Book Review :: Valley by Stacey McEwan

Valley by Stacey McEwan
ISBN: 1915202418
Series: The Glacian Trilogy #3
Also in this series: Ledge, Chasm
on 10 September 2024
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Goodreads

"All things find a way back home."

At the bottom of the Chasm, Dawsyn and her followers traipse through the darkness to find their long-awaited home. But there are whispers all around them and safety is never guaranteed. With her powers much depleted, and food supplies running low, will they even survive the journey?

Above, the Queen and the new King of Glacia still bay for Dawsyn's blood, and they will not stop in their quest to destroy her. And with the help of someone Dawsyn thought her friend, they creep ever closer. Long-buried secrets will be revealed, hearts will be broken and a new day will dawn. Who will reign in this climactic conclusion to the epic Glacian Trilogy?

Last updated on 10 October 2024

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What is Valley by Stacey McEwan about?

Valley by Stacey McEwan is the final in the Glacian Trilogy, which started with Ledge and continued with Chasm. With the events of the second book behind them, Dawsyn and her group trek through the darkness at the bottom of the Chasm. They’re running low on food and hope, and to make matters worse, her powers are fading, danger is everywhere, and there’s no telling what they’ll face next. And people are getting angry.

Meanwhile, the Queens are still out to get Dawsyn and so is the new King of Glacia. With alliances formed and broken, tension in relationships at breaking point, and people barely surviving and regretting following Dawsyn into the unknown … it’ll be a miracle if anyone makes it out of the Chasm alive. And what will they encounter if they do?

My thoughts on Valley

I loved Ledge. I thought it was such a brilliant, original idea, and I adored the banter and sass between Dawsyn and Ryon. The characters and plot we were introduced to in Ledge were brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Chasm, the second in the series, continued the story, and it was okay. I enjoyed it, for the most part, but not as much as Ledge. 

Now we arrive at Valley.

And I’m sad to say this was a disappointing ending for me. I struggled to get into the story and it felt like not a lot happened in the book. There was a lot of wandering and whining and not a lot of action. It felt repetitive and like they weren’t really progressing anywhere. And by the time we got to any sort of action, I had mostly lost interest.

The characters that we had been introduced to in the first two felt like they had been done a dirty in this one, and they fell flat for me. Even the relationship between Dawsyn and Ryon was so meh. I missed the feistiness and the banter and the tension of the first one, and even though the characters’ situations have changed and the world and the magic is more intense and there are secrets that have been exposed etc etc … it was lacking.

“Stay with me,” he whispers to her. “Vow it.”

This promise, in part, she can swear to. “You took my heart long ago, Ryon,” she says. “It stays with you.”

I mentioned in my review of Ledge that I didn’t love the writing style, and it continues, obviously, in Valley. But I think because I didn’t enjoy the story, the writing irked me a little more than it did back then, too.

Overall? I am glad I read this series (all in one year! Unheard of for me), but it definitely started better and went downhill from there, for me. Like that meme of the horse drawing? You know the one I mean, right? Right.

Don’t let that stop you from picking it up though! Check out my thoughts on Ledge and go from there.

Have you read Valley yet? What did you think? A good conclusion to the Glacian Trilogy?

Share your (spoiler-free!) thoughts in the comments!