There is a little description floating around the internet that perfectly describes a Jenn Lyons ‘A Chorus of Dragons’ novel, a “cat squasher”. While we in no way want to see our feline friends hurt, it’s actually pretty apt. Each book is well over 500 pages, and if you’ll excuse me a moment....the first three are close to three kilos when stacked up on the bathroom scales. Don’t drop them on cats!
Not only are they weighty in size, they are hella weighty in substance (bigger on the inside if you will). When trying to describe exactly how a Jenn Lyons book is structured I often come off looking like a madman. “See, there’s this guy, and a shapeshifting murderous creature, and they’re both telling the story in dual timelines only it’s being magically recorded and transcribed and then someone is leaving sarcastic little footnotes on the magical manuscript. What? Oh no, that’s only book one, in book two...”
However, by the time a reader comes to ‘The House of Always’ they know what they’re in for. They are messy in the best way. Nothing is straight forward, and that’s just starting with the narration and timelines!
By the end of the third book, things were quite disastrous, and it was a long, long wait to see how the aftermath of the Ritual of Night was going to work out. Without spoilers, it’s.....a LOT.
Best part? The characters. The Four prophesied “sons” are only the beginning. There are gods, dragons, warriors, magicians, lords, slaves, priests, lords who were slaves, emperors who were magicians, humans that became dragons, dragons who walk as humans, and a demon at the heart of everything. Plus everyone is queer. While I may not actually want to live in the world Lyons has written, I sure do like her representation. Three central characters have decided to forgo the dreaded love triangle and a tangle of pasts and feelings and just be a delightfully messy poly trio. Characters can change their physical gender by petitioning the gods and live their lives just as they’re meant to. It’s simply lovely.
On the downside, these books aren’t really something that you can just visit. One needs a lot of attention, and perhaps a really good family tree. One that includes the body swapping and reincarnated souls. I had to do a reread before I could begin House of Always which was a bit time consuming, but definitely worth it.
So..not for the neophyte, but for a lover of clever, detailed, high fantasy, Jenn Lyons is it. If you could follow every twist and turn in ASOIAF, or read every appendix in Lord of the Rings and need something new, A Chorus of Dragons is it. If you need a workout, just try lifting these babies!
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5

I didn't realise how much of this series I hadn't read. I thought I was all caught up, but I quickly read through the first three to be able to read The House of Always.

First of all, I really enjoyed seeing some of the side characters and getting to know them more. The character development and growth is immense in this book, especially for characters like Qown, Kalindra, Xivan, Talon, and Senera.

Second, the plot is intense. I don't want to give away spoilers but there's some cool stuff with the Eight Immortals and reincarnation (sort of). Kihrin's/Vol Karoth's arc becomes way more interesting. It's just really cool.

The only things I wasn't super keen on were the beginning because I had absolutely no clue what was going on and it was really hard to follow, even having read the previous books immediately prior to beginning The House of Always. And the non-linear telling of the story was confusing at times.

Overall, however, this was an excellent read, and I'm very much looking forward to the conclusion.

I still need to read the previous books of the series before starting this one. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC. I am grateful.

Really enjoyed this one!,great next installment of this series. This one focused more on the characters, which I loved! Overall, great read.

I’m pretty sure the author read the comments about how the earlier books were kind of confusing in the way they were told and was like “HOLD MY BEER” for this one. I picked this one up the day after I finished book 3 and I had no idea what was happening early on. I literally thought I somehow missed a chapter or something. I finally gave up trying to figure out what was going on and just kept reading. I finally got there, but it took awhile. I really enjoy this series, but this one has been my least favorite. The constant switch of POV and timeframe was difficult to follow at times and seemed a bit over the top. The twist toward the end kind of had my rolling my eyes too. Anyway – Kihrin has decided to take the fight to Vol Karoth and all of his friends (plus some others) are literally pulled into the mental fight. This one really tackles the relationships of the characters and if the ends justify the means and what that means for the people caught up in it.

