Warrior of the Shards

The Shards of Magic #3

by Sarah Hawley

From USA Today bestselling author Sarah Hawley comes the stunning conclusion to her darkly enchanting Shards of Magic series following Servant of Earth and Princess of Blood.

Princess Kenna of Blood House has decided who to support as the next ruler of Mistei, but one wrong move shatters the fragile truce of the Accord and plunges the kingdom into civil war. In the chaos, hundreds of faeries lie dead, and Kenna and the two rebel princes are captured.

With all other potential rulers imprisoned, two faeries crueler and more ambitious than even the late tyrant king claim the throne. Kenna is sure if they don’t kill her first, her guilt will. Her misstep could have lost the war.

But Kenna will never give up, no matter what horrors the enemy inflicts on her. Not when her house is looking to her for a brighter future. Not when she has finally found someone who loves her just as fiercely as she loves him. Yet with every blow she is dealt, the limits of how far she is willing to go to win the war get pushed further and further. In striving to transform Mistei for the better, Kenna risks losing her greatest strength—her humanity.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fae, Adult, Fiction, Fantasy Romance

Kindle Edition

Expected publication December 8, 2026

About the author

Sarah Hawley is the USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth and the Glimmer Falls series. She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.

Reviews

[Faith]

Sorry Sarah, December is too far. How’s tomorrow instead? 🥹

[Robin]

The one where the gang gets together to destroy the monarchy (unhinged edition)

“I wanted him more than soup” is the most romantic line and should constitute a love confession.

In Sarah Hawley’s Warrior of the Shards, the final fight over Mistei looms and the balance of the shards weighs heavily on securing the future of the fae realm. Returning to the fae world in the midst of upheaval and the brink of war, this third Shards of Magic novel could not be more precarious. Following the human turned fae Kenna Heron as she fights first for her survival deep within the cavernous fae kingdom of Mistei, then the survival of her recently resurrected Blood House, this dark fantasy trilogy takes a final bow with Warrior of the Shards. Blood spilt and broken peace mark the fractured footing of this turbulent finale. Warrior of the Shards brings us back to Kenna, our beloved feral heroine, facing fate and consequences after falling prey to the oldest rule in the fae book: trickery itself. Separated from her shapeshifting talking dagger with an unhealthy appetite for blood, and a void faerie who trades in secrets whose greatest secret is how much he adores her, this third novel returns to Kenna facing things much as she began: alone. Journeying through the long forgotten secrets of Mistei and the history of fae magic, Hawley unearths the truth of the past with Kenna at the forefront. Full of endless revelations, moral quandaries, and aching romance, Warrior of the Shards is a calculating and visceral finale. Not complete without a strong kernel of hope, in the fight to bring a better world into being.

Read my review

thank you to edelweiss and the publisher for providing me an advance review copy.

Bookstagram | Blog

[Rachel L]

4.5 stars

Warrior of the Shards is the third and final book in The Shards of Magic series. Following the events of the last book, Kenna has been captured and war has broken out amongst the fae houses. As the war between houses continues, Kenna finds herself questioning how far she is willing to go for what is right.

I don't want to give many spoilers on this one, so I just want to say I loved this series so much. Binged it all very quickly, so I am glad I waited until it was almost all released before I dove in. What makes this series great is the characters and the world building, you feel like you are in the world as you are reading along. All loose ends were tied by the end of the book, and it was done very well. I can't wait for fans to be able to read this last book, they will love it.

e-ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley

[Bookishness]

~Pre-Read~ OMG~ GUESS WHO RECEIVED AN ARC FOR THIS??? this lady right here!!!

[Jenna Levine]

A masterful end to an unforgettable series. Kenna the woman that you are!

