Series: Feral Child #3
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: March 6, 2014
Challenges: Finishing the Series
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.
Blurb from goodreads:
Maddy and her cousins are ready for battle.
War in the faerie realm threatens to spill into the human world. The three cousins are determined to protect all they love from the Tuatha, the fearsome faerie leaders.
As the Morrighan, the supreme monarch of the Tuatha, awakes, Maddy realises she's going to need more than just physical strength and luck to survive.
The Tuath are notorious tricksters, and Maddy will have to outsmart them for good - or else plunge two whole worlds into the darkest chaos.
A couple years have passed since the end of book two, "The Unicorn Hunter", and life has been calm for Maddy and her cousins, Danny and Roisin. She lives with them, in a city, surrounded by iron; she missed living with her grandparents in the rural village in easy range of the faeries. But the calm doesn't last and Maddy, along with her cousins find themselves back Underhill.
Meabh, Liadan, and Fachtna are back and they're as vicious and deceptive as ever. Well, mostly. Fachtna has a few moments where she's almost nice. Also back is the Irish hero Finn mac Cumhaill, and the Banshee Una. Maddy has to live up to her promise to serve Queen Meabh but she isn't willing to do what Meabh as it's dangerous to humans so she needs to find a way to honor her vow while keeping her family, village, and humankind safe. Part of that involves waking the Morrigan, the ruler of all the fay, from her centuries long sleep. But is Morrigan friend or foe? Is she any more trustworthy than any other fay? Can Maddy keep safe the ones she loves?
The story gets off to a slow start but gradually picks up steam. Maddy and Roisin are both resourceful while I'm not sure what purpose Danny serves. He provides some moral support but does nothing to advance the story. Maddy has her anger under better control but it's not gone completely. She has matured and is better able to control her impulses and think first before acting.
Once again, there's a lot of violence. The story lagged a bit around the middle, too much exposition and not enough action, but then it picked up again. The ending was not what I expected and I have mixed feelings. It was a happier ending than I expected and think it weakened the story but I was also glad to see a positive resolution. I question the plausibility of three young teens defeating fay warriors but Golden's take on the faeries and their strengths and weaknesses is interesting. "The Raven Queen" is a solid, entertaining finale to the series.
My review of book 1, The Feral Child
My review of book 2, The Unicorn Hunter
It's always great to have a positive resolution at the end of a story. Great review.
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteIt's kind of funny seeing a happier ending be considered weaker. I get it though, sometimes it doesn't quite go with the book/series. But yay for lots of violence! ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL I like a happy ending but sometimes it just doesn't fit with the story.
DeleteSounds like an interesting series.
ReplyDeleteIt is.:)
DeleteI, for one, prefer realistic endings to happy endings. Usually, overly positive endings feel too false for me. I find deeper meaning in endings that are more realistic in nature, something that makes me feel, "Yup, this is how it would have ended in this scenario!" But hey at least the series as a whole is pretty decent :)
ReplyDeleteFaye at The Social Potato
The ending is not bad, it is somewhat realistic, but I think a different ending would have been stronger. Ah well, I enjoyed the book overall.
Delete