Everything Andy and Ami went through in the past two novels leads to this Epic conclusion, this time lead by Ursula, the eldest sister. The faith of the Twelves Kingdoms lays on her shoulders as she has to juggle between an erratic King, the disappearance of her youngest sister along with her children, and her desire to honor her mother's memory. Of course, there also needs to be a man in the picture, and this one is probably my favorite of the series!
First let me tell you that Ursula is nothing like I imagined from the first two books. She was pictured as stoic, obedient and heartless, and even though she has to uncontrollable desire to please the King, she is no where near as stuck-up as I thought she would be. Even though I was excited for this book, I was actually scared I wouldn't like her, but I was totally wrong. She has had a very difficult past (one she hid from her sisters to shield them) and has a lot of issues to work through. On one hand she wants to follow her heart, and on the other she is fiercely loyal to her father, and both instincts clash terribly.
At first I thought Harlan would be an enemy, but as the story progressed it was clear I had misjudged him. I really liked how attentive he was, how patient and supporting of Ursula he has been the entire book, even though she really was a bitch about it. The only thing that bothered me a bit was how he fell in love with her the first time he saw her, and pledge his life to protect her a couple of hours later. That kind of devotion should be earned, and I thought he handed it wayyyyy too easily. That element aside, I thought the progression of their intimacy was nicely paced and believable (at least from Ursula's side).
The sisterly bond is also an aspect I really liked from this third novel. We see them interact a lot more than in the previous books.
I thought the plot was very engaging and I really liked how one thing lead to another to really escalate toward the final rescue. BUT things went down hill for me after that. The three sisters launched on a mission and it felt extremely rushed. Personally, I think the third book should've ended after this rescue, and there should have been a fourth book, with the narration shared between all three sisters, to really give the final events/battle the attention to detail and intensity it deserved. I liked the major points and how it unfolded, but it needed so much more meat on the bones! It killed me really :(
I liked this book anyway, mind you, and I really love this trilogy as a whole. Jeffe Kennedy was a new to me author before this series, and I was pleasantly surprised. If you like high fantasy you should definitely give it a try, but make sure you start with book one, The Mark of the Tala.
First let me tell you that Ursula is nothing like I imagined from the first two books. She was pictured as stoic, obedient and heartless, and even though she has to uncontrollable desire to please the King, she is no where near as stuck-up as I thought she would be. Even though I was excited for this book, I was actually scared I wouldn't like her, but I was totally wrong. She has had a very difficult past (one she hid from her sisters to shield them) and has a lot of issues to work through. On one hand she wants to follow her heart, and on the other she is fiercely loyal to her father, and both instincts clash terribly.
At first I thought Harlan would be an enemy, but as the story progressed it was clear I had misjudged him. I really liked how attentive he was, how patient and supporting of Ursula he has been the entire book, even though she really was a bitch about it. The only thing that bothered me a bit was how he fell in love with her the first time he saw her, and pledge his life to protect her a couple of hours later. That kind of devotion should be earned, and I thought he handed it wayyyyy too easily. That element aside, I thought the progression of their intimacy was nicely paced and believable (at least from Ursula's side).
The sisterly bond is also an aspect I really liked from this third novel. We see them interact a lot more than in the previous books.
I thought the plot was very engaging and I really liked how one thing lead to another to really escalate toward the final rescue. BUT things went down hill for me after that. The three sisters launched on a mission and it felt extremely rushed. Personally, I think the third book should've ended after this rescue, and there should have been a fourth book, with the narration shared between all three sisters, to really give the final events/battle the attention to detail and intensity it deserved. I liked the major points and how it unfolded, but it needed so much more meat on the bones! It killed me really :(
I liked this book anyway, mind you, and I really love this trilogy as a whole. Jeffe Kennedy was a new to me author before this series, and I was pleasantly surprised. If you like high fantasy you should definitely give it a try, but make sure you start with book one, The Mark of the Tala.
