Endure (Defy, Book 3) by Sara B. Larson (Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Dark Breaks the Dawn, Sisters of Shadow and Light
Published by Scholastic Inc. on December 29th 2015
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
The remarkable third novel in Sara B. Larson's bestselling Defy series! 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.
Endure by Sara Larson is the final book in the Defy series and if you haven’t started reading these books yet, you should definitely work to change that. Sara has written a wonderful fantasy series that has great characters, action and magic, and of course…swoony romance. All the things I love! Warning: If you haven’t read the other stories, there may be some spoilers below so continue at your own risk.
Endure picks up where Ignite left off and Alexa is back in Antion with Damian but things aren’t okay. Alexa knows that if/when she comes face to face with Rafe again, she won’t be able to control her reactions due to the control he has over her. Because of this, she worries how much danger she is putting Damian in. Along with that, Antion is under attack and she still needs to figure out how she is going to save Rylan.
I love Alexa. She is still the strong character she was in books one and two but she has grown along the way. She has always been familiar with heartache but now she has Damian’s love and with it, she has come to realize she is more than just a daughter, a sister, or a soldier. I also loved seeing her relationship with Rylan change and that is all I will say about that.
Larson concludes this series with a whole lot of action and there are a number of twists I didn’t see coming. I will also warn you, alongside the action is quite a bit of danger and Larson doesn’t hold anything back. Not everyone makes it out of this story alive…prepare yourselves.
Damian is still super swoony and I loved seeing him grow into his role as King. While he is adjusting to his responsibilities, he also realizes he can’t lock Alexa away from danger. She takes her role as a soldier seriously and just because he loves her, won’t stand back and let others step into danger for her. It is clear he really wishes he could hide her away but he also recognizes that her fierceness is one of the things he loves about her and wouldn’t want to change her.
A good portion of this book takes place with Damian and Alexa separated. I won’t give away any of the details but I have to admit, the goodbye these two had made my heart clench a bit. Through Alexa’s journey, we learn more about the sorcery involved in this book and I loved how Larson tied this into the story. I also thought she did a wonderful job of explaining how the black sorcerers came to be and ultimately how they were being used by King Armando. I can’t say too much more because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone.
So really…that’s about all I can say. Overall I thought Larson did a wonderful job of wrapping up this series. If you are looking for a good fantasy series with strong characters, a wonderful story and some definitely swoony parts, you should have the Defy series on your list. I am so happy about the way this story was concluded and I definitely can’t wait to see what is next for Sara Larson. Whatever it is, I will be adding it to my to read list immediately. In the meantime, grab this book when you can!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
3 winners will receive a finished copy of ENDURE. US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
12/28/2015- Fiction Fare– Review
12/29/2015- Dark Faerie Tales– Interview
12/30/2015- A Backwards Story– Review
12/31/2015- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads– Guest Post
1/1/2016- The Book Cellar– Review
Week Two:
1/4/2016- Supernatural Snark– Interview
1/5/2016- Novel Novice – Guest Post
1/6/2016- Page Turners Blog– Review
1/7/2016- Two Chicks on Books– Interview
1/8/2016- Mundie Moms– Review
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