Wren's War by Sherwood Smith

[meganbmoore]

Even the basic setup of this one is fairly spoilery, so it all goes under the spoiler cut.

Given the relative lightness of the first two books, I can see how the early plot developments in this one might be offputting to some. I think, though, that the fact that there would eventually be a fullfledged war was already pretty obvious, and Tess had to eventually become queen somehow.

I liked seeing the teens all off dealing with things in their own way and contributing to the war, but I wish they hadn’t spent most of the book separated. I’m also glad to see that some characters who were portrayed as the nominal villains in Wren’s Quest were more neutral and on the side of allies here.

All four characters did a few things that made me shake my head a bit, especially Tess, but they all made sense given their ages and the situation. I’m especially glad that Tess got to grow and learn how to be in charge, and that the end of the book wasn’t “rescue the princess.”

However: Connor, you may only be two years older than Tess, but you are the son of her grandmother. That does not make you “sort of related.” That makes you her uncle. That said, Tess was completely unaware of his hormones, and it was portrayed as his being in an odd situation and responding to a cute girl who was also in an odd situation, and who he didn’t meet until adolescence was mutually achieved. And so my squick factor was successfully avoided.

 
All in all, I enjoyed the first book of the trilogy the most, but liked all three.