5.0 out of 5 stars
You should probably have tissues for this one...
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2021
The Warrior King is book 3 in the series and follows right on the heels of book 2, The Blood King. As stated in my last review, you COULD read this by itself, but you'd take a while to get the grasp of things, and you'd miss a lot of juicy background that really fleshes this tale out; because it's basically one story, just split into four (one for each sister).
The book is written in third person omniscient perspective and from multiple character's point of view, though primarily the leading couple. This installment is Meira's, the reserved and shy of the phoenix sisters, journey. Samael, black dragon clan head of the guard, is her opposite lead. Besides being quiet, their personalities are opposite without being militantly so: Samael is a born leader and drives forward relentlessly when serving his people whereas Meira generally defers to her sisters and follows their lead. Unlike with Kasia and Brand, they didn't so much just work with their opposites, but rather adapted, and that was an interesting twist.
Samael is a born commoner who managed to make his way through the ranks and lead his King's warriors despite his low birth. As we traverse the book, we see why that's so: he really is dedicated and ruthless to a fault. His love and respect for Gorgon, his king, is evident on every page, and in some ways it was painful to read at times because of that. I see it as a sign of a good book when I'm feeling the character in question's emotions, and boy did I feel for this guy.
Meira is the quiet computer hacker of the sisters who's so meek as to be properly described as docile. She agrees to mate the black dragon king Gorgon to further solidify the sisters' allies both because she knows it's what they need, but also because she doesn't believe that fated mates are actually a thing. I find the juxtaposition between that and her absolutely saccharine sweet kindness towards everyone to be intriguing. Of course, taunting fate never gets anyone anywhere good...
The pair go through an even worse bout of 'nope, can't happen; this is bad for the whole' than Brand and Kasia did. Through an interesting twist, the two end up on the run together while Gorgon is missing and their closeness tests both of their resolve like a sledgehammer on glass. How they resolved this conundrum was slightly convoluted, but mostly very sad for me. I cried a little for Samael, honestly.
The book was a world spanning, hold onto your hats, ride that was never still for very long. It had less humor than the previous book, but we met a lot more people as well. I think my favorite thing about the book was watching both characters grow: Samael became more open and Meira bolder. The book progressed the main storyline a good deal and we saw the fruition of the Rotting King's latest ploy as well as more of his depravities. I can definitely say that I am looking forward to his end. I am hopeful, however, that we don't lose as many characters in the next book and that it's not quite so sad.
If you're into contemporary parallel worlds (happening alongside modern times, though in secret), dragon societies with almost human problems, lots of action, a dose of steam with your romance, interesting paranormal creatures, plenty of sisterly love, and an epic tale of revolution, you should give this book a go!
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