Book Review: The Opal King by Aerin Apeltun

The third book in the Cursed Weapons trilogy, The Opal King brings the epic story of Amethyst/Samphire and her companions to a very satisfying conclusion. Well … almost (if you’ve read it you know what I mean, wink wink).

In all seriousness, Book Three continues to give us Aerin’s wonderful descriptions of a colourful and enchanting world, populated by vivid and distinctive races of people in far-flung lands. I particularly enjoy that each book has a bit of land-based action and a bit of seafaring adventure, along with healthy doses of magic and romance, and it’s all blended together to make the world and the players in it feel very real.

Book Three sees the party travel to repair the Crystal Vortex that has been slowly disintegrating and taking the lands with it, in a race to stop their enemies who would see the Vortex destroyed for their own ends. There’s lots of inter-family drama, and the now established couples in the group all go through more perils and uncertainty before the end. And of course, more discoveries about the re-emerging magic of the world.

There’s not much more I can say without giving spoilers, but if you’ve read the first two then you’ll definitely enjoy the conclusion of the story. The end even introduces a few more characters, some new lands and reveals new abilities of the Magic Spinners, so maybe we’ll see some more stories in the world of Elvedon? Aerin is certainly a very prolific author, with at least one more series available now (there could be more, I can’t keep up with her!) so it’s entirely possible!

All in all, a great book, a great fantasy/romance trilogy, and a great and imaginative author!