Graevale by Lynette Noni Series: The Medoran Chronicles #4
Published by Pantera Press on January 25th 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 454
Source: My copy
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“Light or dark, only one can win. This world cannot survive in shades of grey."
Now that Aven Dalmarta sits upon the throne of Meya, Alex must race against the clock to save the rest of Medora from the Rebel Prince’s wrath. Haunted by an unspeakable vision of the future, Alex and her friends set out to warn the mortal races. But making allies out of ancient enemies proves difficult.
With her nights spent deep in the Library under the guidance of a mysterious new mentor, Alex is desperate to strengthen her gift and keep all those she loves safe.
Because in a world where nothing is certain, she is sure of only one thing: Aven is coming.
The fourth and penultimate book in Lynette Noni’s Medoran Chronicles, Graevale, has been highly anticipated since the dramatic end of book three. This review contains spoilers for the earlier books in the series, so you might like to read my review of book one, Akarnae instead. If not, read on!
Alex is back at Akarnae after returning to the present time, with the knowledge that Aven has taken over Meya and is bent on destroying the mortal races. Alex knows that Aven is coming, but she must first convince the different races of Medora of the threat Aven poses, and gain their allegiance for the coming battle.
The first half of this book is steadily paced, with Alex as frustrated as I was at the lack of progress. There’s a lot of training, then travelling. The chance to see other parts of Medora and the other races was a tantalising, but short glimpse into the rest of Medora. I would have loved to spend longer exploring the underwater city of the Flips, or the treetop city of the Jarnocks. I enjoyed the Alex’s adventures in Graevale, though, and I would totally adopt a shadow wolf too, no matter what my family said.
The battle does come, though, and it’s fantastic and terrible. Alex is really coming into her abilities and gathering her allies, and the series feels like it’s building up into an epic conclusion. The last few chapters are a rollercoaster. Make sure you’ve got a tissue handy.
Okay, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I’m not super-fond of Kaiden. This seems to be a trend for me – I don’t usually like perfect, handsome and selfless love interests. I think I’m sticking with #teamAven at this point! I have no idea at this point whether Aven can be redeemed, or if he even should be, but I am kind of rooting for him. Does that make me a bad person?
I cannot wait to find out what happens in book five, Vardaesia. Don’t forget, there’s also the three Medoran novellas coming later this year that will be collected in We Three Heroes. And since Lynette is such a busy lady, she’s about to release the first book in her new series, Whisper!
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