Review: The Offering (The Pledge #3) by Kimberly Derting!

Warning!  Spoiler Alert!

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.

Description taken from Goodreads 

My Review

Holy friggens!  Derting certainly held nothing back while starting this book.  I couldn’t believe what I was reading!  And it didn’t slow down at all.  There was never a dull moment at all during The Offering.  There were definitely frustrating moments and moments where if certain people just thought things through just a little bit, then a lot of bad things could have been avoided.  But, I mean, those things had to happen to make the book interesting, I guess.

We go into The Offering on the verge of war with Queen Elena of Astonia.  I honestly felt that this book was great.  We found out who was loyal and who wasn’t.  We met some new people and said goodbye to some we’ve known since The Pledge.

I still thought Charlie was naïve.  Pretty much the whole book was a testimony of her naïveté but she finally realized her mistake and in the end she tried her hardest to make things right.  She was finally trying to be the queen she knew she needed to be for her people of Ludania and I actually admired her for that.  She finally came into her own, it just took her a really long time.  And all those fighting sessions with Zafir finally paid off.  Queen Charlaina, The Badass!

 I don’t want to get into the new characters we meet because I feel like it’s better to read about them as they’re introduced.  It’s just more fun that way. 

If you’ve read my reviews on The Pledge and The Essence then you know how much I hated the romance between Max and Charlie.  I still do.  I honestly wish there had been no romance at all and just had Charlie focusing on being a new queen. 

If I’m honest, then I have to say that I think this trilogy would have worked better as a standalone novel.  The books are so short already and I’m sure Derting could have eliminated some unnecessary things throughout the books.  Anyone else feel this way?

Even though I had some problems with each book, I really did enjoy this series and would recommend it.   All I would have to say is that each book keeps getting better and better.  I felt like The Offering was far superior to The Pledge.

If you enjoy dystopians with a hint of magic thrown into the mix and a world where queens rule, then this trilogy might be something that you should check out.

Characters 4/5

Plot 4/5

Feels 3.5/5

Writing 4/5

Overall 3.9/5

 

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