Please note this review contains spoilers for the former book in this series, Servant of Earth and Princess of Blood, and contains references to some of the events in this sequel. Read with caution.
Kenna, fae ruler of Blood House, has spilt blood and broken peace. Tricked into breaking the accords ahead of the crowning of Mistei’s next ruler, Kenna now faces the cost of her bloodshed. Many are now dead and in the wake of the chaos, Illusion House has secured control of the throne and Kenna and her allies of Void and Fire have been captured. As she fights to survive her torture at the hands of their enemies, Kenna does not know what remains of their allies not imprisoned, nor even if what she saw was truth or little more than an illusion. Separated from Kallen, Caedo, and the rest of Blood House—tormented in body and mind—Kenna knows the only way they can secure Mistei’s future is by escaping their imprisonment. Escape is tricky with their tormentors intent on their humiliation in front of all of Mistei. Allies old and new converge, and in order to achieve victory, Kenna will have to secure her own transformation. But as she walks down a path to change, Kenna must question if she is in control or if she is playing into the designs of powers far greater than her understanding. Mistei hangs in the balance and it is Kenna’s ties to her humanity that could save the realm, or leave it forever to darkness.
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.
Warrior of the Shards, alternatively titled: the gang gets together to destroy the monarchy (unhinged edition). Entering into this third novel with the knowledge of how the previous installment concluded, my only emotion was: fear. Hawley played all her cards close in Princess of Blood and the resulting bloody altercation in its ending meant this third novel could only really begin one way. Bloody and ravenous—just like our favorite talking dagger—Warrior of the Shards leads back into a moment of hopelessness for our heroine, Kenna. Her bloody outburst and the resulting capture at the hands of their enemies means we return to this series with our main character perhaps at her lowest point. I have to hand it to Hawley, there is a poetry in the ruler of Blood House falling prey to trickery and blood. The fae in this series are what they always should have been: mischievous and held captive to their whims. You never know what side of them you will get, and it makes for a cautious playing field across the entire trilogy. If there is one thing we can trust Sarah Hawley in, it’s that she has a story to tell, and she won’t leave her characters long in their torment. Alone she may be, Kenna is still armed with her wit and ferality. For Sarah Hawley, this is a power all of its own and Kenna’s greatest strength in escape, uniting the fae houses, and solving that illusive mystery that is the shards themselves. Warrior of the Shards is above all else: unhinged, clever goodness, and I could ask nothing less from a finale with such a heroine.
As for romance, we last left off with Kallen and Kenna at the most exquisite moment of torment: neither of them knowing if the other is alive. Journeying from Servant of Earth, to the previous installment Princess of Blood, Kallen and Kenna had surmounted revolution, rebirth, and betrayal. We had iconic dance scenes with tremendous yearning, sparring scenes where Kenna broke Kallen’s nose and he liked it (romantic I know), and the ongoing torment of these two characters caring for each other in a world that wants to exploit their weaknesses. That last one in particular made for such sweet, exquisite torment across the second novel. Sarah Hawley does a fantastic job balancing these different tones, rounding out a romantic arc that never lets up on the tension until right when it needs to. Warrior of the Shards is where at long last these two really put the love on the line. Separated after the breaking of the peace, both Kenna and Kallen are tested in their resolve to each other and the charge of fighting to transform Mistei. Hawley doesnt leave this transition mired in dispair. We have great moments like “I wanted him more than soup” which is the most romantic line and should constitute as a love confession. Adding in some truly comedic scenes where Kenna is just one upping Kallen and he is just: no longer shocked. Warrior of the Shards brings the series home in a lot of ways, and part of that is Kenna and Kallen being home for each other. They’ve been through a lot so reading that made me a bit misty eyed.
The Shards of Magic is a series that took me by surprise, but has solidified its own home in the caverns of my heart. All it took was one feral woman going up against an entire kingdom of fae in Servant of Earth and I was sold. Add in morally grey characters, talking weaponry, and a unique history and magic system and it was entirely over for me. One thing that has set this series that much higher in my regard is how committed Sarah Hawley has been to her character journey and portraying the conflicting nature of our humanity across all three installments. If book two was about what happens after an end to tyrannical rule—the resulting power vacuum and sustained rhetoric within the populace—book three brings together the fight to create the foundation for new leadership and the costs of enacting it. This overarching journey resonates so deeply, especially in characters that embody the transformation happening from within Mistei. Fierce, feral, and imperfect (my favorite combo), Kenna is a character who journeys from adversity to triumph across the series. It is such a privilege to witness her falter, succeed, regress, and ultimately pick herself up again and again. In many ways she is the best romantasy heroine of recent years and I do not say that lightly. Bloody, unrelenting, and so damn hopeful, Warrior of the Shards nails the ending and makes it immortal. Sarah Hawley has crafted one of my favorite romantasy trilogies and main characters of all time with The Shards of Magic. This ending is as much a coming home as it is a closing of the door—though hopefully not for good.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the advance review copy.
Trigger warnings: blood, death, murder, torture (graphic)
Literaryrobin 