[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Queen Annwyl the Bloody (Dragon Actually) – the Mad Queen – has come to Forgetown, the lands ruled by Keely, the Blacksmith Queen. And Annwyl is not alone. She has a group of shapeshifting dragons with her.
While Keely and her sister Gemma try to figure out what to make of the unpredictable woman and her dragon allies, their sister Ainsley is trying to make her mark and get her family to take her seriously. So when an opportunity arises for her to take a swipe at her sister Beatrix’s rival army, Ainsley and her friends take it.
Review
Wow! I have some mixed feelings on this one, but the bottom line is WOW. The epilogue left me gasping and growling. I read this 4 months ago, so I am looking at 16-18 months or more of waiting until book 4 releases. Ugh. I need it!
Almost a year ago, when I first saw the pre-order for this, the third book in the Scarred Earth Saga, I couldn’t hit the pre-order button fast enough. I was thrilled to get a chance to read an early review copy, something I treated myself to during my 2022 sabbatical. I have adored this series since I first heard about The Blacksmith Queen (♥♥♥♥♥).
That said, I struggled with this one. I loved the glimpses of Ainsley in the last book. But the fun, punchy moments earlier in the series became these longer fights with Gemma that were hard to enjoy. Also, the arrival of the dragons at the end of book 2 became a long “introduction” to this book, and it dragged. And I could not get a handle on the various dragons. (Readers who have read the author’s Dragon Kin series will not struggle like I did. I didn’t realize this was a crossover until after I finished reading.) But on the first read through, I couldn’t keep them straight. I would have loved more scenes with Ainsley and her friends, too. They were a curious trio, and I wanted more of them together, bantering and battling, which would have been a fun attempt to balance the more stagnant dragon parts. Also, the romance here was only okay. I didn’t feel it had the same build up – and fun – as in the previous two books.
To me, this felt like a transitional book, one with a goal of moving characters to wherever they need to go to be ready for book 4. So for me this lost something by not having a strong, driving story of its own. Most of the “action” here centered on Keely’s stronghold and trying to build an alliance, teeing things up for later.
That said, I am still fully invested in this Saga. I adored Isadora’s appearances in this book. I imagine the next book will be hers. I’m eager to read it, but that anticipation is tempered by the dragging parts of this one and the experience of loving Ainsley in bits and pieces earlier in the series, but not loving her quite so much when the full focus of a book was on her. But I have my fingers crossed for book 4 to be a better fit for me.
These books absolutely need to be read in order. You do not want to miss the amazingness of The Blacksmith Queen and The Princess Knight. I re-read both in preparation for this, and loved them just as much in a re-read as I did the first time through. I feel like this series is fantasy with hints of romance. If that sounds up your alley, pick up the whole trio of books out now so you are ready for book 4 when it releases. (Language, violence, gore, sex)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥ = Might re-read.