Allegiance by Cayla Kluver
Legacy Trilogy #2
YA historical fantasy, Published 2012
Challenges: YA Historical Fiction, NetGalley Reading Challenge
Read May 2012, 490 pp.
4/5 Stars
Book Blurb:
“Only I saw Narian for who he truly was: a young man with courage and an independent mind, and made to pay for what was outside his control. He couldn’t help his past any more than he could help the way those intense, deep-blue eyes pierced me and held me captive.”
AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD QUEEN IN LOVE WITH THE ENEMY AS THEIR COUNTRIES PASS THE POINT OF NO RETURN…
Bound to a man she cannot love, Queen Alera of Hytanica must forget Narian, the young man who holds her heart. For Narian is destined to conquer Hytanica at the behest of his master, the powerful magic-user known as the Overlord. Alera doesn’t truly believe Narian will fight against Hytanica—until Cokyrian troops attack with Narian commanding the charge.
Faced with the greatest betrayal a heart can know, Alera must set aside personal feelings and lead her kingdom through its darkest time. And when all hope, will and courage seem lost, she must find strength and remember that even the blackest night must have a dawn….
Thoughts:
*Be aware that this may contain spoilers to Book 1 – Legacy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment of Cayla Kluver’s Legacy trilogy. Her writing style has really improved and matured since Legacy and I liked that there was a lot more action in this one. The book starts off right after Legacy ended with Alera’s wedding to Steldor. Her father then hands over the reigns to the kingdom to them.
I really got to like ♥ Steldor in this book and over and over again I felt sorry for him and desperately wanted Alera to love him – or get out of the way so I could 
. I actually liked him more in this book than Alera (!! and I couldn’t stand him in book 1). Alera seems to have a hard time growing up and making mature decisions. She was so bratty that I couldn’t believe she was a queen. I really thought the story would go a completely different direction and am still disappointed in the way some story lines went. The love story between Alera and Narian seems almost forced and takes away from the many strong characters and world building of the book.
While Alera left much to be desired, there are a lot of great characters throughout the kingdom that I adored. Canaan, Steldor’s father, and her longtime bodyguard London are among my favorites.
Then there was the end of this book…it definitely left me wanting more! I cannot wait to see what happens in Book 3 – Sacrifice slated to come out October 23, 2012.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarlequinTEEN for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
