The Offering by Kimberly Derting - The Much Anticipated Finale

Title: The Offering (The Pledge, #3)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Publication date: December 31, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Dystopian/Fantasy)

Source: Publisher

Format: ARC

Pages: 336

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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

This trilogy was a solid one. The first book, The Pledge left such a big impression on me that till now, two years after reading it, I was still able to recall some details. When I received The Offering for review, I went ahead and picked up The Essence (which I enjoyed) and then The Offering. I have to point out that The Pledge is my favorite by far. It is mainly because the world build up was so fascinating. This of course doesn't mean the other two books weren't great, because they both were. The Offering was a great way to end this trilogy. I initially had some concerns on how the book will end and how everything will be resolved and wrapped up (can you blame me? from all the last books in a dystopian trilogy I read). However all my questions and concerns were answered and all the situations and plot lines were wrapped up without ripping my heart out, always a bonus for final books in a dystopian series. 

Charlie is now the queen, not only that, Sabara is buried deep within her with no idea of how to get rid of her. I felt so bad for Charlie because all she has wanted is to make her country better, and even after all the sacrifices she still gets handed the crappiest end of any deal. I loved how Max didn't begrudge her or treat her differently, even knowing Sabara was within her. Max is such a great love interest and character, my only complaint is that he didn't show up enough times in this book! Other than him, we have some other amazing secondary characters including Eden (Charlie's younger sister's overprotective bodyguard), Zafer (Charlie's AWESOME bodyguard), Xander (Max's brother), Brook (Charlie's best friend and commander of the armed forces), along with another handful. All of them added so much to the story and I loved how effortless all their bond and ties were. Derting really is a fantastic character creator (does that even make sense?) 

As for the plot, I have to say that Charlie's need to always self sacrifice got to me. I really don't like it when a character thinks he/she is doing everyone a favor by sacrificing themselves when in reality their actions are what creates chaos. Still, Charlie was still endearing and I loved how much she loved her younger sister and her country. This book and trilogy is definitely one I would recommend to any YA fans, especially ones that want to read a unique dystopian world. 

         Farah and my double review of The Pledge by Kimberly Derting