★★★★★
What happens after a happily ever after? The latest is the Rising Wave Series takes place years after Queen Ava and Chosen Luc Commander have brought their two peoples together. At first I am a little confused because I not only do not know the main characters but I don't know what exactly is happening. Since I ready everything Ms. Diener writes, I plowed forth. Within the first chapter, I realize what is going on and it is bad. This story can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading the books previous to understand how bad this situation is because it brings back horrible memories for an entire generation of people. And some of them even suffer through a bit of PTSD trauma. Sadness. I love how Ms. Diener immediately invokes strong emotions in this story.
Theo's people's past if fraught with betrayals and cruelty. With the new royal regime, life is better and there are some absolute truths. Do not kidnap their children. The book kicks off with a dire situation that becomes even worse than the book blurb describes. I am outraged with what has happened and fortunately, the story pace moves quickly to rescuing the kidnapped children. The story does not meander around the injustices of stealing children. It is a tightly focused, "we must SAVE the children". Nicely woven into this story is another character that I didn't remember much about until the ties from her past were brought forward. At that point, I'm feeling a certain burst of happiness for this connection to past stories. The way the events parallels in a variance of historical events is beautifully done by Ms. Diener.
I loved the characters in this book. I loved the quest like feel of this fantasy. I especially loved seeing Eva and Luc again, this time older and as parents. This story went by all too fast for me and I want to go back and read it again. This is a must read and a keeper. Highly recommend this fantasy for readers who enjoy characters who become heroes.
* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
