Review: The Faerie Wars
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 28, 2013
Wow. Just, wow. I feel like I can say without a doubt that The Faerie War was by far the best book in this series. Books one and two were pretty dang good, but this book blew them away. I couldn't put it down from start to finish, and while I was glad to see everything resolved and settled, I was so sad when I finished reading this book. I will miss these characters and this world immensely!Violet was awesome from book one. I loved how driven she was, and how determined she was to be the best Guardian of her class. It was also nice to see her shift priorities a little bit and realize that sometimes finishing first isn't all there is to life. I was heartbroken at the end of book two and agonized over the decision she made that caused the big cliffhanger at the end of the book. I can't even imagine how disillusioned and heartbroken she must have felt in order to do what she did. That was honestly the only time in this series that I was disappointed in her. The decision she made seemed like such a give-up. Book three opens up immediately after book two ended, and Violet is confused and disoriented. She doesn't remember anything or anyone from her previous life, and she has been rescued and taken in by the Reptiscilla people - a type of fae that don't particularly like Guardians. However, Violet doesn't even know that she is a Guardian, or what it means to be a Guardian, so she slowly wins over their trust.Things move at a very rapid pace in this book, and the evil invasion and enslavement of Lord Draven is rapidly spreading across Creepy Hollow and the rest of the Fae Realm. It becomes a battle between the Marked and the Unmarked, and families and friends are forced to battle each other. Meanwhile Ryn is frantically searching for Violet, hoping that she has not been brainwashed and marked by Draven. When he finally does find her, it's just as devastating when he realizes that she doesn't even know who he is, or that she was in love with him. It truly broke my heart during this scene in the book. Ryn has grown from a character that I despised in book one to someone I just loved in books two and three. The lengths he went to to make Violet fall in love with him the first time were truly breathtaking. Knowing how hard he worked to win her trust, and how sweet and happy he was when she finally admitted that she loved him, only made it that much more gut wrenching when she looked straight thru him as a stranger. But Ryn is such a good guy, and growing into an even greater man, and he is determined to help Violet get her memories back, or if that fails to simply win her love all over again as they are now.I loved this book - loved all of the twists and turns, and loved how the final battle scene played out. I felt sorry for Nick and what he had become, and in the final moments I mourned for who he had been. But I totally think that things ended up how they had to be, and I was 100% satisfied with the ending.I wholeheartedly recommend this book and this series to anyone who loves to read fantasy, YA, or just a really good story. However, I do strongly suggest that you go back and begin reading from book one so that you can follow along easily and don't miss out on all of the character and world building.