Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Of Last Resort

SERIES:  Princes of the Blood #1

AUTHOR:  Megan Derr

PUBLISHER:  Less Than Three Press

LENGTH:  235 pages

BLURB:  In a kingdom ravaged by the beasts and terrors of an ancient war, the only hope against them is the army of mixed-blood beings known as the King’s Legion: dragoons, shadowmarch, sorcerers, titans… and the Princes of the Blood, nigh-invincible warriors of fearsome magic and strength, their only weakness a need for pure human blood.

When his brother runs away, Raffé agrees to undergo the Blooding, but he is a pale imitation of his strong, capable brother. No one expects him to survive and become a Prince, merely to die to save the rest of his family and preserve honor.

But runaways and weaklings are the least of the kingdom’s concerns when an ancient evil returns with new tricks, and their only hope lies with knowledge long lost and a fierce bond forged in darkness…

REVIEW:  

When I was in sixth grade we were forced to undertake a dissection of a frog.  I’ll leave out a lot of the squidgy details, but let’s just say that it was pretty much a forgone conclusion after that, that I wouldn’t be becoming a doctor when I grew up.  But after all of the cutting and pinning was finished, and all the “oh my god oh my god oh my god ewewewewew!!!” was done, I was left peering over the shoulder of my lab partner and down at something both incredibly foreign and strangely familiar.  I remember being drawn in by that odd arrangement of organs, by the way the dye made the little froggy heart look as red as any valentine, and found my (fully gloved) finger pressing against that heart, trying to make it beat once again.  It is an odd thing to feel the heart of another (once) living thing, and be the one in control of its fragile (if pointless) heartbeats.

After finishing this book, I’m feeling a lot closer to the frog than the finger (…and there’s a sentence you don’t hear every day).

Raffé didn’t expect his brother to take a runner the day before his Blooding.  By all appearances, his brother is a perfect specimen for becoming a Prince of the Blood, in the same way that Raffé is…not.  But his family must offer a son, and though no one expects him to actually live through the Blooding, Raffé is all they got left.  So Raffé can either take his brother’s place, and die a particularly painful death if the Blooding fails…or he can die, along with the rest of his family as traitors.  It is not really much of a choice, but an honorable sacrifice all the same.

But if Raffé thought that this would be his last sacrifice demanded of him, he is sadly mistaken.  For an evil is growing in the kingdom, and Raffé may have to give everything, once again, to keep it from consuming the world, and everything that Raffé once loved.

Oh, Megan Derr…how you do love to play with my fragile little heart.  *sigh*

This book is not fluffy.  It is not cute.  It is a ride through heartbreak and loss–and a love that does not always equal a happy-ever-after.  It is also so very damn good.

I am not ashamed (though, maybe a little embarrassed) to admit that this book had me by the heartstrings from almost the get go.  As Raffé stood outside the stone-maze and listened to his (asshole) ex-fiancé, I was all ready to break down.  Now, maybe I was in a mopy mood to begin with, but Raffé’s sacrifice and the cost of it was truly well written.  You did not pity him, but you sure did feel for him.  And when Cambord showed up, you wanted to be Raffé, if only for the night.  Dear me, but that was hot.

The mystery of Cambord was lovely.  Though you eventually figure it out, it is not an automatic thing.  I really loved that it wasn’t who I originally thought it was, and so, when the mystery was revealed, I was very very pleased.  I liked being shocked, and I like seeing two men who fit so well together, finally realize that they are in love.  Even if that love may end up being the thing that hurts the most.

And while his real identity shall remain nameless, on my part, I have to say that Cambord was a great character.  I enjoyed his section of the story, and his connection with Raffé was perfect.  Even though it was that connection that cost him so very much.  When it became clear what he was to sacrifice, there might have been some screams (er…whimpers) of frustration going on–’cause that was so not right–but mostly it was just sad.  Sad that this too would have to be another sacrifice.  And that what would later be asked of him…that was just cruel.

Sacrifice is a really big theme in this book.  On both sides of the fight.  Evil demands the sacrifice of blood and life to open that which should have remained closed.  And to fight that evil, a sacrifice of love, and hope, and life is demanded to keep the gates of hell closed.  Everything it seems, here, is paid with by blood.  Either willing or not.  At some point you start think that the creators of these gates were particularly cruel, to demand so much to not only open the gates, but to keep them closed.

“I asked her why, if it was so bloody important that we keep everyone alive, did we keep demanding that people die to do it? Was that not counterproductive ? And she said the most powerful and dangerous things were locked up behind doors of death with keys of pain in the hopes that people would realize life was far too precious and the power was not worth the price. That when that proves to be true, we will truly begin to drive back this hell we’ve brought to earth.”

But it seems that people have not learned enough.  And so the blood must be spilt, and the sacrifices must be made.  While this certainly did a number on my heart, I loved that the idea was so pervasive in the story.  All the different shades of sacrifice, all the times that it must be given, it really made it so that you never knew who was going to be required to offer what.  And you most definitely didn’t have a clue if anyone was going to be still standing after the final round.

I was a little sad to find out who the traitor was (no, I’m not telling you that either).  I didn’t exactly understand why he did it, because was the cost really going to be worth thereward?  It seemed like such an extreme reaction to what happened.  Maybe if we had spent more time with him in the story, it would have seemed more natural, but as it was I was just equal parts shocked and puzzled.

Once again, another lovely/wonderful/heartbreaking story by Megan Derr.  I loved the world that this takes place in, and while I would have enjoyed learning more about it, I never felt so lost that I didn’t know which way was up.  And the various creatures and people in this world were just fun.  So much variety and so many chances for stories to grow out of all these men.  I can’t wait to see what happens to them next.  It will probably strive to hurt as much as it heals, though…not that I would have it any other way.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Less Than Three  ::  Amazon  ::  ARe