This is book three and the possible finale of the Cambrexian Realm series and continues to follow the problems facing Sienna, Daxon, Corinne, Zane and Lawson, as they lose the fight for the city of Cambria and the king is killed. They now have to go their separate ways, one team to search for a mythical stone that can imprison the Shade again, another team to gather vampire and werewolf allies and Lawson to stay in the Sage stronghold, to look after the survivors from Cambria, unwanted by the Sages who are in charge! It seems Amos has won and gained too much power for them to defeat now, but surprises are coming.
The mythical stone is supposed to be able to do as its holder wants and in the long distant past, elves used it to create the Guardians, Sages, Vampires and Werewolves. It was then hidden away from them, so they couldn’t meddle with humans anymore. The magicks want this stone destroyed, so that it can’t end their lives and their powers. The non-magicks want to use the stone to cleanse the realm of all those they call monsters. The only ones they don’t consider monsters are the Guardians, who are born with the ability to withstand magick, but they were all but wiped out with the massacre that Amos Ward plotted and brought about almost a year ago.
The Ward family was numerous and varied, before Amos took down most of them, and there is a twisted tale behind his existence and the effects of that are what drove him to seek revenge, after all these years. Amos is happy to use all of his allies to turn the world as they know it into darkness and destroy the realm as it used to be. He will use his necromancer son, a traitorous Sage and one other, to try to spread the darkness of the Shade across all his allies and form an army that not even the Sage stronghold can withstand. He brings the darkness and evil all across the real and onto those he has learnt to hate from a very young age.
One of the heroes will be struck down by the Shade and another may be the only one strong enough to defeat it. They are facing an ancient foe, who was once imprisoned by the Elf royalty eons ago, but will be changed no matter what action they take. The epic finale brings about a battle for their very lives and all they believe in, as well as mythical beasts and a people long thought to be gone from the realm. It will need all of them and more, to defeat Amos and his allies, as well as the Shade. The heroes of the story have already put up with a lot of lot during their lives so far, one being constantly tortured for who she was; another giving up his family’s legacy; one giving up the only one he had ever loved for another, then receiving an unexpected love of his own; one being changed into the very thing she was taught to call monsters; and the last to find love when they hate themselves for what they have become and what they were made to do.
Every one of the main characters has had many hurdles to overcome, often more than any other individual could understand never mind handle and their biggest sacrifices are yet to come. I absolutely loved all the heroes in this series and knowing what they have gone through, just makes you think even more of them. Each may have done horrible things in the past, but they each have their own version of what is good and honourable. Amos is a total baddie and was evil even as a child. Seeing the heroes’ journey to defeat him was well worth the read and there was always some hurdle thrown in their path and almost impossible odds to face, but they would find their own way through. A great tale of good overcoming evil, but also the problems that are created when you mess with the way nature intends people and animals to be. A fantastic read and each book in the series has been a joy to read. Now, I shall have to read some of the author’s other series! I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.