Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Kalong
SERIES: The Dreamwalkers of Larreta #3
AUTHOR: Carol Holland March
PUBLISHER: Ellysian Press
LENGTH: 236 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 5, 2017
BLURB:
The gripping conclusion to The Dreamwalkers of Larreta trilogy.
The home of the dreamwalkers is being devastated by time rifts. Leo, one of the dreamwalkers tasked with finding the source of the destruction, has fallen through one. Expecting to die, he is shocked to find himself on the desert planet Kālong. Ruled by two mysterious beings, Leo senses the planet is off balance.
He is determined to leave the deadly planet and return to his lover, Jesse, on Larreta, but no one has ever left Kālong. Ballan, A Horse Who Once Flew, helps him and together they seek a way to escape the dying world. Fighting the stark depression that affects the populace, Leo strives to find a solution.
Meanwhile, Jesse is not idle on Larreta. Grieving and refusing to believe in Leo’s death, he begins a Call. Joined by other dreamwalkers who bolster his Call, Jesse reaches across time and space for Leo, but the cost is high and his energy wanes. There is little hope that his Call will ever reach Leo.
But Jesse knows his connection to Leo is old and strong. He can only hope it will prove strong enough to save not only his lover, but Larreta as well.
REVIEW:
Anyone that has either read this series or at least took a look at my review for the previous book should be aware of how much this last novel was needed, especially after how the previous one ended. I may, possibly, have vented my frustration at that ending for all and sundry to hear much to the amusement of my family and the confusion of anyone else within earshot. Just thinking about it still brings for the urge to screech a little so it was with great pleasure that I sat down to read Kalong at (seemingly) long last.
This story came off as a bit different to me in regards to the way things progressed but after getting into the book a little while, I found I liked the differences. First off, approximately half of the story is all about Leo; told from his perspective once he wakes up on the other side of the rift you get to see his determination to return home to Jesse and the journey he undertakes in order to accomplish that goal. Along the way he makes some new friends/allies and learns things about himself he’d managed to forget. While, as I said, a different feel to how the books had been told/progressed until now, I liked the change once I really let myself get absorbed into the story. Leo has come off as this kind of unmovable block previously but here you really get a chance to see him grow; learning more about his past and his connection to Jesse was just a bonus to me (though I wouldn’t have said no to seeing more).
The pacing of the story was great and continued to flow just as easily as the previous books. It was totally satisfying to finally get all my questions answered and to see a successful conclusion to the issue with the rifts and the people who all went missing as a result. I will say, however, that while things did conclude in a really satisfying manner, I had honestly expected more strife on the journey getting there and it threw me just a little that things resolved themselves so easily. Not that easy is bad but I had a certain expectation going into this book after all the events of the previous novels and was a little bummed that I didn’t get what I’d been hoping for. (That’s totally on my though, not the author.) The reason behind the rifts did surprise me so kudos to the author for that!
The story overall was really good and I loved getting to see Jesse and Leo finally be together the way they were always meant to be. This was still one of the more unique worlds I’ve read about and I just adored the series from start to finish. If you enjoy fantasy but are looking for something outside the norm for that genre I would highly recommend checking this series out; it was totally worth the read. I can definitely say with certainty that I’m looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next!
RATING: 
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