Wow. Wow! Curious One! Can you believe what happened??! I think I might still be reeling from everything that went down and where my mind keeps taking me in potential futures for these wonderful characters. Okay, I will start at the beginning of Spring’s Rising.
It starts off right where the first one left off, which was awesome. And can I say too many times how much I do not like Oliver??! I mean, seriously, what a cowering, selfish, ignorant, thoughtless jerk. “Sometimes survival matters more than your pride”??? Really??? THAT is your defense? Ugh. I told you in the last review of Winter’s Captive how I thought he was hiding something and oh, was he hiding!
Charlie’s Resiliency in Spring’s Rising
First off, it blew me away that he would give up fighting when the ‘X’ of the Aramach was carved into Charlie’s neck. Seriously. What kind of ‘man’ gives up fighting when the one you propose to is being tortured and carved into like a slab of meat. Seriously! What the hell is wrong with him? Next, Oli shows no signs of torture. At all. And he even thanks Rhiesart for kicking him, even after all the abuse he has inflicted on Charlie. What kind of game was he playing? I will admit I had a moment where I assumed, he may be a part of the rebellion force. However, he wasn’t. He was just a coward. He ran away from the wedding, wanting to be “free” from the hand he was dealt.
Charlie, on the other hand, was amazing! She was defiant, proud, and never gave in to their torture and the glee they had in her pain. She stood up against Rhiesart, Graham and the “leader” of the rebellion who gave me a few more questions than I had before.
Anyways, Logan thankfully find them and saves them. Charlie passes out from the pain of her broken ribs and we wake up back in the camp of the band of thieves that they befriended in the first book. I think there is more to Fia than meets the eye as well. She has magic in her veins or something. She is going to be very important in the next two books, I think. I am going to say one more time how much Oli is annoying to me. All he did in this book was make me roll my eyes and want to punch him in the face. I just…really, you cannot like this boy. You just can’t.
After leaving the campsite of the thieves, the three of them, Logan, Charlie and Oliver stop for a moment and get into a severe argument. This is where Oliver confirms my suspicions and tells both Charlie and Logan that he ran away from the wedding. He wasn’t kidnapped until two days prior to Charlie being kidnapped and he is “sorry.” He says sorry like a million times and it is also very annoying. Anyways, they hear hoofbeats and think it is the Aramach, but it is Finn – remember, he is Charlie’s amazing younger brother – and they are finally reunited.
With the H’Ria and Luan combined soldiers they make their way safely back to the castle. They even stop to return George, the horse they borrowed from Jimmy and Bridget along with a purse of coin and thanks. This moment made me cry, of course, I mean, I’m a total wuss when it comes to compassion and Bridget just made me cave. I love how much Charlie loves them after only two days. It is a powerful statement in this book because the people she is surrounded by are schemers and betrayers who want nothing more than to kill and take and burn. I love Jimmy and Bridget and George the Horse!
McBay – The Wildcard of Spring’s Rising
Everyone gets back to Laird McBay’s property – including Isla who stayed there while Fin went to catch up to Charlie and Logan – and Camdyn (Laird McBay’s son) helps them. They stay the night and continue their journey back to the castle the following morning. Something happened though, between McBay and Charlie and I think that he will either be a really, really good guy or he is going to assist in their downfall. Something seemed a bit off and different than it was supposed to, I think. Although, Camdyn is going to be a big character in the next couple books as well. He will become a new, close friend and maybe even one of her council members in the future.
Charlie took to fever during their journey and began to fade in and out of conscious and during this time, Logan said something that confirms my suspicions. He truly loves her and has loved her since they were children. It kind of breaks my heart because no matter what choices are made and no matter what happens, there is going to be heartbreak in the future for this world. I’m probably going to cry… Again….
