Review--Wyvernhail by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

HAI HAS ALWAYS been an outsider. With a falcon mother and a deceased cobra father, she is considered a mongrel by most, an ally by some, and a friend by few. Hai's broken falcon wings are a painful reminder of the life she once led on the island of Ahnmik. And here in Wyvern's Court, the avian and serpiente royal family keep their distance, refusing to acknowledge her cobra bloodline. They know that Hai's magic is so volatile, she can barely control it, and images of the past and future threaten to overwhelm her.
 
When Hai's cousin, Oliza Shardae Cobriana, abdicates the throne of Wyvern's Court, Hai has visions only of destruction: the serpiente king Salem, dying in her arms; the dutiful guard, Nicias, unable to save a generation of children; and Wyvern's Court engulfed in flames. Now Hai will do anything to protect her new home - even if it means betraying the very people who need her most.

In this stunning conclusion to the series The Kiesha'ra, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes captures the hopes an dreams of the shapeshifters as they fight to preserve their most cherished gift: freedom.

So Wyvernhail, the final book in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes The Kiesha'ra series ended up being a one day read! Yay? Yes, sadly, this book brought upon more confusion for myself. Even though it picks up pretty much where Wolfcry left off, this time with Hai at the helm.

Hai was a difficult character to get a grasp of. She wasn't insane, but she did have visions nearly every time she touched someone, or even just a vision of its own occurrence. And these sometimes made it hard to discern vision from reality. Then there were her dreams which made it even more confusion.

Basically, we still has dissension in the ranks of Wyvern Hall. Oliza is off living with the Obsidian with her new mate, and a new Serpiente ruler has been chosen as well as Avian. But nearly right away, Hai has a vision of the Serpiente ruler being murdered. And before she can do anything to prevent it, it happens and more chaos ensues among the people.

This becomes a very political type read as Hai realizes she will have to do things in order to save the people she's grown to consider her own. And friends just might become enemies.

I think one of the reasons why this series has been so hard for me with its later titles, is that world gets overly detailed. There are sooo many vocab words that I never know the meaning of. They just get tossed out and I trip up several times trying to figure out what's going on. And since the language is used sporadically throughout the book, it makes the entire book a bit of a pickle to read! Let alone trying to keep all the names straight and what "side" they are on.

There was a bit of romance in this one as well, but it was brief and fleeting. I barely had time to be swept up in a lingering moment before more confusion puddles up!

I can't honestly say I'd recommend reading this series. Though I did really, really enjoy the first installment Hawksong! And Snakecharm was a pretty good followup. I think it was the introduction of new characters that led me astray from enjoying the series. The people who were once the main characters are barely side characters here. And I was quite upset with how things turned out with them. I like to say things ended happily, but this is one where I am just left utterly confused. I read this one mainly to finish the series and out of loyalty to an author who literally began my paranormal obsession. I plan to read her new series and hope that since a few years are between this one and the new one, language barriers won't be a problem and I will fall in love with a new world and characters like I did once before long ago!


Overall Rating 2/5 stars