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

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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!