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bookforthought's review
5.0
I received an e-arc of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review as part of the blog tour organised by Rockstar Book Tours. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
Ooops, she did it again... Michelle Hauck managed to wow me once again with this stunning conclusion to her Birth of Saints trilogy! I am so in love with this series, I'm more than a little sorry that it is over... Might be just the right time to schedule a back-to-back reread!
Picking up right where Faithful left off, Steadfast takes us on an emotional rollercoaster, as the stakes for our characters grow ever higher. After having witnessed entire cities burned to the ground and armies destroyed, they are now faced with a threat bigger than ever before: the potential annihilation of humankind itself. Desperate to find a way to stop Dal, the Northerners' Sun God, before he succeeds in satisfying his blood thirst, our heroes are forced to separate and rally together new and unlikely allies to their cause.
Steadfast has all the elements of the first two books that I adored, and keeps adding more! The world building continues to be spot on, and the complexities of these many societies, with their individual customs and beliefs, continue to be explored in great detail. In a masterful touch, this time round we get a glimpse into Northerner society, too. I loved the introduction of Santabe's point of view and the scenes with the Northerner commander Rasdid. We now get a glimpse into this foreign society, and as Teresa and Ramiro figure out, it proves to be much more complicated than it would appear. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting to know them a little bit better still, so perhaps there could be room for a new spin-off series at some point? Just throwing it out there... it is nearly Christmas after all (wink, wink)...
[image]
This series started out really well, and right up to the end it did not disappoint! The characters kept growing and developing incessantly, each of them desperately fighting his or her own battle to understand their own identity and make sure it would not be lost in the wider war for survival. Michelle Hauck somehow managed to masterfully weave together a fantasy world, great action scenes and ethical dilemmas: just how far should one go in order to ensure their own survival? And what about other people's? These and other questions keep swirling around in all the main characters' minds... and our own. Issues of social justice and contrasting world-views are also present once more, expanding on what was introduced in the first two books, and showing how the destruction of the old world order can be the starting point for something new to be built.
At times funny, at times heartbreaking, Steadfast is the perfect conclusion to a stunning trilogy. There is never a dull moment, and each and every scene and character are absolutely key to the story's development. A book I could not put down, and one I wished could never end, it will draw you in and keep you wondering up until the end: has the age of saints returned? And it will show you just how powerful love, faith and hope can prove, even in the most desperate of times.
For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought.
Ooops, she did it again... Michelle Hauck managed to wow me once again with this stunning conclusion to her Birth of Saints trilogy! I am so in love with this series, I'm more than a little sorry that it is over... Might be just the right time to schedule a back-to-back reread!
Picking up right where Faithful left off, Steadfast takes us on an emotional rollercoaster, as the stakes for our characters grow ever higher. After having witnessed entire cities burned to the ground and armies destroyed, they are now faced with a threat bigger than ever before: the potential annihilation of humankind itself. Desperate to find a way to stop Dal, the Northerners' Sun God, before he succeeds in satisfying his blood thirst, our heroes are forced to separate and rally together new and unlikely allies to their cause.
Steadfast has all the elements of the first two books that I adored, and keeps adding more! The world building continues to be spot on, and the complexities of these many societies, with their individual customs and beliefs, continue to be explored in great detail. In a masterful touch, this time round we get a glimpse into Northerner society, too. I loved the introduction of Santabe's point of view and the scenes with the Northerner commander Rasdid. We now get a glimpse into this foreign society, and as Teresa and Ramiro figure out, it proves to be much more complicated than it would appear. Personally, I wouldn't mind getting to know them a little bit better still, so perhaps there could be room for a new spin-off series at some point? Just throwing it out there... it is nearly Christmas after all (wink, wink)...
[image]
This series started out really well, and right up to the end it did not disappoint! The characters kept growing and developing incessantly, each of them desperately fighting his or her own battle to understand their own identity and make sure it would not be lost in the wider war for survival. Michelle Hauck somehow managed to masterfully weave together a fantasy world, great action scenes and ethical dilemmas: just how far should one go in order to ensure their own survival? And what about other people's? These and other questions keep swirling around in all the main characters' minds... and our own. Issues of social justice and contrasting world-views are also present once more, expanding on what was introduced in the first two books, and showing how the destruction of the old world order can be the starting point for something new to be built.
At times funny, at times heartbreaking, Steadfast is the perfect conclusion to a stunning trilogy. There is never a dull moment, and each and every scene and character are absolutely key to the story's development. A book I could not put down, and one I wished could never end, it will draw you in and keep you wondering up until the end: has the age of saints returned? And it will show you just how powerful love, faith and hope can prove, even in the most desperate of times.
For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought.
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