Shield Band

Elven Alliance #6

by Tara Grayce

Julien always thought he knew his duty...until an arranged marriage upends his future.

Prince Julien of Escarland was the kingdom's spare. His duty is to quietly stand in the background at his brother's side, protecting him and his heirs.

When it becomes clear that one more marriage is needed to secure the three-way alliance between the kingdoms of Kostaria, Tarenhiel, and Escarland, Julien agrees to an arranged marriage with a troll. He doesn't know their language and he might not be strong enough to fit into their battle-focused culture, but other than that, how bad could it be?

As King Rharreth's shield sister, Vriska is duty-bound to protect him and his queen. But she never expected her duty to include a marriage with a human.

An empire-hungry kingdom is lurking, seeking any weakness in the alliance. Will this final bond keep the alliance from crumbling? Can Julien and Vriska find love in a union based on duty?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Elves, Young Adult, Fantasy Romance, Clean Romance, Magic

448 pages, ebook

First published June 21, 2022

About the author

Born and raised in Michigan, I enjoy traveling to new adventures that inspire my writing.

Growing up, I read just about every book I could get my hands on, especially fantasy. I currently write YA fantasy and romantic fantasy filled with lots of humor, spunky and tough leading ladies, and broken heroes.

When I am not writing, I enjoy spending time with my chocolate lab, Miss Kisses.

Reviews

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

****Actual Rating 4.5 Stars****

Would probably list this as my least favorite book in the series, BUT that doesn’t mean I still didn’t love it! It’s just not my favorite and beyond partially that being because Essie and Farrendel’s POVs weren’t in this one (which I knew going in), I also didn’t connect with or like Vriska as much as the other characters until almost over halfway through the book. I didn’t dislike her, I just found her difficult to connect with because she was just so bloomin’ stubborn and hardheaded to the point where I wanted to shake her, lol. Once she actually made some effort to meet Julien in their relationship and actually let herself like him did I FINALLY warm up to her. Tara wrote her, a Strong Female Character, really well and not at all annoying, I just generally find these types of characters hard to connect with, mostly because they’re generally terribly written. My most favorite thing about Vriska though—aside from her loving Julien for letting her be bloodthirsty, lol—is how even though she’s a Strong Female Character she doesn’t look down on the other women around her for not being like her but appreciates them as strong women in their own rights, which I really enjoyed seeing and applaud Tara for including.

Since I ranted long about Vriska I feel a bit guilty that I don’t have much to say about Julien except that he’s a dear who carried this whole relationship for the majority of the book and I loved finally getting to see inside his head as I’ve always liked him. His pride for his beard and “beard care tips” cracked me up, though he has every right to be proud of it, haha.

The plot is the most basic out of all the books but it worked as a good backdrop for the main event of the romance, so I didn’t mind it’s simplicity.

All in all despite my hang ups with Vriska at times I still really enjoyed this book and seeing the cameos of everyone throughout made my day.


‼️Content‼️

TRIGGER WARNING: a character has PTSD

Violence: mentions of a character being tortured in the past (not detailed); fighting with weapons and magic (not detailed); injuries and blood (not detailed)

Sexual: kissing (not detailed); mild suggestive hints/comments

Drugs/Alcohol: poisoned food; a character is poisoned; characters drink alcohol

Other: magic; magical abilities and races; a character has PTSD; a character is illegitimate; a character is kidnapped and chained up; death and grief

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my word! How is this series over?! This book was so perfect, and I loved how Grayce branched out and explored a side of romance we don’t normally get. I liked how the gender-norms in romance was kinda flipped and how the theme of sacrificial love—while strong as it is in all of the Elven Alliance books—was also tempered with how it needs to be two sided.
•
I loved the idea of how two people might not have chosen one another, but how life and love can still be good together. It was beautiful.
•
And while I love Essie and Farrendel, I REALLY loved how Julien and Vriska were the POV characters and how it focused more on them and Jalissa and Edmund.
•
All in all, a fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite series ever! Can’t wait for the new series to come from Grayce!
Four out of five stars

[alittlebitbookish]

~ February 28th 2022~
After reading Pretense I’ve been dying for Shieldband to come out! I can’t wait to finally read this book! Pretense wasn’t the best. (imo) but it was still good! My favorite will forever be Troll Queen though!

[Amber Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect!

