality and diversity, it felt like a revision of Meg. Still, I love this series fiercely, I am more than eager for the next book. If you haven’t treated yourself to this series, do it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I Was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

I am a big fan of Anne Bishop’s The Others series. It’s one of those paranormal series that has next to no romance but somehow, for me it is incredibly readable and enjoyable. I absolutely love the world that Anne Bishop has created. You can find the series listing here if you’re interested. This is a series that in my mind, should be read in order because it really helps set the stage for Lake Silence. These are different characters than the original five novels so in that sense you are starting with a clean slate.

Also of note, this is not a romance book. It is paranormal/urban fantasy so if that’s your jam, you may enjoy this story.

Vicki DeVine is happy to be in a new place after her divorce. She didn’t get much out of the divorce (which she is more than fine with), just the Jumble, a resort on Lake Silence. She has been renovating it and making it livable again. She is a bit nervous that it is controlled by the Others but she is open to making friends and community with them. At least until one of her lodgers discovers a dead body and suddenly her new home is becoming anything but welcoming. At least, it’s becoming unwelcoming by her fellow humans (of course). Suddenly, she is being accused of a murder she definitely did not do and she has no idea how to get out of this mess. Thankfully, the Others step in and offer assistance and the situation goes from complicated to more complicated but working with the Others ensures that Vicki will get to the bottom of what is going on.

My favorite aspect of these stories is the world building. I love getting to know the many creatures and entities that make up the Others. I don’t mind the humans obviously and I quite liked Vicki. She is a sweet woman who is rebuilding her life. Her ex-husband was cruel to her in every way possible so Vicki doesn’t always have the best self-image but I really liked how this new job and role with the Others was helping her to find herself again. Obviously this is not an overnight change but as the story progresses, Vicki takes control of her life and she proves that she is not someone to be walked over.

One of my favorite aspects of the Others stories are the disaster scenes. That may not be the right terminology but the scenes I love the most are when the Others are in attack mode and are protecting their territory and tearing humans apart for their awful behaviors. These types of scenes are included in Lake Silence so don’t despair if you, much like me, enjoys the disaster scenes. I think of it as nature restoring order.

I know there aren’t a ton of details in this review but for me, much of the fun of this series is reading and getting to know the characters, human and Others. I think Anne Bishop does a good job with this first book after the original five. Yes, there are new characters but a few familiar faces pop up also. No, this book isn’t quite as good as the Meg Corbyn books (at least to me) but I can’t say I regret visiting the world of the Others. I enjoy getting immersed in their world for an afternoon!

While i was a little disappointed to hear that Meg's story has come to an end, i am so glad that the world that Anne Bishop has created in her Others series has not. I loved getting back into this world with brand new characters. And there may be a cameo or two from characters that we already know and love. A little bit of mystery and lots of adventure, this book won't let you down!

This is the first book I have read in the world of the others, and I loved it. It did take a moment to catch on to the cultures of the world being a new reader, since there was no blatant backstory but it didn’t take long to catch up and there is a glossary as an aid. What I loved most was the heroine. Vicki is a victim of severe emotional abuse and probably physical abuse (she denied it but…). She has a journey over the course of the story that leaves her stronger and more confident, but not in an unrealistic way. She isn’t magically healed by love or some creature, but has to wade through the emotional muck like in real life. I also like that romance was hinted at but that was it. All of the supporting characters were great. And everyone had a backstory. The cop, Grimshaw, wasn’t just reluctantly in charge, he prefered working a certain kind of beat that was not this. Julian had his own trauma, and fought threw it to help others. He like Vicki has issues, but wasn’t a perfect hero. He made mistakes and admitted his weaknesses.

Also usually when we meet shifters, vampires, and other beings in urban fantasy they are more human than not. But her The Others, really are other. They need to study and consciously work to mimic human behavior. Aggie was adorable and it was fun seeing her translate human behavior into her own cultural language. I am a huge fan of this book, and can not wait to read more in the series.

