Red Rider's life has come full circle. She's back in the capital city of the Sworn, on her knees before the Alpha, reeling from an unexpected betrayal. After the Silver Wolf proves to the Alpha that he is once again dedicated to her service, Red is handed over to an old enemy to be tortured while she awaits execution for her crimes against the Sworn.
As she struggles to survive in a city rife with secrets, spies, and sedition, Red wonders if she was wrong about the loyalties of the man she loves.
I've been making up stories since I was five years old, and now I'm thrilled to be able to do it as a full-time job. I have an obsession with dark fantasy, dystopian futures, and Pride and Prejudice-style love stories full of witty banter and sizzling, unspoken feelings. When I'm not writing, I'm creating digital art, reading funny blogs, or watching my favorite shows (which include TVD and BSG). I live with my geeky husband and our two bad cats in Atlanta, GA.
Attention Book Bloggers ~ If you are interested in interviewing me or reviewing one of my books, send me a message. I'd love to hear from you! (Please note: I am currently not able to fulfill most requests for print copies at this time, but you can always ask. However, I am ALWAYS able and happy to provide e-copies or PDFs of my books in exchange for an honest review.)
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I have been waiting six months for this book to be released, and I just reread the entire series before I read this final book. Hmmm... So. All in all, I enjoyed this series, but the first few books are by far the best. I was reading it primarily for the love story, but I still want all my plot holes filled.
It has been a really long time since a series has sucked me in like this one did. And overall, I really enjoyed the series. While I enjoyed each installment, I kind of think it would have been better as a shorter series (maybe 3-4 books), there were some themes that just felt super repetitive - especially if you binge read them all together.
Finally we get things from Kassian's POV. With how things ended in book five, I was pretty furious with him I wish we could have gotten his perspective throughout the whole series, but at least we do in this book.
The villains. Honestly, I kind of thought the side villains were worse than the main villains. This book had some darker storylines, that evil Mother Shade is at it again, and worse than ever. There was a lot going on in this book and things didn't play out quite how I was expecting.
Overall, I loved being sucked into a story and getting to know these characters. I liked how things wrapped up .
I also would have loved a map to know where things were taking place in America. It talked about the beforetime, and I had a general idea, but a map would be fun. And also how far into the future things were supposed to be taking place.
Content Rated PG13 Romance: Kissing Language: Moderate Violence: Heavy - fighting, death, murder, abuse - nothing overly descriptive, but a bit heavy at times.
I'm glad that they finally get to be together but this book was a bit of a letdown.
It's disappointing that after all that with getting the Alpha killed, we don't get to see what happens after. And Red has spent weeks traveling back and forth across the country but they go three weeks north and the Sworn don't even exist there? Kind of confusing.
How did Kassian survive because of his silver? Not well explained.
typos and continuity errors:
She is wearing her black robe to go into the alpha's tower to fight, then all of a sudden Kryf puts her in the cage and she's in her white outfit.
Mother Shade is executed, then in the wedding ceremony at the end she is leading in the Chosen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
OVERALL I’m happy to say, without a doubt, I read this book satisfyingly. The twist was just..it’s was a missing puzzle piece. Personally the 5th book was the best. Throughout this series I was surprised at every turn. My mind came up with scenarios for the chapters, and yet, I was stunned at the twists. Even though I have a headache from staring at my screen, reading for to long, I’m not disappointed and don’t regret my decision. I loved that the books had great grammar and some words I didn’t know the definition of, it gave me something to learn with as well. Surely, this series won’t disappoint.
QUESTIONS and THOUGHTS I still do have unanswered wonders though. I’m still wondering about the two girls red left behind with the huntsman. What happened to sage and dog while they were gone? What happened to greyface(that’s her nickname right)? One thing, I never understood the reason why the tree crawlers didn’t like water. I’d really love to read about the sworns history. How those poisonous berries came to be. When the tree crawlers spawned. I know, it’s not 100% thought out by the author, it’s just my curiosity wondering.
CLARIFICATION *Warning*spoilers* Isabel is a sworn officer. She was a sworn who was going to marry the silver wolf? They all had dinner together right? Isabel’s father turned out to be a crim spy. The reason why the tree crawlers never attacked her was because of the scar she had, the one she got when she was younger.
