Sworn to Secrecy picks up exactly where it's predecessor left off. The Weathervane's Ciardis, her long lost mother Lillian, and her brother Caemon have made their presence felt to the Emperor and his court in a major way. The Emperor is much more of a key character in his determination to make Ciardis squirm under his microscope while forcing her to run around like a chicken with her head cut off.
Lillian's past actions are finally revealed, and the result is something you should probably temper your hopes over. Nothing is as it seems when Terah Edun is writing a story. There are always other avenues that will pop up and bring your hopes and dreams crashing to a sudden stop. In many ways, that is what I love about reading this series. It is the unknown. It is the fact that someone can be a villain who is right in front of your eyes, and you won't know it until she shocks you.
Of course, after finishing Sword to Secrecy, I truly want to strangle something. Not because of the overall story, or the action, or the unheard of twisted mysteries that happen one right after the other almost non-stop. No, it's because of YET another convoluted cliffhanger that just makes me angrier than bees being bothered by a little boy with a stick.
It's the fact that the villains all seem to be getting stronger, while Ciardis's group thins out and can't seem to catch a break. It's also because Ciardis is already confused about finding ways to save her mother's life and prevent a god from destroying the world without having to worry about who is trying to beat whom to win her heart.
Personally, I am still rooting for a third choice that has already been introduced and who has shown some interest in Ciardis as the mystery characters companion. I want this twist in the story just to make people squirm in their seats, and scream bloody freaking murder when the final choice is made. No, I'm not mean, I'm just looking for a breath of fresh air that is different from anything you may expect.
I asked the author via Twitter, and she ANSWERED! How old is Ciardis vs Prince Sebastian at this point in the series? She started out this series as a 17 year old Companion’s Guild trainee and if I remember correctly, he was a spoiled pip squeak at 15 who just happens to be heir to the kingdom who wanted to own her like a pair of new shoes. Now she's the savior of the kingdom along with her motley crue at 18 and he's apparently 16.
Prince Sebastian is obviously still obsessed with her even though he has stabbed her in the back, betrayed her, and treated her like shit, and has major jealously issues that needs to be resolved soon. I mean, is Ciardis one of those older women (Cougars) who loves to play around with younger men? Aren't there a few OTHER more appealing characters just waiting around the corner?
Ciardis' companion training still hasn't been completed and probably never will be. And, yet she runs around apparently having more power than anyone else, including her mother, and walks into situations where people have to continually tell her what's up before she ends up dead. Even though she HAS grown as a person, she still has no clue how to stop her enemies from taking away people that she cares about.
She's also involved in a twisted, eye rolling 3 way triangle with Sebastian, the Prince Heir and the Daemoni Prince Thanar who both want Ciardis for themselves. There can be only one people, unless we are going all Polygamy on readers which I will divest myself from this series faster than you can sing Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care.
Presumably, Sworn to Defiance is the last book in this series. SO, it is time to wrap up the story, and all loose ends, and reveal the real enemies of the people including one we really haven't met yet. Perhaps by this time, Ciardis will learn more about her powers, have friends who won't leave her, and mayhaps, she'll find someone who can really make her happy, rather than feel obligated to be in a relationship with that person out of some misconstrued perception.
**I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
Author - Terah Edun
Title - Sworn to Secrecy (Courtlight # 4)
Published via Amazon Digital Services
Released: February 28, 2014
Genre - Fantasy
Received via NetGalley
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