Surbhi Das's Reviews > War of Mist

I am so happy that I discovered this series! These books have everything that I love in Fantasy, Magnificent world-building, easy to follow but intriguing magic system, fast paced and action packed plot, an endearing ensemble of cast and the ultimate good vs evil fight to death. I haven't written reviews for the first two books in the series, so I'll just quickly recap my thoughts on both the books before writing down my thoughts on this final book of the series, War of Mist.

The first book in the series, Heart of Mist introduces us to this brand new fantasy, where the world is divided into four continents and is threatened by the encroaching mist, which destroys everything in its path. In this world, magic is banned and the magic wielders called Ashai have to live in hiding because being discovered means either death or imprisonment. Our main character, Bleak is a very powerful magic wielder and a mind whisperer, means she can read other people thoughts. However, Bleak is untrained and doesn't know how to control her powers, which can be too much for her at times. The story begins when Bleak's magic is found out and she is arrested by the commander of the king's army.

Honestly, I liked Heart of Mist but sadly, I didn't love it, it's not a bad book by any means, it was fast-paced and does a fantastic job of establishing all the characters arcs, plus the addict and blind representation in the book was written with so much precision and care but I have read a lot of fantasy books set on the theme of banned/vanished magic system and a reluctant heroine, therefore, somewhere the book felt a little tropey. However, things changed drastically in the last 20% of the book, with a ending that had me reeling so much so, that I was glad that I had Reign of Mist at hand. I mean talk about cliffhangers because that was the plot twist I didn't expect.

Naturally, I moved to Reign of Mist with high expectations and I'll gladly say, it did not disappoint me. In fact, I think, Reign of Mist fabulously bridges the gap between Heart of Mist and this third book. It's action packed, new characters are introduced, they are put to one trial after another, their loyalties are constantly tested and the mystery surrounding Oremere deepens. I mostly, loved it. Once again, the blind representation was top notch. I adored Olena in Reign of Mist, here's one woman, who won't let her disability define her and for that alone Olena has all my love. Her friendship with Dash is so delightful and even though, they aren't together in this book, reading about these two characters and the bond between them felt extremely wholesome. In fact, I think that Helen has written all the budding friendships and group dynamic brilliantly in Reign of Mist and the result of which, we get to see in War of Mist.

In case, you are still wondering, I absolutely loved War of Mist, I thinks its the strongest book in the trilogy and it wraps up the series incandescently and neatly. In fact, this book is a testament of how much Helen has grown as a writer, her writing style is so accessible and engaging. I am not lying when I say this but I finished War of Mist in one sitting because I was hooked from beginning to the end. The plot is seemingly beautiful and the character motivations feels genuine. The war scenes are written ingeniously and the ending is everything that I could have asked for. I loved how amazingly, Helen established the relationship between each character whether its platonic or romantic. The characters in this book are one of the most diverse and complex lot that I have read and I think Helen handled the multiple POV narration superbly.

In the beginning of the series, I wasn't really fond of Bleak but she grew on me eventually and I absolutely loved her in this book, she is so brave and resourceful, I loved how much she has grown. I loved her dedication for her people and her willingness to take charge. Also, Rion and Bleak makes such a wonderful team. The same goes for Henri, who I found so uptight in the beginning but by the end of this book, I loved how wonderfully she led the combined forces. I think somewhere, the presence of Henri's twin made her more human and I adored the relationship that Henri shares with Sahara. It's just the right mix of love and conflict that exists between every sibling. However, the biggest surprise for me in regard to character development was definitely that of Dimitri Swinton. This man, Oh my God, my heart literally broke for him in this book. I also, loved Casimir and I feel like there is so much more to him and to his story, which I would definetly like to read if Helen ever decides to write a spin off to this series. Especially after that mind-boggling revelation at the end.

Another thing which stood out for me in War of Mist was the fate of some of the characters at the end of the novel. Wars are messy and believe it or not but people die in them. I think, Helen portrayed the same quite subtly in this series conclusion. I won't speak more because I am already treading too close to the spoiler territory but you will know what I am talking about once you read the book.

All that said, the only reason I am not giving this book a five star rating is because I felt that some of the characters needed a little more development or I needed to know a little more about their history. Take for example, Tailor, he was a minor character in Heart of Mist but he becomes important to the story later on, I just needed to know what happened to him, how did he survive, how he came to be with Fiore, you know stuff like that. Tailor is such a fun character, but the truth is he has suffered a lot and he hides everything behind his humor, I just needed to understand his inner workings the same way we got the inner psychology of the other main characters. I know with so many characters at play it can be hard to detail out every little thing but I truly think that characters who are truly important to the story line deserves more.

Overall, this series was so much fun and entertaining to read. It started on a low note for me but sucked me in with each book and now, I am so pleased that I read it and stuck with it. If you are someone, who is looking for a story set in a well-thought out world with nerve-wracking politics, strong female leads and amazing action, be sure to check out the Oremere chronicles.

ARC received from Author in exchange for my honest opinion!

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