Against a Crescent Storm - Review

Against a Crescent Storm (The Balkan Legends, # 3)

By: AL Sowards

Expected Publication: November 4, 2025 by Shadow Mountain Publishing

368 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The Serbs defied the world’s most powerful ruler, and now Danilo and Maja must fight to save their people and their newly forged love before the sultan exacts his revenge.

The Balkans, 1389

Three years ago, Danilo’s people won their freedom from the hated Ottoman Empire, but with enemies on every side, the Serbs’ hard-earned peace remains fragile. Knowing the sultan will soon come for revenge, Danilo sets out to gain key allies for the coming war—and to escape the haunting grief of personal loss.

War has orphaned Maja and her brother, but they’ve moved forward from the turbulent aftermath of battle by crafting religious mosaics. Yet after being cheated and robbed, they are desperate for help. Rescue comes from Danilo, the man who once saved them from slavery to the Turks. What begins as an offer for safe escort is soon complicated by threats from a Hungarian noble who suspects them of conspiracy and from Iskandar, an Ottoman spy consumed by a vendetta against Danilo and a dangerous obsession with Maja.

As their journey grows more perilous, Danilo and Maja are drawn together by shared grief and affection. Yet upon returning home, Danilo finds that his župan, unaware of Danilo’s growing emotional entanglement with Maja, plans to use Danilo’s hand in marriage as a tool to forge a crucial alliance. Danilo is soon torn between love for Maja and loyalty to his family and people.

As tensions escalate, sabotage and vicious rumors weaken Christian unity, and hope of victory in the Balkans grows dim. Allies and enemies converge on the fields of Kosovo, where an epic battle will shape the destiny of nations for centuries to come.

I've been looking forward to Danilo's story. He is the cousin to Konstanin, the main character of Beneath a Crescent Shadow, and the cousin and best friend of Ivan, the main character of Beyond the Crescent Sky. Danilo has been by Ivan's side from the beginning, and it's no different now. Danilo was married at some point during Beyond the Crescent Sky, but his wife and child died before the book was over. We never got too attached to their story as we just didn't see much of it. But it was an arranged marriage.

Against a Crescent Storm starts off with Maja and her brother seeking work. Their father was a mosaic artist that specialized in church scenes. Maja learned all from him, but being a woman and fairly young, she isn't offered many opportunities. Her parents were killed at the hands of Iksander in the previous book. Danilo and Ivan saved her and her brother, especially because Iksander wanted to capture Maja for his wife. A prisoner, slave wife anyway. Maja is terrified of Iksander, but she has so few options. She and her brother were almost captured on the road traveling to Sivi Gora looking for mosaic work. Surprisingly, Danilo and a group he was with saved her and her brother again.

Danilo starts with a desire to protect Maja and her brother. But through their repeated close proximity, he comes to see her in a deeper way. Yet things aren't smooth sailing for him. Being the cousin of a zupan means that Danilo will likely have to marry for a political alliance.

I was a little bummed that Iksander was still a part of the story. He was a great villian in that I hated him so much.

Favorite quotes:

-desire wasn’t the same as ability."

-He wanted revenge, and he wanted wealth. But more than those, he wanted to be important. He wanted to have influence and see his people grow into something grand.

A great statement for a villian to make.

-“Is it better to do what is wise or what is right?”

-There will always be threat, and there will always be evil. If you let them take you away from what you most want, what you most need, then you have given them an extra victory.”

-“It’s not our deaths themselves that we must offer up, just our willingness to sacrifice all for the sake of our people.

-Sometimes, we serve our cause best with our deaths. Other times, we serve our cause best with our lives. I am prepared to give either.”

-“Once rescued, and you never left my mind. Twice rescued, and you never left my heart. Thrice rescued, and I pray you will never leave my side.”

I have really developed a love for historical fiction. Yet this time isn't one that I've spent too much time learning about. These stories really show me how much I have to appreciate about the age I live in. Of course, all times and places have pros and cons. I appreciated the Christianity woven through this story.

Against a Crescent Storm was everything I hoped it would be. And I would love for AL Sowards to keep writing books in this time. Against a Crescent Storm get 4 Stars. Have you read Against a Crescent Storm? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for Against a Crescent Storm

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

Against a Crescent Storm (The Balkan Legends, # 3)

By: AL Sowards

Expected Publication: November 4, 2025 by Shadow Mountain Publishing

368 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The Serbs defied the world’s most powerful ruler, and now Danilo and Maja must fight to save their people and their newly forged love before the sultan exacts his revenge.

The Balkans, 1389

Three years ago, Danilo’s people won their freedom from the hated Ottoman Empire, but with enemies on every side, the Serbs’ hard-earned peace remains fragile. Knowing the sultan will soon come for revenge, Danilo sets out to gain key allies for the coming war—and to escape the haunting grief of personal loss.

