CAN ANYTHING SAVE HER CLOSEST ALLY? Aella has gathered the resources the revolution needs and performed miracles with her bee magic that no one ever expected were possible. But now her closest ally’s future hangs in the balance and only her bees can save him. With the entire army of the Empire hunting her down determined to drag her back to the crown prince, time is running out. If she doesn’t find a way to quickly free her ally – and herself – from the crown prince and the magic bonds he’s put on them, they may never get free at all. Once again, Aella must choose – sacrifice herself for the sake of her family and friends or watch everything she’s fought for fall apart. Empire of War and Wings is a dramatic, fast-paced, young adult fantasy series by USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah K. L. Wilson, featuring sweeping battles, tantalizing magic, sweet romance, and an epic fantasy story that will compel you to keep reading to the very last word. Start the adventure today!
Sarah K. L. Wilson is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes fantasy stories featuring practical heroes & heroines in the most impractical circumstances. She loves writing because it is the only way to make a living and give back to the world when your primary skill is an overactive imagination and a tendency toward violent daydreams. Sarah can be found in the outdoors of Northern Ontario with her young boys and beloved husband, reading a book, or fending off her husband's pet turkeys with a straw broom. You can find Sarah's books in paperback, hardcover, ebook and audiobook and they have also been translated into Italian, German, and (very soon) Turkish. Please, do, enjoy the read!
As this series get closer to its end, the story keeps getting better and better! Really enjoyed this continuation where Aella must protect her family while also fighting in the resistance called the Single Wing to defeat the Winged Empire and her husband Le Majest. With the help of her might bees, Aella will have to face many dangers and try to protect her family as well. We will see many moments where we would feel the emotions that Aella is going through. Cannot wait for the epic conclusion of this series! I’m sure it will be a satisfying end!
Received a copy from the author herself, for an honest review, and this does not affect my review or rating of the book, thank you!
Aella is on the run with an injured Osprey in tow from the fires of an early revolution and the bond that ties her to Juste Montpetit against her will. Her strength is flagging, though, and she will have to trust a stranger to help her reach safety where a joyous surprise awaits her. But even in safety danger lurks, waiting to strike, and Aella’s fate and future is becoming even more bound as deadly plots are put into motion. She will have to be more relentless than ever before if she is to survive her bond and the coming judgment. Things are really coming to a climax in this book, with bonds being destroyed and created. I find Aella strongest when she is on her own, away from family, away from Osprey, and only having herself and her bees to rely on. While she really needs the boost from finding her family, whenever she’s around others who she might consider more knowledgeable, or older/more experienced, she is quick and willing to let them guide her. It’s understandable and believable as she regularly feels out of her depth, but it takes away from her agency. I won’t even go much into her close time with Osprey – as no, I’m still not sold on it. Sometimes the things he says to her make it seem as if he’s loved her at least since he first set eyes on her, if not for longer, and it’s just vague enough where it can go both ways. Their romance still feels put-together, something that has to be there instead of something that grows there. However when she’s away from Osprey and other guide/authoritative influences, Aella buzzes loudly with her own strength and relentlessness. It is a strength that is hard-earned and paid for in blood. Perhaps what I appreciate most about Aella after her resilience is the way she talks to her bees in prayer – it has a decidedly faithful angle to it, something that is not often nurtured in fantasy literature in a positive way. Where others build up their manifestations with words of strength (or song/dance, in the case of Flame) and fixed ideas in mind of what is to be achieved, Aella builds up her bees with her prayers: that they be strong, relentless, rise to every occasion, save the ones she loves. It really almost feels religious, the way she prays to/for her bees, and the return she and her bees gets from it fits right with that. Even the way that Aella views her “marriage” to Juste Montpetit and how she feels and acts towards Osprey seem to stem from the equivalent in the real world of Christian fidelity and chastity. Albeit with a dash of Aella’s inexperience and not-complete understanding of how things should/can work in these regards – she is, after all, not even eighteen, and solidly on the bridge to adulthood but with one foot still in the innocence and faith of childhood. One of the strongest parts of this book, this series, and Aella in general I would say is her faith and innocent understanding of how things should work instead of how they actually do.
I received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected the contents of my review or rating. Quotes below subject to change with publication.