This was fantastic! - I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the dual perspective added a lot to this last conclusion. - “She’s dead” trope (like the movie Australia with Hugh Jackman - soooo good.) - Tons of action scenes. Great climax. - Likable characters - High chemistry - High suspense. (Like the other books, I had to cover the page as I read so I couldn’t skip ahead.) - Great writing.
My only complaint: I was dissatisfied with the epilogue. Sounds lonely and anticlimactic to me to not have a family. But that’s okay- I can pretend what I want.
Content- completely clean. One grisly scene that would be considered horror. Platform- Kindle Unlimited
How I rated this YA fantasy series: Red Rider - 5 stars Silver Wolf - 5 stars Black Veil - 5 stars White Mask - 4 stars Crimson Heart - 4 stars Scarlet Daughter - 5 stars
I really enjoyed this series, it was interesting and Red was such a great character, relatable with her fears of rejection but her fierce loyalty and devotion were inspiring. The world of the Sworn and the Crims with their rules and oaths certainly highlights the good and bad in each. I particularly liked the ending and justice does come to those who deserve it in the end.
Well, it's over. I feel awful saying this, but I didn't really enjoy this book. I felt like it was a rehash of the earlier works and their characters (suddenly Isabel is back, Kryf comes bursting in to "rescue" Erie/Red, only to recruit her for his pseudo underground fight ring of... tree crawlers. Yes, even they make a comeback. for all those who felt they were wasted villains. Snow the shopkeeper returns, Erie's mom and half-sister, the Alpha, as well as Mother Shade for "good" measure). And while this could've been an epic showdown, it felt really gross and flat. Gross because Mother Shade and her punishments are back (there was a scene with a bit too much detail/time spent for me about the particular way Red had to clean the floor she'd dirtied up). And the whippings on many characters were never-ending. It felt like straight up torture porn to the point where I was afraid to read too deeply and settled for skimming around those page counts because I was scared for what I may see. There's literal repetition in Erie's internal dialogue (in my edition, it's on 101: "What sort of use was he anticipating?"-"he" meaning Kryf- and again on page 107 we get the same thing: "What use was I to be to him?". This reminds of me students struggling to fill word count mandates on a paper, so you state the same idea again because it was well-received the first time, but you think by fluffing it up with added words, the prof won't notice you're running out of steam They do.).
I'll admit, this had some good points-Nesting Doll Fairy Tales 1.Kassian climbing the Mother Shades' castle, getting caught on vines all the way up, hoping to rescue Red from the top tower is very Rapunzel. 2.Mother Shade locking Red in the room where the past murdered Chosen hang from nooses in their bridal gowns is reminiscent of Bluebeard locking his new wife in the catacomb of his old ones after she discovers his secret. -Love that Kassian and Red remain child-free. With his fear of the werewolf curse and her trauma of being branded a breeder, it would've been three steps back for them.
But soon enough, it's back to bullshit, with one scene after another, written very much "and then this happened", big bads taken down in less than a paragraph (I'll admit the Alpha being stabbed by the Chosen who screams out her own name after being branded a number her whole time in the Capital was powerful, but the quickness of it all felt anticlimactic), not to mention we never get a Garrett and Isabel moment. By the end, I was kind of more interested in them, once the author let us in (Garrett's a happy-go-lucky huntsman while Isabel's the jaded daughter of a high-ranking Sworn soldier and Chosen mother. And unlike Kassian, she wants a baby. But not using a surrogate to get it. It would've been interesting to see her either try to conceive a child with Garrett. Or better yet, come to terms with the idea of straight-up adopting. Not having an invasive Chosen mother, and learn that there are many definitions of love and family. But as it stands, I feel a bit cheated with this book and the previous one to be honest. I waited years for these to come out in paperback, and now that I have them, I feel like the author kept writing just to say she's written a six book series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is the first series I've ever completed after distinctly not liking it. I kept going because I was honestly curious about how it was all going to play out.
That being said there is soooo many issues in this series that other reviewers covered well.
1. Too long. Seriously. Hardly anything happened in these books. It was like the author was just dragging it out to have an excuse to make a bunch of novellas.
