Title: Beloved Son
Series: Aisling: Book Three
Author: Carole Cummings
Publisher: DSP Publications
Length: 306 Pages
Category: Fantasy
At a Glance: This whole novel was amazing, and this trilogy gets every star it deserves and then some.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: When a man’s identity is built on lies, can he find the true self buried beneath? For Wil and Dallin, newfound love might not be enough. To heal themselves and their world, they must learn to see things as they truly are and break free of what they have been tricked into believing.
Wil and Dallin stand at the center of an approaching convergence they’re not sure they’re strong enough to face. The power of the land and the Mother waits for Wil in the bowels of Lind, but it comes at a price: he must defeat the soul-eater and save the Father, Her Beloved, and manage to keep his soul in the process. He can’t do it alone. But where can he turn for aid when friends are not necessarily friends, trusted mentors are not necessarily to be trusted, and good intentions are sometimes the most dangerous kind?
Dallin and Wil must accept their roles as the Guardian and the Aisling and stand together against a ruthless god in a cataclysmic battle of dreams and wills, the fates of both of their souls and those of all mortals hanging in the balance. Trust, if they can finally embrace it, holds both the promise of salvation and the risk of damnation.
Review: And so with Beloved Son, the third and final chapter in Carole Cummings’ Aisling trilogy is complete. It was a ripping good book, a fantastic series, and I am fairly sure a saga that is unmatched in the fantasy genre. This novel led us to the final confrontation between Wil, Dallin, and the vampire-like demon who sucked the souls from men, women and children alike and wanted all the power—power that Wil had and refused to give away. Finally we see Wil in all his glory, Dallin at his side, and the specters that are unleashed in order to make them cower and threaten to rip them apart. My heart was in my throat for most of this novel, and rightly so, as the action hit top speed and never let up.
To encapsulate much of this third installment without giving away precious spoilers is difficult. Suffice it to say that within the inner circle that surrounds Wil and Dallin, there is a madman bent on destroying Wil before he can face the final demon he must conquer in order to essentially save the world. The clues as to who to trust and what to do are as ever-cryptic and unclear, and all we know is that Dallin has promised he will kill Wil himself before allowing him to be overtaken and submit to the evil that wants to consume him. There are so many twists and turns in all three of these novels, but it’s in this one where we finally see just what Wil is, we find out his true name and the power it has, and we really, finally, understand just how important Dallin is as the guardian and conduit through which Wil might finally destroy the evil that has been pursuing him all his life.
However, it’s the final chapters in this novel that really speaks of what true romance is and how it should look between two men who fiercely hold on to their own sense of self. If you are expecting some sort of out of character mushiness, don’t even go there. The declaration of love is bare and almost painful when it occurs, but it goes straight to all the feels, trust me on that. What happens in the bowels of Lind’s most sacred place as the confrontation occurs between that which wants to feed off Wil’s very soul and the strength that is the Aisling and his Guardian when they stand together is both horrific and awe-inspiring. The things they must see and endure are wrenching, and it’s like a terrible train wreck you can’t bear to look at but from which you also can’t seem to look away. It was amazing. This whole novel was amazing, and this trilogy gets every star it deserves and then some.
Beloved Son is the perfect final book in an outstanding trilogy. If you have not read her Aisling series, I highly recommend it to you.
You can buy Beloved Son here:
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