Book review: Paragon by Eleanor Rose, August Oliver, and Chase St. Clare

Pledge by Eleanor Rose, August Oliver, and Chase St. Clare is one of those kinds of books that is so good it accidentally becomes your entire personality. So when I got the opportunity to read its sequel Paragon early, I immediately jumped at the chance. And where I absolutely adored Pledge, I found Paragon blew it out of the water - building on all of the strengths the first book had and expanding on them to make the story feel fresh and new.

The story starts with Gabe and Ollie coming home from their year-long honeymoon, though because of magical shenanigans it's only about a month after the events of Pledge for everyone else in Sefaera. And while our newlyweds are very clearly loved up from all their alone time, the two of them find it very hard to balance their relationship and their royal duties once they get back. I found this to be very realistic, as it's a very common hurdle a lot of couples have after they exit the honeymoon phase. I enjoyed getting to see this hint of reality within this magical world, and it showed a more mature side of both characters as they had to learn to work through these struggles. Sometimes they were able to talk through it, sometimes I was screamed that the two of them needed to communicate - but throughout it all, it provided the same realism I loved about the soulmates in the first book.

Speaking of this whimsical and magical world, this book brought Sefaera to life in a way I had not expected. Throughout the novel, the characters embark on a grand tour to the different parts of Sefaera the royal family hasn't been to in far too long. As a result, we get to learn about the different climates, cultures, and religions around the realm - which brings it to life in an entirely new way. I also appreciated how the stakes were thoroughly raised, with the fate of both our realm of Earth and Sefaera hanging in the balance. This mystery has left me with multiple theories, and where there have been plenty of clues and breadcrumbs left for readers - we'll have to wait until book three for things to be fully resolved.

One of my absolute favorite newest editions to the story is Lexios, who with all due respect, is the Sefaeran version of a himbo. And I love him for it. While he unintentionally is the source of a lot of the personal strife we see within the novel, he truly tries his best to help his and Ollie's shattered friendship work past where it was broken over a thousand years prior. Though Ollie, as much as we love him, has never been one to give up a grudge - see Alex Kessinger - which causes problems as Lexios and Gabe become besties. Where I can see some places where my absolute adoration of Lex is going to be controversial, I feel like he works well as a foil to our main characters by bringing out some of their flaws. Gabe is still isolated and has some intense loneliness that comes from being the only real human in this realm, whereas Ollie has a strong jealous streak he doesn't have a handle on. I think Lex bringing these out in our main couple was important to this book, it forced them to realize what they both were struggling with and will allow them to fix it in the future.

Overall, Paragon was a beautiful continuation to Pledge and I cannot recommend it enough. That being said, make sure to have tissues for the last third of this book. The tensions are high, the stakes are higher, and I screamed when I got to the end. And then cried for a good hour. The cliffhanger is intense but sets up the third book so well I think readers will forgive the authors for it. The emotional devastation aside, I am already counting down to book three, which with how good the first two were, I am sure will be a triumph.

I will just make sure I have my tissues ready in advance.

Paragon is available for preorder through Amazon and will be released on October 1st.