Once again, Tara Grayce weaves an enthralling romantic adventure with compelling, uplifting themes: overcoming prejudice, forgiveness, duty, loyalty, sacrifice, and love, with an atypical heroine with her own fierce type of beauty. Grayce illustrates how strength comes in many forms. I enjoyed how Julian and Vriska's relationship began with duty, progressed to mutual respect, and grew to a love that put the needs of the other first. Their characters were so believeable, and the troll culture fascinating. Beautiful!

[Selina Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review isn't going to be about the plot--or at least, not the non-romantic side of the plot (which was solid, although a bit predictable). I love this series primarily for the characters and romances. This review also will contain minor spoilers related to romantic subplots.

I LOVE Julien. I love him. (This is also the second fictional Julian/Julien I have a crush on, so from now on that name can only be used for fictional men I will love, okay? 😂) I hadn't really expected that, but he's just so considerate and strong in his own way, confident without arrogance, and different from the other male leads in this series in a fun and refreshing way. He has internal monologue like:

"It was not Vriska’s problem if she was an excellent, strong warrior. It was his problem if he let it bother him."

I think I fell in love with him right there. 😆

And I love Vriska. Partly because in some ways, I am Vriska and Vriska is me. 😂 I mean, her internal monologue has lines like:

"Ugh. Feelings. They were way too confusing."
"And she wanted all these blasted, complicated feelings to just go away for even half a second so she could think without them whispering all these confidence-stealing thoughts into her mind."

Mood, Vriska.

But this book means so much to me for several reasons.

It has romantic leads who aren't overtly emotive and struggle sometimes to put their feelings into words.

It has a female MC/love interest who isn't sure about marriage, who struggles with feelings, who is tall and not petite and not big on finery, but also *doesn't* put those things down in other women (I do love some fancy dresses and things that sparkle and dressing up, but TBH my usual is much more casual. I've also been in situations where I felt like the big awkward plain brute in a group of girls, and I'm not even super tall, so I always love encountering female MCs like that)

This book shows a guy not intimidated by his strong and awesome girlfriend/wife and I love to see it.

This book has women helping and respecting each other and recognizing each other's strengths and differences without putting each other down to feel better about themselves (well, there are some, but they're nameless side characters).

And, most importantly to me, Vriska isn't sure she wants kids.

I don't want kids. And the fact this book showed a female love interest who isn't sure she wants kids and isn't fond of babies (and even a scene where she's holding a baby and doesn't feel any warm fuzzies or baby fever! I nearly cried at how seen I felt) and both the book and the male love interest never judge her for it meant so much to me. Julien is surprised at first and a little sad because he'd assumed he'd have kids, but he handles it SO healthily--he accepts he cannot expect her to eventually change her mind and shouldn't marry her if he can't accept not having kids, is so respectful about not pressuring or guilting her, and they actually talk (very briefly) about it before getting married, which is so important, imo. It was refreshing.

Vriska does eventually decide she may want to have kids, which tbh did slightly disappoint me, especially since she framed it partly as "he is sacrificing a lot for me and putting himself second, I can sacrifice for him and put myself second," and uh, carrying and birthing a child and then having a human you're responsible for isn't the same, but okay. However, other than that, I didn't mind it too much--when Vriska mentions maybe having kids to Julien again, he's still very much "not if you don't honestly want to" AND, more importantly, she is thinking about reasons she personally would like to raise some kids with Julien and that they'd share parental duties (and Julien def would be a very helpful and engaged father and husband to a woman with kids). So it's not because she feels she owes him kids. She also still doesn't like babies by the end, and Julien doesn't think less of her for that. It's also somewhat open-ended whether they'll ultimately decide to have kids, but implies it'd be a considered and well-discussed decision.

So while I would have loved to see her never change her mind, considering Vriska started at a place NOT of "I have thought about it and don't want kids" but started at "I haven't given it thought because it wasn't relevant on my previous life-trajectory, but I don't think I want them," changing her mind felt more plausible. Add the fact the couple has a healthy respect for the decision and each other's desires and the potential kids' welfare, I'm okay with how that played out.

Parts like this just got me:
"A part of her was torn that she didn’t fit in with the other women here, who were no less strong because they looked forward to a discussion about babies. ... Vriska was one of (the women/sisters), even if she was a warrior. Even if she preferred bashing heads to holding babies, she was still a woman. They respected her for the kind of woman that she was, and she respected them for being the women that they were."

