Genre: Fantasy With Romantic Arcs
Reviewer: Rari
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About The Book
This city of fools will be brought to order!
Deposed, her father presumed dead, her friends slaughtered and the cavern in chaos, Grace Harrington is on the run and entirely alone. The only ally she has left is the man she hates most in the world: Nathaniel Morgenstern, the assassin who murdered her mother and seduced her father.
Grace’s only hope of reclaiming the throne and saving her people is to seek the aid of Éamon Tadhg, the High Druid of Arajon. But she needs to survive the hostile streets of Iole City before she can even think about fleeing to the Violet Valley.
Nathaniel made a vow to Doran to protect Grace, but he could never have imagined how quickly and horrifically their lives would fall apart.
Grieving the dual losses of the man he loved and his new friend Tsa Lien, Nathaniel devotes himself to the service of the overthrown Lady Archon who despises him – even if it costs him everything he is.
The Review
This is the longest book in the series, and no wonder – it has a lot of things to tie up. It’s not the last book of the series, but does offer some kind of closure, so readers can wait for the next book with a modicum of peace.
The coup has Grace and Nathaniel hiding out in the immigrant quarter of the Sīzhèn District, where he, Doran, and Tsa Lien had their weekly Mahjong game. Grieving Tsa Lien and Doran, both of them have no one but each other, even though Grace still hates Nathaniel.
[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
Except Tsa Lien isn’t dead. She isn’t even human, or even a she, but a Shadow Eater, just as Nathaniel had said when they first met. The shadow eater had possessed the dying twelve year old Tsa Lien, made her identity its own, and had forgotten its own origins. Despite its propensity to consume souls, the worse the better, the memory of Tsa Lien refuses to let go.
The Nameless were originally made to counter the Shadow Eaters, the ones without names or souls, with poison running in their veins, and armed with the only weapon capable of harming the Shadow Eater. But it’s Nathaniel who finally brings the Shadow Eater back to itself, forcing it into becoming Tsa Lien once again.
Though Lenora Darkwater has agreed to help Grace, and has helped in spreading the word of her survival and in cobbling together a resistance, her motives are suspect.
Doran is also not dead, having been saved by the branch of a wisteria growing between the rocks of the cliff. He manages to climb to the fall cells, to rescue Grace’s grandmother Gertrude, and to make his way out. He finds his way to Sīzhèn District, and has a brief reunion with Nathaniel and Tsa Lien.
Grace has decided to go to the Valley to seek the blessings and support from the Druids, and Doran is going with her. But the Druids of the Valley are not going to be impressed by an obvious Southerner who hasn’t appeared to accept her own Valley heritage,and who hasn’t made the pilgrimage to the Valley despite having been the ruler of Iole City for a year.
What’s worse, Nathaniel and Tsa Lien are contacted by the Helvetic Ambassador, who informs them that an army of Wardens is on their way, and whether they come as an invader or a support to Grace depends on their choices. The wardens are the very ones whose destruction of their homeland left Nathaniel an orphan and his people homeless and unmoored. But unless they ally themselves with this enemy, Iole city may be the next city to fall.
There’s closure at the end, despite all the challenges that come with it. There’s a Warden Sanctum is in Iole city now, and Lenora is missing. The Silent Sisters are watching, and the Helvetic Empire is not going to be content with being a spectator anymore.
All the same, there is hope, for Iole City, for Grace, Doran, Nathaniel, and Lien and I’m content with it for now.
A well developed fantasy world with fast paced, compelling plot lines and complex, flawed, well rounded characters who feel real, you’ll love this series.
The Reviewer
Rari is an author and editor writing under the name of Niranjan K. She is an avid reader of all things fantasy, and loves to discourse at length about her favourite books as well as shows. This blog is the space where she will be sharing her views and insights of the books, shows and movies that she likes.
