The Offering by Kimberly Derting - Review and Giveaway

   

SYNOPSIS:

True love—and world war—is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy. Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She’s done admirable work to restore Ludania’s broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she’s mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks. When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom. But things aren’t always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap—one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.

REVIEW:

My rating:  4 of 5 stars

I was so excited to get a chance to read The Offering!  I have a tendency to start a book series and then forget to go back finish them -- sometimes it is the time between books, sometimes life gets in the way, sometimes I don't want to say goodbye to the characters.  It happens.  But without a doubt, I knew that this was a trilogy that I wanted to see through to the end. 

I was not disappointed.

The Pledge intrigued me.  The Essence held its own and left me in a place that had me needing to know more.  This book, though...the third book...The Offering...HOLY COW!  From the first page, I was blindsided by the emotion.

For real...I almost had to put it down and walk away because THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN!

Now, you know I don't do spoilers, so this is where I go vague.  Something happens and things get really real really fast for Charlie.

And this is where my love for the supporting characters comes in.  Max and Eden and Brooklynn and Claude and Xander and Nico and Elena and even Sabara.  They never feel like "just" supporting characters to me.  While this trilogy is Charlie's story to tell, her conflict to resolve, these other characters are woven into the story in a way that makes me want to know just as much about their thoughts and emotions (or lack thereof) as of the Queen's.  In fact, I do have to be a bit honest in saying that my connection to these characters may even lessen my allegiance to Charlie.  I started this trilogy expecting Charlie's story and finished feeling like it was THEIR story.

And the more I think about it, I don't think that is a bad thing.

Ms. Derting writes relationships.  Charlie and Max.  Charlie and Aron and Brooklyn.  Charlie, Eden, Brooklynn.  Max and Xander.  Charlie and Sabara.  Nico and Sabara.  Each one is an integral part to this trilogy and there are others that I left off.  I think they are what really drew me in to her words and world -- yes, this is a dystopian story about a queen learning her way, but the conflicts aren't limited to the obvious.  There is so so so much more.

Gah, I love depth. 

And I love growth.

And I love when I finish a book/series and it just feels right.  That is what happens with The Offering.  It was right.  And I'm happy. 


      

   

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series, THE PLEDGE trilogy, and THE TAKING (coming April 2014 from HarperTeen). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.  

 GIVEAWAY:

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