True Teryn

The second book in S.G. Blaise’s The Last Lumenian Series, True Teryn, is an incredible continuation of the series. The second book, of four, does an incredible job of furthering the story while also balancing the introduction of new characters and the development of our existing ones. With more fantasy and slightly less political drive, True Teryn offers a different side of S.G.’s brilliant writing skills.

NO SPOILERS

Once again S.G. Blaise proves why pacing is so important. I don’t want to overuse the term “page-turner” but truly this book is such a nice easy read, while also having some incredible detail and world building. We are never starved for action but there is also plenty of time to breathe and sit in the interpersonal relationships.

The new setting gives the story a fresh perspective and new challenges for our characters. It also expands upon the world building. True Teryn also includes some illustrations and maps so that you can better envision the world you are reading about.

The new characters are interesting and they give Lilla a challenge. This story mostly focuses on Lilla growing as a leader. In the first novel Lilla kind of struggled to find her place. She wanted to help but she was constantly at the mercy of other people. She never really took charge. Her friends followed her because they believed in her. In this story she is put in a situation where she has to figure out how to lead.

SPOILERS

The story picks up immediately where the first book leaves off, I love that because time jumps can be confusing and quite frankly it's a little lazy. The continuity simply makes the story easier to follow.

Lilla’s biggest obstacle in this book is Callum’s father, Caderyn. She needs his armada and she wants his son. He won’t grant her either. So she is essentially sent on a spiritual quest. A good chunk of the story takes place in a spirit realm. I love that even though it didn’t necessarily include as much magic as the last book, it really did feel more like a fantasy story. It was very connected, emotional and Lilla’s journey was really grounded and well written.

There also seems to be a slow burn romance happening in addition to our main one. Glenna and Ragnald. His magic is keeping her corruption in check. Which is another part of our story that I don’t want to overlook. Our party of characters is still feeling the consequences of their battle with the Dark Lord of Destruction. Also great writing. Too many stories have major consequences that are never really acknowledged again. But in this series they are a critical part of informing the characters.

The other super brilliant part of this book was how the perspective changes were used. We only saw Moira and her perspective a couple of times before we met her in the spirit world, but it really did a great job of showing the reader what the stakes of the Era War really are. The two perspectives met each other in the most amazing way possible. S.G. is also GREAT at making you care about characters VERY quickly. She gets to the heart of the story so very well.

Overall True Teryn improves on what was set forth before. I finished it in about 2 hours and enjoyed every second of it. The Last Lumenian series is a very overlooked fantasy that desperately needs more attention. It is seriously pulling me out of my reading slump. I think the character development in this book is incredibly well written, the setting is great and the worldbuilding has depth and is clear and easy to follow. I highly recommend.