The Scarecrow Queen by Melinda Salisbury

The final battle is coming . . .

As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on Lormere and Tregellan, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him. Twylla and Errin are separated, isolated, and running out of time. The final battle is coming, and Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever . . .

Warning: spoilers for previous books, and possibly some minor ones for book three.

This is the epic finale, one that I've been waiting eagerly for, and it did not disappoint. Told in joint perspectives between Twylla and Errin, we see the multiple angles planning for the war, with Errin in the castle and Twylla on the front lines. All these characters, the girls especially, have grown so much, seen so much that has changed them and they've had to change with it, and I' so happy with their ending. 

Errin is being held captive at the castle by Aurek, who has a little doll of her that he uses to control her. Silas is being forced to make the Elixir and Lief is Aurek's right-hand man, hunting down resistance. Meanwhile, Twylla is on the run and trying to find help to overpower Aurek's rule. Not a great start to the revolution but Twylla becomes the symbol of hope when she used to be for death, and it's a great turn around and development for her character. I just loved to see her face her fears and become the leader that everyone knew she could be.

We also see the return of Merek, the supposedly dead prince, who helps Errin escape and joins the rebellion - I can remember liking Merek in book one and he really comes into his own here; as the rightful king, he has that natural leadership and power but wants what is best of his people. He also wants Twylla, which was utterly adorable, as they both have bigger concerns but their attraction was electric. 

Everything was pulled together, all the different story lines tied up, as well as a somewhat hopeful new start for the kingdom. Salisbury's writing just flowed, I had actually forgotten how good her writing was but I fell right back into it, her almost lyrical descriptions and beyond complicated and dark characters. It was the perfect ending to this story.

Published 2nd March 2017 by Scholastic.