Book Review
Title: Battle of Illaria (Illaria #3)
Author: Dyan Chick
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: After the dramatic ending of Oracle of Illaria I had to jump into the finale straight away. Battle of Illaria opens once again with Max’s perspective as he takes part in the destruction of Greenville. It seems he is finding it harder and harder to keep the Darkness out and that he is becoming more of a servant to the King and his original goal of becoming the King is disappearing despite his upcoming wedding to Nora. We then jump to Etta’s perspective where she is training with Master Flanders to keep the Darkness out and to control it but she is struggling much like her brother. However, this training is interrupted with the arrival of Sir Henry brining news about the destruction of Greenville and a team is assembled to go into the town to retrieve survivors which might include Calder’s family. However, there is a debate about whether or not Etta should go but she needs to be seen by the people to show them that she isn’t afraid and that she is standing up to the King. Upon arriving the group see the devasting aftermath of the King’s attack which has left Calder’s whole family dead but his best friend Holden and his wife Anna have survived as well as some other which are rescued by the Ravens. However, there are still sorcerers in the town and they might have a battle on their hands.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we get our first chapter from Ashton’s perspective, as he and his group travel through Greenville looking for survivors but instead they come upon a legion of the undead no doubt being controlled by the King or possibly Max as the Reapers now follow him too. They barely make it away from the battle to the barn where they should have meet Etta only to find it in flames surrounded by Max and four Reapers. Ashton is unaware that Etta and the others left for the Raven camp just as Max arrived so he charges in to face his old friend. Together with Celeste and Master Flanders they deal with the Reapers while Saffron in locked in a sword fight with Max but somehow everyone makes it back to the camp where they regroup. Two key pieces of information come to light here, one being that Max is going to marry Nora and she is pregnant with his child meaning he is still going after the throne and will need to be dealt with after the King which unsettles Etta. The second is the Annalise has been found although she just goes by Anna and is Holden’s wife, it turns out Sir Henry was right for them to find her as she holds a map to the final power stone which would allow Etta to control the Reapers meaning she would have an even battleground with both the King and Max.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Sir Henry takes Ashton aside and explains t him that he needs to break things off with Etta before they get too serious as she needs to have a political marriage despite what she is currently doing. He goes on to tell Ashton that the nobles and other royals would accept Etta’s marriage to him and it would mean that Etta would lose her throne and possibly her life in the process. While Ashton doesn’t want to think about it he understands it has been done before with Max and Nora and with Etta’s own parents, so he follows Sir Henry’s advice and breaks off their relationship just before he and Celeste are heading into the neighbouring Kingdom to retrieve the Stone of Morare which is hidden there while Etta remains behinds. However, Etta is struggling to control the Darkness as it gets stronger and it is made even worse after Ashton breaks things off with her as her thoughts become darker in nature almost like they were on the Sacred Island when they visited the Oracle.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Etta is heartbroken that Ashton didn’t even say goodbye before heading out with Celeste, however, she decides to do what a Queen who do and doesn’t let her hurt show even when everyone else is aware that she is hurting. I loved seeing the constant disagreements between Sir Henry and Master Flanders, however, this time Etta sides with Sir Henry and states that no one untrained will be used in the battle with the King so it won’t be a repeat of the Battle of the Dead. She is also moving up her schedule to meet with her uncle in Gallia since Max’s wedding to Nora is going to take place in the next four weeks before she begins to show and they want to strike the morning after the wedding, so it seems for now at least Ashton and Etta are going their separate way but she does have support in Calder who knows what it feels like to lose someone you love and reminds Etta that even though she is a Queen, she is still human and can break down every once in a while. When she travels to Gallia to meet her uncle Gaius, she realises for the first time that she still has some family but she needs to reclaim her throne and do what is right for her people. She even realises that Sir Henry was right about Ashton as he districted her so she missed the signs about Max and vows never to do it again. Meanwhile, Ashton and Celeste are travelling through a strange land in winter and believe at one point that they have come across a dragon. They end up meeting Master Flanders brother who passes on a mysterious box to Ashton and he learns that Master Flanders has also returned the ring Ashton left behind for Etta to him, solidifying the position he has taken in leaving her behind.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Etta has been tried to work something out with her uncle for Gallia to support them in the war to overthrow the King. Initially he proposes a political marriage but Etta refuses but she is open to the idea of a treaty between their Kingdoms and she is going to stay for a few days to work out the details. However, they have also received word that dragons have returned to Illaria and it might have a rider which changes things but Etta is still in possession of the dragon stone and Celeste has a dragon egg which I hope comes into play soon. Despite this she does have some normal moments like when she meets her cousin, Mari, and they discuss their upbringings and lives as she learns more about the customs of Gallia, her mother’s homeland. We begin bouncing back and forth between Ashton and Celeste’s quest to retrieve the Stone of Morare and Etta’s time in Gallia but we can see Ashton is planning to propose to Etta when he returns but it is going to be difficult because first they have to survive the undead guarding the tower to retrieve the stone and return unharmed which seems slim and Etta has to forgive him. Meanwhile, Etta is learning more about her mother’s homeland and the family she has there including the way the royals work and what it means to rule a Kingdom but she is fitting into her role a lot better than she did in the first two books. However, Etta is aware there is a traitor among her advisors although she has no idea what it is, her uncle has come up with the treaty which will benefit them both in giving them the support of the other’s army when it is needed but Gaius wants to declare war on Sardinia when they have recovered from the Darkness and Etta agrees. While Master Flanders doesn’t agree with her choice he will support her and warns her that she can’t back down as it is her first major decision as Queen as backing down would make her seem weak.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Celeste and Ashton are almost at their destination when they run into Max and his dragon. Max tells them they still have the same goal of getting rid of the King and tries to get Ashton to join him but that isn’t going to happen, although he does tell them he doesn’t want the stone for himself and that he will leave it behind for them and while they don’t believe him, I think he is telling the truth. Celeste and Ashton are now both aware of the traitor within the Ravens and need to get the stone and get back to Etta no matter what. As Ashton and Celeste find the stone they are confront with Morare himself and in their brief battle Ashton manages to seemingly destroy the stone with his enchanted sword as Morare vanishes, but as they are leaving Max informs them that the King is going to attack the Ravens in order to kill Master Flanders and remove the protection spell from Etta. However, as Etta returns with a personal guard from her uncle she is ready for the attack, the Raven immediately split into those that can and can’t fight and Etta uses her powers to cause a blizzard that they can use to their advantage but they still haven’t heard any word back from Ashton or Celeste so they can only hope that the King will no longer have control of the Reapers. The battle is chaotic but Etta manages to help out where she can and is overjoyed when she finds Saffron, Ashton, Celeste, and Master Flanders all unharmed but that changes when Master Flanders is challenged by the King himself. It seems like Master Flanders is killed in the resulting fight meaning Etta’s protection has gone but he had a vision that if he didn’t die, Etta would meaning she is now free to return to Gallia and claim the army they can lend her to deal with the King once and for all.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Etta heads to Gallia to ready the army for the following day and she is introduced to the council of sorcerers that will be adding her alongside the army. They tell her that her artic fire might just be the key to killing the King once and for all, so she needs to live not matter the cost. The final battle was not what I was expecting and it leaves us with a wicked cliffhanger that I need resolved right now but been as it has been nearly 2 years since I’ve seen an update about the final book in the series I am holding out hope that it will be released soon and I can finally see what happens to my poor babies. Honestly, I’ve to care so much for these characters and the little easter eggs in the pages give me some ideas of what is to come in the finale but I can’t wait to read it when it finally enters the world.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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