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A review by jillsbooknook
The Silent Son by Alexis L. Menard
5.0
5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"My world begins and ends with you, Ailsa. It always has and always will."
The Silent Son is the second and final novel in the Last Daughter Duology, a High Fantasy Romance following the characters Aisla and Vali as they face the oncoming threat of Ragnorak. Yet more insidious threats loom far closer around the lover and threaten to tear them apart. There is hope that lies in a prophecy about a powerful son and he may be the key to bring them back together...if they are able to find him.
When I read The Last Daughter I was enthralled with this series. It grew into this beautiful fantasy journey with a powerful romance and I was so excited to dive into this one. This conclusion does not disappoint.
Aisla continues to be a strong and fierce character. Her love of Vali in unquestionable but her connection to her past puts things into question as she struggles with finding her place. There were elements left unresolved that no amount of love could fix. I also understood her motives and admired her tenacity and independence as she is forced to find answers in a place unfamiliar with people who are hiding things from her. She grew in this novel in ways I hadn't expected but I felt it did her justice.
Vali pulled on my heartstrings so much. Despite being this powerful figure there are some innate vulnerabilities in him. I loved seeing this balance of vulnerability and power as it made me feel really connected to his journey and success. I never doubted his love of Aisla and he gave me the same delicious feelings as his did in the first novel. He is forced to confront his actions in the past and I enjoyed this slight redemptive aspect.
We get additional POVs of Erik and Seela in the novel which helped broaden the world. I felt Erik was a good contrast to the love we see in Vali and Aisla and it made them appreciate me their love so much more. Seela's journey was also really engaging as we got to see her stand on her own and it rounded out her ending so well to see how to evolved.
This novel does contain spice. I would say around 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers as we get a few beautiful scenes between the characters. The romance is a journey in this novel and pulled on my heart so many times. There is spicy within the first 15% as these characters are in an established relationship but there is a chunk of text where they are separated so you still has this gradual romance ebb and flow. I love Vali and Ailsa and I want more of these two as these two books was not enough!
"I fell for Aisla like rain falls for the earth. Slowly, gradually, drop by drop over time, then all at once in a downpour..."
The lore and world in this story grew throughout the journey. I loved exploring Ragnorak and the prophecies around it. I also enjoyed adventuring into the different locations of Nordic mythology and engaging with different figures. This lore and world building flowed well into the story and I felt I had a good understanding of the world created without any info dumping.
The story itself has branches going off for different characters and I really loved seeing the characters be able to make these journeys. There is tension, action, betrayal, and twists that were a delight to confront as we get this end of the world prophecy mixed with search for knowledge that infused Nordic mythology well into the book. I appreciated the separation but yearned for the reconciliation that was just beautiful at the end. The payout was incredibly worth it! There was this fascinating twist at the end I wasn't expecting that made the ending so sweet for Vali and Aisla. I would love to have some slices of life for these two in the future because I am not ready to let go.
This series was an absolute delight. The fantasy, the romance, the lore, and the conflict blended so well and had me devouring this novel in a single evening. I am very quickly becoming an avid Alexis L. Menard fan.
Thank you Alexis for the ARC!
P.S. Check out the amazing art on Alexis' IG page after you read the book because it will give you so many feels when you realize the significance!
"My world begins and ends with you, Ailsa. It always has and always will."
The Silent Son is the second and final novel in the Last Daughter Duology, a High Fantasy Romance following the characters Aisla and Vali as they face the oncoming threat of Ragnorak. Yet more insidious threats loom far closer around the lover and threaten to tear them apart. There is hope that lies in a prophecy about a powerful son and he may be the key to bring them back together...if they are able to find him.
When I read The Last Daughter I was enthralled with this series. It grew into this beautiful fantasy journey with a powerful romance and I was so excited to dive into this one. This conclusion does not disappoint.
Aisla continues to be a strong and fierce character. Her love of Vali in unquestionable but her connection to her past puts things into question as she struggles with finding her place. There were elements left unresolved that no amount of love could fix. I also understood her motives and admired her tenacity and independence as she is forced to find answers in a place unfamiliar with people who are hiding things from her. She grew in this novel in ways I hadn't expected but I felt it did her justice.
Vali pulled on my heartstrings so much. Despite being this powerful figure there are some innate vulnerabilities in him. I loved seeing this balance of vulnerability and power as it made me feel really connected to his journey and success. I never doubted his love of Aisla and he gave me the same delicious feelings as his did in the first novel. He is forced to confront his actions in the past and I enjoyed this slight redemptive aspect.
We get additional POVs of Erik and Seela in the novel which helped broaden the world. I felt Erik was a good contrast to the love we see in Vali and Aisla and it made them appreciate me their love so much more. Seela's journey was also really engaging as we got to see her stand on her own and it rounded out her ending so well to see how to evolved.
This novel does contain spice. I would say around 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers as we get a few beautiful scenes between the characters. The romance is a journey in this novel and pulled on my heart so many times. There is spicy within the first 15% as these characters are in an established relationship but there is a chunk of text where they are separated so you still has this gradual romance ebb and flow. I love Vali and Ailsa and I want more of these two as these two books was not enough!
"I fell for Aisla like rain falls for the earth. Slowly, gradually, drop by drop over time, then all at once in a downpour..."
The lore and world in this story grew throughout the journey. I loved exploring Ragnorak and the prophecies around it. I also enjoyed adventuring into the different locations of Nordic mythology and engaging with different figures. This lore and world building flowed well into the story and I felt I had a good understanding of the world created without any info dumping.
The story itself has branches going off for different characters and I really loved seeing the characters be able to make these journeys. There is tension, action, betrayal, and twists that were a delight to confront as we get this end of the world prophecy mixed with search for knowledge that infused Nordic mythology well into the book. I appreciated the separation but yearned for the reconciliation that was just beautiful at the end. The payout was incredibly worth it! There was this fascinating twist at the end I wasn't expecting that made the ending so sweet for Vali and Aisla. I would love to have some slices of life for these two in the future because I am not ready to let go.
This series was an absolute delight. The fantasy, the romance, the lore, and the conflict blended so well and had me devouring this novel in a single evening. I am very quickly becoming an avid Alexis L. Menard fan.
Thank you Alexis for the ARC!
P.S. Check out the amazing art on Alexis' IG page after you read the book because it will give you so many feels when you realize the significance!