Crown of the Stag picks up right where Fang of the Wolf leaves off, and it raises the stakes and tension even higher! Valaria is home from searching for her father, the Varg, but the world is changing and her place in it, whether she likes it or not. Here’s a brief blurb of the book from Goodreads:

Valaria must unite the clans. If she fails, their way of life will die. 

None of the clans will heed the call to unite. Old enemies are hard to form into allies, and Valaria, caught in the middle, is honor-bound to uphold her oath to two rival clans. Navigating politics has never been her strength. She’d rather wield an axe and have it all done with.

And uniting the clans feels impossible when Valaria can barely find her place among her own people. Opposition comes from all sides. The worst are the leaders who never wanted a female warrior in the first place and believe she’s more trouble than she’s worth.

When they meet again, Culland is the ally she needs, but his father is the greatest threat to her task. No one can trust Grannd, who’s more power-hungry than all the clans put together.

But the Hundar attacks are far from over. It’s only a matter of time before full war is waged. The clans have little time to prepare. They must either unite or face the Hundar alone, an impossible feat.

The solution is far from what Valaria would conceive on her own. But she and Culland may be the union that could bring them all together.

Ratings for Crown of the Stag

Story: 5/5

Worldview: 5/5

Henderson is proving herself to be an amazing storyteller. The pacing, tension, and world building is perfect. The story never drags and yet there’s quiet moments of reflection and intrigue even in the middle of mounting threats against the clans. Valaria learns more about herself and begins to earn her new place in the world. I loved seeing her new friends and camaraderie. There’s a lot of men in this novel but very little romance, more focused on fighting together as warriors and friends. I also loved learning more about Culland, though I still think there’s quite a few mysteries left to uncover…

Worldview is not Christian, but the themes of honor and loyalty establish in book one are deepened and explored. All in all, I love how this series feels like a fun, wholesome adventure about to reach an epic conclusion. There were mentions of destiny and a spirit, but nothing beyond what was mentioned in book one, so I can’t tell if it’s just meant to be a dream or a real ghost. I also appreciated that any romance mentioned or hinted at was very bound by rules. For example, even kissing was seen as dishonorable if outside of betrothal or marriage, which felt realistic for the time period. I also loved that, despite the political intrigue, a lot of advice was just “talk about it; speak clearly.” The tension came from the rising stakes and not from melodrama, which is always a plus for me.

Overall thoughts

Henderson is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine with this series. 🙂 As soon as I finish Valaria Descending I may have to go pick up one of her other books!

Note: I received an eARC of this book and all thoughts expressed are my own.