Access Heroes Adrift (Hero, #3) Authored By Moira J. Moore Hardcover

one was a little disappointingstill entertaining, but a bit shaggy with loose ends that I can only hope will find resolution in the next book.
I was also surprised to discover that the longawaited consummation of Lee and Taro's relationship brought with it an abrupt cessation of all the fun almostromantic moments between them.
I'm sure that becoming lovers would change their dynamic, but did it have to eliminate the sense of tenderness and consideration that had come to characterize their partnership.
This is the third book in the series and it seems that the author's writing style has changed.
This book didn't flow as well with the others, If I hadn't read the others I would have liked this book better than I did, But she really changed my characters and I am not sure I still like them, In bookof the Hero series, Lee is thoroughly enjoying her much needed downtime when Taro receives an untimely summons from the Empress herself.
Taro it seems has caught the Empress attention with his rejection of title and wealth and now she wants him to find an illegitimate member of the royal family who was last known to be in the Southern Islands all very quietly of course.
Finding the royal heir proves a little more difficult than originally planned since in the south there are new laws, clothing, customs and ideas of beauty to be dealt with.
In characteristic fashion, Lee takes charge of the situation and they meet up with a group of traveling performers who put her bench dancing skills to use.
Lee and Taros relationship also takes a drastic turn a good, very good turn as both are forced into roles they would not normally welcome.


Im getting a feel for this fantastic series which in each installment introduces new talents, lands, and people.
I feel like I can trust Moore to continue to flesh out her ever increasing stock of ohsointeresting characters and most importantly to stick with the wonderful relationship of Taro and Lee.
First of all, the cover doesn't match the book at all,

It was pretty intelligent for the Empress to take the one person who had proved to the world that he didn't care about power and money and send him on a quest like this.


That makes it seem more weird to think that the intelligent Empress wouldn't know that Flatlanders didn't abide by her rules.
Surely she would have noticed the lack of tax money That she wasn't sending or appointing administrators there

The fact that Pairs get everything for free and the fact that Lee is pretty helpless with normal tasks has been hit pretty hard before.
It's never been particularly pointed out that Taro is also inept at the requirements of everyday living.
Now, we get to see the implications when they get somewhere where Pairs aren't provided for, It's odd Flatlanders think Lee is pretty, while criticizing her for not showing her emotions but then there are times when they obviously can tell her emotions like when Atara breaks the tie that binds them to the troupe, but then say that one reason Taro isn't attractive is that the emotions he shows aren't real.


Lee and Taro are pretty smart, The whole dancing thing was explained as being with music, Why did neither of them say anything Lee pretty much admits she wanted Taro there because she was attracted to him.
So, what was Taro's excuse It's never mentioned,

Taro works hard as a hand laborer, although he's apparently not good at it, Lee still apparently doesn't try to do much she doesn't learn to cook, doesn't learn to sew, doesn't learn to apply makeup, doesn't do anything but learn the dances that are practiced.


Never was sure what Border was complete about, The possible explanation tossed out didn't really seem viable,

I loved Aryne, I thought she handled the Empress beautifully, I loved how she took a last name made of Lee's amp Taro's, I love that she's like them with new capabilities although apparently not as strong as Taro amp Lee.
I like how she gets Lee to be emotional about certain things,

Lee's scepticism about all religion and things she views as nonlogicalbelief is pretty annoying from time to time.


Not sure why Taro didn't gamble earlier It seems like it would be a normal thing for members of a traveling troupe to do.
All I can say is FINALLY, Didn't like this one as well as the earlier two it had the feel of that inevitable filler book in a series.
I just love when an author hits their stride with a series, This is that book, for me, Not only does the central relationship finally hit an enjoyable plateau, but the characters bond in ways that they really needed to do.
Finally.

Plus, this story was solid and wellpaced throughout and didn't rely on anybody being stupid or densenot even Lee.
The turnabout of being on an island where Taro was merely plain and Lee was the exotic beauty was an additional enticement I hadn't even thought to want, let alone expect.
Toss in them having to earn their way for a month or two and you get lots of juicy fun, a little angst, and a lot of growth.


And at least this cover is better than previous attempts, It's still egregious I mean, is Lee supposed to be some pirate queen or something but at least it isn't laughably arrant and you could maybe see Lee in that portrayal if only ironically.


