The Offering: A Pledge Novel (Pledge Trilogy, #3)

by Kimberly Derting

When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom. But is she walking into a trap set by Sabara, the evil former queen of Ludania?

When a peace agreement goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom. The plot contains explicit sexual situations and graphic violence. Book #3

• ISBN10: 1442445637
• ISBN13: 9781442445635
• Publish Date: 6 January 2015 (first published 31 December 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

I remember loving the other two books in the series. Why did this one fall so far? Review to come.

[bookishzelda]

Wow. Well the book started out with quite a bang. Wow, I had to put the book down for a minute after reading the prologue. I quickly went back because then I had to know more but still.

This is book 3 in the series so I will avoid spoilers for this book but there will be some if you haven’t read book 1 and 2. Beware.

It’s amazing to me how much Charlie has grown from The Pledge to now The Offering. In The Essence we saw her being a lot more timid and reserved as she was trying to navigate through being a new Queen and dealing with Sabara/Layla’s essence inside of her. I felt like in this book she really comes into her own. Where she was barely riding a horse and falling face first into the mud during Zafir’s combat lessons, she now is...well she still has trouble with horses but she is more able to defend herself. She still can make rash impulsive decisions but she learns from them and by the ending of the book it’s like she blooms. I loved how her character developed.

I did miss some characters like Zafir who had a smaller role in this book but we get to know other characters better like Eden. I can’t say I became her super fan or anything but it nice to get to see some other sides of her. I also love Brooklyn and getting in her head is always fun. She is such a tough cookie. Max takes on his usual subtle role which just shows Charlie doesn’t need a guy to protect her. I really liked that we got to see more of Sage. It totally changed my view of her. There are many characters in this series but I never felt like they were fighting for your attention or underdeveloped. I felt like I got to know each character enough and of course I wouldn’t mind some novellas on a few, like Sage. Even though Charlie is obviously the main focus I felt like the story was shared among the characters and made it feel well rounded.

I love the world that has been built with the kingdoms. We once again venture out from the palace and get to experience more parts of Ludania. We saw a lot of the Scablands in book 2 and now we are seeing a lot of the coastal region. I thought it was cool how that Charlie gets to venture out into these areas rather than having them just refered to as she holes up in her palace. I want to know more though!! I want to visit the other kingdoms!! More spinoffs, more novellas, more writing….well I guess I shouldn’t walking around making demands. Ha ha.

There were plenty of intense moments. Like I said the prologue had me dropping the book on the ground but there were other parts where I felt like I couldn’t slow down my eyes. I was going to give myself whiplash flying through the pages like I was. Especially the last 100 there is no way I could have taken a break from that.

So yes this was an excellent 3rd installment of the series and I was very happy with it. My inner fantasy girl really enjoyed these books. Magic, Queendoms, Murder and cutie pie guys, you can’t go wrong with that.