Blog Tour - Review + Giveaway: The Offering (The Pledge #3) by Kimberly Derting

Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on The Offering blog tour! Today I have for you a review of the wonderful conclusion to an amazing series. Plus, there may be a giveaway at the end ;)

Title: The Offering

Series: The Pledge #3

Previous books in this series: The Pledge (#1) | The Essence (#2)

Author: Kimberly Derting

Genre: YA, dystopian

Publication date: December 31st, 2013

Published by: Kimberly Derting

Source: ARC from publishers for review

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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis:

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.

My rating: ★★★★★
It's over! I cannot believe it! But I am happy because The Offering had the most perfect ending ever! :D

So, after the crazy happenings in The Essence, the Queen of Astonia and Charlie, Queen of Ludania, work to come to a peace agreement between the two countries. But Queen Elena plays dirty and sends Charlie a threatening message that puts those she loves (and her country) in danger. Charlie decides that in order to save her Queendom she must give herself up to Queen Elena. Only things aren't what they seem and Charlie finds herself in the most difficult position imaginable: surrender to Queen Elena the one thing Charlie is unwilling to give up, or lose those she cares for.

Gods, some Queens are just CRAZY! First Sabara, whom I still hate with a passion, and now Elena... *shakes head* You two could learn a thing or two from this newbie Queen. As I said before, I really admire Charlie and what she is willing to sacrifice for her country. She is truly a great person at heart and an amazing queen! She really wants her country to move forward, and I really believe she can make it happen because she cares! All Sabara wanted (and wants) is power. Chica, power is not the only thing you need in order to rule. But anyway, go Charlie! What she does is very brave and she trusted that she and Queen Elena would come to some sort of peace treaty... only things take a turn for the worse.

I swear, I read the prologue and I wanted to cry! There are plenty of cold-hearted witches in this book to go around! I still cant believe what Elena did to this person Charlie cares for! And Elena's side-kick? I was not surprised that this person was helping her, but Charlie trusted this person... well, I don't know that trusted is the right word, but she at least trusted that they would not betray her.

Speaking of crazy, psychotic characters whom I really hate... Niko? Yep, still hate him. I find his... "charm" deeply frustrating and I just wanted him to go away and leave Charlie alone! She can't think straight when he's around him and it's all Sabara's fault because, believe it or not, she actually has the capacity to love this creeper. And while I'm at it, I really want for Sabara to go away, as well. Not the easiest task, but not impossible. Sometimes I just thought, "Gods, Charlie, just give up Sabara to another body!" That would be easy. But at the same time I understood Charlie's reasoning why she couldn't do that: yes Charlie would finally be rid of the Evil Queen and would have her head all to herself, but that means Sabara gets to live another life and then another and her tyrannical rule would never end! Charlie... that girl is so noble and caring and I love her for it!

Brook is another of my favorite characters. She is so sassy and fun, while on the other side of the coin we have a badass girl who can kick butt and will protect her friend (and Queen) no matter what. I really liked reading the chapters in her POV because we just get to know her so much more in depth and we get to see what she is thinking after the incident with her dad in The Essence.

Max is totally swoony-worthy, as always ;) Plus those steamy make out sessions... whoo! *fans self* And Angelina is as adorable and lovable as ever! The one thing I can connect with Charlie the most is her love for her little sister. I have three young brothers who, while they annoy me more than not, I love to death and would do anything to protect.

Ah man, I'm getting all emotional and stuff :') *sniffles*

Which brings me to my feels... a book is not a book (well, at least not a good one) if it does not make you feel things. As I said, I almost cried in the beginning and also towards the end, I hate a handful of characters with a passion, I love others with equal passion, and my feels where up and down and all over the place! I really cared what happened to these characters, and that's just one of the things that made this series great!

As with The Essence, I really liked the adventurous feel that this book had, plus the many twists and turns I did not see coming! Caspar and Sage... Loved them! Sage especially surprised me, and I was so glad she did what she did :) There was also tons of action and Charlie defending herself! Eeep! One thing I don't like is a damsel in distress, and Charlie proved to be the opposite!

And because I could probably go on forever, I'm gonna wrap up this rambly review here with these last couple of words: The Offering was a fantastic action-packed book with lots of adventure and emotion that will keep you hooked all the way through! The ending of The Pledge series could not have been more perfect!

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Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)

Also, make sure you check out the rest of the stops on this wonderful blog tour!