Favorite quotes: “Kisses are promises of loyalty and love that are soul-deep. They aren’t games or toys. If you were my children, I’d smack you both for your foolishness and keep on smacking you until you realized there’s a soul-bond that starts with kissing and completes in the marriage bed and no fools should start it who don’t mean to fulfill it. There’s a giving of your whole self to another person in all that and it’s no game and not something you’d play around with where an enemy is concerned.” – page 37/174
“That’s responsibility for you, Aella. Sometimes it means doing tasks that seem empty to keep the people you love fed and cared for. Sometimes it means doing things you know will hurt or demoralize you. But you do them because you love someone else more than your own happiness, more than your own fulfillment, more than your own life. It’s those little sacrifices that bring honor. That little giving of yourself bit by bit for someone else. And the funny thing is that often doing that is the only way to truly find your own happiness. Most of the time, happiness is found in someone else’s smile.” – page 126/174
Aella has kidnapped Osprey, her only ally, and is fleeing with him whilst he is unconscious and in danger of dying. She is using her bees to remove the entanglement which binds Osprey to Juste Le Majest, the cruel Prince and his half brother. She fears for both their lives as they are hounded by the empire's wings and claws, and she fears if found she will be returned to Juste who claimed her as his wife, marrying her in absentia. Aella has committed her all to the revolution and has put not only her life but that of her beloved family at risk in doing so, but her family were all part of the single wing faction. She is re-united with her family but is betrayed, and the revolutionaries she has risked so much for turn against her, but her family stand by her even when threatened with their own lives. Just when she thinks she has found safety, she is in custody yet again, everyone seems to be against her, the single wing, the empire, Osprey, and Juste, simply everyone and she was so frustrated and her bees could feel this, and though they did their best to be her eyes they were limited in the help they could provide. Or were they? This book is a gut wrenching book, full of danger around every bend, betrayal and a Prince who was out for power and who would let no one stand in his way. It is a book about a revolution of the oppressed as well as a romance and an original story line in the fact that some people hatched and acquired magic through their hatchlings be these birds, bees or adders. I cannot wait for book 5, hoping Aella's bees will be the strength needed as prophesied, enough to turn the revolution in their favour!
Thank you to the author for an earc in exchange for an honest review!
I was definitely excited to get the next installment in this series. Each book has ended on a cliffhanger and has left me wanting more. This book was no different and honestly, probably my favorite out of the series.
One of my favorite things about Aella is her love for her family. She would do anything for them. Over the course of the books we have seen glimpses of them together and in this one we get a lot more. Her family is literally the best even when their lives are at stake. I also love their motto, relentless.
Aella’s powers are still going strong and she has also learned new ways to use it! It’s nice to see her grow and become who she needs to be to fight off the evil.
Some of the more well known characters take a bit of a break in this one but the end they are out and ready to take on the empire. Zayanna and Ivo are still two of my favorite characters.
Romantical relationships are still blossoming and I am here for it all! Can’t say much because spoilers.
The plot is filled with action galore and there is so much that is happening everywhere. I’m glad for all the glimpses of what is going on in other places. I haven’t been able to predict anything either and the plot twists come out of nowhere. You never know who is playing both sides.
Overall, I am still enjoying this series and will be looking forward to the next book.
Swarm Magic, book 4 of the Empire of War and Wings, begins with Aella trying to escape the Crown Prince, Juste Monpetit. She has Osprey as a hostage, but with her bee working on freeing Osprey from the compulsion to obey the Crown Prince, he is weak, in pain and helpless. Aella herself bears the mark of the Crown Prince who married her in absentia and against her will. Aella’s prayers are answered when she is found by a member of the Single Wing who takes her and Osprey to a place of comparative safety But that sense of safety is short-lived. Aella must outwit a spy and complete a seemingly unattainable task in a desperate attempt to secure her family’s safety, all the while trying to evade the grasping tentacles of the Forbidding and the attempts of her husband, the Crown Prince, to capture her. This is another suspense filled, action-packed addition to the Empire of War and Wings. The world building is amazing and so consistent. There are surprises and twists in seemingly every chapter. Who will survive? Who will win - and at what cost? I can’t wait for the conclusion in book 5!