Jenn Lyons is the author of the Chorus of Dragons series that began with The Ruin of Kings back in 2019. Now only three years later, Lyons has put out her fourth book in the series. It is refreshing to see a fantasy author who consistently outputs great work on a timely schedule. The new book by Jenn Lyons is The House of Always, which follows up on the dramatic battle between gods that occurred at the end of the last book. Like the other books in the series, The House of Always is an action-packed adventure. But this time Lyons slows down for some dramatic emotional and philosophical moments. Let's take a look at The House of Always by Jenn Lyons, the fourth book in her Chorus of Dragons series.

The book picks up shortly after a climactic battle that saw the deaths of many gods and goddesses of the world. Many of the main characters in the series took part in that battle. It commenced after a failed ritual that should have strengthened the prison of the mad god Vol Karoth. While also stripping immortality from the last race who (seemingly) was still blessed with it.

The story starts in media res with another battle. All of our characters are in the midst of an assault that involves both a dragon and an undead kraken. Other books in the series were laid out in an oral storytelling format, with one of the main characters writing the story as they go. And each book so far has largely focused in on one of the main characters and their perspective. But The House of Always takes a slightly different approach. Here Lyons draws from the memories of the characters to form the story.

The House of Always finds the majority of the main characters in the series stuck together in a house that exists outside of time. In this place, time is supposed to move far more slowly than in the outside world. After Senera casts a spell to tie the house to the prison of the mad god Vol Karoth, the rules of time start fluctuating wildly. In another desperate move, Senera also brings many of Kihrin's friends into this realm for protection. Only they soon discover there is a grave danger in staying there, but they cannot leave.

They have been pulled in by Vol Karoth in attempt to torment our protagonist - Kihrin. Readers of the books know that Kihrin is the reincarnation of a sliver of Vol Karoth's soul. He represents most of the fallen god's lost goodness. Kihrin made a dramatic decision at the end of the last book - The Memory of Souls - sacrificing himself in attempt to reunite the pieces of Vol Karoth's soul and bring an end to the darkness threatening to swallow the world.

This is a world where people can come back from the dead in a variety of ways. So, Kihrin didn't seem too concerned about dying at the end of the last book. But he is concerned about his companions suffering from perma-death. So when his friends and lovers are pulled into Vol Karoth's prison, the two begin a battle deeply rooted in emotion and philosophy. They start pulling memories from the minds of those trapped in the house.

These memories are experienced by every character in the house, and makes up the bulk of the narrative action. Kihrin is trying to prove that there is still goodness in the world, that love can prevail. His grand plan is to reach Vol Karoth's lost humanity. Meanwhile the dark god is trying to pull out all of the deepest secrets and horrors in everyone's memory. He wants nothing more than to break Kihrin, and subsume his soul.

Over the course of the novel we get POV chapters from pretty much every main character left standing. Teraeth is dealing with some serious trauma after killing his own mother - the goddess of Death - in the last book. Janel is furious with Kihrin for running off and not telling anyone his plans. But she is also harboring a new secret. One that could change everything for the throuple of Kihrin, Janel, and Teraeth. We get to see more interaction between Janel and Teraeth in this book as well. It is nice to see how they love one another as much as they both love Kihrin.

There is also the wizard Thurvishar, who actually doesn't get much memory on display in this book. He is too busy keeping everything together, and helping Kihrin keep Vol Karoth at bay. But we do get memories from Senera, who recently turned on her mentor Relos Var and switched sides. With her traumatic history and complicated motivations, Senera remains one of the most intriguing characters in a series full of them.

Then there is the unlikely couple of Talea and Xivan, whose December/May romance is surprisingly sweet and effective in this installment. Talea is the former sex slave who is slowly becoming the new Goddess of Luck. Xivan is an undead duchess who finds life returning to her unexpectedly in the titular house of always, as she slowly becomes the next Goddess of Death.

Alongside Senera is another former servant of the villainous Relos Var (who surprisingly doesn't show up in this book, despite being the main antagonist for the series thus far). The priest Qown is deeply uncomfortable with his memories on display for everyone to experience. Because they reveal a deeper truth about his sexuality that he has been trying to avoid.

