Blog tour: The Offering (The Pledge #3) by Kimberly Derting + review and giveaway

By Laurie T - January 08, 2014

The Offering (The Pledge #3) by Kimberly Derting

YA dystopian

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published December 31st 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

True love—and world war—is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy.

Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She’s done admirable work to restore Ludania’s broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she’s mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks.

When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom.

But things aren’t always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap—one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.

Excerpt:
The two guards dragged Xander toward a small, round opening in the stone floor, a hole through which blood could easily drain away to the sewers. They, along with two others who’d appeared, pinned him to the ground while he continued to writhe and scream. They waited until he was too weary to fight any longer. Until he had no other option but to accept this fate he’d been handed.

Then the executioner raised his blade.

Niko would have closed his eyes, if Elena wasn’t observing him so keenly. Unlike Niko, she had no interest in turning away. She seemed to relish the moment.

When the axe fell and the sharp crack of metal struck stone beneath, he felt the slightest jerk from beside him. But when he turned his gaze on her, he saw that she was frowning at the hem of her gown, rather than at the grisly view at her feet.

“Will you look at that,” she clucked, craning her neck to get a better look, and ignoring everything else going on around her. “He got blood on my new dress.”

Praise for The Offering

"This was a truly epic ending to the series." --Crystal Perkins, Goodreads Review

"The final book in Kimberly Derting’s Pledge trilogy is a thrilling conclusion. I was immediately swept up into it and powered right through. It was pretty much what I wanted with a few surprises along the way." --Krys at Bibliopunkk Reads

Charlie is back in this satisfying conclusion to The Pledge series. Charlie is actually the teen Queen Charlaina of Ludania and she shares her body with another, Sabara, an evil queen. The series has shown Charlie's dealing with this 'essence' inside of her and has finally gotten a grasp at effectively controlling this mean queen. But--we know it's coming--in The Offering, Sabara is not quite done with Charlie. She wants control--of Charlie's body and of the Queendoms and she is going to try and get it no matter the costs.

Other favorite characters return including Max, Sage and Brooklyn (we also get their POV's which was great) and others we can't stand like Niko. Charlie has matured and accepted her official role and now she wants to get rid of Sabara once and for all. Niko wants Sabara and will do what is necessary to get her. Charlie steps up, forced to deal with Queen Elena's answer to peace when her messengers Niko and Max don't return. I won't give away too many details since this is the last book. I was glad to see Charlie step it up and act like a real Queen in The Offering.

I have always enjoyed Ms. Derting's writings, especially the way she handles relationships (The Body Finder was an excellent series), romance, and character development. There were times when I wanted more backstory throughout this series and in The Offering the pacing did slow down when I expected it to quicken (the author excels at tension). I enjoyed Charlie's continual development and when the action kicked in, it kicked in. All in all, I thought this was a very good way to end this trilogy. I enjoyed it.

Rating: 4

Cover comment:

In line with the other covers, but this one sports more of a brighter, optimistic, dare I say 'champion-like' color? Love the blue.

Book source:

I received a promotional copy in exchange for my honest review during a book tour. Thanks to Margaret K. McElderry Books.

About the author:

Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series, THE PLEDGE trilogy, and THE TAKING (coming April 2014 from HarperTeen). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.