I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
The Warrior by Sarah Fine Series: The Immortal Dealers #3
Published by 47North on 2019-03-26
Length: 250 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2019, 2019 Finishing the Series Challenge, 2019 New Release Challenge
For those who deal in the fate of the world, salvation and destruction are not games of chance.
Ernestine “Ernie” Terwilliger never intended to live among the Immortal Dealers, much less to be party to an ongoing battle where the fate of humanity is in the draw of a card. And the stakes have gotten only higher now that a shady new Forger has been crowned.
Virginia may be in charge of creating the chaos that makes the universe tick, but her assignments have been noble—each one in the aid of strangers. But when Ernie discovers Virginia’s true purpose, she realizes it’s going to take an entirely new kind of play to stop her.
The game changer lies within a mysterious artifact dredged from the ocean. To unlock its powers, Ernie and her partner, Gabe, must traverse dangerous new realms and uncover the history of Forgers past. Joined in a tenuous alliance with a former enemy and stalked by old friends turned lethal foes, Ernie had better play her cards right—because this time, the whole universe could be destroyed in the shuffle.
I don’t know where to begin. The Warrior by Sarah Fine is not at all what I expected it to be. In fact, I’m a little disappointed. I never thought I’d say that about The Immortal Dealers. My disappointment stems from the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m going to be intentionally vague. The entire series is building to this showdown with the Forger. Literally it lasts about 3 pages before everything is wrapped up in nice bow. Not cool y’all!
At the opening of The Warrior, Ernie is adjusting to her new life and struggling with guilt over things that happened in previous books. Not to mention she’s running from her feelings for Gabe, scared of how big they are and the danger they find themselves in constantly as Dealers. Ernie has been a favorite character of mine from the opening of the series. I like her strength and resilience. But it isn’t just those things that draw me to her, it’s her loyalty and her drive for fairness to all that gets me. She is loyal to a fault to other dealers who would leave her on her own if necessary. It’s her greatest weakness but also her greatest strength.
Virginia is a formidable foe in her new role as Forger. She presents herself as wanting peace, turning over a new leaf, etc & etc. BUT it’s all a trick to get the Dealers to do her dirty work, and Ernie and Gabe won’t stand for it. When approached by the Hyena dealer to find the missing Sunrise relic, Ernie goes. But it will take more than just the relic to defeat Virginia, and Ernie must rely on her former allies to do so.
Y’all I don’t know how to go on without spoilers. I’m doing my best here though. The book could really be split into two plot points. The first centered around Virginia and the Sunrise relic and the second around a mystery woman who appears with a Dealer thought dead. I can say that my emotions were all over the place and I was invested in what was happening and what was coming at the characters. However as I already mentioned, I was really disappointed in the ending. It felt rushed and too neat for characters who have been through so much. Don’t get me wrong, I love a HEA as much as the next reader, but this didn’t feel right. AND it’s the last in the series which makes it worse.
Overall I have loved The Immortal Dealers, but The Warrior was just okay. It was ending to the series, and if you have enjoyed the series up to this point, I feel like you should see it to its end. And who knows? Maybe you’ll feel different than me.
About Sarah Fine
Sarah Fine is a clinical psychologist and the author of the GUARDS OF THE SHADOWLANDS series, as well as other young adult novels and the adult fantasy novel MARKED.
She was born on the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast, where she lives with her husband and two children.
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