[annotated by Noi (in & out)]

Am I just now reading book 1? Yes
Am I only halfway atm? Yes
Am I still going to be on the lookout for this one? Yes

[✧ Nargiz ✧]

I can't kill myself yet, I have to wait till this book comes out

[❋ emily grace ❋]

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🙌🏻

where do i even start 😭 warrior of the shards was the perfect ending to this trilogy. it wrapped everything up in such a satisfying way, but i still wasn't ready to say goodbye to mistei. my only complaint is that i wanted more. i would happily spend another hundred (or five hundred) pages with these characters.

i also have to give this series credit for getting me back into fantasy. i haven't really been reaching for fantasy books over the last few years, but this trilogy reminded me exactly why i used to love diving into new worlds so much. it truly filled me all the way up to the top 🥹

if you've been reading this series, you're going to want to pick this one up as soon as you can. it was emotional, exciting, and the kind of finale that leaves you both completely satisfied and wishing the story never had to end. i will definitely be thinking about these characters for a very long time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[CapesandCovers]

TW for my review: discussion of sexual assault (no explicit details), but if you don’t want to read anything in relation to that, skip the second to last paragraph!

I hate the term Mary Sue, but sometimes there just isn't a better way to describe a character, and that's unfortunately the case for Kenna. I had had so much hope for this series, the first two books were fun (albeit flawed) but instead of the characters continuing to progress and evolve with the story, they stagnated even worse.

But I've already complained about the convenience of all of the plot points being easily solved for Kenna, and how she's evolved into the "white savior" trope for Fae, so I'm going to try to focus on some new topics.

First, the character assassinations that took place in this book. Kallen had been one of the most interesting characters for the first two volumes of the series, and to take a complex and dynamic character and turn him into... this... was criminal. Going from tortured and tormented spymaster to having 90% of his dialogue either being about how wonderful and amazing Kenna is, how much he wants to fuck her, or just glazing every decision she makes to everyone else was miserable to witness. Kallen wasn't the only one either, literally every. single. character. besides the villains hop on to the worship Kenna bandwagon. Former enemies? Love her now. Fae who formerly ignored her? Also love her now. Her ex? Still obsessed with her, what she wants is more important than the revolution he's spent centuries planning. Which is absolutely insane considering she hasn't evolved since book one, other than becoming more and more self-righteous and white savior-y.

Then there's the smut. I get it, romantasy is popular, and the people want their spice. However, the spice was not only unwanted on my part but seriously disrupted the flow of the novel and ate up precious space that could've been used to I don't know - actually resolve the problems brought forth instead of everything neatly getting put inside a giftwrapped box for Kenna. Other than the epilogue, everything was placed in such an odd location that it contributed absolutely nothing to the story and distracted from it.

The story was also seriously lacking in any and all stakes. The romance aspect was very much what was carrying the intrigue and stakes of the story, and I think that prolonging Kenna and Kallen's relationship across the final two books would've helped to continue the momentum (it would've been more in character for Kallen too, but I digress). In Warrior of the Shards, the primary stakes are still whether the evil Fae or Kenna and the power of friendship will come out victorious for their claim to the throne, and since the story is clearly not going to end with the Fae population wiped out and torturing humans, it's obvious who wins. That's not to say that it's impossible to tell a story where the reader knows the outcome (it is!), but in order to make it interesting, the reader needs to be invested in the characters and their journey. And since Kenna has little to no personality outside of being the Fae's lord and savior, that leaves the journey, where everyone caves to her whims. Which would be fine if there were real stakes, or if this was some teen's first Wattpad story, not the conclusion to a trad pub trilogy. Even if Hawley had wanted more of an emphasis on relationships, either focusing on the female friendships (which were still excellent, this is like the one thing I still like about this series) or making the Kallen/Kenna romance slowburn would've been much more enjoyable.

Finally, I want to touch on how Hawley's handling of rape and sexual assault left a bad taste in my mouth. Rape is consistently brought up throughout this series as a whole, but it never feels like it's properly addressed by the author. Sure, Anya has a character arc and growth from her trauma, but it still very much comes across as her being raped and tortured for the sake of giving Kenna something to feel guilty over. It's also primarily done by men - specifically the evil ones - and by doing so it felt like it was trivializing it and using women's suffering for the sake of proving that Kenna's male friends were the "good" guys because they did the bare minimum of saying they wouldn't rape someone. I will never enjoy reading something where women are tortured and/or raped for the sake of showing who the “good” men in the book are, and I’m frustrated whenever this appears in the media I consume. Sexual assault is a horrific and evil thing to do to anyone, and I think that making it such a prominent part of the worldbuilding requires much more nuance than this series had.

