The following synopsis and review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the Dark Shores series including Dark Shores, Dark Skies, and Tarnished Empire. Thank you to Tor Teen, Danielle L. Jensen, and Literary Bound Tours for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Be sure to check out the other stops on this tour. You can view the schedule at https://literaryboundtours.com/2021/04/12/tour-schedule-gilded-serpent-by-danielle-l-jensen/
Gilded Serpent releases Tuesday, April 27, 2021. You can pre-order now through the links at the bottom of this page.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading Tarnished Empire, book 0.5 in the Dark Shores series. It was just released on audio April 13 and is the perfect read to occupy your time and return you to the world of Dark Shores while you’re waiting for Gilded Serpent‘s release.
SYNOPSIS:
THEIR BATTLES ENDED IN VICTORY
Lydia returns to Mudaire to enter training at the healing temple. But instead of fighting to save lives, she’s convinced she is doing more harm than good. She delves into the history of the gods only to discover a truth that will change her life forever. His birthright as commander of the Royal Army is finally in his grasp, but Killian feels anything but victorious. Burdened by his past, he embraces the darker side of his mark—and in doing so, risks starting a war.
BUT THE WAR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN
Having defeated the tyrant Urcon, Marcus struggles to form a lasting alliance with the Arinoquians. But he is plagued by the knowledge that there is a traitor among his friends, and it could cost him everything that he’s fought for. Torn between her growing allegiance to the Thirty-Seventh legion and her need to liberate her people, Teriana finds herself mired in a web of secrets. She embarks upon a path that will either save everyone she loves—or put them all in their graves.
REVIEW:
As always I am blown away by Jensen’s immersive and enthralling storytelling. Do not let the YA categorization sway you from picking up this series! Yes, the main characters are upper teens, but the world-building, the depth of character development, the political intrigue, the romance, EVERYTHING about this series is captivating from the first page through the last. As with all of her books, I am left regretting my decision to read this before the next book is published. I could read about these characters for the rest of my life and never grow bored of them.
I’m so grateful that this book saw the return of all four of our main characters (two from Dark Shores and two from Dark Skies). This story picks up almost exactly where the previous two left off. Tensions are high all around and remain high for the majority of the book. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole ride. I could not turn pages fast enough. If you know me, you know that I read books for the romances, even if it’s not a romance book. And these are definitely not romance books. There is so much action, intrigue, betrayal, war, friendship, and trials that anyone not looking for romance will still have a lot to enjoy, but there is something absolutely delicious about the way Jensen writes romance. These are slow burn in the best way, in the maybe-they-will-maybe-they-won’t way. Enemies to lovers and forbidden romance at its finest.
As I mentioned, there’s a whole lot more to Gilded Serpent than the romances. This story has so many twists and turns, I think I got my cardio for the day just from the increased heart rate while reading it. I can’t wait for the conclusion to this series, but, at the same time, I don’t wish to see it end. If Danielle L. Jensen or Tor Teen read this (doubtful), I will GLADLY buy spin-offs for any of the characters in this series!
AUTHOR BIO:
Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Novels; Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, Warrior Witch, and The Broken ones, as well as The Bridge Kingdom series (Audible Originals). He latest novel, the Dark Shores series, was released by Tor Teen in May 2019, She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family.
SOCIAL LINKS:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielleljensen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordanielleljensen
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