Welcome to my stop for this tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours!
Check out my review and the tour giveaway below...
Sanctuary for Seers
(Stranje House #5)
By Kathleen Baldwin
YA Historical, Magical Realism
Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, 358 Pages
June 15, 2023 by Ink Lion Books
Summary
The highly anticipated fifth and final book in the bestselling Stranje House series.
What if you'd been born at a dangerous and superstitious time two centuries ago... and you had the unusual ability to see not only the tangible world but also the spiritual and emotional realms?
When her family banishes her to Stranje House, Sera learns the importance of keeping some things secret.
At Stranje house, a school for unusual girls, Sera hides her abilities but finds friendship among the other girls who each possess remarkable talents. These outcast young women are secretly being trained to enter the perilous world of espionage, diplomacy, and war.
Conquering Europe wasn't enough; now Napoleon wants Britain. He and his band of assassins and spies, the Iron Crown, led by the ruthless Ghost, have abducted the Prince Regent. With Britain teetering on ruin, the young ladies of Stranje House must join the desperate hunt to find the Prince before it's too late. Now, more than ever, Sera's secret gifts are needed to help avert disaster. Dare she risk it?
Amid the chaos, Sera discovers the only person who truly understands her is the one man they all fear. The man set on destroying England. Can she save her homeland and her heart... from Ghost?
"An outstanding alternative history series entry and a must-have for teen libraries." -Junior Library Guild on Refuge for Masterminds
My Review
SANCTUARY FOR SEERS, just as in prior books in the series, takes the perspective of one of Miss Stranje's students. Each of them have unique strengths and talents, and must find how to trust in themselves and their sisterhood to come out victorious in the end. The story is full of friendship, found family, danger, as well as some romance. It's an entertaining read from beginning to end!
I have immensely enjoyed this series! It was a pleasure to come back to the school. This concluding book brings everything to a final head as Miss Stranje's girls and their counterparts face Ghost and Napoleon one last time. This story focuses on Sera with her ability to see into the spiritual realm. It's an interesting talent or "gift" as Miss Stranje labels it, and aides her in connecting with an enemy and helping to bring a hopeful positive end to the conflict. I wasn't sure about Sera. She doesn't think rationally or logically at the beginning of the story as she doubts her worth, which was frustrating to me. She's not my favorite of the girls, but I still really liked her. She definitely has a bit of a development arc as she begins to understand how very loved she is just what she can do.
The story runs the gambit of emotions. It's fairly evenly paced at the beginning as the characters are all reintroduced, but then it begins to have some climatic moments that build toward the end. I won't share any spoilers. I will only share that I found the direction the story takes interesting with a very clear battle between light and dark. I very much enjoyed seeing each of these girls I've learned to love come into their own and play the roles they've been training for.
I did have a few misgivings with the story as well. I already mentioned some frustration with the main character. That eased towards the end of the story. My other issue was with the very strong focus towards the end. It's not that I actually have issue with that focus or with Sera's gift... more that I felt it wasn't consistent with the series as a whole and that it felt off to have such a deep love (you can still forgive and love without going quite as far as Sera did here) for someone who did terrible things to those closest to you. There also still seemed to be things that happened I felt these women and men should have been more prepared for. Those things made this story feel a bit like it was forced.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a worthy conclusion to the series. I'd love to go back and read it all through another time. If you're a fan of the series or enjoy historical YA with a bit of a paranormal or magical realism aspect, then I'd definitely recommend this one!
Content: Some violence, but would consider this clean.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Rockstar Book Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Other Books in the Series
(Linked to my reviews.)
About the Author
Kathleen loves adventure in books and in real life. She taught rock climbing in the Rockies, survival camped in the desert and the snow, was stalked by a mountain lion, lost an argument with a rattlesnake, enjoyed way too many classes in college, fell in love at least a dozen times, and married her very own hero. They’ve raised four free-spirited adventurous children and are enjoying their many grandchildren.
“A School for Unusual Girls, by Kathleen Baldwin, is enticing from the first sentence.” –The New York Times Sunday Book Review
#1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls Kathleen’s romantic Regency adventure, “completely original and totally engrossing.”
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Have you read any of the books in this series? If you have, what have you thought? If you didn't, does it sound like a series you'd enjoy?
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