Overall, I'm tired. I'm disappointed. I would not recommend this series in general, but especially to anyone who was interested because of the comparisons to The Cruel Prince. This book wanted to be a political Fae book but was ultimately neither since Kenna's aura was too strong and everyone just caved to her whims and decided they loved humans now.

[mith]

Now I am done and this series is a fucking joke.

I have nothing better to do than be a hater, so let's just hope this review makes sense. Tl;dr version is that this entire series paints Kenna as a Mary Sue and, basically, double her pain and give it to the next person. There is very little I found likeable in this trilogy as a whole, and I could not be more disappointed.

I read all three books within the span of the week, so I suppose the only redeemable thing is that they're engaging enough to want to get through.

But now everything else. My first gripe is moreso just a me issue, and it being that this never felt like a fae series. I realise its fictional but these so supposed cruel fae have never read like that. One could argue its a more unique take on them—and sure, that could be the case. In my head, unfortunately, I went in expecting something much different from the side characters and its affected how I view the rest of the series.

Which brings me to my second issue, the fae themselves. None of them have had a reason to trust Kenna or even give her the time of day, yet since book 1, she's been treated differently from the getgo. Scenes with Osric depict how cruel they can be, yet nearly outside of him has been bland almost, and trusting of Kenna despite having no reason to be. Everyone treated her just fine despite being a human. Even after the events of book 2, ONLY the very obvious villains only looked down on her, and that just??? It makes no sense. How do you treat every other human like actual garbage but for whatever reason, Kenna is this miraculous exception to every rule?

And again, outside of the very obvious villains, none of the other fae acted how cruel and dangerous and unhinged as they supposedly are. Suddenly everyone is righteous and good instead of hedonistic and entertained by cruelty—of course, not the ones Kenna and her allies are against! Only those Light and Illusion faeries could find torture entertaining, the rest are just too good for that type of thing, aren't they?

Make it make sense. I'm struggling so hard to understand this. Yet, time and time again its proven to be the case. I'd understand if one or two fae can go against the prejudices you would expect a human to experience, but Hawley has depicted only specific houses as the villains from the very start instead of a nuanced and layered world these fae live in.

There also felt like a distinct lack of conflict in the series. As in, things were just tied up and fixed way too easily. I'm not talking about the general war that has been building since book 1, but for Kenna herself. Almost everything worked out for her and her problems are all conveniently fixed without any lasting issues.

Like being blackmailed by Kallen, being sent to die, her best friend not making it through the bog. Her gaining support in Princess of Blood, gaining more allies, just suddenly being an actual princess with magic at all, actually. This installment has even more, and it infuriates me to no fucking end. Conflict is necessary to further a character and their arc, and the lack of any significant consequences here (again, outside of the overall series plot! I am not overlooking her guilt for "starting" the war!), Kenna's character felt bland, stagnant, and incredibly hard to endure.

Because if everything just works out for her, what is the point?

She also becomes so goddamn self righteous and idealistic, it was INFURIATING. There was very little nuance to Kenna! Literally every other side character was 2000% more interesting, and personally, this series would have been better if it was told through Lara's lens—a character who actually HAD active growth throughout the series—rather than Kenna, who was basically just handed all this power and magic. Kenna's ideals made her seem like this holier than thou character, and almost like the "white savior" trope to the fae. This supposed half-feral human who is just so good and so different from how fae think can only be the change they need! Obviously not the ones that have been around for centuries and actually know fae history and culture.

Had my best friend not pointed that out to me, I wouldn't have had it click why Kenna bothered me so much. (Girl, I'm so sorry you suffered with me, but at least we did it together, Danielle 😭) Her importance was just so overly exaggerated and hard to swallow because it makes! No! Sense!

Also, poor Lara. She went through so much, and while her growth was admirable, her losses were awful. Every bad thing that happened to Kenna was indeed doubled and passed onto Lara.

