#Review - Wild Savage Stars by Kristina Pérez #Historical #Fantasy

Series: Sweet Black Waves (#2)
Format: E-Galley, 448 pages
Release Date: August 27, 2019
Publisher: Imprint
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Historical

Inspired by the legend of Tristan and Iseult, Wild Savage Stars is the second book in a lush fantasy series about warring countries, family secrets, and star-crossed lovers.

When Branwen used magic to save her country's future, she never expected to destroy her dreams for her own.

Now, the love she and Tristan built is destroyed and her relationship with her cousin Essy is shattered. But Branwen does not have time to dwell on her heartbreak. Essy’s betrothed, the king of a rival nation, must never discover Tristan and Essy’s affair, or it could mean war.

Branwen goes to desperate lengths to stop the king from discovering the truth, but the price may be even more terrible than she could have imagined.

Can Branwen master her magic before it becomes her own undoing?

Wild Savage Stars is the second installment in author Kristina Perez's Sweet Black Waves trilogy. Sweet Black Waves is a retelling of the star-crossed tale of Tristan and Iseult, from the perspective of Branwen. The story is a tragedy about the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult who either on purpose or by mistake, drank a love potion. Wild Savage Stars begins shortly after the events of Sweet Black Waves.  

Branwen, Tristan and Eseult have landed on the Island of Albion (Kingdom of Kernyv) with trouble on the horizon. Essy is less than thrilled to meet her future husband, especially after what happened on the ship over. Tristan is heartbroken that he would do what he did to Branwen, and Branwen is livid at both of them and is blaming herself for putting others in the path of treason. Although Eseult marries Mark, she and Tristan are forced by the potion to seek one another, as lovers over and over again.

I realize that this series is based on Tristan and Iseult, but I really want a happy ending for Branwen. Branwen deserves more than what she's gotten from this world and from both Tristan and Eseult. Yes, yes, let's put the world on her shoulders because she wanted to cease the cycle of war between her country and Kernyv. Yes, she did use some magic in order to ensure that her beloved cousin would fall in love with King Marc. But, she's not responsible for Essy stealing something that didn't belong to her, or her and Tristan's shenanigans. 

Her desperation and pain was tangible throughout the book and I was rooting for her so hard to find a solution and her own love if possible. The connection between Branwen and Marc, as well as Prince Ruan who really isn't a bad character at all, was pretty good. Ruan isn't the perfect beau, but I liked him much more than Tristan who was broody, whiny, and frustrating always finding himself trying to make up for his mistakes and his desires for Essy.  

Marc is trying to do the impossible. Marc, like Branwen, wants peace and no more pirates stealing people from Branwen's country. He has his own crosses to carry for his own actions as part of the invasion force. Branwen also has to stop fearing her own magic and learn how to deal with it if she wants to keep her new country from war, or for her to lose control and hurt the wrong people.

For the of preventing spoilers, I will only say this: Essy and Tristan continuously made stupid decisions throughout the novel that very easily could have comprised their nations. If not for Branwen fixing messes over and over again, so much more pain and suffering would have happened. There's a point in the book where I finally gave up on any hope of Essy's self-absorption, and Tristan's puppy dog behavior. I wanted Branwen to end them both, but then there wouldn't be another book. 

There is a pivotal moment in the book that I almost stood up and cheered. Branwen finally decides to put herself ahead of everyone else. She's tired of cleaning up Tristan & Essy's messes which will lead them all to being hanged for treason when/if discovered. But, that cliffhanger ending tore me apart. If you hate cliffhanger endings, might I suggest reading all three books once the final one is released?

 

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