Synopsis:
After surviving the battle in Dalelry and uncovering the King of River Storm’s lies, Kienna finds refuge in Dove Port with Moira. Apprenticing under an infamous woodcarver, she begins uncovering pieces of her heritage that point to a far greater purpose. In the process, she learns the weight of trust and that love may not be the weakness she once feared.
Across Alistile, the other Guardians carve their own paths. Deep within the Malintale Forest, Danek pledges himself to Connak and the legendary Hollow Blades. Far to the north, Broan journeys into the frozen mountains to seek an alliance with the reclusive Mountainborn Vikings. Meanwhile, Moira struggles to understand the visions haunting her, even as her growing bond with Tislin brings warmth to the dark.
But escaping River Storm was never enough to escape Vaerin.
As dark shadow magic stirs at the Baila’s command, and long-buried truths rise to the surface, the fragile balance between the Elvish, Viking, and human realms fracture.
The Guardians were trained to protect River Storm.
Now they must decide whether to leave the war behind and claim the lives they were denied… or become the spark that burns the king’s empire to ash
Review:
When I usually hear epic fantasy, I am very sceptical. My brain is not always compatible with that kind of storytelling, and I can easily get lost. I’m glad that wasn’t what happened here.
Everything I enjoyed about the first book was delivered again in this one, and I might have enjoyed it even a little bit more. 🙂
The world is rich, complex, and filled with history. It is presented in a way that is easy to absorb and never feels overwhelming. This is one of the things I really liked about the writing. With each new puzzle piece that was added, it became clear that nothing was quite as it initially seemed, and that kept me very engaged as the direction of the story shifted little by little each time.
Characters I didn’t like before grew on me, and vice versa. I also had the impression that some characters started to like each other more this time around:)
The multiple POVs made it easy to follow each character’s individual journey and gave them time to interact with different people, learn things, and evolve. When their paths came together, it only strengthened their connections.
The main story remained focused on our guardians, who were allowed to grow individually and discover who they wanted to be outside of their previous confinement. No longer being forced to work together created a different dynamic and led to new ways of interacting with one another.
This is the type of fantasy I absolutely devour, and it made me very happy. It never felt like a 600-page book to me and did a great job of setting the stage for what’s to come next.
🌙 Recension: The Ashborn (Guardians of Alistile #2) by Samantha Vargas
📚 Genre: Fantasy
📅 Release Date: September 14, 2026
📱 Read as: Kindle
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle Unlimited
💸 I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 600
⭐️ 5/5
Interested in more?
- Review: Finders Keepers by Jessica Huntley
- Review: Where Colors Die by Saskia Louis
- Review: Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi
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