War of Mist Was The Finale I Was Waiting For

Title: War of Mist 

Series: The Omerere Chronicles

Author: Helen Scheuerer

Publication Date: July 25th, 2019

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War is here. 

Toxic mist drives all life to the brink of destruction and the conquerer queen, Ines, has her talons in the kings of the realm. Bleak, having discovered her true heritage, must now scour the lands for the one thing that might save them all. 

But the search is a treacherous one - and it will push her to the very limits of endurance. Amidst secrets, lies and the intricacies of battle, Bleak and her companions learn just how far they'll go for the ones they love. But will it be enough? 

As deadly forces grapple for power across the continents, families, friends and allies unite to take one final stand.

Review

I received an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Previous reviews:

Heart of Mist (The Omerere Chronicles #1)

Reign of Mist (The Omerere Chronicles #2)

War of Mist is the finale to The Omerere Chronicles, and I can wholeheartedly say I loved every moment of it. I wasn’t sure how the third novel would turn out after reading the last two and felt as though I enjoyed it but didn’t fall in love with the storyline or all the characters. I surprised myself by flying through War of Mist in 2 days, not wanting to put it down and feeling a little lost having finished it. 

There were so many positives in War of Mist. Unlike another finales to a series, War of Mist is just slightly shorter than its predecessors, but so much more impactful. It didn't waste time dwelling on unnecessary things such as further world building and new characters when the novel just needed to be fast paced and action filled - and that it was. It wasn't hard to predict the ending (in regards to the result of the war) but the how in getting there was still nerve wracking and intense. The events were also really realistic. It wasn't always peaches and cream for the characters. The plot ebbed and flow, giving me only slight moments of relief before being on edge again. 

I also didn't realise how attached I had grown to the characters, I felt like I had gone on the journey with them and I was a part of their party. In the last two books the characters were spread across the realms and I liked reading through certain characters but this time around I really enjoyed the scenes where all, if not most, of the characters were together. IF anything - and this may sound exaggerated - I felt slight separation anxiety when I was reading about some of the characters but not the others. 

Overall, Scheuerer has produced a series that is well worth the read. The plot was well thought out - I liked that it didn't aim to do too much: a heroine, not realising she is a heroine, wanting to just float through life and then taking on the responsibility to save the realm, although not alone. However, as simplistic as that sounds it offers so much more. I went through the motions with the characters, not just what Bleak learns on her self-discovery and self-growth journey. Instead, every character had an important lesson to deliver, that was reliable and valuable. It wasn't all about just having magic and fighting for power, there were lessons of love, loss, honesty, loyalty and trust - the list goes on. It was also great to read a series that wasn't so fixated on romance as a main element to the plot, or it being so simplistic. Emotions are super complex and Scheuerer portrayed that so well in her writing. She conveyed, through her characters, that being in love or love in general, is never just about two people feeling affection for each other and that would equate to everything working out perfectly. It was so refreshing to discover that in The Omerere Chronicles. Sometimes the person you love isn't someone you end up with or should even be with. Moreover, I liked that romance wasn't the driving force for the characters actions but rather friendships and partnerships are as, if not, more important. 

War of Mist was my favourite read of the three in The Omerere Chronicles. I'm actually so glad I started Heart of Mist and kept reading through to the end because it was well worth waiting for the finale. I was anticipating how Scheuerer would wrap everything up and am deeply satisfied, albeit feeling a whole other range of emotions whilst reading the finale. 

Overall Series