4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Ray

Date of publication: June 4th, 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Waking Land

The Waking Land—Book 1 (review here)

The Memory of Fire—Book 2 (review here)

The Soul of Power—Book 3

Where you can find The Soul of Power: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookBub

Book synopsis:

One young woman learns the true nature of power–both her own and others’–in the riveting conclusion to The Waking Land Trilogy.

Sophy Dunbarron–the illegitimate daughter of a king who never was–has always felt like an impostor. Separated from her birth mother, raised by parents mourning the loss of their true daughter, and unacknowledged by her father, Sophy desires only a place and a family to call her own. But fate has other ideas. Caught up in Elanna Valtai’s revolution, Sophy has become the reigning monarch of a once-divided country–a role she has been groomed her whole life to fill.

But as she quickly discovers, wearing a crown is quite a different thing from keeping a crown. With an influx of magic-bearing refugees pouring across the border, resources already thinned by war are stretched to the breaking point. Half the nobility in her court want her deposed, and the other half question her every decision. And every third person seems to be spontaneously manifesting magical powers.

When Elanna is captured and taken to Paladis, Sophy’s last ally seems to have vanished. Now it is up to her alone to navigate a political maze that becomes more complex and thorny by the day. And worse, Sophy is hiding a huge secret–one that could destroy her tenuous hold on the crown forever.

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My review:

I was excited when I saw that the final installment in The Waking Land series was available for review. I had reviewed the first two books and enjoyed them. I had high expectations for The Soul of Power. And guess what? It didn’t let me down.

I do want to give everyone a heads up about the timeline of the book. The Soul of Power starts after Jahan is sent to Paladis. Elanna’s capture and torture by the witch hunters are going on during the events of The Soul of Power. So keep that in mind while reading this book.

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The Soul of Power is Sophy’s story. Crowned queen at the end of The Waking Land, Sophy desperately wants a united country. But, with a court that hates and questions her and a country that is at the point of imploding, it looks like that isn’t going to happen. On top of all that, Sophy has a secret. A secret that could cost her the throne.

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I can’t even begin to express how excited I was when I got the ARC for The Soul of Power. I had been hoping that this book was going to be Sophy’s story. When I read the blurb and saw that it was Sophy’s story, I did a happy dance. I couldn’t wait to read this book.

The amount of stress that Sophy was under was insane. I know that I wouldn’t have been able to function under that amount of stress. Plus, not knowing who to trust. I would have said, “Here’s the throne, see ya” and left. But, she stayed and I admired her for that.

I enjoyed watching Sophy grow as a character in this book. She started unsure and resentful of Elanna’s popularity. She wanted to do the right thing but kept getting lousy advice from her council. But, as the book went on, she blossomed. She found her backbone. She overcame her insecurities about Elanna. By the end of the book, she became the queen she needed to be. I loved it.

The plotline regarding Sophy’s father was interesting. I was curious to see how it was going to play out. I wasn’t expecting it to go the way it did. I was shocked. I was also shocked at what Sophy did at the end of the book. I think she was too lenient. After what her father did to her and Rhia, I expected something more. But, thinking about it, what she did was a more fitting punishment.

The author didn’t hide Sophy’s secret. During the first chapter, it was mentioned a few times. How Teofila didn’t notice it when they were together was beyond me. But she did have other things on her mind.

The Soul of Power was also violent. I lost count of how many times Sophy was attacked. Along with the violence, there was also death. Some people deserved it. But there were some deaths that surprised me. And there was one death that broke my heart. I wasn’t expecting it.

The magic angle of the book was well written. I liked that people were starting to experience magic. I loved that the magic didn’t pick and choose who it wanted. I did feel that Sophy’s magical awakening was drawn out. It got to a point where I felt like saying “Just get it over with!!“.

Rape was brought up in the book. I thought that the author explained what happened to Sophy’s mother in a tactful way. She left just enough unsaid that I understood exactly what Mag went through.

The end of The Soul of Power kept me enthralled with the book. So much happened that I almost couldn’t keep it straight. But, it was the last chapter that closed the book for me. Loved it!!

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I would give The Soul of Power an Adult rating. There is mention of sexual situations. There is violence. There is no language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Soul of Power. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

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I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Soul of Power.

All opinions stated in this review of The Soul of Power are mine.

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Have you read The Soul of Power?

What are your thoughts?

Have you ever hidden something from someone?

Let me know!!