Genre: Urban fantasy/Science fiction
Published: August 10, 2025
Print length: 280 pages
Links: Goodreads | Author Website ! Amazon
Kindle Unlimited? No
Series: Breach Wars (book 1)
Warnings: Alien monsters of various sorts including bug monsters. Some gruesome but quick deaths at the hands of those monsters. Threats to the life of a dog who’s a Very Good Boy.

Synopsis:

Adaline Moore took the job for the health insurance and the free dental plan. Now her team is dead and she’s trapped inside an interdimensional gateway teeming with alien monsters. All she has are her wits, a German Shepherd named Bear, and a fierce determination to get out alive. As she fights to survive and get home to her kids, what she discovers might determine the fate of humanity.

What I thought:

I really wanted to be angry at the husband-and-wife writing team of Ilona Andrews for starting a new series when I’m desperate for the next book in their long-running Innkeeper saga. But I can’t stay annoyed with them when they turn out a book that hits all my sweet spots.

There’s Adaline, an indomitable female main character who’s thrust into an impossible situation and triumphs through brains, grit and sheer clenched-teeth refusal to give up and die. There’s an adorable dog who fights off monsters and then wants a pat on the head and a cuddle as a reward. There’s an incredibly detailed world with a rich backstory, a complex system of magical talents, and a satisfyingly layered mystery hiding behind what initially looks like a straightforward kaiju-style alien invasion story.

There’s no romance in this volume (which is fine with me), but there’s a strong hint of something still to come in the series. Several chapters are told from the POV of Elias, Guildmaster of the mining guild that sent Adaline’s team into the deadly gateway, who’s struggling to organize a disaster recovery effort. He and Adaline don’t meet until nearly the end of the book, but they clearly have some sort of future together. Whether that’s as adversaries, co-conspirators, lovers, or all of the above, remains to be seen.

A word about genre: Like the Innkeeper books, The Inheritance blurs the line between fantasy and sci-fi. The setting is modern-day. The terminology is mostly sci-fi: an alien invasion, dimensional breaches, other worlds. But the “talents” the characters wield, like projecting shields, shooting fire and sensing valuable minerals, are straight-up magic. Best not to think too much about categorizing it, just enjoy the ride.

Adaline’s original adventure wraps up nicely in this first volume, but with plenty of open questions about the larger universe to explore. In the foreword, the Andrews team claims to be planning only one sequel, but we’ll see. This feels like the beginning of a long-running series to me, and I’m down for it.

But I still want that long-overdue next Innkeeper book, too.

Who will love it:

• Lovers of brave, heroic dogs.
• Fans of urban fantasy, sci-fi alien invasions and a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl..
• Anyone who likes a gritty, never-say-die female MC who juggles being a single mom with fighting interdimensional monsters.

Favorite quotes:

“I would have to go into that darkness, make my way through the breach filled with monsters, ones that probably killed an entire assault team, find the gate, get out, and make sure Cold Chaos didn’t have a chance to stop me. Too easy.”

“Promises must be kept, Bear. Especially to children. I promised Tia I wouldn’t die in this hellhole and I meant it. We are going to survive. We will get out of here if I have to crawl on my hands and knees all the way to that damn gate.”

“I was squatting by the river in a breach and eating raw meat. I’d gone completely feral.”

About the author:

From Ilona-andrews.com: “Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team, Gordon and Ilona. The couple are the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors of Urban Fantasy, Sci Fi, and Paranormal fiction.”

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