🥺 YES, THANK YOU.

My only other quibble with the romance aspect was I wish Julien and Vriska would have told each other some of the things they thought in their internal monologue. However, it was consistent with their characters that they didn't, but my sweet kids, you could have had a more secure relationship sooner and fallen faster if you'd just told each other to their faces all the things you loved about each other instead of thinking it and not telling them out of fear they'd not return it or judge you. 😭🤦‍♀️ I wanted to shake them a couple times. 😆

BUT it ended so good and they're so adorable I'm not even mad now.

I mean, we get gems like this:
"Different struggles. Different joys [than they might have had if they didn't get married]. But I’m deciding that these are the struggles and joys that I want to have in my life because you are worth it. Because I love you.”

And:
"He’d given Vriska a tour of his weapons collection months ago. She wasn’t about to admit how weak-kneed and swoony she’d gotten at the sight of his array of historical Escarlish weapons." (Woman after my own heart 😂)

This review is way more than long enough, so I'll stop (even though I could go on about Vriska and Julien and other characters and how much I love them 😆), but in conclusion, even though I don't think this book had the strongest plot of the Elven Alliance series, Vriska (and Julien) mean so much to me personally that this is one of my favorite books in the series, possibly just behind Troll Queen (which I adored). I also think it was a satisfying conclusion to the series.

[Tales and Treats with Tay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still really enjoyed this book and loved seeing the characters I've grown attached to over the course of the series but I didn't connect as well with the MCs and their romance. Also the plot wasn't as exciting compared to other books.

It's my least favorite of the series but I still really enjoyed it.


Content: mild violence, magical powers

Christian faith: 0/3 clean fiction, no cursing, intimacy level only kissing

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book! I did kinda miss Essie/Farrendel POV, but Julien and Vriska are so great it makes up for it.

[Langston (on hiatus for the forseeable future) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nooooooooooooo!😭😭😭😭
We’re done…
I only have extra thingies now.
I HAVE TO READ WAR OF THE ALLIANCE!












I’m very disappointed at the lack of Essie and Farrendel! Really! We’ve been given the final E.A. book—and we get, like, 3 page appearances…THREE!
WHY MS.GRAYCE? WHY?

[Grace T · Rating 4 out of 5]

every single time i think tara grayce has beautifully captured all possible aspects of healthy romantic relationships, she writes another book

as;ldkfjadkjgasdlkfjas;dlk SO. GOOD. AGH.

[Lily Mordaunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad The Series Is Over

While this was not my favorite book of the series for a few reasons I’ll get into below, I do think it was a good addition. I enjoyed being back in this world and checking in on characters who have quickly made their way to my favorites list. It was also nice getting to know more about Julien and seeing his siblings from his perspective as well as learning more about troll society.
Alright, now, what I didn’t like. I enjoyed Julien and Vriska individually, and even liked them together but I didn’t love the pairing. While interested in how things would develop and happy with the ending, I wasn’t invested in them in the same way I was with the other couples. My next issues serves as a trigger and possible spoiler. There was more talk of death in this book than I was prepared for. It wasn’t a lot and was never dwelled on but paired with discussions of mysterious diseases (still a little triggering) I do wish there had been a content warning somewhere.
Despite my complaints, I’m sad to see this series end.

[M.H. Elrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so hard to finish a series. It's like leaving your best book friends. You've seen the characters grow and flourish, been there with them when they struggle and fight, and cheered for them when they win in love and life. I started this series as soon as I found out Tara Grayce and Tricia Mingerink were the same person. I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved Essie and Farrendell, and my second favorite couple is Edmund and Jalissa. I did like Melantha and Rharreth, whose fiery relationship grew on me. I will say the same about Julien and Vriska. I now want spin-off short stories and books, but I don't think Tara is going to do those any time soon, so I will have to enjoy writing imaginary fan fiction in my head, haha. So, what did I like about this final book?
I really enjoyed the plot. It was very interesting to see how Mongravia impacted the human, elf, and troll alliance. I also liked how Julien and Vriska got to know each other over time, and that unlike the other books, this was not a marriage automatically. There was also a twist that I didn't see coming, and it kept me on my toes.
Julien and Vriska were interesting characters. Julien was really cute, always putting himself last, and that made him very endearing. Vriska was fascinating because she had to overcome her own prejudices and her own view of herself to fall in love with Julien. Their relationship was unique because I can see this kind of couple in the real world. They're both essentially athletes or military members who can relate over their love of the "battle." Vriska is a tomboy through and through, and her struggles with femininity reminded me of when I used to try to get my best friend to try to wear a skirt. Both my best friend and Vriska learned that womanhood isn't in skirts, but in a certain type of fierce strength that women have. So it was neat to read about their developing relationship and see cameos from the other characters. I couldn't necessarily relate to these characters since I'm not an athlete or militaristic, but I could understand them and enjoy reading about them.
I will probably reread this series often. It is hard to say good-bye, but I look forward to seeing where Tara goes with the rest of her books.

