by James R. Hannibal
publisher’s synopsis
Darkness Looms in the Dragon Lands
War is brewing. New threats have emerged in Keledev. The watchmen of Thousand Falls and the Windhold find goblin tunnels in the slopes of the mountain barrier that may hold many dangerous creatures. At the same time, scouting missions into the Dragon Lands confirm that the dragons are building an army of tortured Aladoth villagers to destroy the Liberated Land.
To protect Kara Orso, the young woman Connor and Lee rescued, the headmaster sends them to the Second Hall to face the intrigues of the Assembly in her place. Far to the south, the two cadets learn of an old weapon designed to end the war between the dragons and the Liberated Land forever. To restore the honor of his family and renew the hope of his people, Connor believes he must find the weapon and use it to destroy the dragon leader.
While Connor, Lee, and an assemblyman’s daughter scour the Dragon Lands for the weapon, Kara and Tiran are drawn north into the Forest of Horrors on a mission of their own—to find and save one tortured man. To succeed, both parties must face their fears and lean on the peace and strength of the Rescuer.
If you liked Wolf Solider, you’ll enjoy the story’s continuation in Bear Knight!
Bear Knight picks up around a year after the end of Wolf Solider. At first, I was a little confused by the time lapse, but figured it out quickly.
Bear Knight follows the core group of characters from Wolf Solider, as well as introduces some new ones. I liked how Kara’s character arc wrestled with forgiveness. Hannibal did a nice job with it, and it felt pretty authentic.
While Wolf Solider followed one main plot thread, with two POV characters, Bear Knight balances four POVs, all following different plots (for the most part). While all of the POVs and plot threads made sense and added to the story, it did make the book feel like it was hopping around a little. I maybe would have cut Aaron’s POV? Though it is needed at times. . . There was one point where the pacing of the plot felt off, but it soon made sense why (the pacing wasn’t off, but spoilers 😉).
The book ends with danger looming on the horizon for our characters, which will doubtlessly unfold in the trilogy’s conclusion.
Cautions: light romance; non-graphic moderate violence
Hailey Huntington 