Review of Allegiance by Cayla Kluver

Title/Author: Allegiance (Legacy #2) by Cayla Kluver
Publisher/Date published: HarlequinTEEN, February 28th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Only I saw Narian for who he truly was: a young man with courage and an independent mind, and made to pay for what was outside his control. He couldn't help his past any more than he could help the way those intense, deep-blue eyes pierced me and held me captive.
An eighteen-year-old queen in love with the enemy as their countries pass the point of no return...
Bound to a man she cannot love, Queen Alera of Hytanica must forget Narian, the young man who holds her heart. For Narian is destined to conquer Hytanica at the behest of his master, the powerful magic-user known as the Overlord. Alera doesn't truly believe Narian will fight against Hytanica-until Cokyrian troops attack with Narian commanding the charge.
Faced with the greatest betrayal a heart can know, Alera must set aside personal feelings and lead her kingdom through its darkest time. And when all hope, will and courage seem lost, she must find strength and remember that even the blackest night must have a dawn..."

***If you have not read Legacy yet, read on at your own peril, because there is a big chance this will contain spoilers for it***

Seriously you guys, when I mentioned to Alexa that the book I was reading wasn't working for me and I was thinking about DNF-ing it, she recommended that I bump this one up on my to-read list to make up for it. And I can tell you she gives the best book recs, so thanks again for getting me to read it sooner than I would have otherwise! :)

I really liked Legacy (my review), I had some minor issues with it, but I was SO looking forward to finding out what happened next. And really, this book does NOT suffer from second-book-syndrome in my opinion! It was filled with action and horrifying events and it made me feel ALL THE THINGS!

In the first book, I was in love with Narian and LOATHED Steldor. And this slowly changed over the course of this novel. I don't want to give anything away, but while he does still do some pretty lousy things (though, admittely very much provoked by Alera), Steldor has proven himself to be a worthy hero and I was actually rooting for him in the end! I love that I've gotten to know him better in Allegiance and he's no longer a one-dimensional character!
And in case you are hoping for lots of Narian, like I was, this is just a warning: it takes a LONG time for him to appear and he's not all that much in the book altogether.

And Alera, gosh, I just LOVE Alera! She is such a strong person and she really goes through some personal growth in this book! It was wonderful!

But London made me cry. I adore him and I want good things for him and he's just such a good, brave man! Also, I love how things that made me go 'this doesn't add up' turned out be due to something that was revealed later on in the book.
Also, Steldor almost managed to make me cry towards the end of the book. So tear-inducing moments, check!
And, as I was hoping, we get some more information about the prophecy and it was fascinating!

I do have to mention one thing: while I absolutely loved this novel, there are some REALLY horrifying things going on in it. It's a lot more gruesome than I remember Legacy to be and while it wasn't a problem for me, a little warning is always nice.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Allegiance made me feel ALL THE THINGS! It was absolutely amazing and I cannot WAIT to read Sacrifice! The title sounds like there will be more emotional stuff going on and I AM SO IN!

My rating: 5 stars