[Sharon Loves to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edited below.

2.5⭐️ rounded up

Definitely my least favorite of the series. I liked Julien. I liked the beginning and middle of Vriska’s character arc. I thought the storyline was good, and I liked the culmination of the series plotline.

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨Spoilers Below🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨


However, I did not care for aspects of Julien’s and Vriska’s relationship, which seemed to weaken Julien instead of make the two of them seem like a well-matched pair. It was focused on Vriska’s physical strength and superior fighting skills whereas I had thought they would develop a way of fighting together that made Julien more of an asset, such as when he and Farrandel fought together. Truth be told, I think that was the author’s intention, but it did not strike me that way.

I also did not particularly care for the end of Vriska’s character arc. She learned a lot along the way, but, I don’t know—I wanted her to soften a bit more emotionally, I think. I felt like her story was left unfinished.

I also found Julien’s pre-wedding match against Farrandel which ended with Julien feeling guilty about pinning Farrandel a bit of a loose thread. It seemed like a big deal that would be dealt with more, but it was only minimally discussed and then the book ended.

And, another thing, why wasn’t the heart/blood bond fleshed out more? They got married, but there was no indication of whether or not they formed a bond. It also was not discussed as to whether or not Julien would be able to use her magic, like Essie could use Farrandel’s. (This was not addressed when Edmund and Jalissa got married either, but I didn’t notice it, probably because their heart bond was explored more.)

I don’t know—this one wasn’t for me, and I am a bit let down that this is the book that ended the series.

However, I did like how the overall plotline about uniting the three kingdoms wrapped up. The people of the kingdoms are learning to trust each other since that is being modeled and anchored by good leadership.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, can't believe that the series is over, not because I'm going to miss the characters - I have all the books and have already re-read most of it - but because I think this is the only series in a long time that I almost instantly get into the story right away and stay involved in it to the point I don't want to put it down. It just seems hard lately to find stories that I get lost in, and I definitely get lost in these.

This is Julian's story. We knew from book 5, that Julian volunteered to marry a troll woman, and Vriska, Rharrath's shield sister seems the most logical choice. We've met Vriska too, and she is all troll. What I do like in this story is that we find out that Troll hearts aren't cold, but when they love, they love deeply. Vriska and Julien both believe in fulfilling their duties, but neither wants their marriage to be a duty, but rather they both want love.

War looms on the horizen, and their enemies just won't quit trying to kill them by tricky means - but they've gone too far this time and now they must face the wrath of the Alliance!

As a Christian I appreciate a clean read (no overt sex or bad language). This whole series has been clean, and I really appreciate that, very much!

Thanks for sharing your gift with us, Tara!

[Anila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t believe this series is over! Sadly, this book wasn’t my favorite of the six books. I just didn’t connect with Vriska and Julien. There was never a moment where I felt like they were in love with each other. They were both very hesitant and unsure if they wanted to go through with the mariage. It was great to see Melantha and Rharreth again though. They are my favorite couple and so I loved being able to get more of them in the story. All in all, I still really enjoyed this series and I’m glad I was able to stumble on the first book and enter this unique and amazing world the author has created.

[Kessa Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well dang

I am so supremely sad this series is over. Despite the fact that I read a ridiculous amount, the vast majority of series I enjoy while reading but don't remember once I start the next. A few I stalk through newsletters and such, but I can count on one hand how many I actually actively think about and count down. This is one of them though. Or I guess was.

Next generation series almost never work. They're just retellings of the originals trying to live up to their parents. I still kinda want to see the kids when they grow up though just so this world isn't over.

[Kathy Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect ending. Full review to come.

[Chelsea Nielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a satisfying conclusion!

What a fun series! You can tell that Grayce’s writing has only improved throughout the series. The world building was great, the characters engaging, and I’m just really happy to see all these countries band together to deal with their conflict. 10/10 would recommend!

