Review of Wilde's Army

Goodreads Summary: "“Hello, Katriona.”

Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of.

However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem.

Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested.

How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?"

May contain spoilers if you have not already read Wilde's Fire, and if you have not yet read Wilde's Fire you should go do that now.

Wilde's Army drops you right back where Wilde's Fire left off, literally. I mean, you could combine the novels at this point and it would pretty much be seamless. Which makes this girl a very happy camper. I hate missing out on anything in my favorite books.

You guys know I'm big into characters, they literally make or break a novel for me. I want realistic characters that actually grow throughout the course of a book, that make me want to be friends with them or fall in love with them or just hate them. I want to feel something for them! Krystal Wade does an amazing job with this. You really see the growth of her characters especially Perth and Brit. The evolution for all of the characters is gradual, which I appreciate since no one changes over night. And you can really see them struggling with their growth, struggling to grow into better people.

Kate, our heroine, is still one of my favorite characters to date. I can relate to her so much! She's impulsive, hot-tempered, wants to rush into things, but still she has a huge capacity for love and will defend her loved ones until the end. I love that she isn't perfect. I love that she struggles with being the "Light", with being the heroine to these people. I love that she makes mistakes. That sometimes she messes things up by rushing in, that things don't always work out perfectly for her. That she does lose.

You may recall, if you read my review of Wilde's Fire, that I have a great deal of love for the romance between Kate and Arland. I called it delectable to be precise. So yes, I do love it a great deal. Its really well done. Yet one of my favorite aspects of this novel is that you don't see a great deal of that romance in Wilde's Army, they have their romantic scenes but they are few and far between compared to what you saw in Wilde's Fire...which means that Arland can't always bail Kate out. Which means, yes, you guessed it, Kate is one her own. I love that we get to see her this way as things play out in Wilde's Army. You really get a feel for her as a standalone heroine who doesn't need a man, who can do things on her own.

My one complaint from this novel would be that I didn't give enough time with Flanna, who was one of my favorite characters from the previous novel. I love her wit, her sarcasm, the way that she doesn't grumble overly much when she has to do what a girls gotta do, and how well she pulls everyone together. I hope in Wilde's Meadow, the third and I believe final book in the series, we get to see a lot more of her.

Overall I think Wilde's Army was a great continuation of Wilde's Fire and I'm looking forward to reading what Krystal Wade has in store for us with Wilde's Meadow. :]

Rating: 5/5

I received an E-ARC of Wilde's Army from Netgalley and Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for a fair and honest review.