Alright folks- this review covers the third installment of the Fallen Gods series by SD Simper. I’ll do my best not to give away spoilers, but if you haven’t read this series yet then that will be a rather difficult task. I suggest you read my review of the first book, The Sting of Victory, to see why you should start.
This may have been my favorite book yet, though it’s hard to choose as the first two were so good. This one is definitely darker, given where we left off last- Flowridia needing to commit murder in order to raise her love from the dead- I don’t think it was really a surprise. Personally, I enjoyed the ride.
Here’s the premise-
Upon returning to Staelash for a wedding meant to unite Staelash with Nox’Kartha, Flowridia delivers an orb to Etolie- fulfilling her mission with Casvir, and struggles to feel comfortable in a place which she once considered home. Possibly, it’s the lingering heartache of losing Ayla, still fresh though months have passed, or the weight of a truly heinous decision tucked in the back of her mind. From the very start of this book we see that Flowridia has changed since her travels with Casvir. No longer the timid, shy girl who was naive and adamantly kind-hearted, Flowridia is secure in herself and abilities- her experiences and travels lending a confidence that was refreshing to read. Not to say she isn’t still sweet and thoughtful, but contemplating murder sort of negates any notions of her being this one sided “good” person with a predictable plot line. I love how conflicted she is in this book. We see how far she’s come since leaving the swamp and we witness her agony in losing the one person who loved her endlessly, so when it comes time for her to fight for her happy ending we understand why she doesn’t want to dismiss the task at hand even though it requires murder. I like characters who step over all types of morality lines in order to reach their end goals so I was loving this. The woman who she has to kill though, Empress Lara, was the other person who I would have been okay with Flowridia being with. I was actually kind of rooting for them. This whole plot line sent me through a ringer. I won’t give anything away because I seriously could not have guessed what was going to happen and tried to prepare myself for all possible outcomes. Let’s just say that Casvir really left an impression.
Different in this book than the previous two is the perspective shift to Etolie’s view in the narrative. This was pretty strategic as it allowed us to see more of the action that Flowridia wasn’t privy to or wasn’t included in, which was most of the politics. It also allowed for some romance in this book which was lacking in the last given that Ayla had died. Poor Etolie has to deal with the politics attached to uniting two kingdoms while also mauling over the fact that her best friend, Khastra, was alive for some time without telling her and is now the general of Nox’Kartha’s army. We work through Etolie’s feelings of heartache, desire, and confusion as she struggles to navigate a relationship with her best friend of twenty-four years. I definitely felt a lot of emotions for Etolie and could relate with her in that we both keep our emotions buried away behind walls made of booze, smoke, and metal that is too sharp for even us to touch, but some strong and tender lover can miraculously see through.
One thing I love about this series is how diverse all of the characters are. Each voice is so different and no one is simply “good” or “bad,” but rather living out their lives against a variety of unfair obstacles while seeking to fulfill their own goals.
This book had some pretty epic fight scenes and a ton of action. SD does a fantastic job at describing battles and creating suspense. I can’t wait for the next installment- this book really left my blood pumping.
You can order Blood of the Moon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SVQW5GX
Follow SD Simper on Twitter: @sdsimper and Instagram: @sdsimper