War has orphaned Maja and her brother, but they’ve moved forward from the turbulent aftermath of battle by crafting religious mosaics. Yet after being cheated and robbed, they are desperate for help. Rescue comes from Danilo, the man who once saved them from slavery to the Turks. What begins as an offer for safe escort is soon complicated by threats from a Hungarian noble who suspects them of conspiracy and from Iskandar, an Ottoman spy consumed by a vendetta against Danilo and a dangerous obsession with Maja.

As their journey grows more perilous, Danilo and Maja are drawn together by shared grief and affection. Yet upon returning home, Danilo finds that his župan, unaware of Danilo’s growing emotional entanglement with Maja, plans to use Danilo’s hand in marriage as a tool to forge a crucial alliance. Danilo is soon torn between love for Maja and loyalty to his family and people.

As tensions escalate, sabotage and vicious rumors weaken Christian unity, and hope of victory in the Balkans grows dim. Allies and enemies converge on the fields of Kosovo, where an epic battle will shape the destiny of nations for centuries to come.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

Beyond the Crescent Sky - Review

Beyond the Crescent Sky (The Balkan Legends, # 2)

By: AL Sowards

Publication: January 7, 2025 by Shadow Mountain

368 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Helena is a healer. Ivan is her prisoner. Caught in the crossfire of war, they must choose: loyalty, or love.

The Balkans, 1383

A sudden conflict between Serbs and Greeks has forced Ivan to join his brother and fight with the Serbian army. On the battlefield, Ivan is wounded and captured by the hostile Greeks, becoming a hostage in a deadly bid for power.

Helena, a Greek midwife, is tasked to care for Ivan, a request that will not only test her healing abilities but also her loyalty. Though war has made her reluctant patient an enemy, she can’t help but forge a connection with him, yet falling in love with him could turn her world upside down and brand her a traitor.

As the Ottoman Empire extends its grip into the Balkans, events beyond their control force Ivan and Helena to choose between loyalty to their families and people or following the longings of their hearts.

Award-winning historical novelist A. L. Sowards creates an engaging world of overlords and spies, rebellions and battlefields, and forbidden love.

Ivan was easily a favorite secondary character from Beneath a Crescent Shadow. Then he was a young boy afflicted with a strange illness that regularly required him to be abed for periods. I think I remember breathing difficulties. I'm not sure what his illness would have been diagnosed as. Now he is a grown young man on the verge of his last summer with his older brother, Kostya, before moving to his grandfather's village to learn the role of chief basically. (Other terminology is used, but in case you're unfamiliar with it, I am trying to use terms that would easily translate into common understanding.) 

Ivan and Danillo, his cousin and best friend, are eager to prove themselves as men. And so they ride out to try to meet up with Kostya on his way home from serving the sultan. In doing so, they come upon an ambush against Kostya where their people suffer severe losses. Ivan can't hold back and joins the fray. He takes down several of the men against his family. Still in the end, he is injured and captured, even while Kostya, also injured, takes hostages of his own. 

Ivan is transported back to the village of the people who attacked. He is held as a prisoner, but it is determined that the goal is to trade him in the spring for the prisoners taken captive by Kostya's group. The men from this village captured are needed sorely. Yet, one of the casualties of the attack is the village doctor/surgeon. And Helena has been serving as a midwife has the only medical knowledge of anyone else in the village and must step up to help heal Ivan as well as take on the new task of being the village doctor. 

Ivan and Helena have a slow-building relationship. They aren't instant comrades, but even as slow as things were moving between them, the story didn't seem to lag. Yet what I thought would take the majority of the book was not the entirety of the story. And man will I say that things took a turn that I wasn't expecting. But I won't go there yet.

Ivan had a series of terrible things happen to him. It was getting to the point where I wondered how much more the poor man could take. His perseverance was admirable. And Helena too really. Her story goes in a direction that I didn't dare imagine and she handled the entire thing with grace and strength. 

There's an additional narrator POV of the enemy. I didn't enjoy his chapters even though they were necessary, of course. It was so easy to root against this scumbag. 

I will say that a couple of comments made in the story don't fit my personal understanding of Scripture--particularly about Jesus's return, but I think I fall into a minority in my view of these subjects. Time will tell. And interestingly, our understanding of Scripture can change over time even though Scripture itself doesn't change. There are things I once believed that I've changed my mind on. I wonder how much of the character's views are based upon the author's understanding versus what might have been the common understanding of someone living in this period. 

Favorite quotes:

-"Would you have told Daniel the same thing? To give in so that he might escape the lion's den?" "We do not ask you to cease your prayers or forget your loyalty to God." "You ask me to give my loyalty to a lord who isn't mine. I cannot do that."