Many of the characters in Lyon's books are extremely queer. But that doesn't mean homosexuality is widely accepted in the world. Qown's grappling with his sexuality, and his clear attraction to Kihrin's cousin Galen D'mon is handled with thoughtfulness and care. Their growing relationship contains many of the sweet moments in the book, but it is a difficult journey for them both to accept their feelings for one another.

Galen himself and his wife Sheloran are somewhat of a surprise addition to the book's sprawling cast of characters. Their marriage is one of convenience, because they are both secretly gay. But it is clear that they care deeply for one another, and they make a great team. Sheloran herself is a figure of some interest, as she finds out that her own mother is secretly a goddess (a lot of secrets coming to light in this book). They are relatively new characters in this ensemble cast, but they are a worthwhile addition.

Somewhat murkier is the addition of the character Kalindra - a spy and priestess who was once one of "Thaena's Angels". She is the former lover of both Kihrin and Teraeth (who are now lovers themselves) and she is also the wife of the now deceased Jarith Milligreest... whose shade is still hanging out trying to protect his wife and infant son as he struggles against becoming a demon. I'm not sure if Kalindra's story was wholly necessary for this book, but it is clear that the demon shade of Jarith will have some serious ramifications for the world.

The House of Always is the penultimate book in the Chorus of Dragons series by Jenn Lyons. And it expertly sets up the pieces for the endgame. By weaving the stories of each character together, we start to see the ways each character's journey has impacted the others. Every action has consequences not just for themselves, but also for the fate of the entire world. It's a heavy weight to bear, and Lyons does an excellent job delving into each character's emotional and mental state. Most books approaching the end of a series would jump straight into the action, having already set up the character journeys. But Lyons takes the time to investigate each character. She breathes life into them (sometimes literally). And ensures that every complicated character is fully explored, and necessary to the story.

This is my new favorite book! I love Jenn Lyons writing style and everything comes together perfectly plot wise. I am in love with the world she has created and can not wait to have a physical copy of the book. I cried and laughed and overall enjoyed this book and the rest in its series. This book adds further proof to way Jenn Lyons continues to be my favorite author. Thank to the moon and back for letting me read this early.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley and TOR.

House of Always is the fourth book in the Chorus of Dragons series. Like the previous books in the series it tells the story form the viewpoint of multiple characters. And like the previous books it adopts a completely new and different method of accessing those memories and viewpoints. That is an interesting and fun thing in each of the books how there are new viewpoints and new methods used to create the story.
It still follows the stories of our 4 main characters Kihrin, Janel, Teraeth & Thurvishar, but continues to add in viewpoints from other characters we have met in the series. This one is much more contained for most of the story as the group fights to stop Vol Karoth in his prison and the eternal lighthouse. There are many revelations about relationships and the powers and motivations of many of the characters and it was refreshing to have Relos Var not be the main adversary for the group for most of this chapter of the story.
I really enjoyed this one and the way it continues to play with life, death, magic and the way the characters interact with each other. The embrace of rejecting traditional binary choices and relationship ideas is refreshing. Although there were a couple parts where I was getting a little annoyed with how Kihrin couldn't focus on much except how arousing he found his loves (while they were in mortal danger!)
All around a great addition to the series and has a great climax that sets up the next installment. I have no idea how Jenn Lyons is putting out books of this length and quality in the short time between publication dates, but I am loving not having to wait around very long for the next book!

The fourth book in the series and somewhat transitional though none the worse for that. In some ways this is a quieter episode which focuses on the characters more than the action – though there’s plenty of that too. Honestly that suited me. There is so much to explore with these characters and Lyon’s writing remains as funny, charming and gripping as ever. An absolute treat and I’m looking forward to finale in book 5.

