Blog Tour: Review, aesthetics/moodboard, excerpt and favorite quotes from WAR OF MIST (The Oremere Chronicles #3) by Helen Scheuerer

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FINALLY!!

I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THIS SERIES!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

I was so eager to get my hand on WAR OF MIST after finishing REIGN OF MIST, I couldn’t wait for long after finishing the latter one.

And WAR OF MIST is soooooo good!!

The prologue! OMG, the prologue is so so good!! I love it so much!! (You’ll find an excerpt of the prologue down below 😉😉) Ms. Scheuerer has taken the story to a whole new action-packed, tension-filled level, full of continuously rising stakes and gut-wrenching plot twists. I love the way we explore the continents back and forth, and find new adventures and adversaries to face. This is a fast paced book, especially from the 40% mark. Before that, the author swiftly and deftly places all the foreshadowing and hints that later come back to bite you in the ass.

The story starts where it has left off last in REIGN OF MIST. As you can read from the title of the book, the main attraction and attention of the story is the brewing war between our heroes and their villains. Told from the four original protagonist POV (Bleak, Henri, Dash, and Swinton), we find our characters finding each other and ganging up to face and fight the ultimate evil, the false queen of Oremere. I love how the author parallels Henri with Eydis, while Swinton with Arden in case of character arcs. You’ll find out soon 😉😉

I really love how little romance this series focuses on. I don’t mean to belittle any fantasy books heavy with romance, I love romance, but in Bleak I’ve never found any wishes or cravings for romance in life; and Ms. Scheuerer also does not force it upon her. Bleak flourishes even more than before, her powers growing as well as her assertiveness and confidence. Similar to Bleak, we find meek and humble Dash rising in his abilities and confidence, and becoming the knight in shining armor he always longs to become. Swinton also redeems from his initial morally grey character, his actions and decisions gearing toward helping his kind, the people rallying against the false queen. And lastly, in Henri, we find so much development, I’m squealing in joy. She becomes this empathetic, kind, and understanding queen who slowly begins to soften and flex her kindness toward others. I love her, I love her, I love her!!

The supporting cast is also superb. Olena, Fiore, Luka, Athene, Eydis, Nazuri, Allehra, Sahara, Casimir, and Ermias. They all group together to form a coherent and cohesive cast of supporting characters, who do not blur into the background, rather help and support our heroes rise to their moments of glory and also be glorified equally.

Though this book fills almost every expectations I have from it, it also has let me down in two prospects.

Firstly, one of its biggest weaknesses of this entire series is the lack of development in the villain characters. Though through providing us ample back story for the main antagonist, it offers no such back story or motivations for the minor villains. It kind of sucks, cause if their motivations have been explained even in one sentence, it would be enough. Villains without motivation that drives them to their goals so vehemently is just one dimensional. There are several minor antagonists among the group of heroes (antagonist, NOT VILLAIN as in working 100% against the protagonist), who oppose the protagonists in their goals in minor ways. I’d love more than anything to know what drive them to do those things.

Another thing that irks me is a problematic trope in the climactic scene. While I cannot describe it for fears of spoilers, I will say it is a quite harmful trope that can hurt some people. I wish it wasn’t in the scene, but I want to acknowledge its existence to warn the readers.

But overall, this is a stunning and epic ending to an equally epic series. I love every moment of it and I’ll sorely miss Bleak and gang. Do pick up this book. You’ll love the world, and its people wholeheartedly.

Check out the stunning excerpt below:

Excerpt:

