Venatrix Ayleth made a vow of loyalty to her Holy Order.
But is the Order loyal to Ayleth?
Still
recovering from her deadly encounter with the Phantomwitch, Ayleth
finds herself the unwilling guest of the Golden Prince, forced to enjoy
his hospitality . . . and the not-so-gentle ministrations of Venator
Fendrel du Glaive.
There’s something strange about Fendrel.
The way he stares at her is unsettling—as though she’s a monster, as
though she’s guilty of some great sin. But didn’t she just defeat one of
the worst enemies the kingdom has ever known? Hasn’t she proven her
worth?
And then there’s Terryn, who may be lying to her, who
may not be the loyal venator everyone believes him to be. He also looks
at her strangely . . . but his gaze makes her heart stop and her pulse
race in ways she’s never felt before.
As the night of Prince
Gerard’s wedding approaches and the kingdom gathers to celebrate new
beginnings, dark forces close in on all sides. Certain secrets, long
buried deep, are bound to emerge at last.
When they do, will Ayleth have the strength to stand and fight?
Don’t miss the newest installment in the bestselling Venatrix Chronicles, coming January 2020!
~~~
My Review:
I was promised that Terryn would see Ayleth in a dress in this installment, so I already knew it was probably going to be my favorite one yet. The jury is still out since I've read the first three books twice and have had more time to deal with the emotional trauma in them, though.
This book has a lot of inter-character interaction and court intrigue, which is fantastic. We only just got to meet Fendrel in the last book, and now the Chosen King makes his scene. And the older and younger generations are on a collision course, let me tell you. And my precious Terryn is facing a great deal of internal struggle as he deals with unwanted feelings for Ayleth, his rival and his greatest temptation from being the perfect venerator he always strove to be. There is a scene reminiscent of the Hand Touching scene from the 2008 Pride & Prejudice that almost knocked me out of my seat with the force of it restrained passion. Not to mention, the title alludes to the perfect scene shared by Terryn and Ayleth that is such a symbol and culmination both of their relationship that had Gerard and me anticipating the sailing of our ship. And Fendral asking questions about what on earth is going on here.
Unfortunately, the title also alludes to the main witch antagonist of this book and her evil plot that has you watching in trepidation as it builds up to an EPIC climax that I am still processing. And I don't care what anyone else might say about Fendrel and the Golden King, when the latter cried out for his brother, my heart broke in two. You're not a real villain if you love at least one person purely, and they both have that covered.
Also, while I'm really glad that what messed me up really bad in the last book has been partially undone, I am not happy with the consequences. I love even the unlikable characters, and especially the ones loved by the precious characters. Also, while I'm pretty sure Ayleth and Terryn will be fine as long as they have each other, I'm sending a fleet of therapists Gerard's way. My poor boy and I are still reeling from everything.
Note
to more sensitive readers: This book had some bad language, violence,
horror elements, and just plain intensity.
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