Description:
Anwen is the Faie Queen.
Armed with the shared power of Moros and married to the Faie King, she has narrowly escaped a gruesome fate at the hands of Erinyes, and has managed to trap two of the three sisters. But their trials are far from over. In a mountain far away, her brother, King Matth, languishes in mysterious agony. Close to her home, Ruin threatens to break free of the magical barrier that protects the humans and Faie refugees, but Anwen and Evander have no hope of trapping the vengeful sister without fulfilling the prophecy given to Anwen at her birth.
When the famed Iron Vice shows up at her gates, fully intending to save Anwen from the Faie he believes have invaded their vale, Anwen finds herself at the center of an ageless dispute between humans and Faie that could prove fatal to the war against Ruin. Desperate to save both people, Anwen and Evander discover that the answer to their salvation can only be found in the Pantheon of the Gods. That is, if they can live long enough to escape it.
Either Anwen will reign, or Ruin will burn them all.
My Take:
Reign and Ruin is the third and concluding part of The Faie King’s Mortal trilogy by Devon Atwood. For my past reviews go here: Bonds and Envy (Book 1) and Faie and Fury (Book 2). The previous books in the series established an evil, mysterious, magical villain that is actually three parts of a singular entity called Erinyes. And thus far in the series, Anwen, a human princess who is the story’s heroine, has faced the first two parts, imperiling her life each time. And so, in the third installment, it is time she faces the third part.
If you thought Envy and Fury were bad, wait until you get a load of Ruin.
There is a lot of action throughout the series, and it hasn’t been limited to the ongoing conflict with the evil villain. Anwen begins as a young woman who has been duped into falling for a charlatan who in truth is her soon-to-be arch nemesis. When she discovers the deception, she runs away into a nearby forest called Faievale where she first meets Evander, a faie who would be king. As a fish out of water, we see the fantastic world teeming with magic through Anwen’s wide eyes. A well-constructed fantasy ensues as while Atwood presents her amazing world to us she reveals nuggets of the underlying mystery. Although there is romantic tension between Anwen and Evander, the first two books are more about their developing relationship which, even though they have strong feelings for one another, is complicated by their obligations and a prophetic riddle they need to resolve. At the conclusion of Book 2, Anwen and Evander are married.
The romance theme may not dominate Book 3, but it is definitely more prevalent than it has been in the previous two storylines. But, the drama surrounding the prophecy and the main story arc that challenges the main characters’ events forward is. Anwen must find her brother and to do so she must confront the gods on their own turf. In the process, tension builds toward the final confrontation that threatens everything Anwen cares about, and also her life.
This is an imaginative, well-written series from start to finish, and I promise the ending is satisfying, though it will lead us to discover a new series that promises to further expand our knowledge of this amazing world. You can get it now at Amazon.
About The Author:
Devon is a published author who lives in the mountains of Wyoming with her husband, their seven children, and a menagerie of animals. Devon’s favorite thing is writing in silence with a good playlist on in the background, but she will settle for her usual ambiance of bickering children, barking dogs, and cheerio crumbs under her butt.
She has a Bachelors of Science from Brigham Young University-Idaho, and her currently published works include Lunula, Inito, and K-Love.