Review: The Bloodsworn by Erin Lindsey

The bonds of family, love, and loyalty are pushed to their limits in this thrilling conclusion to the epic saga started in The Bloodbound... As the war between Alden and Oridia draws to its conclusion, the fates of both kingdoms rest on the actions of a select group of individuals—and, of course, the unbreakable bonds of blood...   Unbeknownst to most of Alden, King Erik, in thrall to a cruel bloodbinder, is locked away in his own palace, plotting revenge. To save her king, Lady Alix must journey behind enemy lines to destroy the bloodbinder. But her quest will demand sacrifices that may be more than she can bear.   Meanwhile, as the Warlord of Oridia tightens his grip on Alden, the men Alix loves face equally deadly tasks: her husband, Liam, must run a country at war while her brother, Rig, fights a losing battle on the front lines. If any one of them fails, Alden could be lost—and, even if they succeed, their efforts may be too late to save everyone Alix holds dear...

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Ah, the final chapter in a trilogy. It is always bittersweet when pick up that last book in series, excited to find out what comes next, yet wondering how the final chapters will go for characters you have grown to love during the series, sad to think that your journey with them is almost at a close. I have really enjoyed the books in the Bloodbound series, so I definitely felt this going in. There’s almost a sense of nervousness if I will be satisfied the end of series. No one wants to depart on a bad note, and it is hard know that even if you love it, there’s no guarantee you will get to read more about the characters. But, excitement to read overshadows all of that, and so I dove into The Bloodsworn without hesitation.

The Bloodsworn takes off immediately, with our beloved characters facing situations more dire than ever before as they face the prospect of the complete loss of their land and people. The threat is very real and quite dire. With King Erik, well, let’s just call him “indisposed“, due to the bloodbinder from the last book,  Alix and Liam face new challenges of running the land, while trying to not advertise the threat they faced from the blood binder. The plot moves at a great pace, and the tension and excitement last through out the book. This series is written in such a way that is is just fun to read and hard to put down. In other words? I race through these books, fully immersed and excited to find out what is on the next page.

The book also examines cost versus reward as opportunity for advantage present itself, but the characters have to ask themselves if the opportunity is moral, and how far are they willing to bend their beliefs to save Alden. What means more them? Standing the moral high ground or the fate of their land and people? It is an interesting dilemma to face because while it might be easy to say they would “do anything” to save Alden, is that actually true? How much is too much to ask to save the lives and future of not just those you know and love, but also all the people depending on you?

As for the characters, I continue to love them for all the same reasons as the previous books. Alix is still fierce and independent, the type of female lead character I love. She does face some challenges still identifying herself as Liam’s wife and adjusting to how that impacts her status. She is used to having status on her own, and acquiring it through her relationship with Liam is something she has to face. Liam is learning to have a bit more confidence in himself, but he always seems to shine. He has a natural way with people, and it is hard to not love him. Rig also faces the challenge of routing out a traitor in their midst. Once again, I found myself equally engaged with all of the POVs in this series, and I find that quite impressive.

This was a fantastic and exciting conclusion to The Bloodbound trilogy and so I highly recommend the series. It has excitement, intrigue and fantastic characters.