The Shield of Serl Raven-Eye

After the events at the end of the first book the remaining few at the fort decide to try and kill Serina before she can attack again knowing that they will not survive another assault by the islanders and the ghouls that Serina has raised from the undead. Most of the soldiers loyal to the Dains have been killed, there are only a few left and most of them are old but the all willingly join together to try and destroy Serina. They lose many others before they reach Serina’s resting place and Owen and Dilan finally find her resting under a pile of their dead comrades and work to uncover her so that they can kill her with the sword, Sight-Bringer but they don’t realize how much time has passed and how close it is to sunset. Finally they are able to stab her in the heart with the sword, but it doesn’t work; instead she manages to break it. Owen grabs the broken sword and Lady Danika and runs as Serina reaches for Dilan. They are devastated that they were unable to kill Serina, the sword was supposed to be able to destroy her. Are the legends wrong or is there another reason it did not work?

They flee to the shore where Danika plans to steal a boat so they can sail to the kingdom and warn the King that Serina is on her way but they are pursued by islanders who have joined forces with Serina and they know that as soon as the sun fully sets that she will send other undead creatures after them and they are determined not to be taken alive. They manage to steal a small boat but they are sunk and rescued by the Fenyir pirate chieftain, Fioni Ice-Bound who refuses their pleas to take them to their kingdom but instead takes them to her father so he can decide what to do with them.

Will they be able to convince the powerful Red Wolf of the danger that is coming and get his help? Serina is determined to retrieve the sword and to punish the last surviving relative of the man who tried to kill her so many years ago and to punish those who did not help her in the last fight.

While I did enjoy this story and there were answers to some of the questions I had from the first book, there are still many unanswered questions that I feel would add to the enjoyment of the story. I can understand why Serina chose to become a blood fiend; she knew that was the only way she would be able to avenge the death of her brother and father and destroy the king who had tricked them into to coming by pledging their safety. The reader is told that there is madness in the family and that it is stronger among the women who also possess the magic and we know that Serina was and still is a powerful necromancer; that is why she is able to reanimate the corpses of those who have died and that the dark god she worshipped made her a blood fiend as a gift. Why was she so honored? There were others who worshipped him and would have done anything to get the same opportunity. What made her so special, what did she offer him, why weren’t other worshippers given the gift? Wouldn’t she have been stronger of other necromancers or those with other talents were on her side instead of just those she turned or made blood slaves? While I look forward to reading the next book I don’t think that I’ll get any more answers than have already been given in the first two books in this series.

4.25/5 STARS: **I want to thank the author and/or publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are mine.**