Review: Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) by Melina Marchetta

Hardcover, 528 pages

Published: April 23rd, 2013 by Candlewick Press (US)

Source: ALAMW

There's a babe in my belly that whispers the valley, Froi. I follow the whispers and come to the road . . .

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi must travel through Charyn to search for Quintana, the mother of Charyn's unborn king, and protect her against those who will do anything to gain power. But what happens when loyalty to family and country conflict? When the forces marshalled in Charyn's war gather and threaten to involve the whole of the land, including Lumatere, only Froi can set things right, with the help of those he loves.

Spoiler free for the series.
This is a book that I was so excited to write a review for because I felt so much.  My emotions have never been so all over the place.  No book has ever made me laugh and cry and scream and holler and feel so much (except the book previous to this one, Froi of the Exiles).  It's rare to find a series that brings out so much emotion.  That has your heart pounding erratically the ENTIRE 528 pages.  And while I found myself super eager to share all the feels I felt, once I started writing about this book I discovered it's just not as easy as I thought.  Because there are no words to describe how this book made me feel.  I think about this book and I cry.  That's how strongly it impacted me.

This series doesn't just follow the people that are what we would consider the main characters.  Finnikin of the Rock isn't just about Finn (though more so then the next two), Froi of the Exiles is not just about Froi, we also get to see what's going on with everyone else in all these different places.  And this book was the same.  While you would expect the book to have more about Quintana than anyone else, it doesn't really.  Actually it felt like she had the least amount of page time.  It doesn't matter though, because it's perfect how it is.  However, it's also incredibly frustrating.  You get to the end of one heart pounding chapter and there's a crazy insane thing that happens and then the next chapter we're with another group of people and we have to wait to see what happens.  I told you, it's hard to put down!

This whole series messes with you when it comes to the bad guys and the good guys cause the line is blurred for everyone (well, most everyone).  We see things from so many different angles that people we love to death we also see from the other side and discover they aren't as great as we thought.  But there's a reason for that, which we saw when we were with them originally.  Yikes, that sounds a bit confusing.  Just trust me when I say, you just never know how things might go.  And when a character you love is going on a journey to kill another character you love and you know it's just because of a miscommunication and misunderstanding it is SO hard to read it.  I mean it's hard to not jump ahead to see what happens!  To see if everyone survives because really, all they have to do is TALK!  The thing is, no one trusts anyone.  No one knows if someone is betraying them.  Except us.  Us, as the reader, see all the different sides and can only hope everyone can find a way to get along.

This book wraps up the series PERFECT.  There are no loose ends, but yet things don't seem rather 'convenient' either.  It's all just feels right, like it's all how it should be.

Anyway, all I can really say about this series is FREAKING READ IT PEOPLE!  Seriously.  If you enjoy high fantasy, this series is NOT to be missed!

 Disclosure: I received this book free of charge at ALAMW.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.