Review: Endure

Endure

Defy #3

by Sara B. Larson

BEWARE! Even the description is a spoiler!

Description:

At last, Alexa and King Damian are engaged to be married. But their lives are far from safe. The kingdom of Antion is under siege, and Rylan is a prisoner of the enemy. Even worse, Alexa remains at the mercy of the evil Dansiian Rafe, who controls her mind and can force Alexa to kill or harm Damian at any moment. Despite this, Alexa is determined to rescue Rylan, which soon leads her far from Damian and deep into enemy territory.

When she arrives, what awaits her is deadlier than anything she could have ever imagined: an army of black sorcerers and a horrifying plot to destroy the world as Alexa knows it. Will she be able to gather the strength to free herself, protect the love of her life, and save the land? Will there ever be true peace?

Acclaimed author Sara B. Larson has woven a stunning, romantic, and evocative finale to the Defy trilogy that is sure to leave readers breathless until the very last page.

Review:

I so wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t meant to be. After the last book, I had high hopes for this one, but they weren’t realized. I had a problem with one decision that spiraled into the plot for the entire book, ruining it for me. Someone else that wasn’t upset with the decision may have enjoyed the book better than I.

“Above us, the sky was an endless expanse of velvety black, with millions of stars spreading like glittering diamonds spilled across the dark canvas.”

What I liked about this book:

• The epilogue. I really like what the author did with the end. It turned out good for me.
• If I hadn’t had a problem with the decision, the middle would have been very intense, full of all sorts of angst and worry. I think it was very well done.
• Some of the writing was just pretty

 

What I didn’t like about the book:

• That decision I mentioned earlier, yeah, it was thoughtless and stupid. Alexa didn’t really think things through, she just jumped in not realizing it that it would have been a bad idea not matter how you looked at it. The problem is, this ended up being the basis for the entire plot. Frowny face. I think the author could have taken it in a direction that I would have liked better, but still stayed true to the story.
• There wasn’t enough romance. Damian just wasn’t in the book as much as I wanted and it was kind of a bummer.
• The cover. I know, superficial of me, but I liked the other covers. Something about this one seemed off. Like it was almost cartoonish. I know others like it, but it just didn’t do it for me.
• There was something never explained about why the villain wanted Alexa. I mean, they gave a reason, but we never found out if that reason was true or not. I would have liked to know and not just guessed at it.
• The end. Sigh. Spoiler Warning: Alexa only sorta ended the battle with the King. I mean, she killed him, yay her! But the real fight with all the black sorcerers and everything with the King being killed was able to happen because of the Unseen power giving it to them. I just wanted to see more of the people overcoming this and not have it magically taken care of. Also, why we have to spoiler warning here, why didn’t Alexa ever tell Damina Rafe had power over her. It was just silly that she didn’t. No reason for it. *Spoiler over* -Note: if you want to read the spoiler, just highlight the section of text.

“I am Damian, the king of Antion, and no one will ever take someone I love from me again and live.”

I hate not giving more positive things about this book, but it just wasn’t there for me. Honestly, after reading the last book, I would not recommend this series. On the other hand, lots of people didn’t seem to have the same problems as me reading it. There’s some great reviews out there of it. So if you’re a fan of YA fantasy, this may just be the series for you.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Source: Library