Back at the castle, Charlie is looked at, bandaged and stitched up by a doctor. After a few weeks of sleeping all day she finally wakes up. Things have gotten worse in H’Ria and Luan. The people think that the Lochlann Treaty is ruined, that war will finally erupt in their lands after the tentative 18 years of peace and that they should make the first move instead of waiting for the first move to be taken by their “enemy.” It’s a heartbreaking line of thought, but also a very valid and understandable one.
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The Stressors of Arranged Marriages
So, in order to combat this, Charlie continues on with the marriage in order to do what is best for her people. She no longer loves Oliver because of his betrayal, but she dutifully agrees to “sell her body and soul” in order to ensure peace in their lands.
I really like the king of Luanian – Oliver and Logan’s father Rowan – he seems like the only person in charge of Luan who has a good and kind heart.
Isla gets news that she is to be married to the duke of Socair in a few weeks and that Oliver will not change it for her. This pisses Charlie off and so she makes the plans for a different marriage. Isla, Finn, Logan and Charlie all leave the palace in the guise of a picnic. Isla and Fin’s love for each other is so obvious, it’s beautiful and I’m really happy that Charlie did it for them. You can feel their love and passion and Charlie knew it was the only way to get them the happiness they deserved. Only one couple had to be miserable in order to ensure the safety of the people of their kingdoms in Spring’s Rising.
However, when this was all revealed in a council meeting, I have a feeling that the alliance to Socair was more than what she was informed it was. I think there’s something more there and I think Laird Earc has something to do with it. Like usual, Earc is not who I think he is. He is hiding and scheming and he was absurdly upset about the secret marriage and Charlie dissolving the marriage alliance to Socair. Something is up. Earc also knew and assisted with Oli’s escape. He was the one who trashed the room, blamed the servant, and planted the Aramach flag to frame the rebellion in kidnapping when he knew all along it was just a boy fleeing his responsibility. I personally think that Earc convinced Oliver to do what he did, poisoning his mind against what he needed to do.
It Runs In the Family
Earc is a bad, bad man. His sister, Isla’s mother, is bad as well. She abuses Isla physically and that really pisses me off.
So, Charlie and Oliver continue to pretend they are in love, even helping the people with their weekly complaint assistance and anyone who may have information on the Aramach rebellion force. Fia shows up and Charlie takes her information privately, sending her to Logan for what she assumes is an intimate altercation. Fia returns shortly to Charlie’s surprise and they share some wine while Fia updates her on the Bala children and the Aramach rebellion. Logan finds them and after Fia leaves Logan and Charlie share more wine. Charlie gets drunk and you know what happens after that – an argument, some hurtful words thrown out followed by a session of revealing the truth.
After Logan finally returns safely from his mission a few days later, Charlie makes the realization that she has loved Logan her whole life. It was heartbreaking, what happened between them underneath her willow tree, because she ended up walking away with the statement of “now I must go sell my body to protect my kingdom.”
There is a celebration in honor of the spring festival, Isla and Finn’s wedding as well as the future of Charlie and Oliver’s wedding. If you remember, she set the date during the meeting earlier when she informed the council of the surprise marriage between Finn and Isla. Anyways, during the dinner, Earc made the comment that if his nephew, Oliver, hadn’t returned or been found, he would have been happy to take his place in the Lochlann Treaty because she would have made a fine companion. It was said of course not in a good way – he was drunk – and Logan stepped in to try and keep him quiet.
Earc dissed Logan and his dead mother and left the party, to the notice of every single guest in attendance. Oliver, naturally, laughed it off (yes, I am making an angry and annoyed face at him right now) and the party continued.
Later, during the dancing, King Rowan from Luan asked Charlie for a dance. She could see that he knew what his son had done, that the truth about their circumstances was revealed to him and she prepared herself for the discussion about it. However, the king fell over choking and died. Yup, you read it. He died. He was poisoned.
Does None of This Surprise You?
Now, isn’t it a bit suspicious how things keep happening to prevent the Lochlann Treaty from being fulfilled? First, Oliver runs away out of the blue and now the King of Luan is poisoned within the walls of the castle in H’Ria? Does none of this surprise you? And Earc was nowhere to be seen, having left earlier and never coming back….