OMG Arella ! How can so much happen to one person in such a short amount of time !! Osprey spends his time on the brink of death as her bee try’s to repair the damage that befell him by her hand. Finally as she flee’s she finds all the joy and peace she had desperately been searching for, but even that was short lived as them and the whole of the Sing Wing Revolution was betrayed ! Honestly this is another jam packed nail biting action addition to the series and I can’t wait for the final book in the series, not that I want it to end by any means, as I will definitely miss this world, storyline and characters, it’s just the cliffhanger once again left me shouting noooooooooo!!! and I need to know if any of Aella and any of the other characters will survive it and finally get their chance to rid their world from the tyranny of Le Majest Juste Montpetit and his associates ... I can’t give you anymore details as I don’t spoil any of this utterly compelling book.4. Swarm Magic However it certainly had me on edge the whole way through and my nerves shattered with anticipation and I have a feeling they will stay that way until Sarah.K.L.Wilson ends this for me
Aella of House Shrike continues her nightmare journey for freedom against the winged empire and Le Majest Juste in this fourth book of the series, with all the gutsy determination she has shown in the previous books. Life has never been easy for those of the Farshores, and now its becoming harder with every minute of every day that passes as Juste continues to make his play for dominion over the empire, alongside the barbarians of the snakes. Aella and Osprey begin this part of the story together only to be separated again by forces bigger than themselves. Aella is once again thrown into a deeper nightmare but refuses to give up - Relentless is her family motto and Relentless is what she needs to be to get through the battle that this story is building up to.
Swarm Magic is book four in the Empire of War & Wings series. Aella once again is fleeing for her life from her now husband, Le Majest. She flees with Osprey and they run till they find some allies. This book is filled with prophecies, allies and traitors. For Aella her bees are her heart and hope and with prayers she gives them strength. Will Aella be able to free the one she loves? She is Aella of House Shrike and no matter what comes next she will be relentless. I received an e-ARC for an honest review.
Still loving this series with this installment! Aella continues to struggle for her love of Osprey, trying to save him, helping the people to fight against the King's rule, and fighting her own battle for independence from the evil prince. This time, her family comes into the story of the revolution, and she has to help protect and work with them. Who can she trust in all this? What's the right way into battle? What is happening to those she loves? So many questions and many to be answered in book 5. Can't wait!
This series just gets better and better. There is so much going on that it makes the mind spin. Aella managed to escape with Osprey bound and blindfolded (by his request) and they eventually made their way to relative safety. Unfortunately there was a traitor in their midst. but no-one would believe her when she told them. The Single Wing start their rebellion, but without knowledge of what was coming. The traitor delvers her to her "husband" and this starts another unexpected prophecy. One that no-one except the snake people know about.
Aella is doing her best to help her people and her family. La Majest has married her against her will and the magic connects them. Osprey loves her, yet he is tied by magic to protect La Majest. Both are doing their best to stay alive and to free their people from the oppression of La Majest. This is a sweeping story about love, insanity, magic and war. I thought it was an excellent book. I loved the characters and the story. Wilson never disappoints when it comes to the characters and the story she writes. I would recommend this book.
Aella and her bees are back for a tale that was full of danger, running for safety, betrayal, and fighting for her loved ones. The series just gets better and more insane as Aella and her bees defy the odds and keep on surviving. I was glued to the end to see what Aella would survive this time and who would end up betraying and help her in the end. Plus I kept my fingers crossed she would really help rescue Osprey completely this time. I loved to hate Juste as always while I loved Aella and the bees. Just an amazing story.
The story opens grimly but, in the middle, for a time, a few delightful scenes unfold. Passed that the emotions run high in this story. Failure is heaped upon failure. Evil dominates and I can find no respite. For me, this was a very challenging story to read. Once again, the story does not end well. I can only hope and pray that the story will be worth the emotional pain involved in it.
If ever a publisher’s description was correct it’s the description given for Sarah K.L. Wilson’s Empire of War and Wings series as a dramatic, fast-paced, epic with tantalizing magic and sweet romance. That’s certainly the case with book 4, Swarm Magic. Aella’s story just gets more layered and complex while staying exciting and fun. A pretty hard trick to pull off yet it’s done perfectly in this series. Fans of the first three books are guaranteed to love this mew edition. For newcomers I highly recommend starting with book 1. By this book 4 you’ll be addicted too.