This book was far more character based as we looked closer at every couple not a straight mf among them. Although that would be nice, to see all represented not just the lgbtqia+s. But it is nice that there is starting to have more inclusivity in high fantasy. It is also staring to get a little long. Each book is thick and now we need another one. I am read for this series to be over. I will miss it but it's time is coming

The House of Always is book four of five of Jenn Lyons' "A Chorus of Dragons", her epic fantasy series that began in early 2019 with The Ruin of Kings.. I've head a weird relationship with this series - I really didn't particularly love book 1 and wasn't really sure I was that interested in continuing further but took out book 2 from the library anyway on a trip to a Hockey Analytics Conference. And I fell in love with that book, The Name of All Things, as the story expanded to new areas of the world and far more interesting (and far more queer) characters than were present in book 1, to go along with some really fun dialogue. I then got a copy of book 3, The Memory of Souls early off Netgalley, which only got better, with all of the important characters from books 1-2 combining in an interesting plot that took a really interesting turn that intrigued me enough I actually wrote a second blog post to discuss spoilers. Each of these volumes is LARGE - we're talking 500-600 pages each, but they each come with a helpful multipage recap of the prior book so that you never really have to reread the prior volume to start the next book in the series.

So yeah, when The House of Always showed up on Netgalley, I was praying to get an early copy, and when I did get such an early copy, I couldn't resist reading it almost immediately. And The House of Always....kind of delivers and rewarded my eagerness. On one hand, this is a step back in plot quality, as the book brings back a number of minor characters not seen for a while, and focuses a lot of attention on them as the series' main plot doesn't really move much forward here. On the other hand, the characters - both the familiar and the ones we haven't seen since book 1 - are tremendously developed, the dialogue is tremendous, the relationships are so easy to fall in love with, and I've already reread tons of moments, just like I did the prior book. There isn't any plot concept/idea as fascinating as the one in book 3, but the characters here are so good that I still want to reread this for parts I might have missed and still desperately find myself wanting for more.

Trigger Warning: There are no full rape scenes this time (an issue with the series is the occasional occurrence of mind control rape, although usually off page), although there is one scene where one half of an F-F couple is unnecessarily rough and forces her partner to yell at her to stop (she does) in this book. Might be an issue for some although if you've gotten this far in the series, I suspect you're okay.

SPOILER WARNING: There is no way to talk about this book in any depth without spoiling the cliffhanger ending of book 3. DO NOT go past this point here if you intend to read book 3 and haven't.

Note: Again this book comes with a thorough recap of book 3, so anyone who hasn't read book 3 in a while will be able to pick this up with ease. The recap is ONLY of book 3 though, and some of the characters featured in this book haven't showed up since Book 1, so if you haven't read books 1-2, you will be quite lost (and if you're like me and only read book 1 once and forgot a lot in it, it'll take a little bit to get you back up to speed, but this book does manage to do that).





--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
24 Days after the battle at the Well of Spirals, on the Main Island of Devors, Janel, Teraeth and Thurvishar find themselves at the site of another impossible battle. There the trio, along with Talea, Galen D'Mon and his wife Sheloran, their former ally Brother Qown, and Kalindra Milligreest, find themeslves defending the library against an undead kraken, a crazed shadow dragon, and an undead army led for some reason by Talea's undead ex-lover Xivan Kaen.

And then Senera arrived and cast a spell taking them to the Lighthouse at Shadrag Gor, the place where time moves impossibly faster than the rest of the world. And before Senera can say more than that she brought them there to "help Kihrin", the group suddenly finds themselves seeing a memory of Teraeth. And then a memory of Senera.

For Kihrin D'Mon has done the unthinkable - he has merged his soul with the King of Demons Vol Karoth in an attempt to heal and take control of the all powerful demon. And now as he battles for control inside Vol Karoth's mindscape, Senera has brought all these people, including those he loves the most, right into Vol Karoth's reach, where there memories and support might give him the strength to prevail....or might just accelerate the destruction of the entire world......
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It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this series that this book is once again in the format of a text written by one of the characters - in this case book 2's narrator Senera, who sardonically footnotes this book just like she did book 2 (and just like Thurvishar footnoted books 1 and 3). And once again, the story is told in altering perspectives from a bunch of different characters - in this case really, all of our characters (13 in all). The House of Always attempts to justify this even more strongly than in prior books, as the parts of each story told from various perspectives are in fact fragments of memory called upon by Vol Karoth or Kihrin (or another telepath) as part of the psychic battle between the two. The book also includes the reactions of the most relevant characters to each part of the story told.