I mean, I’m just saying, but it seems as though Charlie’s thought of Fia having been the one to poison the king is totally off-kilter (just because she had the poison in her room at the thieve camp). Don’t you think that maybe Earc, Isla’s mother, or even the Queen of Luan herself may have been more inclined to do it? Earc is always furious and during the meeting King Rowan embarrassed him. Isla’s mother only ever allowed Earc into her rooms and she abuses Isla, she is also furious about how her daughter married a prince of H’Ria. So, does she not also have motive to poison her brother for allowing such a thing to happen and to dissolve the treaty alliance, causing a war in revenge and the hopes of Finn dying in said war? What about the Queen of Luan? She is consistently rude to Charlie and she also seems very suspicious. She refuses to look at her dead husband AND on during the last chapter, she pulled her hand away from Charlie’s comforting gesture and clung to Oliver. Will she now try to poison the mind of her son as well? He is obviously easy to manipulate….
Just some thoughts…
Quickly here, before this gets too much longer, I wanted to mention how Isla looked like the Faerie Queen of Spring for her wedding. I’m not sure what will happen next with the pattern here, but hopefully it’s a hint. Maybe Charlie has the same magic blood as Fia, she just doesn’t know it. You know there must be a reason for the Faerie Queen hints. Something is amiss and I want to know what it is!!!
Charlie was very queen-like as well during the council meetings, especially when she informed them of the marriage of the decision to continue with the Lochlann Treaty. She was giving her soul away and breaking her heart, but almost no one knew it in Spring’s Rising. She is so strong; I hope her world isn’t too unbearable in the next two books.
Coming to the End of Spring’s Rising
I’m also concerned on how this plays out in the long run, being that Spring’s Rising is only book two of the Lochlann Treaty series. Charlie is so disdainful and unable to control all her feelings when it comes to both Logan and Oliver. She cannot hide her love and concern for Logan. She cannot hide her hate and disdain for Oliver. I have a feeling something will happen that will make her snap either direction. She will drive Logan away to do what’s best for her people or Logan will leave which will break her heart and she will let fear and hate fester and grow within her heart replacing the love and kindness that is currently there. Oliver will be an idiotic boy like always and do something to jeopardize things again or Charlie will cling to him in the absence of Logan and come to terms with what must be done.
Or maybe one of them will die. I honestly cannot say for sure. King Rowan being poisoned literally came out of the blue for me. I did not expect that to happen. Not even a little bit.
So, in the end, I am all over the place here. Hahah!! What about you? What are your thoughts Curious One? Who poisoned the king on H’Rian soil and who will betray them all, leading to war and destruction? How will Charlie overcome any future obstacles? Will she accept the X carved into her neck? How will the King and Queen of H’Ria handle any uprising from the death of the Luanian King?
I hope you stayed with me for all of this and I really hope you keep reading this series with me. Spring’s Rising was unexpected and well thought out. The characters remained both annoying and lovable and strong; each character and each storyline developed greatly during this book. I cannot wait to read on!
Join me now in continuing to book three in the Lochlann Treaty Series – Summer’s Rebellion. You know what happens now, Curious One. It’s time for another book…
Check out my Curiosity of book one of The Lochlann Treaty Series – Winter’s Captive!
Check out the authors of Spring’s Rising at the following links:
Robin D. Mahle’s Twitter
Elle Madison’s Twitter
Robin D. Mahle’s Website
Elle Madison’s Facebook
Book 1: Winter’s Captive
Book 2: Spring’s Rising
Book 3: Summer’s Rebellion
Book 4: Autumn’s Reign
You can also purchase Spring’s Rising through Amazon here!
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If you enjoyed my Curiosity on Spring’s Rising, check out some other discussions in the Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller, and Other pages! Make sure to check out the Time for a Notebook as well for notes on things book related!
