The Rising Wave Series by Michelle Diener - Series Review

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Books in the Series:

• The Rising Wave (Novella)

• The Turncoat King

• The Threadbare Queen

• Fate's Arrow

• Truth's Blade

Best Book: Truth's Blade (Book 4)

Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance

Spice: Medium

Summary:

Ava, the niece of the Queen of Kassia, has been held prisoner for years by her cousin, the Queen’s son. Ava has a unique magical skill that runs in her mother’s family to imbue objects with magic by embroidering. Her cousin intends to force Ava to use her skills for his personal gain, but as Ava continues to refuse, she knows he is running out of patience. As Ava is preparing an escape attempt, a wrench is thrown in her plans when a heavily injured warrior is placed in Ava’s dungeon cell.

Luc Frank has been enslaved by the Kassians since he was a young boy. His people, the Cervantes, have always been known for their extraordinary fighting skills, and the current Queen made the decision years ago to exploit the Cervantes by placing their children in what she called Chosen Camps where they would train to become an elite unit of the Kassian army. Luc started a rebellion, the Rising Wave, to free his people from Kassian control. Betrayed by one of his fellow rebels, Luc was captured, tortured, and thrown into Ava's dungeon cell.

When Ava makes the pivotal choice to abandon her escape and use the last of her hidden thread to sew up Luc’s injuries, they agree to attempt to escape the dungeon together. This partnership will lead them on a path to fight for true independence from those that held them prisoners.

Reaction:

The Rising Wave series is a fantasy romance series with a unique magic system featuring rebellion, rescue missions, and an interconnected world. I particularly enjoyed that while the magic system and politics in this series are varied and well-developed, they are not overly complicated. For example, the variety of magic skills seems vast, but each skill has clear focus and limitations. The plot is relatively easy to follow but still filled with enough mystery and tension to keep the reader engaged. This series is relatively light on fighting and war for a series that features a rebellion; the fighting sequences are usually quick and not overly detailed. The romance in these books is sweet, and the characters are decisive in their intentions. I did want more character development from the series. I felt like there were a lot of opportunities to touch on it specifically, but it wasn’t really a focus of the narrative. The first entry is The Rising Wave, a novella length story, which is critical to read before starting the first full length book, The Turncoat King. Do not skip the novella! The first three entries in the series focus on Ava and Luc, and the last two books introduce related POVs to expand the story. I think the introduction of the new POVs keeps the story interesting and fresh; I did not mind the switch in characters. Overall, I enjoyed reading this series, and would recommend it to those who want a fast-paced easy to follow sweet romantasy book.