The romance was predictable and the smut made no sense in this book. Kallen's character did a whole 180 and anything interesting about him was reduced to being the sudden love of Kenna's life. Its also hard to care about that when there's such a dangerous war looming.

Overall, fuck this series. Ty to Danielle for buddy reading this mess with me, it would not have been the same without u. Please consider this my official and public apology 🥲

[Liz S ( Liz & Liz get Literary)]

If infinity stars were possible.. they’d go to this book.
Sarah Hawley has done it again.

The perfect ending to a beautiful series.

Thank you SO much to Sarah and her team for allowing Liz and I to read this!!!

[MillennialMomReading]

4.25⭐️! This was such a good end to this trilogy! I am so grateful to Ace/Berkley for the ARC because I have been dying to know what would happen since I finished book 2. Every one of the characters Sarah Hawley writes feels fully fleshed out and three dimensional, and I could have easily read full books about each of them and been happy. This ties together so many of the little plot points throughout the series and feels like a truly realistic ending for all the characters I’ve come to love. Thank you so much for the ARC!

[LeesiCakes]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I discovered The Shards of Magic series not that long ago, but it instantly became one of my favorites. Not only are the covers for all three books ABSOLUTELY BANGIN', but the story itself is rich, immersive, and exciting. It blends everything I've come to love in fantasy romance: incredible magic, intriguing characters, political drama, an endearing romance, and plenty of action-packed scenes.

I was absolutely enthralled by Warrior of the Shards, and it serves as the perfect conclusion to The Shards of Magic series. Kenna is one of my all-time favorite FMCs!! I genuinely can't think of a single thing I dislike about her. She knows how to be both soft and fierce, and she's never afraid to get her hands dirty. Her shadowy lover boy, Kallen, is pure perfection. I do wish we'd gotten more of him, especially his POV, but overall I'm so satisfied with their development as a couple and with how much Kenna truly gets to shine.

There's so much action throughout the story, and I especially loved the time spent with the Dark Fae and learning more about their history. I experienced every emotion while reading Warrior of the Shards, and I can't wait for it to be released in December so I can pick up a physical copy, reread it, and proudly place it on my shelf next to the first two books. 💜🗡️🩸

[BookishKB]

⚔️🩸 Warrior of the Shards 🩸⚔️

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• Epic Fantasy
• Fae Kingdom
• Civil War
• Political Intrigue
• Captive Royals
_ _ _

📅 Pub Date: December 8, 2026
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Ace, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Emily Thompsonn]

3.75⭐️ this series was so good and seriously underrated. The characters are so unique and the world is so well built that I’m convinced every fantasy reader must partake in this series.

So glad to know how this story ended, although I do feel that compared to the other books in this series it was lacking any shock factor.

But thank you Sarah for bringing me Kallen because he was top notch ❤️

[millena]

3.5 ⭐️ I think this ended up being my favorite book in the trilogy!!!

The first one was definitely the easiest to get through, but this one expanded so much more on the politics and the relationships between the characters (not the romantic ones tho, I found that part kinda boring sorry). I LOVED how all the political conflicts were resolved, and honestly, I can’t think of a better ending for that part of the story. I didn’t want one of my favorite characters to have to die bc of it but I guess you can’t have everything 😔

The romance was cute and all, but it was never really the strongest part of any of the three books. I much, MUCH preferred the scenes focused on the friendships and the alliances between the houses. Overall, this definitely isn’t my favorite trilogy ever, but it was a fun read from beginning to end.

[saralouisereads]

3🌶️ i am actually in tears over this trilogy being over 😭😭 so so SO good. this series is seriously not talked about enough. Kenna will go down as one of my top 5 most favorite fmcs, i just love everything about her. that’s a girls girl and me and her are the same with our big hearts and strong emotions. and the found family and friendships. 😭🥹 also Caedo the dagger (pet? he wouldn’t like that term though lol) is one of the best side characters i’ve ever read, looove his lil blood thirsty ass. i loved getting this third book with a (mostly) established relationship between the mc’s, Kallen is just so perfect. i love me a big scary shadow daddy, who’s only soft for his girl.🙂‍↕️a multi-book slow burn that’s so worth the wait. Sarah could not have given us a better ending, no questions left behind and my heart is happy and content. NOW IF YOUVE JUST READ THIS WHOLE REVIEW AND HAVE NOT AT LEAST ADDED SERVANT OF EARTH TO YOUR TBR WERE NOT FRIENDS LOL, with love 🥲

thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Hawley, and Berkley & Ace Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

