Warrior of the World by Jeffe KennedyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Spoilers ahead for the first two books
...
Imperial Princess Jenna of Dasnaria was raised to be obedient and to pleasure the man her father and brothers chose for her. In Dasnaria women have nothing and no power, they are kept sequestered in a seraglio. When Jenna is married she finds her husband is a sadist and enjoys taking out his hatred of her father on her body. Eventually her brother helps her to escape and she travels to new lands, trains as a Priestess of Danu and takes vows of chastity and silence. At the end of the second book Jenna, who now calls herself Ivariel had made a new life with a family in Nyambura where she tends to the elephants and teaches the children to dance the warrior's dance, until her abusive husband tracks her down and she kills him and his men in a beserker fit of rage, although it almost kills her too - until Ochieng and his family rescue her with all their elephants.
In this third, and I believe final, book in the trilogy Ivariel is still recovering from the beating and rape by her now deceased husband but the family face further threats from a neighbouring city after the rainy season extends longer than ever before. The people are starving and so they come to pillage and steal from the peaceful Nyamurans. Ivariel is struggling to deal with her violent impulses, fearful that when the rage descends she could kill one of her friends, but maybe that's just what the Nyamurans need to protect them from the outside.
I still haven't read the first book, even though I bought it when it was on sale, I'm a bit scared about how horrific Jenna's life with her abusive husband will be ...
What can I say? A fitting end to the trilogy. I think you could read this as a stand-alone novel, although the backstory would all be told not shown. Jeffe Kennedy writes such beautiful prose, such engaging characters and such evocative landscapes. I felt like I was tending the elephants with Ivariel, singing the songs with the family, the torrential rain we had last night also felt very much like the rainy season in Nyamura, water everywhere and your clothes are vaguel damp all the time!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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