Genre: Fantasy Age Range: YA Star Rating: 5 stars Series: Yes - final book in trilogy
*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for DARK OF THE WEST and STORM FROM THE EAST*
Synopsis:
Reeling from the tragedy that beset her family, Princess Aurelia has joined the resistance in Havenspur, spying on the Northern leaders who were once her allies and determined to stop her uncle’s machinations for war. Meanwhile, her beloved pilot Athan leads his squadron into battle as the Safire wage a losing war abroad and combat growing unrest back home.
When Athan is sent on leave to Havenspur following the death of a comrade, the pair reunite and rekindle their romance until Aurelia uncovers one of Athan’s secrets, a secret that could save countless lives. But exposing it to the right people will cost her Athan’s trust, and this time, their shared memories of love might not be enough to stop the fateful path of destruction that threatens all they’ve fought to defend.
As history unfolds around them, every move they make drives them one step closer to either recreating their parents’ shadowed past or redeeming the alliance that could bring peace.
Synopsis taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
I went into this book expecting it to be stunning and heart breaking, and I was right.
This has been a series focusing on the northern countries fighting over the south, on the toll and cost of imperialism and pride and power on other countries, and the cost on those fighting. The first book is the politics of the north bickering, with little of actual action in the south as it’s being hushed up. Then the second took to the south, following the fighting as it erupts, but the north against the south – or the north sitting out. This book follows the north turning on its each as they fight in the south, letting the cost fall on the locals.
I found it interesting, but completely in tone with the book and its themes, that the book doesn’t follow the fighting when it moves north and the northern powers clash. However, the cost of that war is still shown, and then the fall out of “victors” putting the “losers” on trial, desperate to punish those who have lost to wash away the stain of their own crimes.
The prologue scene from the first book occurs in this one. If I’m being honest, that scene was one of the ones I was most interested in getting to. The characters from that prologue were not the ones I’d been reading about so far, and the hints of what had happened have been tantalising me throughout – particularly as I re-read before this book. Seeing everything hinted in that scene unfold, and then the scene itself was so rewarding.
Ali and Athan are very much not the same people as the series started with. They’ve changed a lot in the last two books, but this one really contained the biggest pushes towards sniper and commander. I’ve loved seeing them change, alter. They don’t have the typical paths of YA heroes. There are still pinpricks of hope in them, and they’re not going all dark and moody.
Instead, they’re worn down, jaded, and compromising the survive, then having to come to terms with it. Even though you might not want them to make the choices they do, become the people they do, the choices they make feel like the only ones they could have made in the circumstances that would feel real and right. And because we’ve seen every step of their journey, it’s so compelling even if you wish they’d done something else.
I am so sad to see this series come to an end, but it’s been such a brilliant one to read, and finishes off true to the world and the characters and the themes. Definitely one to put on the “to-re-read” pile.
Read my reviews of other books by Joanna Hathaway:
Glass Alliance (this series):
- DARK OF THE WEST (#1)
- STORM FROM THE EAST (#2)
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 