The king’s suite was dark but for a beam of pale moonlight streaming through the window. King Arden lay in the canopied bed, pale-gold beard tipped to the ceiling as he snored softly. Ines gazed at him with distaste from where she stood naked by the glass. He had cost her much in recent months. The fool had failed to detain Henrietta Valia and Alarise Thornton. He’d let the prizes slip right through his manicured fingers, too concerned with boasting of his minor victories to see what was happening beneath his own nose. The woman shook her head and turned to look out onto the dark castle grounds.‘If you want something done right, do it yourself,’ she muttered under her breath. Her fingers toyed with the layered necklace resting against her collarbone, a pretty gift from the infatuated king. She was fond of this piece in particular, adorned with rare jewels from lands long forgotten. It reminded her of something her mother had worn so many years before. A piece she was meant to inherit, before they’d taken her and stripped her of all her rights and belongings. The order of the high priestesses allowed no effects, no personal property, but now … now she had many things to call her own.Below, the castle maze sprawled across the grounds, and beyond the walls and gatehouse, the whole of Ellest bent to her will. It was all hers. She had taken it easily, as was her destiny. The instinct of the magic in her veins drove her to take and take, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to add to her kingdom, her collection. The need to do so raged within her, a demand, a drive to fill the gaping hole in her chest.Then, there were those who threatened to take away all she held dear now. Tonight, along with all the other nights, the thought of them, and what they were searching for, kept her from sleep. She had begun her own search for the item they planned to use against her. The maze, the armoury, the jewel vault had all proved fruitless, but earlier in the week, she’d had a breakthrough. The old library. She had felt its presence. Demanding solitude, she had locked herself away and combed through every volume the damn room held. Nothing. But she knew it was in there. And she would find it. Rheyah help the realm when she did.

Giveaway

Win Audiobook copies of WAR OF MIST and REIGN OF MIST, one winner takes it all.

Open international.

Enter here.

Blog Tour Schedule:

Don’t forget to check out the blog tour launch post to not miss any of the important links.

July 15 (Monday)

• Blog tour launch (from Shut up, Shealea)
• Review, author interview, and own quote graphics from Belle’s Archive
• Review, author interview, and excerpt from The Inked In Book Blog
• Review and author interview from Mashleas Reads
• Review and excerpt from Shomeret: Masked Reviewer
• Review and favorite quotes from Zany Bibliophile

July 16 (Tuesday)

• Review, excerpt, and own quote graphics from The Baroness of Books
• Review, aesthetic/moodboard, excerpt, favorite quotes, and own playlist from The Bookworm Daydreamer
• Review, excerpt, and own quote graphics from Tale Out Loud
• Review and favorite quotes from Throneofshatteredbooks

July 17 (Wednesday)

• Author interview from Shut up, Shealea
• Review, creative photos, and favorite quotes from Bemused Bibliophile
• Review, author interview, and own quote graphics from The Clever Reader
• Review and own art from Naija Book Bae
• Review and own quote graphics from Utopia State of Mind

July 18 (Thursday)

• Review and creative feature post from Accio! Blog
• Review, creative feature post, creative photos, and excerpt from The Caffeinated Reader
• Review, aesthetics/moodboard, excerpt and favorite quotes from A Logophile’s Love

July 19 (Friday)

• Review from Shut up, Shealea
• Review and own quote graphics from The Little Miss Bookworm
• Review, and creative feature post from Lori’s Bookshelf Reads
• Review, and own quote graphics from Open Pages
• Review, creative feature post, and own playlist from Oro Plata Myta
• Review and excerpt from The Postscriptress

July 20 (Saturday)

• Review, author interview, and creative photos from Camillea Reads
• Review, and favorite quotes from Rambles of a Reader
• Review and creative feature post from Uwadis

July 31 (Wednesday)

• Review and aesthetics/moodboard from Holed Up In A Book
• Review, creative feature post, creative photos, excerpt, favorite quotes, and own art from Pretty Little Bibliophile

August 01 (Thursday)

• Review from Book Hooked Nook
• Review and excerpt from Bookish Wisps

August 02 (Friday)

• Review, excerpt, own art and own quote graphics from The Night Faerie
• Review, aesthetics/moodboard, excerpt and own quote graphics from Reading in the Clouds
• Review, aesthetics/moodboard, creative feature post and creative photos from Your Tita Kate

Also on August 3 is the blog tour Twitter chat, totally spoiler free, and anyone is welcome to participate. Hosted by @CaffeineTours, the #CBTTC Twitter chat will start from 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST)/9:00 PM Philippine Time. Don’t miss it, friends 😉😉

Author Bio:

After writing literary fiction for a number of years, Helen Scheuerer was inspired to return to her childhood love of fantasy thanks to novels like Throne of Glass, The Queen’s Poisoner, and The Queen of the Tearling.

Helen is also the Founding Editor of Writer’s Edit, an online learning platform for emerging writers. In its first year, Writer’s Edit reached thousands of new authors, and soon became its own small press, with Helen overseeing the production and publication of three creative writing anthologies. It’s now one of the largest writing websites in the world.

Helen now lives by the mountains of New Zealand and writes full time. She has many more books planned for the future.

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