Summary:

The Others freed the cassandra sangue to protect the blood prophets from exploitation, not realizing their actions would have dire consequences. Now the fragile seers are in greater danger than ever before; both from their own weaknesses and from those who seek to control their divinations for wicked purposes. In desperate need of answers, Simon Wolfgard, a shape-shifter leader among the Others, has no choice but to enlist blood prophet Meg Corbyn’s help, regardless of the risks she faces by aiding him.

Meg is still deep in the throes of her addiction to the euphoria she feels when she cuts and speaks prophecy. She knows each slice of her blade tempts death. But Others and humans alike need answers, and her visions may be Simon’s only hope of ending the conflict.

For the shadows of war are deepening across the Atlantik, and the prejudice of a fanatic faction is threatening to bring the battle right to Meg and Simon’s doorstep…

Goodreads

Thoughts:

And I continue to love this series, the end. Just kidding, obviously I have more thoughts on this one. 🙂

Like the previous book in this series, the third book continues to build on and grow the world-building and cast of characters. We don’t meet a lot of new characters in this one but we do get to spend more time with ones that were introduced last time as well as some that we’ve known since book one. I love spending time with all of these characters even if it means some time is cut back from my favorites. I miss some of the more home-y aspects of Meg’s life, like when she hangs out with Sam and Simon enjoying a movie night. We do get a bit of that here but really I’m greedy and could read an entire book of that. But, like I said, I do enjoy the new characters. We get to see more children in this book as Lt. Monty’s daughter unexpectedly enters the picture and the new couple that will be working for the courtyard also has children. It was fun to see the human children and the ‘pups’ from the terra indigene interacting.

We also spend a little more time with some of the other cassandra sangue that have been rescued and learn more about them as Meg sets out to do experiments and try to learn more about what triggers prophecies and the need to cut. This entire plotline with the experimentation is quite interesting. There’s also Meg and her need to cut and her friends fear for her life and what each cut means for her and whether it will be her last. This creates a lot of tension in the story and it’s interesting, especially when her cutting is actually helpful. To cut or not to cut? But what if something bad happens and she could have prevented it? But what if she cuts and the information isn’t useful and she’s wasting her life? These are the things they’re all struggling to understand and I love the moral quandary they all find themselves in.

The plot in this one goes along with the expanded world building as we’re dealing with the threads that had been laid down in the previous book. The Humans First and Last movement is taking hold and those that side with terra indigene are being discriminated with and becoming outcasts in their own society. Propaganda is everywhere, the leader spins careful lies. This reminds me too much of current events and was a bit hard to read at the moment as it made me so very angry. Tensions fly high and Simon wrestles with the fact that he has a human pack to protect now as well–something they’ve never had to deal with before. They don’t like to meddle in human affairs but they’re realizing that this movement will affect them eventually and so now they’re having to keep a closer eye on things. The tension keeps building and eventually come to a head but I have the feeling (as this is only book three) that this is just the beginning of the fight. I thought the way the various plot threads wove together was done really well and I can see the author continue to lay groundwork for bigger events to come in the future.

Overall, another great book in the series and I love the way the story and world keep expanding with each new volume. Very much looking forward to reading book four. 4.5/5 stars.