A Vicious Game

Keera is despairing and defeated after the events of A Shadow Crown and turns to wine to drown her sorrows and keep the nightmares at bay. Gerarda, however, remains hopeful that there are surviving halflings to rescue, and she forces Keera to resume training and plan an attack on the palace. Soon a full-blown war erupts as Keera seeks to release the magic that the fae suppressed long ago, but Damien continues to fight them every step of the way and has found new and terrible ways to try to thwart them. This third entry in the usually action-packed “Halfling Saga” series starts slowly, and it’s painful to watch Keera become addicted to alcohol again and distance herself from those who love her. Once her strength and hope return, though, the story quickly picks up the pace, with her magic on full display and some impressively unexpected twists revealed.