I don't even know where to start. This has been my favorite series since The Unbroken. I am so sad to see it end but so satisfied with how it did. This book kept me gasping over and over again. At any point in time, I had no idea what I wanted to happen. I was pulled in every direction with every possibility IN THE BEST WAY. I fell in love with all of the characters and I wanted perfect endings for them all, of course that couldn't happen. But truly I feel this book tied up everything in a pretty bow. I had no lingering questions, nothing to be confused about. C. L. Clarke wrapped it up beautifully and I'm looking forward to many many many more books!

This is one of the few times where I am completely satisfied with an ending and I don't crave more or have any unanswered questions, you know and loved the first 2 books, you'll LOVE this one too!

I cannot believe this is end of this story. C.L. Clark created such an unique and wonderful world and these incredible characters everyone would fall in love with. I cried so much and I'm really thinking of starting the whole trilogy from the beginning again.

"The Sovereign" is a nice wrap up to C.L. Clark's series, and I would put it as the best of the three books. All three were solid, with their own strengths and weaknesses, but this final book takes the crown for the best of the series. For me, personally, it has been a while since I have a read a series ending book that I would consider to be the best one of the series- quite often it is the 2nd book that really works, but the final book either rushes the conclusion or relies on too much filler in the first 50%. Luckily for me, this book has gone against my recent trends- going in the better direction, that is!

I figured that things were going to get messy for Touraine and Luca (just look at the cover!), especially with the conflicts encircling Balladaire from the previous book. 1) The Withering Plague, 2) Duke Nicolas' loyalists lying in wait, 3) "The Fingers", the revolutionary group with Brother Michel and Fili, 4) Pruett's recent maneuvers in Masridan, 5) Taargen gearing up for war. All five of these incoming conflicts are a focus in "The Sovereign", with Luca having the seemingly impossible task of managing this. Being a sovereign certainly isn't easy, and she often questions how much like her uncle Nicolas that she will have to be- as being a scheming asshole probably is more productive than being weak-willed and indecisive. Luckily for her she isn't totally alone. She has her fiancee Touraine, now appointed as the lead general in addition to future consort. She has her friend-with-benefits Marquise Sabine, Commander Perrot of the Blackcoats, Evrard of Travers, and Camille of Moyenne for support. With this, Luca hopes to weather the upcoming storm.

Touraine, meanwhile, is dealing with the actions from her former companion and lover, Pruett, who led a contingent of the former "Sands" forces to ally with Misridan (to break away from Balladaire) and to join up with the forces of Taargen. The closeness of Pruett to Touraine (in multiple ways) is obviously a sore spot for Luca, whom, obviously, is not going to do nothing about this.

The characters and the politicking are my two favorite parts of this book. With the central character, Luca, being a ruler of a nation, we the audience get to see how life is like being the top dog. It isn't all pretty, especially with the fragility of the nation, something that Luca is extremely aware of throughout the story. C.L. Clark also manages to input enjoyable military action as well, during the clash of some of the nations that I listed above. The maneuvering was quite interesting to me.

Lastly, the plot progression was fun. It started off a little bit slow, like the case with the two predecessors, but the story eventually picked up and became further intense the more it went along. The closing action fit the flow of the story well, and the ending itself fit the overall narrative the story quite well too.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book, and an ideal ending for the trilogy.

What a great conclusion to this political, epic fantasy trilogy! I thought everything was wrapped up well and Touraine and Luca had a satisfying ending. I’m a bit sad about Sabine tho 😩