Essentially you have three stories being told simultaneously in various layers:
1. Story 1: Kihrin's conflict with Vol Karoth, which grows to include the other characters, inside his own mind.
2. Story 2: The story of how events came to pass that all the non-Kihrin characters were together fighting at the start of the story; and
3. Story 3: The reactions of each of the 12 non-Kihrin characters to the reveals of people's memories of Story 2, and how that affects their mindsets and relationships as they also are touched by Story 1.

In a way this story framework is kind of a disappointment. Story 2 makes up the bulk of the story really, and it both partially overlaps with Book 3 and also includes characters from Book 1 who I didn't really care about that much (Galen, Sheloran, Kalindra) compared to the characters I've grown to love in the last two books. And even Story 1 seems pretty clear from the beginning like it can only end in one way, as we all knew when it was set up by the epilogue of Book 3, even if how it gets there isn't particularly clear. The result kind of feels like a holding pattern in some ways, as opposed to a moving forward of the plot, and there isn't an idea as interesting as book 3 featuring a magic spell not working because "race" is just a social construct.

But what a holding pattern, because Lyons tells a story with characters - even the old ones I previously didn't care about - that I grew to love tremendously. Talea is still honestly the highlight - she's basically the most goodhearted person in the series (Galen is close) despite all she's been through and she goes through more here and comes out tremendously and triumphantly, even as her lover, Xivan, loses her way in darkness and the two fall apart. Xivan's tale of vengeance is hard to take, but still strong. Galen and Sheloran are such a loving non-couple - their marriage a fiction for political sake as the two of them don't actually like those of the opposite sex - and their attempt to do some good from the ashes left behind from book 1 is really fun, especially as it intersects with Qown, who finds himself once again questioning his throwing-in with Relos Var. Thurvishar and Senera - who continues to contribute witty footnotes - have their relationship grow as well in charming ways and really the only person whose plotline is kind of overbearing is Kalindra, who just falls more and more into misery for plot related reasons as the plot goes on.

And then of course there's our main trio, of Janel, Teraeth and Kihrin, who continue to have a tremendous relationship, even if it's mostly resolved from the last book - although Kihrin gets a yelling at for his not telling the other two of his plan at the end of book 3. Their love is tremendous, and that combined with Lyons' tremendously quotable and fun dialogue carries this book tremendously well. Oh and then of course you have things in this book like crazy dragons, zombie krakens and pirates, magical luck and resurrection powers, and more such that it seems like Lyons was trying to go as bonkers as possible without breaking the narrative...and she pulls it off.

Again, this book feels like a narrative hold, Kalindra's misery is kind of a mood killer even if it's necessary for the plot, and certain parts of relationship building (the aforementioned trigger warning) don't quite fully work, but so much does here that I still found myself really enjoying this book. It's definitely not as good as books 2-3, but it's still well above book 1 and makes me want more, so yeah, if you've really enjoyed this series as much as I have through 3 books? You'll enjoy this one and be waiting eagerly for the conclusion sometime in the next year.

I still have to finish The Ruin of Kings and book 2 before I can start this one. I am grateful to Netgalley dor an advanced copy of this title.

I really enjoyed this book! I have loved every book of the series, but this one I believe is my least favorite. It feels like a real filler novel, with a lot of what happened feeling very unnecessary. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I remembered more of the previous books. It's bee a while since I read the third, and I feel like this is the type of series where they should be read in a short span of time so all the information can be retained. I am very excited for the fifth installment, and can't wait for it to come out!

I’ve been of the opinion since book one that Kihrin is probably an unreliable narrator. I really enjoy how well this author has kept the pace going and all the plot threads in the air admirably well over the four very long books so far. This book isn’t a light read, it will be easier to follow the plot if you refresh your memory of the first three books and if you realize all the characters are not in their world but are together in a magical plane of reality. I don’t remember how many books are supposed to be be in the series but I look forward to seeing how she wraps this up. The footnotes throughout this series are a nice touch I;a series this long with this detailed a level of world building. Don’t skip them.

