Siege and Sparrow

Guilds of Ilbrea #5

by Megan O'Russell

For the children beloved by the mountain shall be protected by her stone.
The northerly wind carries the scent of blood, dragging secrets from the shadows and tearing allies apart. But the danger growing within the Guilds cannot be ignored, and the grief of a good man is fierce enough to crack the foundation of a mighty kingdom.
A queen seeks justice.
A lover vows vengeance.
A legend is reborn.
As the battle for Ilara begins, fate calls the Karrons home to face the enemies none can survive alone.

376 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2024

About the author

From the epic fantasy world of Ilbrea to the vampire and werewolf-plagued dystopia of the domes, author Megan O'Russell offers readers thirty-two books across nine series.

With a passion for building immersive worlds, uncovering each character’s unique voice, and discovering innovative ways to bring stories to audiences, Megan has created and presented workshops across the country helping fellow authors along their journey, including facing the Indie Publishing process with clear eyes and a workable plan.

Megan's newest novel, Sketchbook of a Wayward Seer, is presented in partnership with the podcast Page by Page: Writing the Book in Real Time, where you can listen to a new, full chapter of the series every week. Other titles include Ember and Stone, Girl of Glass, The Cursebound Thief, and How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days.

Reviews

[Ava Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not usually the girl to just dive into a book without prep or context, but I do with this series. Every year another book comes out, and every year I jump straight into with even bothering to try and remember the characters or plot (minus the bare minimum) lol. That said, I do think that maybe it's time this series wraps up? It's going on 6 books and we haven't really make 6 books worth of plot or character progression. O'Russell has created a really intriguing world and really interesting characters, but I think she's trying to juggle too much at once. All of that said, I genuinely enjoyed this book more than the previous one and I had a really fun time immersing myself back in the story (albeit a little bit confused).

[Chad Barrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next book in this thrilling action filled intense drama unfolds as most of the Karron family finally converge in Ilara but can’t meet together because of the political unrest brought on by the King and his alliance with the sorcerer’s guild over the other guilds. When Ena uses this to exact revenge against the Lady Healer for what she did to not only her but her husband, by staging a public execution of the woman with the executors dressed as sorcerers, the other guilds demand justice, but instead the king still sides with the sorcerers and the guilds split apart from the alliance they’ve always had.

Tensions run high as Ena and Adrial finally meet again and make plans to flee the city and Niko finds out Danu has been tasked with a horrible task to perform if he isn’t killed by the guilds in the upcoming battles.

When things couldn’t possibly get any worse they do when the ice army from the north that Mara and Tham saw when they were there finally attack Ilara and stop Ena and Adrial’s plans for leaving together for the time being as this new threat faces them now.

This series is a riveting, intense and page turning experience that you will be hard pressed to put down! Megan has skillfully woven a tale that has drawn you in over four books and the tension continues to build as it builds towards the final book
Falcon and Song, the next book in this series!

I enthusiastically recommend you get this entire series because if you haven’t read the previous books you will have missed so much of the story!
You need to know the story of these main people and how they became friends first and became a family thereafter and follow their lives and adventures in the
previous books in this series which has lead to this point in the story.

By the same token I invite you to read Megan’s series on Ena as well so you can get to know her and what drove her to become who she is. Her series are both well worth the read as well and will get you ready for the final book in this series if you haven’t read them yet!

This has been quite a saga over three series about the corruption of guilds and power and those who want to bring it all to an end and give the people a chance to start fresh! Will they be able to? We’ll have to wait for the final book to find out!!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was brilliant, definitely the best in the series so far! As the others were really good books, that is pretty high praise.
One of the things I liked most in this book is the location of all of the protagonists, I won't say more, but I did find their relative locations, and knowledge, to be very transfixing - what is going to happen...!?
As always, this was very well written and quite poetic at times. The characters are excellent, and we know both them and the world well by now so the reader can just enjoy what is going on. There was plenty of action - yippee! - and some great twists.
I can't wait to find out what happens next.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 5 in the Guilds of Ilbrea series

A nerve-rackingly, action-packed, emotionally-gripping, at times heart-wrenching, magical journey that often left me on the edge of my seat. This multiple POV book is an intricately written storyline that continues to follow the same characters from the other books in the series. I enjoyed reading how O'Russell weaves these storylines together. Can hardly wait to see what happens in book 6.

Strongly developed characters and intricately detailed world building.

"We fight for freedom. Fight with us, or run."

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping that this latest book would start to wrap things up in this series, but it didn’t, not much happened at all which was disappointing. I’m not planning to waste any more time with this.

I preferred the previous series which focused on Ena and the Black Blood peoples of the mountains. They were much more focused and finished.

[Afroditi Darzenta · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were times (often when reading about Allora and almost every time when reading about Ena and the Black Bloods) when reading this book became a frustrating chore. Thankfully the interesting parts outweighed the other ones.

[Lindsey Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 3.75

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending leaves you hanging, so you definitely have to read the next one.