Wild Savage Stars | Bright Raven Skies by Kristina Perez | Reviews

Inspired by the legend of Tristan and Iseult, Kristina Pérez's Wild Savage Stars is the spellbinding sequel to Sweet Black Waves.
Branwen has a secret powerful enough to destroy two kingdoms.
Her ancient magic led to a terrible betrayal by both her best friend, the princess Essy, and her first love, Tristan. Now this same magic is changing Branwen. Adrift in a rival court, Branwen must hide the truth from the enemy king by protecting the lovers who broke her heart—and finds herself considering a darker path.
Not everyone wants the alliance with Branwen’s kingdom to succeed—peace is balanced on a knife’s edge, and her only chance may be to embrace the darkness within...
And don't miss the thrilling conclusion in Bright Raven Skies!
An Imprint Book
“Come for the torrid romance, stay for the dramatic intrigue and fierce feminism.” —Kirkus Reviews

After reading and loving Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez, I was eager to continue on with the trilogy. Wild Savage Stars is book two and yes, there will be spoilers for book one in this review. Perez’s trilogy is an underrated romantic fantasy that re-tells the story of Tristan and Isolde. It includes an element of magic and world building. I devoured the last two books of the trilogy, one right after the other. I ended up enjoying it so much that I asked for and received Wild Savage Stars for Christmas.

Wild Savage Stars picks up where Sweet Black Waves leaves off. Branwen, her cousin Eseult, and Tristan are headed on a ship from Iveriu to Kernyv. Eseult and Tristan have both consumed the Loving Cup and given in to their lust and had relations. They are undeniably in lust for each other. This is unfortunate for Branwen who had strong feelings for Tristan. In Kerynyv, it is a court comprised of people who were formerly enemies of Iveriu, so they’re straight into a nest of some vipers. Eseult is preparing for her marriage to Marc and dreading the marriage bed. Meanwhile, Branwen is prepared to sacrifice everything for the peace. Also, her hand of Briga power has started to change and so, Branwen also has to make choices and figure that out.

I genuinely enjoyed Wild Savage Stars. There were moments where I did feel like it went on overlong. Honestly, a part of that is because I am so used to reading shorter books lately, so not really to be chalked up to this book. However, I liked that this scratched the itch for romantic fantasy. Branwen is such an interesting character even though she doesn’t always get it right. I loved that this series focused on her, rather than Eseult. Also? I really found myself super annoyed with Eseult and Tristan and how they didn’t give the same effort that Branwen did. Both came off pretty selfish and I just kept forgetting to chalk that up to being under the spell of the Loving Cup. Still, Kristina Perez’s second entry into her Tristan/Isolde re-telling trilogy is well worth reading.

Bright Raven Skies is the conclusion to the Sweet Black Waves trilogy and wow does Kristina Perez pack a punch. I inhaled this story over Christmas Eve and Christmas. It completely transported me to Kernyv and beyond. I found myself so eager to see how this story resolves and wraps up.

Kernyv was recently at risk due to an attack by a rival kingdom. In order to save King Marc and keep the peace, Branwen turns to Dhusnos, who is essentially the god of death, to save Kernyv. Unfortunately, this means that Branwen must find and make a new shade for Dhusnos in order to fulfill a bargain. She also finds that she is enjoying stealing lives. While the raid happens, Tristan and Eseult disappear. Of course, Branwen fears the worst and that Tristan and Eseult’s liaison will endanger the peace for which she sacrificed for Iveriu and Kernyv. Bright Raven Skies is a conclusion, but even more, it is the story of the battle for Branwen’s soul, I would say. It is also a story of atonement.

The way that the trilogy resolves is perfect. I’ll admit, there is a lot of tragedy within Bright Raven Skies. In fact, there is a certain character who dies that it genuinely hurt to read about. I had found myself rooting for a happy ending for that character. However, beyond that, I did like how this story does turn the legend of Tristan and Isolde on it’s head. I liked that it imagined a new way of ending that valued freedom and independence. I found myself actually not hating Eseult at the end of this.

Of course, I still rooted for Branwen most of all. We also got to meet some new side characters who were infinitely interesting and who I could just go on reading more about. This is a trilogy that you need to read if you enjoy romantic fantasy. I think there’s a real void with that kind of thing – lots of epic fantasy which is great- but this really fulfilled the something different need that I had.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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