Wretches of the Trench: A Legends of Tivara Story

Scions of the Black Lotus, Book 3

By: J. C. Kang

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

A serial killer roves the Trench, and only an eight-year-old girl can stop him.

©2019 Dragonstone Press, LLC (P)2019 Dragonstone Press, LLC

Life lessons!

I'm enjoying this series! Life as an Half Elf must not be a happy life. The woman are ladies of the evening. It's not all bad the adventures!😃

insight

so this picks up where the last story ends and gives more insight into tian's first adventures with Jie and the black lotus; Looking forward to reading more.

Another excellent story

This story follows Jie, Yuna, and Tian as they try to eliminate Faceless Chung. Complicating things are family members and a serial killer. Can't wait for the next one.

Captivating Dark Fantasy

Book three of the "Scions of the Black Lotus" series was entertaining. Yuna returned to the slums where she had been born. Jie and Tian accompanied Yuna as they needed to assassinate a Triad boss in order to keep secret their clan's existence. I liked the characters and their interactions. The descriptive phrases, which painted the living conditions in the slums, were moving. There were some surprises. I'm looking forward to the next novella in the series. Natalie Naudus' narration was skillful, and her performance reflected the ambiance of the story. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Heart wrenching and action filled

This is a heart wrenching, action filled story that keeps you engrossed from start to finish. Jie, Tian and Yuna are sent on a mission to Yuna’s home town, the poverty ridden, Triad run, Trench. Sold by her mother to a disguised Black Lotus recruiter at age 2, Feng Yuna had not been back to the Trench since. Not only does Yuna have to cope with returning to her roots, but the three clan members have to find and kill a triad leader and also might have to contend with a serial killer. Yuna is a character you empathize with from the very beginning, she captures your heart as you learn of her beginnings and the emotional scars it left. She is a character you can not help but like and identify with. The emotions in this book will rip at your heart and the description seemed so real that you feel like you are experiencing the poverty and actually smelling the excrement running through the streets. The many plot threads in this story all meld together well, revealing some answers, but also creating more questions and mysteries. The narrator of the audiobook does an excellent job of drawing you into story and making you feel the all the emotions and action like you are actually there with the characters. The twists, heartbreak, intrigue, humour and action in the story are great and you become even more attached to the characters. Jie and Tian continue to grow in depth and the plot thickens as the Trench reveals more of its secrets.

As good as the first two!

This novella picks up were the last one ended. We follow the story from Jie, Tian and Yuna's POV as they try to eliminate Faceless Chung in his own domain. I'm loving these novellas, they are my introduction into the Legends of Tivara and I will definitely be reading other tales set in this fascinating world JC Kang has created.

Another fantastic addition

This one gets a bit darker than the previous two books, and I absolutely love it (while cursing the author's name)!

As before, Natalie Naudus provides a fantastic audio performance complete with fantastic voices, near-perfect vocal inflections, and excellent shifts in tempo throughout.

Once more we dive even deeper into the larger mystery as well as the characters of Jie, Tian, and Yuna, as well as starting to get to know Little One a bit better.

And here we are introduced to one of the darker places in the Floating World, an almost lawless place known as The Trenches where the normal niceties of society are largely forgotten.

Again, the mystery is the primary driver of the plot and the rapid fire twists and turns border on head-spinning.

I won't spoil anything, but there's a very poignant scene that had me very upset at Mr. Kang for a while!

There are some really cool things only hinted at previously that come front and center in this one and it was a lot of fun seeing how they played out.

As I've come to expect, I was entirely unprepared for the ending and it all came together brilliantly.

I really could not have asked for more.

Even better than the previous books

Scions of the Black Lotus is a series that keeps getting better with each book. Wretches of the Trench was truly fantastic and the stakes have been risen even more for the next books in the series. This book has to be my favorite of the series yet, with great description and action-packed scenes. Sometimes i forget as I’m reading the books that the protagonists are incredibly young and they are experiencing the worst of life at such a young age. In this book, you really can’t forget about it and it’s heartbreaking.

The narrator continues to deliver excellent voices for each of the characters and giving them life throughout the book. I’m really excited to see how the story grows in Temptress of Fates.

I requested this audiobook from Audiobooks Unleashed and have voluntarily left this review.

The story continues!

Wretches of the Trench is the third novella in the Scions of Black Lotus Series. I recommend you to listen to this Series in order, for a better understanding of the original, and complex world building. This story is fast paced, filled with action, and intrigue. This is my favorite installment in the Series, by far. Natalie Naudus has a beautiful voice. The characters were easy to distinguish. She did an amazing reading of this story. Looking forward to listen to the fourth book in the Series, Temptress of Fates. #AudiobookUnleashed

Among the less fortunate

The investigation continues, but now our heroine must descend to the trenches, which vary dramatically from the opulence of the Floating World.

This is book three of the series and a direct sequel to the previous book, picking up where it left off. This book can be read as a standalone, but it will be more enjoyable read in order.

This is a fantasy novel with a heavy dose of mystery and intrigue. The story is very well written with a richly described world patterned after the Far East. The characters are excellent, with well detailed backgrounds and unique personalities which bring the story to life. Things keep getting more complicated as we dig deeper into the plot, but that just makes it harder to put down. Overall, a highly enjoyable story that leaves you reaching for the next book.

Highly recommended.

I received an ARC from StoryOrigin for review purposes.