[Alexis Roth]

I really did not want this series to end. The plot twists were not at all predictable and Kenna remained a strong version of herself through. It’s sometimes hard in these types of series to not let your main character become a caricature of themselves, but this genuinely was so peak. I loved the side quests and the happy ending for all characters…(well most). I do really appreciate that this series stays true to the fae mythologicaly. They are not kind but are tricky and liars and stuck in their rigid ways. It’s refreshing to read.

And I actually can’t get started about the romance because they are probably one of my top 5 couples of all time. Their love is just so tender and meaningful and deeper than just wanting to screw. I wasn’t bored at any point of their romance because it felt truly real. And tbh I would read a novella of them just debating morals for 300 pages so.

And I will say this again. We need more romantasy characters who make normal decisions. Like some of the foolishness I read is baffling bc we would never act like this. All of her mistakes are reasonable instead of baffling, and the story wasn’t worse because of it.

I tell everyone that this is the perfect series if they read book one in “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and wished Feyra made better decisions.

[Juliet]

ARC Review (Spoilers ahead!!)
I had pretty mixed feelings about Warrior of the Shards and the series as a whole. I absolutely loved Servant of Earth, which I found exciting from beginning to end. Kenna’s trials to prove herself worthy of respect, her attempts to navigate the Fae while holding onto her humanity, and the cast of characters she met along the way all made Mistei feel like a world with endless possibilities. Unfortunately, I struggled more and more with the direction of the story as the trilogy went on. Warrior of the Shards picks up right after the cliffhanger of Princess of Blood, with Kenna and her fellow conspirators imprisoned after the surprise attack, and from there the story moves quickly through escape plans, counterattacks, political meetings, and eventually the final battle for Mistei. The pacing and battle scenes were generally well done, but I kept wishing that the series would actually explore the stories/history/side avenues that became more interesting.

There were so many pieces of Mistei's history and lore that felt like they could have been explored further, only for the story to move on. Imogen talking about being a scholar, continuing her father's work, and deliberately pretending to be hedonistic to hide her academic abilities was extremely interesting, and I wish that had been explored more. The previous leader of Change House was another example. He was an ancient and extremely powerful figure who could have opened up so many possibilities for exploring the history of Mistei, and I honestly wish the author had kept him around for at least a little while. Instead, we got the “immediately attracted to the main character and is creepy” route, and despite being this ancient, powerful being of legend, Kenna is somehow able to murder him with her three minutes of experience and the story immediately moves on. I couldn't help thinking, that's it? Even Kenna's role as a princess and the responsibility of running a House, which was treated as such a huge deal in the first book, became almost an afterthought by book three. At one point, Kenna essentially says that Lara took care of everything because she's more of an entertainer than she is, and I remember thinking, wait, wasn't being a princess supposed to be a major part of her character development?

I think my biggest frustration is that Hawley creates characters and concepts that are genuinely interesting, but many of them don't get much opportunity to develop beyond their initial introductions. Mistei felt like such a fascinating, mysterious world in the first book, and I kept waiting for the series to branch out and explore more of it. Instead, so much of the story ultimately settled into a pattern of council meeting > smut scene > battle > repeat.

So many fantasy and romantasy book series don't prioritize a variety of characters, or even seem to look down on them. The scholar characters, the parents, the homemakers, the support characters who's story doesn't revolve around the next fight. All in favor of rehashing the same basic plot with slight deviations for 500 pages.
Fantasy and romantasy stories don't always give those kinds of characters much room to exist, and I think this series had a real opportunity to do something different with them. There were so many avenues the story could have taken, and unfortunately, I often felt like those possibilities were passed over in favor of revisiting the same basic conflicts.

