Week 41 Review: These Rebel Waves, These Divided Shores

From Goodreads:
A thrilling new fantasy series—full of deadly magic, double crosses, and a dangerous quest in a new world—from Sara Raasch, the New York Times bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes series.

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Agrid, a country ruled by religion.

But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray's new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something dangerous is at work.

Devereux is a pirate. As one of the stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he scavenges the island's magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat's abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.

Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray's forbidden magic. When Ben's father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid's fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he's building his own pyre.

As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are . . . and what they are willing to become for peace.

From Goodreads:
The thrilling sequel to These Rebel Waves—full of deadly magic, double crosses, and a revolution—from Sara Raasch, the bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes series.

As a child, she committed unforgivable acts to free Grace Loray from King Elazar of Argrid. Now Elazar's plan to retake the island has surpassed Lu's darkest fears: he's holding her and his son, Ben, captive in an endlessly shifting prison, forcing them to make a weapon that will guarantee Elazar's success. Escape is impossible—unless Lu becomes the ruthless soldier she hoped never to be again.

Vex failed to save Lu and Ben—and that torments him as much as his Shaking Sickness. With the disease worsening, Vex throws himself into the rebellion against Argrid. The remaining free armies are allied with the stream raider syndicates—and getting them to cooperate will take a strength Vex thought burned on a pyre six years ago.

Imprisoned, betrayed, and heartbroken, Ben is determined to end his father's rampage. Watching Elazar sway the minds of Grace Loray as he did those of Argrid, Ben knows he has to play his father's game of devotion to win this war. But how can a heretic prince defeat the Pious God?

As armies clash and magic rises, Lu, Vex, and Ben will confront their pasts . . . or lose their futures forever.

My Review:
I really enjoyed reading this series! The world with the magical plants found only on this one island, with politics and rebellions and religion was just so great to read! Plus we had the various perspectives with Lu as a former rebel, Vex as a steam raider, and Ben being the heir to the worst religion and country around. It was so great to read!

On one hand, I could see that Argrid's religion was basically populated by fanatics, so it was easy to see why Grace Loray rebelled. On the other, Grace Loray didn't quite make the best of their freedom, they were pretty judgmental and didn't set up the perfect system that Lu fought for and thought that she had. So she had a lot to learn there, which was too bad, that it wasn't what she thought.

I did read the ending of These Rebel Waves before I finished the book. And I regret that, because knowing how it ended, well, that ending pushed one of my buttons, of captivity, and that really slowed down my reading, because things were going pretty well, and I knew they wouldn't end that way, so I didn't want to read it. I got through it, but yeah, wish I hadn't been forewarned, because the start of the next book gets into the action fairly quickly. So if I hadn't have known, then I would've just breezed right through reading these books! 

These Divided Shores, I was basically on the edge of my seat the entire time. I just wanted to know how they were going to make it OK again, and I just couldn't put it down! These characters go through a lot, and I was really satisfied with how it ended. Sure, there's work to be done, but there's hope, and that's a great ending!

This was a really great series, I enjoyed reading both of these books, and I can't wait to read more by Sara Raasch!

Author: Sara Raasch
Series: Steam Raiders #1, 2
Read: October 4th, 4th, 2020
Source: Bought/Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love her writing, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2020 Books and WoW Books! And These Divided Shores is a End of Series 2020 Book and RR Book!
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: August 7th 2018, August 27th 2019

These Rebel Waves:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

These Divided Shores:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars