A Hero's Tale by Catherine M. Wilson
In the final book in this trilogy, Tamras and Maara are far from Merrin’s land, hiding in the woods from Vintel’s wrath.
Genres
Queer, fantasy (of a sort)
Description
In Book III of the trilogy, Tamras must make her own hero 's journey. She ventures into the unknown and encounters a more formidable enemy than any she has ever faced. Character is destiny, and the destiny of Tamras and all her people will depend upon choices that come less from the skills she has been taught than from the person she has become, from her own heart.
Review
This book is a significant change of pace and setting from the previous two. Rather than staying in Merrin’s house, the story finds Tamras and Maara journeying all over the land. This greatly fleshed out the world, as the nations previously only mentioned or seen briefly are explored in detail.
I didn’t realize how much I cared about these characters until a certain scene, which I won’t say because of spoilers. But it truly wrenched my heart and had an emotional impact on my day. The way the author writes may seem a bit distant and fairy taleish, but I truly did get deeply attached to these people, and felt was tied up in their lives.
This world feels so real, that when the series ended I felt almost lost without it. It’s rare to find this style of storytelling, with such a strong tone of nostalgia for a world that never even existed.
And the character development is phenomenal. These characters grew up and changed so much over the course of the trilogy that it’s worthwhile to go back and look through the first few chapters of the first book to see just how far they came.
I loved this series completely, and every book is just as good as the others. It’s underrated and I don’t see many people recommending it, even in sapphic literature circles. People should be checking this out more, as it greatly deserves it.