Of course this sequel would end up destroying me. But I loved it with all of my heart. Five stars for this most wonderful book. But, yes, there were several parts that truly hurt my heart deeply. Yet this book was filled with everything that I wanted. And I loved it so very much. But yes. That ending is truly the meanest. Hmph.
I'm going to try my best not to share spoilers about this book. It will be hard, haha. As all I want is to talk about the romance and the ending and the hurt and ahh. But I shall control myself. And mention just parts of it all, ha. But oh, this book really made me feel everything. All the hurt. But all the joy as well. I loved it lots.
There is much to say about this one. I'm going to share a bunch, yet not nearly enough. As this book was long. And so fantastic. I truly loved it from beginning to end. Despite that ending. Hmph. It takes place one year after book one ended. Reed has already had three more heroes, leading them to Glorious Deaths. She is moving a bit too fast, trying to escape her broken heart. I loved how we also got to see Hestion and his broken heart, how he's not been doing well for the past year. I loved that, ha. There is so much happening in the beginning of the book. I shall not share it. But I loved how Reed and Lyonene switched heroes, in a way. With Reed taking her hero, to be a matchmaker, so Lyonene could be elsewhere. Everything went wrong. And I loved it, ha.
Because as Reed travels to this new place to play matchmaker for a princess, she learns her first suitor will be Hestion. Yeah. Drama will happen. And I loved it. I loved when they finally met after a year apart. Even though it hurt. Ouch. But I also just loved this whole world. I loved the magic of the Aristene. I loved how Reed got the princess to like her, how she liked her as well. I liked reading about all the daily things. How everything had meaning, how everything then went wrong. Everything about this book was amazing.
There was so much going on in this book. We see a little more of Sar, and oh, how I loved that funny and sweet boy. I want to see more of him, though. Especially after how everything ended, how he will have his heart broken, several times. I want to see it. Hmph. We also got to know the princess Yngarue so much. I was conflicted about her. But I grew to love her, somewhat. Her little brother was the cutest, though, and I do not want him to die from illness. How rude. But yes. I so loved reading about this different royal family.
We get to see more of the villain from book one, the bones of the prophet. We get to see more monsters. And oh, I loved it so much. It was truly horrible at times, all that happened. Yet it was fully interesting and exciting and I loved the plot twists. A small peek at the boy king from book one, whom I still adore. There is another war going on as well. I loved it all. It was thrilling to read about. I loved seeing the Aristenes at war and their horses too. The best warriors. Honestly just loved the entire plot in this book the very most.
The romance in this sequel was all kinds of wonderful. Well. At first it was all kinds of horrible, ha. Hestion still blames Reed for his brother dying. How she chose to have his brother die, to save Hestion. I am still mad at him not understanding it. But I loved this boy too much. Sigh. We get to see much more of him in this. Several points of views too, which I loved. I am still mad at him for sleeping around so much. Hmph. But he loves Reed. Despite the pain. Despite him taking a long time to show it. And oh, loved it so much.
They do have their troubles in this book. There were a few jealousy scenes that I did not like that much. But it was not too bad and it did not last, thankfully. They should stop being stubborn and just show how much they actually love each other. I will say that I very much loved the romance in this book. But I wish some scenes had been a little more detailed, ha. But it was also perfect. And I loved that it was there. I loved how Hestion changed, how he cared more for Reed. How he would do anything for her. How rude.
I cannot help but talk a little about Lyonene. She has spent the past year still with her first hero, Alsander. She should have left him right after the war. But she did not. And I did not fully get it, as I did not think she loved him. But I think she grew to love him more. Though I didn't truly like Alsander at all. Hmph. Lyonene deserved so much better. But oh. This girl. She made all the mistakes in this book. And it hurt my heart so much. She should have been smarter. She ruined too much. Sobs. Yet still loved her like crazy, of course.
We see so much of the other Aristene too. At first I hated Mol a little. But I grew to like her. We see more of Aster and Veridian together. I love Aster. A little unsure about Veridian, as she was a little crazy. But I adored her too. We see more of the elders, Ferreh and Tiern. I do not like them. Especially not after what happened near the end. Yeah. They are the rudest. Yet I loved reading about them. And oh. The horses. The Areions. I loved them so. Silco most. Loved when he tried to be sneaky in the barn. Made me laugh.
There was also Aethiel. The large warrior with the biggest heart. The one who used to be a queen. I must admit that I did not get it when I read Champion of Fate, ha. I was searching for what connected this story to Three Dark Crowns, to Fennbirn. It was Aethiel. It was made much clearer in this book. And oh, how I loved that. I loved learning about her past. I loved getting to know her more. Aethiel was the best. Always fun to read about. I loved how these books were connected in small ways. I want them to connect more.
Biggest thank you to the publisher, Quill Tree Books, for the auto approval on Edelweiss. I am so beyond thrilled that I was able to read this one early. I couldn't resist it when I saw it and had to read it right away. I'm so happy that I re-read Champion of Fate first, as I loved having all the details fresh in my mind. This truly was such an incredible duology. But oh, how badly I want there to be another book. It's all set up for one more. The publisher need to get it. I need it the most. So, please. Read this perfect duology of books.
Warrior of Legend was everything I wanted from the sequel to Champion of Fate. It was truly perfect. And I loved every moment. Well, probably. My heart was broken a bit too many times, ha. But gosh, this book was thrilling and exciting. I was nervous so many times, wondering what would happen. The relationship between all of the Aristene was the most beautiful. I loved how Reed and Lyonene loved each other like sisters. I loved the romance, despite how it broke me at times. But yes. This book is worth all of the pain.
