War's Ending

War’s Ending by A. J. Park, 586 pages.
Emerald Lake Books, 2019. $18.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Shalyrie loves the excitement of visiting new colonies in her uncle’s kingdom, and Newport is beautiful. But Shalyrie was not expecting the excitement to include attempts on her life and the tragedies of war. Finding fear and the unknown on every side, can Shalyrie find a way to encourage and foster peace?
I was quickly sucked into the story as I started reading, and I mostly stayed engrossed for the rest of the time I followed Shalyrie and her friends through their battles. At one point, the story seemed to get a little repetitive with several consecutive attempts on Shalyrie’s life, but then the story moved on and became engaging again. Overall, I took pleasure in reading how Shalyrie and her friends dealt with the challenges they faced and how Shalyrie would not abandon her beliefs, even as keeping them became more difficult. We could all be a little more like Shalyrie.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. Being focused on YA fantasy books recently, it was a nice change to dive into a richly build world with mature characters and when you add magic to the mix, it turns into a boook I couldn't put down!
The plot twists kept me reading well into the night and I immensly appriciated that there wasn't an instant love interest as you see in so many other fantasy books. I hope there's a sequal coming soon because this was a breath of fresh air I really need in my life!

This book was great. At the start I feared the writing was a bit mature; however, as the story went on it grew on me.

I do think the story was a little long winded in some areas but the book was still very well written and the story was one that touched on a girl becoming her own woman and learning about the world around her.

#WarsEnding #NetGalley

Publisher description: A courageous noblewoman. A mysterious stranger. A war that may destroy them both…
As the king’s niece, Shalyrie can’t wait to explore her kingdom’s colonies with her uncle. But when she’s badly injured in a savage raid and abducted by mysterious masked horsemen, she’s stunned when her captors heal her wounds. As she adjusts her preconceptions, a terrifying attempt on her life reveals that her own people are trying to kill her.

Kalleck expects to die fighting a hopeless war like his father before him. While he helps Shalyrie piece together clues behind the assassination attempt, her very presence escalates tension between the kingdom and the colony. With time running out, Kalleck knows he must act quickly to prevent innocent bloodshed, yet Shalyrie might be the only one who can end the war.

Can two enemies join forces to put an end to a devastating war?



I was enraptured with this book. There were so many aspects of this book that were new and well thought out. I really liked the push/pull between the main characters. It vaguely reminded me of the beginning relationship between Aria and Perry in Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky, although the plots and characters are different. Equally fun to read and read again though.

I really liked the good in characters in this book. Shalyrie was at her core, even from the beginning, ready to lay down her life to stop a war. One she had stumbled across and used as a pawn in.

Wonderful book. Wonderful characters. It was left open ended with a few unanswered questions at the end so I am hoping we find out what happens to her brother in the next book.



I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

The heroine and hero of this tale are excellent role models for those who must struggle with the perfidy of erstwhile allies in the world. It is written with young adults in mind, and there has been very little trimming for brevity or balance.

I mainly objected to the amount of suffering that the main characters fall into, though in truth it is never unrealistic. Perhaps the original was written as a serial, where emotional pitch had to be kept high throughout.

I think it's an exciting tale for those who are not trying to shield young readers from excess violence. The villains are thoroughly bad and the good characters plentiful by the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed learning about the world in this novel. I hope that there's more with these characters.