The story is gaining momentum in Aella’s quest . This is an exciting fantasy story that gets better with each book in the series. Much fun was made of Aella’s bees at the beginning, but not now. Osprey and her family are heavily involved in this episode and Forbidding is still a major problem but with a twist.
Tension mounts and we can but hope all will be revealed in book 5.
Oh I need the next book NOW! I can’t believe what Aella can do with her bees. I couldn’t put this book down, it seems that the Single Wing careens from one tragedy and betrayal to another. I am curious as to what General Victoire sees in his prophecies. I wonder how Aella is going to be the savior that was prophesied about. I wonder how she is going to get out of her situation. I loved this book and I really love this series! It has such original world building and original magic. Phenomenal!
This books "beeing" a great storytelling phenomenon! Each chapter just whets your appetite for more. Allea is still in trouble with Le Majest whom she has to be married but is fighting it like crazy. Allea's bees help her to see what's is happening elsewhere. The peop!e are fighting the Winged Empire but they could care less for the common people. An unusual and exceptional story writing! I can't wait for the "beeing" story next.
Stolen kisses....finally! Slow burn romance. Signs leading the way. Be Relentless! This is Aella's motto, pushing her to remain strong and true to her ultimate goal. She's fighting for free choice and her personal freedom. Love of liberty, freedom, truth, justice stand firm as her goals. But, she is learning that words have power. Her little bees must perform to their highest in order to sustain her. One more book to go!
This book was so good. It's good to see Aella and her family. They have such a strong bond and it seems they can overcome every obstacle, nothing can come in their way. But oh, LeMajest is so evil, delusional even, as we learn near the end. And in the end again, all seems lost. But there is hope, the forbidden, the prophecies, it will be revealed... In the next and last book!! I can't wait!!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book has as much adventure as the others in the series and it sees quite a few more twists and turns. Both Aella and Le Majest work their way closer to their ultimate (and very much opposing) goals setting things up for what is sure to be a powerful showdown in the fifth and final book.
This series just keeps giving. Aella decided to kidnap Osprey and find a way to free him. They are on the run and in so much danger of being caught, but she won't let him go with out freeing him. Reunited with friends and family, the war is about to explode into action. I couldn't put this book down and read it over the afternoon. I can't wait to see how this wraps up in the next book.
So book four in the series and what a series it is, cannot wait for what will be the thrilling conclusion. Aella’s up against it again. What does this author have in store for us in the final book I wonder, if it’s anything like the other four it’s going to be fantastic ending. Read it in one go, couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended.
Terrific! Aelia and her bees have a rough ride in this book. Juste has brought her to her knees after an unrelenting persuit and the loss of many lives. The crowning of Aelia and Juste brings this book to an end. I received this book as an ARC and couldn't put it down. I hope the last book will be as great as all the previous ones.
A fantastic read that grabs you from the first page to the last. Its a fast past read with epic scenes, the scenes are written so well that I can picture them in my minds eye. This is a real page turner with twists and turns that keeps you enthralled with this read. This definitely a home run. I definitely recommend this captivating read. Its a must read. Shauna Joesten
This book continues the story arc and does a great job at starting to tie things together, while still leaving mysteries for the reader. It's very satisfying to see things start to fit into place and have just a glimpse at how things might work out. I'm loving this world, Sarah has such a great imagination!! Looking forward to reading the next installment!
Listened to the whole series over a few days. Love it! It's a brutal world and a bit sad. I don't like sad stories....so the fact that i loved this series hints that you'll walk away happy and with closure at the end of the series. So much in between that is intense, sad and unexpected it really hooks you in. Totally loved this writers style. It is descriptive but not in a boring way. Loved it!
This book continues Aella's story. It's fast-paced and intense. I feel a bit emotionally wrung out from all the feels I got while reading this book. I can't wait to read the final book and see how this all ends.
This is a great YA series. It’s exciting and action packed and so gripping and full of suspense that I get totally lost in the story. There are some twists and turns I did not see coming and the characters are just incredible as is the world building! I look forward to reading more!