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

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Review: Reign of Mist (The Omerere Trilogy #2) by Helen Scheuerer

Title: Reign of Mist 
Series: The Omerere Trilogy
Author: Helen Scheuerer 
Publication Date: September 13th, 2018
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The realm's darkest secret is out. 

The cruelty of the capital and the power-hungry King Arden have scattered Bleak and her companions across the continents. 

On the run in a foreign land, Bleak finds herself tied to some unexpected strangers. When the answers she yearns for are finally within reach, she must face the hard truths of her past, and take her fate into her own hands before it's too late.

Meanwhile, secrets and magic unravel as a dark power corrupts the realm. Bleak's friends are forced to decided where their loyalties lie, and who, if anyone, they can trust.

But one thing is certain: war is coming, and they must all be ready when it does.

Review

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

Read Heart of Mist (The Omerere Trilogy #1) Review first

Reign of Mist is the second instalment to The Omerere Trilogy and it’s the book that brings most of the answers for the questions I, and the characters, had in the first book but also builds up towards a finale that I am so ready to get my hands on and find out how everything wraps up! 

Scheuerer’s strength is in her writing, more specifically in her world building. The world has expanded further, following on from Heart of Mist, with each city and its landscape written in such vivid and magical way. Yes, I did use the word magical, but it’s so true! It was so easy for me to imagine the expansive, wintery land of Havenesse with its mountainous ranges coated in thick layers of snow. I easily fell in love with how pretty the land was but also how, not just Havenesse but the other lands in the realm, had specific areas that made them unique. 

I also really liked that there was no dawdling at the beginning of the book - the plot picked up from where it left and didn’t take its time to try and explain what happened previously or who each of the characters were. Scheuerer chooses instead to bring up what happened in the first book in different forms of conversations with other characters or having characters reflect on how far they’ve come, which I thought was smart. There was a lot of action in Reign of Mist. A lot. The storyline included a huge number of on-edge, intense moments that did keep me flicking the pages. However, by the final third I felt like I had already gone through so much and still wasn’t over yet, and I was suspecting that there was more action to come. It felt like Scheuerer wanted the characters to do everything and anything to keep the plot interesting but also put the characters through testing moments to show their character development and strengths/weaknesses. At times, I felt like some moments weren’t necessary or could’ve played out at a different time further along or before it actually happened in the book.

Surprisingly, or maybe not considering I did say I was anticipating this in my last review, I grew to really like Bleak. I wanted to read from her perspective more and would’ve felt content following Bleak through half of the book. There was a lot of jumping around between characters, the same characters as Heart of Mist, but some perspectives I didn’t care for as much. For instance, I loved Dash’s storyline in the first book but in Reign of Mist I wouldn’t have noticed if there was less of him only because  it felt like he added nothing as a character to the plot. There are new characters to learn about and love. Queen Eydis is an absolute GIRL BOSS so keep an eye out for her.

Overall, I enjoyed the direction of the plot in this series and the character revelations. I got to the cliffhanger and was caught by surprised and think Reign of Mist was a great read on its own, adds to the intrigue of the overall storyline and builds up to what I’m expecting to be a great finale. There was a palpable energy that I picked up in the last 100 pages and I’m super excited! 

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Review: Heart of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles) by Helen Scheurer

Title: Heart of Mist
Series: The Oremere Chronicles
Author: Helen Scheurer
Publication Date: August 31st, 2017
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In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power.  Still grieving the death of her guardian and dangerous self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by the Commander of the King's Army, and summoned to the capital. But the King isn't the only one interested in Bleak's powers.

The leader of an infamous society of warriors, the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated.

Review

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

When I was approached by Helen to see if I was interested in delving into her high fantasy series, I took a quick squizz on Goodreads to see if Heart of Mist would tickle my fancy. I was intrigued and readily agreed, hoping that I would be pulled back into the world of fantasy and a new world with new characters. 

What I liked about Heart of Mist is that it dives straight into the plot, instead of plodding through the character's background and the world's history in the first half. I loved that I got to learn about the characters whilst the world expanded as they traveled through the kingdom. It made the plot flow well and I wanted to keep on reading to know more about the characters and the world they were in. 

Bleak is the main character in Heart of Mist, but as interesting as her mysterious upbringing was, I found that I was more attached to the side characters. I couldn't tell if it's because Bleak was written as sullen and unlikable, or that I personally found her to be not as enthralling. Instead, my favourites were Fiore, a soldier in the king's army and Dash, the son of the king's servant. I haven't learnt much about Fiore, but Dash was intriguing and exciting to read through. I think it's his recklessness and wanting to prove himself, but also the fact that by the end of the book, Helen reveals something really important about him that has made me want to keep reading the series to follow his character arc! Even Swinton, Bren and Henri were really enjoyable to read through and about. The fact that I remember most of the characters as well, means that Helen was able to make them memorable and with a voice of their own. 

I am really excited to continue with the series, as the last third of Heart of Mist picked up and I was a lot more engaged emotionally. I want to know what happens to the characters, the world they're in and the overall outcome. There's potential for me to eventually like Bleak - I'm anticipating it actually. Helen was able to build a strong world and impressionable characters. The lead up to the next book also left me on edge and I'm honestly thankful that Heart of Mist has nudged me out of my very long slump and I'm ready to dive right back into reading again.

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