Lake Silence is being called The Others #6, but it’s really more of a spinoff series. It focuses on completely different characters, with only a few minor mentions of our friends in Lakeside Courtyard. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s good to know up front.

For some reason, I just didn’t connect to this story as much as I did the original Others Series—I think that’s mostly due to the fact that I didn’t connect to Vicki, the MC, nearly as much. She’s got a lot of trust issues when it comes to men (familiar, since Meg did too, but in much different ways), but other than that, she sort of felt a little boring to me. I did love seeing more of the Others, the Elementals and the Elders though—when there was supernatural activity in the book, it was pretty extreme and spectacular. But the story itself just didn’t draw me in as much as I hoped. I couldn’t get over the fact that the people who were trying to take advantage of Vicki were just being incredibly stupid. I mean, Others who can eat you are on her side—there’s no contest!

Still, I didn’t dislike the book. I just wasn’t incredibly excited about it. And I’m holding out hope that this new twist on the series will get better as it continues. I gave this installment 3/5 stars.

A companion story to the stories from the Courtyard. The Elders want to see The Jumble back in operations where the Others can mix with humans and learn from them. Vickie has to fight for her world with the help of her friends.

I loved the first 5 books in The Others series from Anne Bishop, and was excited to get more stories with the Others. While I'll miss so many of my favorite characters from the Lakeside Courtyard, I already love so many of the characters we met in the Lake Silence area of Sproing.

Vicki DeVine was treated horribly by her ex-husband, but she has started to come out of her shell and feel a strength about herself she has never felt before since moving to The Jumble on Lake Silence. I loved she was so very accepting of any individual that came to stay with her and she wanted to really make her new live work running The Jumble per the agreement with the Others. I have to say I especially loved having Aggie Crowgard and her friends staying at The Jumble. I adored the Crowgard at the Lakeside Courtyard and found myself loving The Jumble Crowgard every bit as much.

I loved the characters that rallied around Vicki to battle her ex when he and his club show up to try and kick Vicki out of The Jumble. I loved how both humans and Others worked together to help out Vicki. I feel like her character will grow so much over the course of series, and really can't wait to see her once she finally sees herself as so many of those in the Lake Silence area already see her. I'm very excited to see where Ms. Bishop takes us with her Lake Silence stories of The Others.


Rating: 4 Stars (B)

Lake Silence exists in the wild country, a place ruled by the Others. It and the village of Sproing are named for the Others who call the area home. Human locals know about Lake Silence..."If you put a motor in the water, you will die."

Vicki DeVine has come to Lake Silence to start anew. A woman carrying wounds from the life she left behind Vicki is sensitive to the Others and their wariness when dealing with humanity. As dangerous as the Others' are, humans are predators too and the men that Vicki escaped have followed her to Lake Silence. Unfortunately for them, these men have no experience with true predators and Lake Silence doesn't forgive or forget the trespasses of man.

Author Anne Bishop has created a beautiful, intricate world with her Others' series and this latest novel is a new entry point, with completely different protagonists and thematic elements. Lake Silence is a brilliant addition that I highly recommend.

I was thrilled to visit the world of The Others again with Lake Silence, but was a little unsure if I’d like it as much as the previous books that centered on Meg and Simon, and the Lakeside Courtyard residents. I will say that Meg and Simon continue to be my favorite, because, hello, romance junkie here, but Lake Silence was captivating! And there is a hint of a romance to come. Wasn’t sure if this was going to be a standalone, but I just checked and there’s another book coming, so yay! Maybe I will get my romance after all.

So the story centers on Vicki, a recent divorcee who acquired a lakeside lodge in her divorce settlement, The Jumble. Along with The Jumble, she has access to a prime lakeside beach on Lake Silence. The Jumble is located in the Wild Country, smack in the middle of The Others’ territory. Vicki’s very respectful of the terms of the land lease, and building restrictions while renovating, which is something that’s noticed and appreciated by The Others who live all around her. Not that she realizes all this at first.