That said, I did enjoy the characters enough to stay invested through the end, and I thought the conclusion itself was good, even if somewhat predictable. I still really like Kenna, Lara, Imogen, Kallen, Hector, and the rest of the cast, and I think readers looking for a fast-paced romantasy with political intrigue, battles, and plenty of romance will probably find a lot to enjoy here. This series just didn't live up to the promise that Servant of Earth initially gave me. I went into that first book feeling like Mistei was this huge, mysterious world with endless stories to tell, and by the end of the trilogy, I was left wishing we'd gotten to explore more of them. I do still look forward to reading whatever Hawley writes next, though, and I sincerely hope she keeps the same cover artist because all three of these covers are absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you again to Netgalley and Berkley publishing group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lucia]

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

[Marissa Owen]

Warrior of the Shards is the final book in the Shards of Magic trilogy, and I’m kind of reviewing the series as a whole since I read all three books within the last month.

Overall, I think this is a great trilogy. Every book kept me engaged, and I never felt like I was forcing myself to read. I always wanted to know what happened next. The second book ends on a huge cliffhanger, so I picked this one up immediately.

By the start of this book, the fae world is in a rough place. There’s essentially a civil war happening, many of the rulers have been imprisoned, and the stakes are higher than ever. Like the first two books, this one takes the characters on another adventure with a clear goal, but since it’s the finale, everything feels even bigger. It’s hard to say much more without giving anything away.

One of my favorite parts of the series was watching Kenna’s journey from beginning to end. Seeing her go from a human to becoming fae, discovering her powers, and learning to navigate this dangerous new world was so satisfying. I also loved getting to know the fae rulers, the other fae characters, and even the human servants, and seeing how they all grew and changed throughout the trilogy.

Overall, this is a fantastic trilogy. It’s full of adventure, the stakes stay high throughout, the lore is rich, and the story feels complete by the end. I finished the series feeling satisfied and happy with where all of the characters ended up, and I’d definitely recommend it to fantasy readers looking for an engaging fae adventure.

[AJ]

These book covers are unmatched!!

[ali]

NEED

[fannousa]

3.5 Stars
What a fun and overall satisfying conclusion to this story!
Overall, I really enjoyed the Shards of Magic Trilogy! It combined some well-known tropes of Fae stories with an actually interesting world when it comes to Mistei.

I really enjoyed all the political intrigue, especially with Delidah and the Change Fae. I do wish we had gotten more information on Grimveld and Elsmere. We never actually got to meet any important characters from there, and Elsmere troops felt almost like a deus ex machina savior for the final battle.

I did love all the new information about Delidah and the Underfae/Change Fae. I WISHED WE HAD MORE ANKOU. I agreed he had to die, but maybe he got taken as a prisoner? I wanted to know much more about how they shard came to earth/the early history of Mistei. Such an interesting character gone too soon.

I saw a few of the twists coming from far away: mainly that there was another House and that the Shards wanted to be reunited again. What I did NOT expect was the reveal that Anya was a changeling who was swapped at birth with a human faerie. While it did feel like it came out of nowhere, I am not exactly mad about it. It makes it convenient for Kenna and Anya to be immortal together, but that makes me happy. It did have me wondering, though, why there aren't any really old Fae. Most of the ones we have met are like max 500 years old. Are there really, really ancient ones?? Did they all die in the previous wars? Are they just sitting out of court politics? But also, the fact that Anya is Leo's son, and Orianna died before she ever knew, was particularly devastating.

I wish there was some more world-building. But I do understand because there was a lot of plot to get through in this book.
Firstly, escaping from the prison. I almost wish they were in there for longer. Two weeks felt too short. But I thought the escape was really fun with Kellen + others dressed up as performers. And Markas's death was very satisfying.

Imogen was a pleasant surprise of a character. The fact that she is a scholar and came from a long line of scholars was really cool, and I wanted more! I thought she was a fun addition to the quest to find the dragon. Don't know how I feel about her staying as the Illusion Princess. If she stays the same as she was when she was a queen, then how is that any better?

