I first heard about Ever the Brave when I kept seeing that Once a King was going to come out this fall. The story sounded really interesting, so I just had to get the books from my library. I read Ever the Hunted in July (you can read my review here), but I had to wait a lot longer in order to read the second book in the series. This book was worth the wait.
Since this book is the second in a series, it may contain spoilers for the first book.
Britta might have gotten herself out of immediate danger in Ever the Hunted, but her life has not gone back to normal. She now has this mysterious bond with King Aodren, and on top of that, he now seems to have the same kind of mysterious connection to her that she used to have with Cohen. Of course, she’s in love with Cohen, which makes the situation even messier. To make things worse, the king seems to be developing feelings for Britta.
The danger in Britta and Cohen’s life hasn’t gone away, either. The Spiriter that was controlling Aodren is now wreaking havoc in the kingdoms of Malam and Shaerden, threatening to destroy the fragile peace between the two countries. Cohen has to track down this Spiriter, which is causing strain in his relationship to Britta.
Britta eventually discovers that she has to choose between Cohen, who sometimes is a little overprotective of her, and Aodren, who continues to shower her with gifts.
Choice seems to be a pretty big theme in Ever the Brave. Cohen has to learn that even though he wants to protect his love from all of the dangers of this world, he can’t make that decision for her if he doesn’t want her to feel smothered. He also feels like he needs to give Britta the freedom to choose between her and Aodren, even if it means that she might not choose him. I thought it was sweet that he cared enough for her to want her to make that decision, even if it potentially could hurt him in the end.
I loved the ending of Ever the Brave and am looking forward to reading Once a King at some point, even though Britta and Cohen won’t be main characters in that story. This is a sweet story with a beautiful ending. I highly recommend it.