-"Animals can be replaced with coin. Freedom, once lost, can only be won with blood."

-"Sometimes, it is not the absence of God's blessing but instead a lack of effort that keeps up from our desires."

-"Would you stand at the foot of the cross and tell the Christ to come down and walk away, to reject His purpose because it is not pleasant?"

-"Perhaps God Himself has sent you to me because you are needed."

-"Sometimes, you have to search diligently to find joy."

-"Esther did not seek her marriage either, but God used her to save her people. Perhaps in time, you, too, can be an influence for good on behalf of your people."

Beyond the Crescent Sky took me on a roller coaster ride. There were many highs and many lows. The loops and twists to get to the end were thrilling and sometimes painful. I rooted for Ivan and Helena. My heart broke for Danillo, and I can't wait to read his story next. It was so good to catch up with Kostya and Susan. And I can't wait to continue this series. Beyond the Crescent Sky was such a good and surprising book for me that it gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read Beyond the Crescent Sky? What did you think? Let me know!

Beneath a Crescent Shadow - Review

Beneath a Crescent Shadow (The Balkan Legends, # 1)

By: A.L. Sowards

Publication: June 4, 2024 by Shadow Mountain

351 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--After an arranged marriage, Konstantin and Suzana must find a way to meet the demands of a conquering Ottoman sultan amid a torrent of setbacks and dangers much closer to their Balkan home.

The Balkans, 1373

A devastating battle claimed the lives of Konstantin's father, uncle, and most of their Serb army, leaving him to rule as a vassal of the Ottoman sultan, a role he is wholly unprepared for. Between war, famine, and a persistent band of brigands, Konstantin is nearly bankrupt. He will need to find a wealthy bride to marry if he is to have any hope of saving his lands and securing his future.

A betrothal to Suzana, the daughter of a prosperous merchant, is soon arranged, and upon meeting her, Konstantin immediately feels hope that their marriage could someday grow into love. Yet, from the moment of Konstantin and Suzana's betrothal, enemies threaten their lives, outlaws prey on their lands, and the terrors of Suzana's abusive past haunt their fragile new relationship. As this onslaught of threats closes in, the two face challenges that will test their love, their faith, and their hope to save their people and win their freedom from the heavy weight of Ottoman oppression.

I've gotten interested in historical fiction, but I've stuck to mostly one period while reading. I have watched a few TV shows that are historical fiction not in the same period. So that encouraged me to branch out and try reading about the Ottoman Empire and The Balkans as this book is set in 1373. I did struggle in the beginning with the language because there's so much I don't know or understand about what things are called. The clothes they wore. Their armor. It's an entire language on its own. I've learned much about Regency England through many many books, so I tried to give myself grace with all the new to me terms.

One thing I have no issues getting hooked into is arranged marriages or marriages of convenience. Konstantin needs to marry for money. He needs the dowry that a wife can bring to him to protect his lands and his people. Suzana doesn't necessarily need to marry, but she wants to get out of her father's household. At the same time, her relationship with her father hasn't set her up for much knowledge about how a healthy relationship should be between a husband and wife. Her father is a wealthy merchant, so providing a dowry for her isn't difficult. But Suzana has a secret that might keep away prospective husbands. 

Suzana is a timid mouse. She's not been treated well and finds it hard to trust Konstantin. Konstantin can't figure out why she is so scared of him. But they haven't even returned to Konstantin's home before Suzana is attacked. Konstantin is being attacked on all sides. Someone is out to get him. That much is obvious. 

Favorite quotes:

-...tragedy does not make happiness impossible.

-"As much as I want to, I can't take away your fear. You have to ask God if He can take it from you or help you bear it."

-Sometimes life was like that. Compromise. Balancing different wants and needs into something that would work, even if it wasn't perfect for anyone.

-"Death is not better than hardship."

-"Hope doesn't have to be practical in order to be real, in order to be just. The timing is not right, not now. Maybe not for years. But that doesn't mean we stop dreaming of it."

-"You do not have to be invincible to have my love. And you don't have to be without sin to have God's forgiveness."

-"I know what it is to be haunted by the past, but, Kostya, the past doesn't have to hold hostage your future."

I ended up really enjoying Beneath a Crescent Shadow. The Christian elements were so enjoyable. I love seeing characters that are real and that struggle. And I love it when books don't shy away from the hard questions or the difficult subjects. Sometimes we just don't have all the answers. Beneath a Crescent Shadow was so much better than I was expecting it to be. I loved the characters, main and secondary. And I can't wait to see what happens with Ivan's story next. Beneath a Crescent Shadow gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read Beneath a Crescent Shadow? What did you think? Let me know!