Lastly, I'll say I really liked the resolution of Kenna & Dresden's relationship and thought her relationship with Kellen was very sweet. The scene where Kenna told him that his worth and her love for him weren't tied to his ability to kill for her was so heartwarming. I also wanted more of Kellen and Hector's relationship, but unfortunately he was gone too soon. RIP

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me a copy for review. I hope to read more high fantasy from Sarah Hawley!

[Ami Griffin]

4.75 stars

What a wonderful finish to such an engaging trilogy! First, thank you to #NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing Group, Ace and #SarahHawley for the e-ARC of #WarrioroftheShards. Like the war it portrays, this book holds nothing back and hits you where it hurts.

Engaging from the moment you crack the cover and plunge into a world of dastardly creative uses of magic and torture, you are on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next, what choices will be made (and the consequences of those choices). We revisit the power, strength and necessity of Kenna’s bonds with Lara and Anya, again exploring the depth and importance of the love and sisterhood that propels them forward. The book surprises with twists and reveals built across the earlier books that you maybe had a tingling of somewhere in the back of your head, and with others you just don’t see coming. The story has no lack of depth or emotion, as we dive even further into these beautifully layered and complicated characters. Stakes are high and Hawley does not shirk away from that. Loss happens and it hurts. But here, it’s necessary and enriches the story. It would feel cheapened without it. With war comes substantial risk and it’s unfathomable our favorite characters would come out unscathed.

Against the backdrop of an expanded magical world, Hawley adds layers of depth to the culmination of her dark fantasy romance trilogy by continuing to expertly thread themes of religion/faith, hope, classism, racism bigotry & prejudices, and the real cost of what it takes to make change (and whether that change is lasting).

One criticism I would offer, as someone who loved how this book ended the trilogy- I did feel the confrontation with Ankou was rushed and too easy for Kenna. I would have liked to see that have higher stakes, maybe more involvement with the others. For as powerful and old as he was- it felt like he fell too quickly.

Ultimately, though, Hawley created an exciting final book, masterfully tying together story arcs across all three books with full, meaningful closure in a truly satisfying finish to her trilogy. I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copy once it’s published!

[Mae]

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Hawley, and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Warrior of the Shards and the Shards of Magic Trilogy is EVERYTHING. I acknowledge that I've loved the entire series from the very first book so please know that going into this review that I am indeed a bit biased. I also was expecting nothing short of phenomenal when beginning the final book in this series and I was not disappointed in my expectations.

Sarah Hawley, your brain is magic. Truly. Every minute spent in Mistei has been the most wonderful ride and I am so grateful to have been approved for early access to this story and it's perfect ending.

Another incredible book in a series following our heroine, Kenna, who in the first book is a human captured and indentured as a servant to Earth House. The ruthless fae that the humans worshipped in her little village of Tumbledown are actually incredibly rude, misogynistic, and treat her like scum yet our underdog of a heroine continues to prove herself by aiding her Princess of Earth House, Lara, in her trials to become an immortal and unlock her fae magic. And nothing is ever the same after stepping onto Mistei's soil, or rather, stepping down into this magical mountain of underground cities.

The magical system is well thought out but not overly complicated. The setting is so vivid and perfectly set for the story. Our main and secondary characters are so believable, diverse, and incredibly likeable (yes, even the ones you can't stand). Twists occur, excitement is inevitable, and the entire plot of every book in this series blew me away.

Kenna, Anya, Lara, Drustan, Kallen, CAEDO (my fave sentient object ever!!), Hector, Una, Triana, Maude, Dallaida, Alodie, Aiden, and so many more of you: you will live in my heart forever!

[Heather]

Look. Listen. Look and listen. I binged this book. It took all I had to put it down and get things done, and then I'd immediately pick it back up again. Am I lightly traumatized? Yes. did I enjoy every minute of it? Also yes. I have so, so many ARCs with earlier pub dates that I need to read, but I already had the first two books checked out from the library and they were overdue already. So, a binge it is.

This took quite a left turn from where I expected a few times over the course of this book. We started out right where the second book left off, so not very happy times. This is definitely a book where it doesn't really let up until the very end, adding to my inability to put it down. We got to explore even more of Mistei in this book, answering a few questions I had. It's really hard to explain just how exciting and intriguing this book was without spoilers. Just trust me that the worldbuilding and plot development really came through in this book.