[Klissia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this series is not a "complex" fantasy story, I enjoyed a lot read them, such heartfelt characters with themes about family, friendship and love, but not the sappy, cringe or annoying side. About respect and love the different other...

"Did it really matter that he wasn’t? Troll, elf, human. The differences were only superficial, in the end. At their heart, they were all simply people. With a heart, a soul, a mind. Those were the important things, not the surface appearance."

[Katie Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say to express my deep joy, extreme satisfaction, yet sadness at finishing the last book in this incredible series? The Elven Alliance series has stolen a piece of my heart and I’ll never get it (nor will I want it) back! 😍😍😍 Shield Band was the perfect finale, taking us full circle with all of the alliances, marriages, and babies(!).

I’ll admit I wasn’t as invested in Julian and Vriska’s romance as the others because of the nature of it, but I still loved how it was written and that Tara explored a relationship formed out of duty, and how they had to choose each other, choose the marriage, and choose to learn to accept and love the other. Their story was so good!

The storyline was great, the sickness ravaging the kingdom devastating, and the hunt to figure out what’s happening and how to stop it engaging!

One of my favorite parts of this series is the relationships, romantic and other. They’re all written SO WELL, and I can’t tell you how many times I grinned or laughed at their interactions and banter. 😂😂 All of their dynamics are amazing and I love themm!! The brother trio (plus the brother in laws) are hilarious and just the best! 🤣😍

Also can I just say, the PROGRESSION and character development in this series is phenomenal!!! 👏🏻👏🏻 Ohhh it made my heart so happy to see!! 😍😍😍 Especially a new certain father with his certain baby boy and how genuinely happy he is now. 😭😭😍😍

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!!!!

[Lylah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Shield Band" by Tara Grayce, is the sixth and final book in the "Elven Alliance" series.

This book . . . swept me off my feet. In a very unexpected way.

Every character in this series is incredibly, wonderfully relatable. You understand their fear, pride, joy, sadness, anger . . . all of it. Everything about this series just captivates you. From the writing to the world-building, plot, characters and action - you are involved.
Yet that's just the crust.
Grayce, has managed to interweave a plethora of powerful lessons into these stories.

"Shield Band" is the perfect ending to this fantastic series, for it leaves us with an echoing message...
No matter who you are, what you are, what you've done, or haven't done - you are a person that is beautiful and worthy of love, someone created for purpose.

It's bittersweet, saying goodbye to this world of elves, trolls, magic, swoon-worthy relationships and fantastical kingdoms.
However, I am excited to see more work from this author.
I LOVED this book (and series) and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a rough start for me. It was meant to emphasize the awkwardness of arranged marriage for political alliance situation, even though both parties personally agreed to it, but the way it hit for me did NOT make me want them to get together. This made the first quarter, or almost third, of the book very uncomfortable.

After this, the plot started to pick up which helped, and we started to see how the two of them actually worked well together, which helped a lot! I ended up really appreciating that this was a romance with a real warrior woman, including the social awkwardness, wanting to punch people instead of politicking, and some beautifully realistic comments about body types.

Because of the rough start this isn't quite the favorite for me that the rest of the series is, but I think it's still worth a re-read or two.

I didn't make good content notes on this one, but it should be in the same general realm as the rest of the series: fighting, some death, some PTSD, and some kissing.

[Hot Chocolate Confessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, I’m blown away!!! So sad this series is ending but hopefully not forever! I love how we have gotten to see all but Averetts story, so maybe we’ll get that someday!
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more action, but also relieved 😂
Tara Grayce remains one of my all time faves!

[Alexandra Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read: 5 starts

This book is simply so amazing. Besides the story, besides the characters, beside everything, the lessons we learn from this book, the sisterhood in this book is simply... 🤌

In order to solidify the alliance between Escarland, Tarenhil and Kostaria, Prince Julien has to tie Kostaria and Escarland by marrying a noblewoman from Kostaria or Vriska, king Rharreth's shield sister, the only person he could say is as close to him as a female relative.

Vriska is a character we've met before in Troll Queen and many, I think, disliked her for her treatment of Melantha, but Vriska's growth in this book is simply amazing and comparing the way she publicly thought of Melantha in Troll Queen with the way she thinks about Essie, Melantha, Jalissa and the other non warrior women in this series at the end simply shows her growth as a character.

