Southern Sun, Northern Star

This book was something. It was a great ending to the Glass Alliance trilogy. The amount of plot twist and plot rewinds in this book does get a bit confusing yet thrilling. I went through multiple emotional breakdowns and the book really brings light on war and it’s effects on both the victors and the losers.

”War is not loneliest for the dead, or the disappeared.” We are finally to the end, and every shed tear, every smile of joy and gasp of shock has paid off. This is far and beyond, one of the best stories I’ve ever read – beautifully told in all of its haunting glory – and I just want to recommend it across the world to all who will listen. “This one, right here!” I’ll point and say. “This is the one you need to read.” From the very first page, of the first book, the Glass Alliance series is a soul-stirring and passionately written story of love, war, family and sacrifice. Athan and Ali are twin stars hurtling across the universe for each other, always on the razor’s edge, their journey inevitable. I long to see Ali and Athan’s story shared amongst readers like me, who look at our world – our past, our present and our future – and think of all who have been lost and those they’ve left behind. Those who have crawled and fought their way for something better and those who look out to the horizon and wonder, “What if?” For that is this story at its heart. And it will forever live in my heart of hearts. This series starts with a naive Princess who believes herself untouchable and a pilot that’s a General’s son who wants nothing to do with his father’s war. But as we know, war is waged by the old, but it is the youth who most suffer. Despite their undying love for each other, the Princess and pilot find themselves on opposite ends of a world war and conflicts decades in the making. Over seas and mountains and crumbling cities, they fight to hold on to each other and their vision for a better future. But with that fight comes the sting of betrayal and the pulling of countless triggers. ”Can we betray and love at once? I’m beginning to think so.” If there’s one thing that has always called to me, it’s the stories of the people who experienced the World Wars. The people who would otherwise be forgotten, had their stories not been recorded for generations to come. The Glass Alliance series is a fantasy that is clearly inspired by the stories of those people and it’s clear how sincerely Hathaway strove to put them to page and give a voice to those forgotten by history. From the refugees, to the resistance fighters, to the soldiers and sailors and pilots who only wish to go home, it’s all here and it’s profound in its account. When I reviewed the first book, I mentioned how it reminded me of Atonement – and this series still does (albeit with a different kind of ending 😉). We are first introduced to the story with a prologue that clearly takes place in the future and we know that the characters have experienced immense pain and loss to get to that point. We finally reach that prologue scene in this book and damn if I didn’t have a sob in my throat throughout the whole thing. But there is also SO much love in this book as well. It’s a desperate, wild sort of love, that knows the world would rather crush it under its heel, but it’s a love that still sprouts and grows and spreads under that weight. I love Athan and Ali’s story so much, but also the stories of all the other characters in this series: Cyar, Kalt, Tirza, Elan, Leannya, Reni, Fenn, Lark, Trigg, Mati, Arrin and so many others. Needless to say, I see kindred hearts in the characters within these pages and am so glad Hathaway brought us their stories. I hope that others will find them and come to love them as much as I do. Eyes on the horizon, always. Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an early review.