So yeah, don't start with this book, There's too much you'll get from starting at the first, But this is definitely where I think things pick up and really, really hope that the momentum carries forward in future books.
I, for one, can't wait to see developments in the relationship between Lee and Taro, You know that path isn't going to be smooth, I just hope that Moore doesn't feel the need to slap my poor romantic heart around too much.
. . SPOILERS


I was beginning to really enjoy the setting in this series and wasn't quite ready for the change in scenery, however I enjoyed it despite myself.
I thought that this set of secondary characters were quite a bit more engaging than those in the previous books, with the exception of Lee's mother who I would like to see more of.
I didn't enjoy the setting quite as well as High Scape but I found it interesting enough.
I enjoyed the fact that fancy pants Taro was considered to be the plain one and Lee was the one to get fawned over.
I really liked how Lee was forced out of her shell, I didn't enjoy the plot as much as the previous two books and it felt somewhat rushed and predictable, but I was definitely pleased with the progression of the relationship.
That being said, I was underwhelmed by the love scene which was basically fade to black, I don't need extremely graphic descriptions, I'm not looking for erotica, but I would have liked a few details at least.
Lee and Taro get sent to a far off land on a task from the Empress, Lots of character development and fun twists from the last book, I just love how maddeningly immature Taro can be and at the same time I'm rooting for these two to get together so badly! A very entertaining romp.
If you like Lisa Shearin's books you'll definitely enjoy these, Detailed review to follow:

,I think

I found the book slightly imbalanced which, despite the romance between the leads finally being consummated , was a shame.
The ending was a bit abrupt, and the book just ended leaving a bit of a confused reading experience for me.


The latter half of the book was a little too disjointed from the first half after the introduction of Aryne especially I felt that Taro took too much of a back seat in the book.
Plus, there wasn't enough of a deepening on the world or the lore for my tastes, It was nice to see another part of the kingond and see Lee portrayed in an unsympathetic xenophobic light.
It was a bold choice but I felt after a strong setup the second half of the book just let all those threads go.


I liked the first half, but the second half let me down so I'm averaging this to.
stars. I had other thoughts on this which I may come back and add but right now I am a little meh on the book and grumpy with it!!

Onwards to the next though! Lee and Taro finally got it on.
Finally. And that's all that most fans want and need to know, I admit that I always found Lee's inability to believe Taro was genuine as annoying, I mean, it's not any different then most romances I

read, but this is fantasy, I don't expect romance conventions to be followed, If I hear Lee talk about "what's going to happen when we get back to High Scape" once more I will truly smack her.
Also did they seem a bit, . . insensitive to the folks of Flatwell They didn't even TRY to make it work for a while.
. . Not as good as the previous two books, Found myself skimming the Flatlands until the end and still didnt miss much, Lee was getting really annoying, Her complaining about how the Southerners were disrespecting Shields and Sources and why would these people expect them to pay for goods and services, and dont you know who I am was too much of the same character arc and growth she experienced in the previous books.
It wasnt interesting or necessary, This could have been edited out because Lee didnt grow from this, Taro grew a little bit but even then, he learned about the same from the troupe experience so.
. . unnecessary. I expected Lee to be smarter and get with the program faster, Also why was Taro SOOO grumpy Like I get his ego and personality wasnt well received but the author didnt really do much with it.
What did he learn Also what the heck happened to the healing magic thread That was left to die when it was SO interesting.
I felt like Taro was just sitting in the sidelines so that he could be there when Lee stopped being a tease so they could do the horizontal mambo.
Dont even get me started on how disappointed I was about that, I liked that Aryne brought out a mothering side to her but I was waiting for the full circle moment where Lee would reach out to her mom and share that she gets what her mom was saying or somethingANYTHING.
Even if just a little bit, I get that this book is high fantasy and YA, but this was the first book where the author did not use her very well written characters with their backgrounds and relationship to her advantage.
How can you make a Hawaii like setting boring Border and Ysat forgot how to spell it were horrible and puny antagonists.
Cleor you know who Im talking about was untraditional from the first book but I believed it.
And he brought Lee and Taro closer together,.for a book that all reviews said is half a book is a lot to invest, I love Taro but hot damn, I dont know if hes worth it, And that is heartbreaking because I absolutely adore him, Ughhhhhhh.