Julien has lived his entire life in Averett's shadow, he has been the one trained to quietly step in if a tragedy happened and rule for his nephew until he was of age and than step down quietly once more. Julien doesn't hate this. He considers that his duty and is happy to oblige.

𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.

[...]

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐥𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐝𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬."

Vriska has been a warrior her entire life, she fought to be a warrior, and, eventually, the daughter of a common worker became the shield sister of the king of Kostaria. But what happens to a warrior when there is no war to be fought? When her duty to her king forces her to become more than a warrior, to act as a true sister to Rharreth and take on the responsibility that comes with being the closest person the troll king has for a female relative?

"𝐈𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦’𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫."

I love the fact that Vriska and Julien have some things in common despite their differences. She's a troll, he is human, she was raised by a common family, he was raised a prince, she can do the minimum effort for their relationships, while he is self-sacrifing and willing to love her from the start. And yet they have their honor in common, their duty to their kings. Both understand that it is their duty to at least try and make their relationship work. But is duty enough?

Another thing I loved was Vriska's character growth. Going from her behaviour in Troll Queen to:
"𝐀 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭—𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧. 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐉𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐬.

𝐕𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬."

I just love her character growth and the lesson offered by this book. This is such a wonderful message. It doesn't matter how different you are, you're still a woman. You don't have to go charging into battle to be strong. You can love and take care of others, you can nurse the weak, and you are still strong. You don't have to have manly characteristics to be strong. You don't need to be always tough, you don't have to be independent at the point that you're afraid to let others take care of you, you don't have to be afraid to be girly and talk about babies or puppies all day, you are still strong. You don't have to be feminine, or dress up all the time, you can like boxing and fighting, you can be a tomboy, you can be rude and have typically "male behaviors", you can be a warrior rather than a wife or mother, you are still a woman. And you're still strong and being women is what binds us.

I didn't get too much into the plot, but I do believe this last lesson is very important and I wanted to include it too.

Julien is simply goals. This man sees his possible future wife beat the crap of some men, realises she will always be stronger than him and ends with the conclusion that he is the problem if he is bothered by her strength. He is a warrior, but he is so humble and modest, I love that about him.

I also love the way Tara Grayce handled Vriska not wanting kids. I think that if she put it as: Vriska thought about kids and decided that she didn't want them, it wouldn't have worked. But Vriska never thought of that because it never mattered to her future until now, she always assumed she would die in battle. And while I was a bit dissapointed that at first Vriska was willing to have kids only because Julien was willing to sacrifice so much for her, I do love that eventually she got to the conclusion that if she did have kids, she needed to have them for herself, not Julien. And I love how supportive he was, sure, he was a bit shocked at first, Vriska had just crushed one of his dreams, but he was still supportive and understood that it was not his decision to make, but Vriska's, and never presured her, even encouraged her to say no to kids if it wasn't what she wanted. I do believe that it was implied that they will still think about it even if Vriska seemed on board because this is an important decision, you need a lot of time to think about it.



I also can't believe I've finished this again. I feel like crying. I will always miss reading this series for the first time. I will miss reading Melantha's struggles for the first time and relating so deeply with them, I will miss reading Farrendel and Essie's relationship developing not actually knowing where the plot will go, I will miss finding small moments between Rheva and Weylind for the first time, angsting while reading Edmund and Jalissa's complicated romance. I will miss falling in love for the first time with Essie, Farrendel, Averett, Paige, Weylind, Rheva, Ryfon, Brina, Melantha, Jalissa, Julien, Edmund, Rharreth, Vriska, Zavni, Leyleira, Rizke and all the other amazing characters, falling in love with the worldbuilding, with the sisterhood and brotherhood of this series, with the love between couples, the healty romances and friendships, the complex characters, the beautifully written themes and lessons, the themes of love, honor, duty, sacrifice and forgiveness, of finding yourself once again and learning to love yourself. I loved this series far more than I expected when I first started it.

[Leah Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

That’s what people in a relationship do. They put the other person first and themselves second until, in the end, it doesn’t matter who is first and who is second because the two of you are simply one. Together.

This story follows Essie's quiet middle brother, Julian, as he cautiously steps into a marriage alliance of his own.

