Shadow & Storms (The Legends of Thezmarr, # 4)
By: Helen Scheuerer
Publication: June 20, 2024 by Alchemy
420 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Magic
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Goodreads description--“She was ready to shed blood, ready to take back what was hers.”The time has come to make one last stand against the forces of cursed men and monsters. But Thea’s enemies are only getting stronger. With allies divided and an outnumbered army, she must race against her own fate to secure the future of the midrealms – or die trying.
A prophecy is looming, and Thea’s life is in the balance. Does she have the power to cheat death itself?
Love and loyalty will be tested. Bonds will fracture forever. But all must fight for a better world.
In the final war for survival, will Thea and Wilder emerge victorious? Or will the shadows consume them at last?
Fans of Fourth Wing, The Witcher and The Bridge Kingdom, brace yourselves for sizzling romance, found family and heart-pounding battles in Shadow & Storms, the epic finale to The Legends of Thezmarr.
Shadow & Storms was literally the first book I read in 2025. Yet, the last day of May is when I finally sat down to write my review of it. Needless to say, this won't be my best work. I have forgotten so much. I vaguely remember that Fate & Furies also ended in a small cliffhanger. This was nothing compared to the cliffhanger of Vows & Ruins.
***This is the last warning you will have that spoilers for the previous three books in the series are ahead. Proceed at your own risk.***
Thea is now a Warsword. Wilder has been taken captive by Artos. War is looming. Thankfully, Thea goes to rescue Wilder pretty early in the book. I would have hated for the book to drag on with them being separated after the time they spent apart in Fate & Furies.
Thea, Wilder, Wren, Kipp, Cal, Torj, Talemir, Drue, Anya, and all of the others are mapping out the war. Who are the real enemies? Is Artos working alone? Who will we lose in battle? What about Thea's fate stone? The year on her stone is fast approaching. Will she have to say goodbye to everyone she loves after all? Will she have to say goodbye to Wilder again?
I will say that I liked the way that Helen Scheuerer worked the fate stone. I agreed with the approaching goodbye that Wilder and Thea were facing. I've felt that way before--missing someone before they're even gone. I'm sure many can relate. I liked the build-up between Torj and Wren. And I'd like to say that I'm eager to delve into their story. If I'd been writing this book review back in January when I finished this book, I could easily have said exactly that. Except, I've already read the first book in their series. And I want more.
Favorite quotes:
-‘If they discover who you’re after, they’ll know it was you. No doubt Artos already suspects your loyalty lies elsewhere. And if you use too much storm magic, any remaining cover you have will be blown. They’ll know that the heir of Delmira and Althea Zoltaire are one and the same. The world will know exactly who you are, and who’s important to you.’ ... ‘Then the world will know that if they hurt him, I’ll burn them all to the ground.’ Talemir nodded. ‘So be it.’
-She broke away, panting. ‘I love you,’ she gasped, refusing to tear her eyes away from him. ‘I love you so much I can hardly breathe. I’ve wanted to say it for so long—’...‘I’ll tell you every day until my last,’ she murmured.
-‘You’re dead anyway,’ she promised. ‘But touch him again, I dare you.’
-‘I am the storm,’
-‘You never need to thank me,’ Wilder told her. ‘I will always fight for you. And it’s my honour to do so.’
-‘Who would have thought Thezmarr’s most useless shieldbearer would be here planning our fights for us.’ ‘You were always slow off the mark,’ Kipp said casually.
-‘Promise me never again. Whatever we do from here on out, we do together.’ ‘I don’t think Kipp’s battle plans—’ ‘Not on the battlefield. In life,’ he said. ‘Where you go, I go, from now on.’
-But to anticipate the grief so intensely… It meant he loved just as hard, just as fiercely. Wilder knew he was lucky to have experienced a love so great, however quickly it would be ripped from him.
-Thea patted him on the shoulder. ‘You’ll slowly learn that of the three Embervale sisters, Wren is the one to fear the most.’
-‘It’s yours. The Laughing Fox is mine, or will be one day. And I don’t mean to see it overrun by shadow any time soon. I will not go quietly into the [...] darkness… Will you?’
-‘If this is to be our final stand, let us make it worthy of legend!’
-‘We are all daughters of darkness, Thea. We were born into a world of it, a place that would dictate the way in which we defend ourselves, the way we live our lives. No more. That world is no longer. And the next one will be what we make it.’
-‘You can do this. You were forged with blood and steel, with lightning and thunder… You were made for this war, made to end it, and you will, for all of us. When I first saw you spying on the Warsword meeting atop the cliffs, I sensed it in you even then.’ Tears lined Thea’s eyes. ‘What?’ ‘Greatness,’ he told her.
-For the first time in a long time, he realised that beneath the festering darkness, the world had been beautiful, and it would be again.
I had a couple of other quotes, but they were spoilers.
Ultimately, Shadow & Storms was a great ending to a great series. I'm giving Shadow & Storms 4.5 Stars. Thea and Wilder's relationship ranks with some of my favorites (Xaden & Violet, Rhysand & Feyre, Aelin & Rowan, etc). Language and on-page spice is always a little much for me, but the plot makes skipping and skimming totally worth it for me. Have you read Shadow & Storm? What did you think? Let me know!
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