A few early reviews of Harbinger are in…

No, I’m not going to copy/paste the reviews here, but I wanted to talk about a few things that have been mentioned regarding the third book in The Caein Legacy. They’re all positive things, and some came as a surprise to me, so I thought them worthy of a blog post.

First, the overall reception.

To quote Alexander, “Holy hell!” It has been pretty amazing so far. The reviews that have come in have overwhelmingly stated that Harbinger is their favorite of the series yet.

Back when I sent this book to my beta readers (over four years ago now), the response was that Guardian (book two) was the favorite of the series. I’ll admit I have a pretty small beta team, but I trust their input. And I also didn’t update Harbinger that much since they originally read it. I revised it as I usually do, but the overall story is exactly the same. I didn’t add or remove any key scenes from Harbinger, and I think it might be the only book in the series that wasn’t updated in that manner between the beta team and now.

So to learn that most of my ARC readers are liking Harbinger the best so far? It came as a big surprise, but I love it! And it has helped me deal with a few pesky ANTs, too. (If you’d like to learn more about what I’m referring to, this will help: ANTs)

The second – and most important item – is the response to Harbinger’s ending.

I went into Harbinger pretty well terrified that I’d be eviscerated by readers for how I chose to end book three.

I’m very much aware of the vehemence some people have when it comes to real cliffhanger endings, and this one is a doozy. (If you were hoping that I’d share details, I won’t. Just know that book four will be available on November 26, and the story will conclude then.)

But so far, the ARC team has stunned me. They like the ending, and it makes them want book four all the more. (So now I’m heading toward Legend‘s publication with a brand new species of ANTs to deal with. How can the next book possibly outdo this one?)

And pacing. I always worry about my pacing.

The trouble with this series is that I have three very conflicting opinions from readers about the pacing overall, particularly when it comes to the first book.

The first set of people either don’t mention it at all in their reviews, or they think it’s on point. Yay!

The second set say the first half of the book is too slow, is a “slog,” or doesn’t move fast enough. Not yay.

The third set tells me the pace is too fast and they want more – particularly in the first half of the book (that same half the second set claims is a slog.)

There isn’t a majority with any of the three responses, and I really don’t know how to process it. I guess if 1/3 says it’s too slow, 1/3 says it’s too fast, and the other 1/3 says it’s just right, that means it’s fine? I have no idea, really, so I just let it go. This is definitely a situation where I am not going to please every reader, and I don’t think I can, judging by the mix of responses.

And I was more worried about the pacing of Harbinger than I was for the other books in the series. There is more preparation, more political maneuvering from a distance, than the first two books. There isn’t quite as much action until you reach a certain point in the story. And I was worried that those who felt the pacing of Exile and Guardian were just right would find this one a little slower in parts.

But that hasn’t been the case so far, which is a relief. I will probably receive the exact same split in responses as I did for Exile, and that’s fine.

Overall, the initial ARC responses have been great, and I can’t wait for Harbinger to be available for everyone!

Harbinger will release May 28, 2024. You can learn more about the book here: Harbinger