Full review of the series Legends of the Tri-Gard.
Customary warning: This is a reminder that these are my personal opinions. My thoughts and feelings are not your thoughts and feelings. I may not always be the target audience for a book; sometimes I am. If I do not like a book, that doesn’t mean you’ll dislike it. If I love a book or simply like a book, you may hate it. Take everything I say with this knowledge. If it sounds interesting to you despite what I’ve said, then go ahead and read it. You’ll only know you like something if you read it yourself.
That being said… Spoilers ahead.
Legends of the Tri-Gard by Michelle Bryan & M. Lynn
Reviews
What I Liked:
I liked the four main characters. I felt that they all were close to my heart and important. Trystan, Rissa, Davion, and Alixa meant something to me and their problems mattered.
Relationships: Regardless of the relationships, each grew and changed throughout the story. In terms of Rissa and Davion, it strengthened in its resolve. Alixa and Trystan’s grew from nothing into something. Trystan and Davion’s relationship was well centered and a major source of conflict for Davion. Rissa and Alixa grew to care for each other and Riss and Trystan did everything for the other. The relationships had time backing them, or took time to grow. I appreciated it, and how they strengthened with time.
Culture; The culture of the two opposing countries was different enough, and more of the same, that I could buy that they could get together at the end. The language was interesting. I would have liked more but I was happy with what I got.
War; It wasn’t a one battle end all sort of thing that I appreciated. There were clear tactics, and a point to the battles. I like how in truth this war has been going on since the magic was taken. I liked the preparation for war, the position of Toha, and how everything was set up for it. The entire book was about a single war and we just witnessed the final battle at the end.
Secondary and Tertiary Characters; These characters were as well developed as they could be within the confines of the story. I found the detail to them great for the length.
Evil motivations; For Davion’s father it really seemed like he went crazy, with a bit of bitter anger towards Trystan’s father. I like my occasional crazy evil bad guy, when there is a bit of explanation given.
Prophecy; I liked how this was used throughout the series with multiple ones and how in the end it all came to pass. I appreciate a good prophecy that has weight, matters, and turns out the way this one did.
The Ending; The fact that Trystan becomes king of both countries (and essentially everywhere) is amazing. I can’t say how many times, I’ve read that the kingdoms are split apart once more with one king here and one king there. It would only add tension. If a kingdom wins? They take over. Trystan needed to be king of all because he was the king they needed and everyone knew that. He knew that. And he got it.
What I Would Have Liked or Changed:
More on Magic; I suppose since it was such a massive part of the story, I would have liked it used more often? Or had more on it? I feel like the Tri-gard used it a lot but that was about it. Probably biased because soft magic systems are not my thing.
More on Other Cultures; There are two more sections to Drench other than the warring Drench-Sciene and Drench-Dhoun. Learning more about them and their cultures would have been nice. I feel like all we got were off handed mentions, or the characters traveling through the countries (sections).
More on Language; I said this in every one of my reviews. If there was a language I wanted more than just “trust brother.” Was there a magic language? Was there more to this language? Was it an ancient language lost to time but a few phrases other than this one? I wanted more.
Why You Should Read:
In general, when compared to The True Story of Rapunzel there were many thing I think this series did better (war, characters, relationships). The total time taken was not too long, and they are easy read. There are some really great lines in the books and the author is super nice. Up to you, but if you want a quick, fun read, to get you through for a bit. This could be your bet.
Time Taken To Read
3hrs 26min
Rating: 4/5
Marlena Marie 
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