Reviewed by: Laura

BACK COVER:

Wynter Moorehawke has braved bandits and Loup-Garous to find her way to Alberon-the exiled, rebel prince. But now that she’s there, she will learn firsthand that politics is a deadly mistress. With the king and his heir on the edge of war and alliances made with deadly enemies, the Kingdom is torn not just by civil war – but strife between the various factions as well. Wynter knows that no one has the answer to the problems that plague the Kingdom – and she knows that their differences will not just tear apart her friends – but the Kingdom as well.

REVIEW:

We’ve waited two books to meet him, so much that I wondered if we ever would. But, book three in this trilogy is finally about the alleged traitor, Prince Alberon. Once again the story is more about lethal political games than it is about action, as Wynter and Alberon’s half brother Razi try to get to the bottom of the split in the kingdom and prevent an all out war between father and son.

Prince Alberon is not quite how I expected him to be. We have seen him thus far only through the eyes of Razi and Wynter, which has been slightly rose-tinted and filled with childhood memories. The grown up Alberon is a mixture of nobility and bravery, but at the same time spoilt and impetuous. And I wasn’t able to gel with him the same way I have with other characters in the books. There were times when I felt like giving him a good slap!

At last, and most importantly we finally discover what the feared ‘bloody machine’ is that King Jonathan and Wynter’s father have done everything in their power to hide. The revelation shocking to our three main characters, but perhaps more disturbing is Alberon’s plans for it.

Wynter, Razi and Christopher arrive in the camp accompanied by the Merron, Christopher’s people. But after the events of the last book their relationship with Razi is shaky. And yet despite those shocking events, I still could not help but like most of these strange people, with their ancient habits and traditions and wanted them to get the new beginning they were so desperately seeking.

Prince Alberon’s camp is made up of numerous political envoys from different nations and the relationships between them are tentative at best. But when the hideously violent Loup Garous arrive, the same people that enslaved and mutilated the man she loves, Wynter is suddenly very fearful for the future. It seemed that Alberon the boy she had once loved like a brother, was no longer a person she knows or understands.

For a lot of the book I had absolutely no idea how it was going to end. I got to about three quarters of the way through and I still had no idea and began to get worried that things weren’t going to get tied up as nicely as I would have hoped for a trilogy. The ending seemed to come out of nowhere and totally took me by surprise. It’s an explosion of edge of your seat action and horror. Then it all ended as abruptly as it started. But, never fear there is an epilogue, which in a one word summary was lovely.

VERDICT:

This has been a fantastic trilogy. The lure of the books has to be Celine Kiernan’s amazing characterisation. These were people I loved, feared for and cared about. Wynter was such a fabulous heroine and at the same time while still brave and determined, very different from heroines seen in a lot of stories at the moment. Don’t be put off by the less action scenes, because the political games and revelations are as thrilling and definitely keep those pages turning.