Julian does not consider himself to be particularly smart, clever, gregarious, or politically savy. Those are skills for his siblings to thrive in. Julian's role is to support and protect them. He's always been content with that. When it becomes increasingly clear that another marriage of alliance is needed to secure the peace between humans, elfs, and trolls; Julian quietly volunteers. It's his way. He doesn't let his family see the apprehension twisting within him. His siblings are happily in love. Is that something he'll ever have? Or will he be the only sibling to fail to turn his arranged marriage into a happy one?

While I missed having Essie and Farrendel play a large role in this story, Julian and Vriska's courtship is one of the most unique I've read, and it's uniquely relatable as a result. Vriska's apprehension about marriage and reluctance to let go of her life as she knows it is one I can identify with. It was also sweet to see how the author handled Julian's humble way of grappling with marrying into a culture and race where his wife is stronger and more ferocious than him.

If you want to get started with this series, check out my review of book one. This review also includes details about romance, language, violence, and religious content.

[Ella J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I was excited for "Shield Band" when I heard about it, because not only is it the last book in the "Elven Alliance series," it also follows two characters I was interested in getting to know better-Julien and Vriska.
"Shield Band," was what I hoped it would be-an action packed story, with a good romance between the two protagonists, and an ending that would leaving me satisfied.

The ratio of action to romance was really good. My attention never wavered and I was fully engaged the entire time.
Speaking of romance, the romance between Julien and Vriska was really good! If you enjoy slowburn romances I think their romance will be right up your alley! My favorite thing about their romance is that it's built on a foundation of understanding. While neither of them try to change each other, they still push each other to be better and to do right.

As for the for the main characters themselves, I liked them! This book made me realize how underrated Julien is! His patience and loyalty are admirable. I liked that while Julien remained very humble, he grew to be more confident in what he wanted as the story progressed.
Now, Vriska, I have to admit she is not my favorite female character from the "Elven Alliance series,". It is probably because I don't have much in common with her. I was able to put myself her shoes, though, and grew to understand why she felt and acted the way she did.

While I did enjoy the romance and action, my favorite thing about "Shield Band," had to be all the interactions between the characters from previous books. We get several lengthy cameos from the 3 couples that where featured in the 5 other books in the series, which were so fun! I loved seeing how their lives had continued to change and grow as time went on for each of the couples!

Overall, this was a satisfying ending to the "Elven Alliance," series. If you enjoy clean fantasy books that have good humor and sweet romances, please check this series out!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this series before it was technically a series. Several authors recommended Fierce Heart so I picked it up. It was an arranged marriage story for political reasons (to prevent war) between an elf and a human. It was really sweet and a nice character driven story with a little action. I fell in love with the main characters and also really liked the extra characters introduced. It was a no brainer to read on even though parts of the series got much darker (mostly book 3).

This book features Essie's older brother and a troll in an arranged political marriage. Justin has always been a good character as all of Essie's family has. I loved their playful and loving nature. Vriska was a warrior and atypical heroine. I enjoyed her being atypical and a little different from what you usually see featured in a romance.

Naturally in a series with multiple characters you are going to feel more engaged with some than others. I will always feel the most invested with the original pair of Essie and Farrendell. I can't help but to constantly hope that they will show up in the background of the other characters stories. Having said that, I did enjoy these characters even if Vriska could be a tad tiring in her internal monologging for a while. The girl seemed determined to stay in her own way.

I hope that we get at lest some short stories about snippets of life for the whole cast. Things are wrapped up but I'd love to see the family and the different races of elves, trolls and humans and how their dynamics evolve over time.

[Joyce T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great ending to an awesome series. I'm sad it ended, but I'm glad that all the loose ends were tied up. We saw less of Farrendel in this book, which was pretty disappointing, but there will probably be more about his family in the short stories collections.

Romance: CLEAN. No explicit scenes or cursing... Well, there is a troll curse that is the equivalent of an English curse, but they don't say the actual English curse, just an impression is mentioned, so there's that.

[Betty Kunberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome way to complete the alliance!

I am amazed at how different, yet how fantastic this book turned out to be. It showed me A different side to how all of the Different People's could blend together and yet stay distinct. This is an awesome series!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still going strong

I really thought I would start getting bored with this series, with as many books as there are. However, each story is unique. While having a similar theme, each is personally presented and the character that aren’t in the limelight still grow and show more depth.

[thefriendlybibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This book was a well written as the rest of the series, I'm just definitely not a warrior. So, I didn't like it quite as much as Essie and Farrendel's books. Really the only reason it is not a full four stars