Format: Paperback, 480 pages
Release Date: December 1, 2021
Publisher: Sourcebook Fire
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic
The Shattered Crown is the third and final installment in author Maxym Martineau's The Beast Charmer trilogy. Fated mates Leena Edenfrell, now the Crown of the Council for the Best Charmers, and Noc, aka Aleksander Nocsis Feyreigner, Prince of Lendria, and heir to the thrown, must somehow pull together their people in a desperate fight against Varek, the King of Lendria, Yazmin, former Council member and traitor who tried to kill her own people and wants to raise a dangerous beast called Ocnolog, and Darrien, Cruor assassin who took people loyal to him to ally with Varek and Yazmin.
It has been one week since Yazmin's attack where she ordered beasts to kill Charmers. Meanwhile, Darrien tried to kidnap Leena, and take Noc's job as leader of the Cruor assassins. In Hireath, Yazmin is searching for the missing Charmers who she believes were secreted away in some location she is desperate to uncover. It has been discovered that the Royal family's sentinels have been hunting and capturing Charmers on Beast Hunts. Leena never dreamed of igniting a war, and Noc never wanted to set foot on a battlefield again or to become King.
But with their enemies combine forces, they have no choice but to fight and seek outside help in order to bring the villains down and save the world. While Noc makes moves to reclaim his throne, Leena acts as the new Crown of the Charmer's Council, searching for a way to stop the enemy from raising Ocnolog, an ancient dragon destined to burn their world to ash. Leena and Noc know that the enemy will be difficult to defeat, so they travel to another kingdom where the Queen of that country despises Noc for something that happened a very long time ago when he was cursed by a dark practitioner.
Leena, with a little help from Princess Jayla and her newest gift of a beast, convinces her mother that helping Leena and Noc rebalance the world would also save their own lives from countries already encroaching on their territory. After all, there is a prophecy that needs to be stopped. One of the key aspects of this series and Yazmin's betrayal is that she truly believed that Varek was kidnapping and keeping Charmers for his own nefarious reasons. If Yazmin discovers that this is factual, will it really change anything? Especially since the only thing she needs now to raise Ocnolog is already at her finger tips.
Yazmin is truly evil in this book, and Leena has her hands full trying to stop her destruction. But when Leena discovers a shocking secret, will she stay the course, or will she join Yazmin? While the story does alternate between Leena and Noc, Yazmin has a few chapters thrown in for a broader view of what is happening in this world. There were certain chapters which we saw from the perspectives of Calem, Ozias, Kost, and Gaige who have really become Leena's family since she first met the assassins of Cruor and they allow them into their lives. They each have their own struggles and relationships to deal with and each of their singular chapters provided us enough information to know there is more for them to say of their story.
I feel that the author did a decent job of wrapping up this series and tying up loose ends, including the actual fate of what really happened to Leena's parents who disappeared on a beast hunt. In all seriousness, there are several secondary characters who could legitimately have their own novella's or spin off series including Raven, Oz, and Calem.
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