Vicki’s ex-husband is a real piece of work with nefarious plans and he starts to set these in motion. Also, Vicki’s lodger, Aggie Crow, finds a dead body on the property, and this really sets the story into motion.

Officer Wayne Grimshaw, a highway patrolman, is sent up to The Jumble to investigate and becomes embroiled in the whole mess, and temporarily stationed in Sproing, the little town adjacent to The Jumble. There’s also Julian, an Intuit, and previous policeman who worked with Grimshaw, and several other interesting and fun characters. Aggie, Vicki’s lodger and member of the Crowgard. Ineke, the boardinghouse owner, and kick-ass friend of Vicki; Ilya Sanguinati, a scary, but “yummy” attorney, and many more. All play a vital role in Vicki’s new exciting life.

I think Vicki’s story sort of echoed bits of Meg’s story in the first books, where a human settles in with The Others and because of her courage, acceptance of The Others, kindness, and lack of prejudice, is taken under the wing (s) of The Others she comes in contact with.

Vicki finds herself in a heap of trouble and bullied by a group of men, that include her dirtbag of an ex-husband, who want to take over her property. I was so thrilled when The Others took up for her, much to the surprise of the horrible, scheming men, who’ll stop at nothing to get there way. Gotta say, I was so very nervous for Vicki on more than one occasion!

The story took a little bit to get into, but that wasn’t surprising with a new cast of characters and new location, but reading the previous books made it easy to slide in and get comfortable. I didn’t want to put the book down, not even when driving on some windy roads. I was on vacation, visiting wineries while reading, and didn’t want to get car sick, so I purchased the audio version, so I didn’t have to stop the story! My husband also became riveted to the story while I had it playing in the car.

Loved Lake Silence and I can’t wait to continue with another adventure in the next book!

A copy was kindly provided by Ace via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is also posted at The Readers Den.

While Lake Silence is not part of Bishop’s series about the Others (shape-shifters, vampires, and other Elemental beings), it includes some of those character peripherally. Instead, it focuses on a completely new character, Vicki DeVine, a middle-aged, overweight, prone-to-panic-attacks divorcee’ who received a rustic resort as part of her divorce decree. Since her divorce, she has lived quietly, remodeling and upgrading the various buildings and facilities on her property and trying to recreate her life with reading. She discovers that her first tenant, Aggie Crow, is a shifter member of the Crowguard just as Aggie discovers a dead body. Unfortunately for Vicki, this is just the first of many bodies as it becomes obvious that her ex-husband is trying to steal back the resort.
Vicki is a charming character – sweet and kind to nearly everyone with some significant body and confidence issues that can lead to panic attacks. She is joined by several other distinctly drawn characters, including Wayne Grimshaw, the aloof highway patrol officer asked to lead the investigation who somehow becomes Chief of Police without him even realizing it; Julian Farrow, owner of the book store entitled “Lettuce Reed” who is a former police officer himself with PTSD issues; Ineke Xavier, the fierce matron who runs the town boardinghouse and befriends Vicki; and Aggie Crow, the young Crowguard who is Vicki’s first tenant and the one who discovers the first body. Bishop ensured that each of these characters had their own distinct voice, which made the story really come alive.
In Bishop’s world, humans are not the apex predator; instead, the Others – shape-shifters, vampires, and deadlier Elementals such as Winter and Fire – rule the world and allow the humans to exist so long as they follow specific rules. When humans break those rules, then the consequences are severe, with ice storms, tornadoes, sinkholes, and giant unseen killing creatures. Bishop’s other series ended with humans suffering these types of catastrophes, so one would think that Yorick Dane, Vicki’s ex-husband, and his partners would have known better than to risk offending the true rulers of the land. Regardless. reading about their comeuppance was a lot of fun.
The book overall was a great read, with lots of humor and small moments that touched the heart. There were times when I laughed out loud and times when I teared up. This probably was one of the best books that I have read all year. While it can be read as a standalone, this is a time when I highly recommend reading the entire series, because some of the humor is enhanced by knowing what happened in the other series.