Kenna really came into her own in this book as did several of the side characters. It was great to see growth and development across the board instead of it being focused on a select few. The ending wrapped things up nicely without being trite or undermining all of the character development.

I really think this is a criminally underhyped series. It has a lot of great fantasy elements as well as fantastic characters. I'd love to see more people talking about it, which means I'm probably going to start recommending it to anyone I think I can convince to read it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC to read and review. Obviously I was very much here for it.

[Kayla - TheCrochetedLibrary]

What an incredible conclusion to The Shards of Magic series! We pick up right after that brutal Princess of Blood cliffhanger, with Kenna and her allies imprisoned and fighting to survive. The stakes stay high as the group fights to take back Mistei, and I loved watching everything Sarah Hawley had been building across the trilogy finally come together. The twists kept surprising me, while the adventure and fae lore made this fantasy series so much fun.

Kenna continues to be such a strong FMC, balancing her softer side with the willingness to get her hands dirty when necessary. And Kallen? My shadowy lover boy remains perfection. I desperately wanted more of his POV, but I loved how tender and meaningful their relationship became. Their romance felt rooted in genuine love rather than just attraction. I also adored Kenna's relationships with Lara and Anya. That sisterhood and found family made the emotional moments hit even harder.

This trilogy wrapped up in such a satisfying way, but I still wasn't ready to leave Mistei. I loved how the series stayed true to the fae as tricky, unpredictable, and absolutely not human in their morality. Robin was also a standout for me. He gave me major Robin Goodfellow vibes, and honestly, I need a novella about him immediately. The twists, side quests, emotional payoff, and meaningful closure made this a fantastic ending. My only complaint? I wanted MORE.

Thank you NetGalley, Ace Books, and Sarah Hawley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Augustine Pereyra]

Review from Net Galley Arc

I really enjoyed this series. I loved the way the fae and creatures were written. They reminded me of true fae folklore, eerie, beautiful, unpredictable, and deeply tied to both the wonder and ugliness of humanity and the earth itself. The world felt immersive and atmospheric in a way that stayed with me while reading.

This series also made me emotional in a way a lot of romantasy doesn’t anymore. There were moments that genuinely made me cry, and I became attached to many of the characters so quickly that I found myself wanting much more time with them.

My biggest critique is that I honestly think this series would have benefited from being six books instead of three. So many moments, relationships, and emotional arcs felt like they needed more room to breathe. I especially wanted more slow burn throughout the series. I also didn’t feel as connected to Kallen as I wanted to. I loved parts of his character, but something about the emotional connection didn’t fully land for me. There was also one moment I had been building anticipation for throughout the book, and when it finally happened, it felt over almost instantly. Without spoilers, that part left me pretty frustrated because it had so much potential.

Overall, I’d still highly recommend this series to romantasy readers who love emotional fantasy, haunting fae lore, atmospheric worlds, and characters that leave an impression long after finishing the book.

[Amanda Berberich]

I think I'm giving this 4.5 stars rounded down. I love this series so much, and this final book was a wonderful conclusion, I just wanted more! (Edit: Honestly, I should really round up to 5 stars but GR is being weird about letting me change my star rating.)

The book opens right in the action with Kenna imprisoned and in despair (hello, Kingdom of Ash vibes), enduring torture and guilt over her own actions. Beyond that I'm not going to give away any other exciting details, but this installment in the series is full of adventure, romance, intrigue, new facets of magic to discover, heartbreaking loss, and a wonderful conclusion for the characters we've grown to know and love.

My only hangup is that the pacing of this series is just a little bit odd. I'm used to my fantasy books taking place over a large span of time, and this whole series wraps up in a few months. Particularly, I think all the events of this book take place over just a few weeks. That's not a bad thing per se, it just makes the immersion a bit strange. Sometimes it feels like it's slow, but then I realize only a day has passed in the world. I love this world, and I love the magic, so I wanted more action and more character development and was left a bit disappointed at how neatly it all progresses and then comes to a close.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this honestly before its release.