Balance (The Neumarian Chronicles #3)

SPECULATIVE FICTION:  Battles, life, death, love and friendship have shaped Semara in a way the Queen could have never foreseen. Now, the time has come for the final battle – will the Triune be able to free everyone, as was foretold? Will they survive the attacks, betrayals, and most of all – each other? The pressure mounts, and Semara, Ryder, Raeth and Penton have to figure once and for all who they are and what they are willing to do to win…

In this long anticipated finale to Ciara Knight's The Neumarian Chronicles, the author guides readers through epic battle scenes and her characters’ emotional journeys and leaves them satisfied. 

Picking up right where "Pendulum" left off, this volume is very definitely NOT a standalone.  All the loose ends from the first two books are resolved, a reader gets to see the old gang become everything they promised to be, and more. Perhaps the ending, as well as the answers to various mysteries (who the traitor was, who the prophecy referred to,…) were too well-foreshadowed, so much of the book might feel slightly flat, emotionally. Also, after the previous two books, the time of the confrontation loomed large, so many events here seem to have been written just to postpone it. 

Nevertheless, this is a trilogy readers shouldn’t hesitate to pick up if they like Steampunk or Dystopian YA!

Mimi Smith