Helm of Awe: Anchoress Series Book Three by D.L. Armillei – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Helm of Awe by D.L. Armillei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Vanessa Cross is back another year later and another year wiser, or at least she hopes so, but when she is the last of her teammates in the yearly Jaychund games and is confronted by the last team member on the opposing side, Vanessa experiences a surge of anger against the outsider who has barged in and taken what should have been hers, the winners circle. Vanessa is frustrated by this loss and is compounded by the needling comments her stepmother keeps making towards her loss in the games, compounded with her happy, secret boyfriend and Vanessa’s lack of one, but this just keeps Vanessa in a state of anger which pushes away all those around her, especially her best friend and her ex-boyfriend who seem to be getting closer by the day. Another thing irking her is that her boyfriend, the Balish crown prince Ferox, hasn’t spoken to her for ages and she has no idea why, so she plans on going up to the Living world early to confront him and find out why, she tries not to think about the fact that she also hasn’t spoken to him, so she decides on a plan of action and attempts to carry it out.

Unfortunately, her superiors are having none of it and refuse her request, but Vanessa bends the rules to breaking point and ends up going anyway, but this only leads to more questions when she is briefed about her summer and it is not to Vanessa’s liking at all. This leads to arguments and in the end they have to open up to Vanessa and give her the details about the goings on in the Living world and how the dangers to her life have increased. More of the Balish people have become sick with the virus which hit the whole of the upper worlds last year, but more than that, an old enemy has returned and is seemingly a part of the family again, but this doesn’t have the desired affect on Vanessa and she still insists on going and in the end, they acquiesce to her request, but not without conditions.

As the mission starts and her team has been assembles, the journey starts to head deep into Balish territory to fix another of the ancient seals, however, Vanessa is feeling a pull in another direction and tries her hardest to complete, even though her powers are on the fritz and she is struggling to access them. When she slips up and breaks a minor Balish rule, she ends up in another different set of games and her life just becomes more complicated as she has to battle for survival again, but will she prevail, or will this be the end of her and her team? In another action packed adventure, this fantastical journey continues with more twists, turns, danger and intrigue than ever as assassins, old enemies and the royal family combine to make this journey a treacherous one.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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