2. Lack of resolution. Sage, the grandfather, the grandmother, Isabel, the huntsman, what happened to all of them? If one death was all that was needed to bring the entire sworn empire down(which makes no sense) then let's face it... this could've happened way sooner. Kassian WEARS silver. One of those times where she's being all possessive and touching him he could've just you know... hugged her. Slipped a knife in her then. But instead it happens at a time where he's the least trustworthy?
But yeah, we don't know what happens with many characters. We don't know how the world turned out after a regime change. There's so many things that didn't make sense or add up.
3. The back and forth between Red and Kass. Like come on. Every book. Red flip flops between he loves me, he loves me not. I'm over him, I'm not. And I mean like from paragraph to paragraph. I'm done with him forever!! Next page she's kissing him. The two of them were so inconsistent in how they acted around each other and Red's thoughts were the same way. I just wanted her to make up her mind and stick with it for even an entire chapter.
ETA: The more I think about it the more loose ends I just don't get. What happened to the girls Red abandoned with the huntsmen? The man has no morals. Would he really have got them to safety? What happened to Greysoul? She literally made an appearance for all of one novel just to fit a plot point(Red needed a non-crim out). But she's a sworn wife? What happened to her with all those angry sworn/chosen hating crims in the city? What about her kids?
What about Ollan? He seemed like a real decent sort and he just got totally abandoned in a city with a takeover from a group that hates his kind. If the crims were killing all the sworn babies outside of the city now that they're in control it did they wholesale slaughter every last sworn of every age?
Red just leaves her mom and half sister? She doesn't take them with her? All it takes is a 3 week walk and they're 100% out of sworn/crim territory. It makes that whole thing seem small potatoes if it was in such a small area.
Also I get that it's not Red or Kass's job to fix the problems of the world. Especially as they've certainly been through enough. But I'm not sure they're leaving the world much better off. They've just changed which tyrant who hates another race is in charge.
I really didn't like book 5, but I decided to give book 6 a chance so I could see how it ends. I still think Kassian was given too many chances. Strangling her went too far. There has to be a breaking point. If you really love someone, there has to be a point when you put them first, and he never did. Also, he couldn't trust Red with the details of his oath, but he could trust Isabel with his treasonous plan? That didn't sit well with me either. I am glad it worked out. I'm glad there was a HEA, but I lost respect for both MCs in book 5, so I wasn't as wrapped up in their story by the end. I would have been fine if they both ended up dying. There are grammatical errors sprinkled throughout the book. *I give this book a PG rating. There is violence, mention of mature things, and passionate kissing. Nothing is very detailed, no explicit language or scenes. This would be great for young teens and mature tweens.
I like how the series ended. Ellison managed to give closure in some fashion (not always happy, but still satisfactory) for basically all of our characters. After six books, I appreciated that.
A few things to note: There aren't any detailed sex scenes in these novels. In fact, it's barely even implied. So you may think this is a great series for children and teens... BUT! There isn't a ton of gore in this book, but what there is, is GOREY. It's brutal. The descriptions of torture in this book are enough to give a person nightmares. Wowza. And, the last thing I wanted to mention is that yes, our heroine is still a little cringy and obnoxious in this novel, but not near as annoying and whiney as in her other books.
It was a good conclusion, and the past couple of weeks getting through the series has been enjoyable.
Now that I've subjected myself to this whole series, I have one major complaint. The author apparently doesn't know how to finish a scene properly, so a lot of the time (and this happens in all 6 books), Red or Kassian are simply unconscious. They're knocked on the head, they faint, they pass out asleep, etc. It's an incredibly boring way of ending a scene and it happens SO often.
Anyway, this book isn't the worst of the 6, although highly predictable. At no point did I NOT know what was going to happen. It ends exactly how you believe it will.
Honestly, the 6 books could have easily been condensed into 2.
Good ending to a good series. Books 4/5 felt like fillers and honestly could have been condensed into one. This book gave a great ending to a good series. The writing is well done. The characters are well done, and the world building is top notch.
What I really like about this series and the books is that there are consequences to the actions taken by the characters. They do something dumb, something happens and they have to live with that. At the end of the series we see damaged people. Traumatized and real. No roses and sunshine and yet they are promised a next day. This makes the story even better.
