Turmoil

Crown & Crosses #3

by Violet Malvik

How far would they go to meet their destiny? With chaos raining down all around them during the bloody attacks in the south, the lords and lairds are about to sign the first peace treaty in nearly six hundred years. Now the question burning in everyone’s minds is what if this peaceful agreement brings more trouble than it promises to solve? With turmoil brewing anew within the gathering and Keir nearly losing his mind over his son’s disappearance, Eanraig tries to protect his daughter at all costs. He is all too familiar with the ugly face of war, and this time he will not be taking any chances. Yet while everyone fights against their cunning, invisible enemy, Maisie refuses to sit idle. Yearning to be free to roam but confined by her father’s wishes, she resorts to training and becoming stronger, setting her interests and feelings aside for the time being. No one has more to gain from this state of unrest than Evander, but the blacksmith chooses to stay out of it all, trying to find Maisie in the shadows of terror that have claimed the south. But not even he can escape the menace of recent events–as he soon realizes when Archie approaches him with questions regarding the missing Magnus. As the son of Keir, Magnus has been neglected his whole life, and his enemies know it well. When they try to use his bloodline and his birth against him, will he find it in his heart to betray his cruel father, or will he risk losing his home and its innocent people? Nothing is set in stone, except for the one truth binding them no one is innocent, no one is safe, and the clock has just started ticking backward on the worst catastrophe these lands have ever seen...

78 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2022

Reviews

[Reader_for_LifeTLG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it but...

...the editing leaves a lot to be desired. With so many characters it is confusing keeping up with who is who. That is not helped when the names are mixed up. Non-historical speech was also evident. "Motel" is likely not what roadside lodge houses were called back then.

The story itself was really good. The war is getting closer to erupting everyday. Magnus is no longer in active danger but his life is held together by a precarious thread. One slip of the tongue could cast him under suspicion. His disappearance changed his father. The cult is being revealed slowly. Onward to see what happens next.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*’s. The story continues to evolve. I’m still trying to figure out exactly who the cult represents and what their ultimate goal is. There are so many different working parts with characters of different interests to follow! Occasionally I had to go back and reread sections because it had not been clear the speaker had changed. With things escalating, perhaps the cult demands will become more apparent in the next novel.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily sharing my honest review.

[Janet Selitto · Rating 2 out of 5]

errors

Douglas and Magnus were interchangeably mistaken. It became confusing who I was reading about. There were also some spelling and punctuation errors that confused the reader. However, I’m about to read the next book I’m the series because I’m truly enjoying the story.