(Cover picture courtesy of trips down imagination road.)

Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.

A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.

As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.

This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

You know, I was more than a little skeptical of the entire Courtlight series after reading the first novel.  It was more than a little rushed and the writing was decent enough, but nothing special.  What made me stick with the series was the amazing characters and the incredibly unique premise.  So, now that I’m on the third book out of four books, was it worth it?

Of course!

I loved Sworn to Conflict even more than I loved the previous book, Sworn to Transfer.  It’s better than the first one and I thought it would be hard to top the second book, but Terah Edun has improved yet again.  She’s found the perfect balance between dialogue and description and has expanded her fascinating fantasy world yet again.  There are new creatures, new threats to the realm and terrifying new secrets that change everything Ciardis thought she knew.

Aside from the world-building, I really enjoyed the characters in this novel.  Ciardis is a great character in that she’s not afraid to stand up to Prince Sebastian, despite the fact he’s the heir to the realm and she’s only a Companion.  And when she’s betrayed by him, she doesn’t go running back to him, ready to forgive all of his wrongs.  No, she’s able to be mad and stay mad and eventually begin the long path to forgiveness.  It’s far more realistic, believe me.

The plot was fast-paced but not to the point where I had no idea what was going on.  There were so many twists and turns that I barely kept up, but I enjoyed myself the whole time.  You never really know just where Terah Edun is going to take the series and I think the final book, Sworn to Secrecy is going to be even better than this one.  I can’t wait for the release!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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