I got an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

I think this is my favourite in the series. The previous books were great, but I felt that the back and forth storytelling subtracted a lot - usually only one timeline interested me at a time, and it would feel like an ad break to be pulled from the real story to a weird future or past timeline. In this book, though, both storylines were interesting, and I was really interested to see how we got from A to B, another thing lacking for me in the previous books.

Characters were great, as always. World is huge and amazing and it's hard to remember everyone's names and all the places and history and body swapping but once you give up on retaining all the info of the previous books, you can just enjoy the read. If you liked the other books, I think you'll like this one. If you felt meh, then probably give up at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

4.5 stars

I absolutely love this series. It may be my favorite out of everything. I even named my son after the main character, Kihrin. This book was great. It was definitely less intense than others with the action content, but it was just as good. The growth and storyline in the book were amazing. I especially loved seeing Qown’s development. The ending was not quite what I expected, which is always nice. I’m already looking forward to the next book. I have this one preordered through Goldsboro.

I love, love, love this series so much, in fact while reading volume 3 jut recently and now volume 4 I've begun to really appreciate how great this would be as a tv series. Although I don't know how that would work with one of my favorite aspects of these novels, the snarky footnotes!

Ok... ok... time for an actual review. To my recollection so far the series has been based on narration provided by Thurvishar so it was a nice switch to have it from Senera's perspective, and to have more about her past revealed to us in later half of the novel - no spoilers here.

At first I struggled a bit about what precisely was happening, but I promise before page 50 everything will make a lot more sense.

Lyons also does a pretty good job at subtly reminding us who each of the characters are, it had been a long time between books 2 and 3 for me. These reminders are short, and don't detract from the flow - I appreciate that a lot, I don't need pages and pages of "in the last episode of A Chorus of Dragon".

Its epic, its funny, sweet, dark and sad. Dragons, Krakens, demons and immortals abound. I'm just sad that volume 5 will wrap everything up. I'd be happy to read brick after brick in this series.

In case it isn't clear, I could gush endlessly about Jenn Lyons' books and world, and I can't recommend these novels highly enough. PICK VOLUME 1 UP NOW!

This book was very cool to read, and I loved every moment of doing so. Can't wait to read more by her. Would tell my friends and family to buy if they get the chance.

Eek this was so good ! Admittedly it started a little oddly with characters facing off against a Kraken and a deranged Dragon and than boom off they go to a lighthouse and that's actually when things really start to become gripping. This hodgepodge of characters not only have to cope with the loss of a loved one although if I'm honest that quickly fades because obviously from the synopsis Kithrin has an out card. The real problem though is that because of a spell they are trapped with Vol Karoth who is big bad and demonic. In case that wasn't enough Vol Karoth might have been imprisoned previously but he is slowly but oh so surely stepping into the mortal world determined to end all who stand in his way !
Oh boy this is really hard to review simply because the story unfolded both in real time in the lighthouse but it was more fascinating because so much was told in flashbacks as memories are shared. Some memories are used by Vol Karoth to prove that love and friendship has no real meaning and other by those dragged mentally into his prison. These characters have hope of saving Kithrin who sacrificed himself but things are never quite what they seem.
This book has all the feels that I wanted for these characters. I love that that they could choose to love who they wanted, how they wanted. It's very character driven yes but there's plenty of action, romance and even betrayal. I was hugely entertained and hated having to occasionally put my kindle down. The ending was such a shock but as I believe it's the penultimate book in the series I find myself already desperate for more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Another great entry in a superb series. As well as great discussion of key relationships and motivations, provides more hints about a really fascinating history of the world, the various species that occupy it, and an original magic/spirit/energy/reality system

You need to have read the prequels (starting with Ruin of Kinds) but once you have, this installment will not disappoint (though would probably not recommend for children).

Overall, a great book though ... and am looking forward to the next (final) installment.