Review of Scarlett Daughter (Book 6 The Sworn Saga) by Kate Avery Ellison * * * * * The awaited conclusion of this addictive series is here! Who will survive? Who will redeem themselves? Will Red defeat the Alpha and save all the Sworm girls and the future for other young girls? We meet old friends, meet new ones, defeat old foes and wait for karma to do the rest. Absolutely love this series and of course ends in HEA! Not without a few twists and surprises though.
I really really like this series and was so anxiously awaiting the ending to the series. Its a great book but I have to be honest and say the ending felt a bit rushed. It started out great and set up a good plan and plot for the ending but I feel like it fell short of my expectations. It was too rushed and could have had a little more plot development to wrap up the series. All in all, it’s a great read and an even better series. Definitely recommend!
The Sworn Saga is a thrilling series that is full of intriguing characters, edge of your seat adventures, slow burn romance, mouth dropping betrayal and plot twists that surprise you and make you beg for more! Kate Avery Ellison is a gifted writer with a fantastic imagination with an ability to lend her vision to the readers. I enjoyed this series tremendously!
I have read the entire series and enjoyed it. Some of the twists were predicable, but it carried on quite well. The problem is that there were many typos: grammar, sentence structure, repeat words. Sometimes, i had to re-read to know what was being said or who was speaking, and honestly, some of the books were skimmed because I don't need quite so much inner dialogue about the same things. At times it was wordy and it detracted from the story itself. A thorough edit would take care of that.
sweetest story about loyalty and being true to yourself
The Sworn saga is amazing and includes everything you’d want in a book. The author does a fantastic job of keeping the story interesting while discovering new characters and inner strength from the protagonist. There are some dark subjects like torture and a spy ring but that just made the ending so worth it! The dog lives till the end and that’s really all I wanted for the last 2 books.
I loved this series. I could not put this book down. Talk about a roller coaster of battles and deception. Red was dead to Kass. Kass lost his ever loving mind. Erie was turned into a Gladiator against the tree monsters. And then some crazy stuff happened and everyone dies or almost dies or sort of dies?!?!? It’s complicated but entertaining so read and enjoy.
jilltoppo042456@gmail.com. I waited a very long time to complete this 'Saga'. The story was amazing the characters got to your heart and stayed. This isn't my norm for reading but I'm certainly glad I picked it up. The twists in the story line weren't always expected. Just a great story and I wished it never ended
This series is really fun to read. I loved all the plot twists throughout every book. I have to say my favorite book of the series is the last one since we got Kassians perspective! I wish we had that in all of the books or at least a couple of them. Kassian was by far my favorite character.
My favorite series this year! I devoured this series. I love the characters, especially Red. She's just so strong, I admire her. This book was definitely the darkest of them all. With Mother Shade (shudder) and some other characters appearing. I think it was a great end to a terrific series. Well done!
WOW!! Just WOW!! What a phenomenal ending to this magnificent series. I have definitely been through an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows. I've been intrigued, surprised, horrified, ecstatic and upset. There have been heart-in-my-mouth moments, moments of laughter, sadness and happiness. I have thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in this story. A must read.
This has been the best of stories. Kass and Erie's life of battles and everlasting love. For a fantasy reader. I found this one so well written it did not take me long to finish. Ms. Ellison Ty for a piece of art that put me where they lived.
The sworn saga was amazing! Red is a determines young young woman, loved her character. Will say some of the scenes were pretty gruesome but overall the whole saga was very enjoyable!
My enthusiasm waned for this series the longer it went, so, unfortunately, by this book, I found it hard to get invested in the storyline. If the series had been more concise, I think I would’ve remained invested:
I was hooked from the first page of book 1. A fabulous story line about Erie and Kassian. I didn't want book 6 to finish. That's the sign of a good author to me.
I started this series 2 days ago and haven't been able to put them down. Usually I don't go for series with more then a few books as I get bored but this was brilliant.
I appreciated the dual POV in this book as a way to wrap up and answer questions that came up throughout the series. I found myself being surprised a few times and enjoyed the twists and turns!