Review: Nobody's Pawn by Amy McNulty

[Alexandra Bayer]

*I received this book for free from Amy McNulty in exchange for an honest review*

Ever since the curse on the men in Noll's village was broken, disaster and destruction ran rampant, resulting in the death of the lord, the one man whom Noll was able to trust, and even love. But now, with the lord's rebirth, he's different - he doesn't remember the time he and Noll spent together; all he remembers is that Noll cursed him, long ago. Now Noll doesn't know who her friends are anymore, and who is out to hurt her. It makes dealing with her life a lot more difficult, especially when Noll is taken away from her village, and discovers that her life has never been entirely under her control. But she must fight to gain some control over her life, before she loses it entirely.

This book felt very different from the first two in the series. This is largely because Noll makes a huge discovery that completely changes the way she regards her world. Although the discovery made sense in the world of the book, and worked with the storyline, I felt that it almost came out of nowhere. I couldn't read any hints earlier in the series pertaining to this game-changer. Obviously there were clues, but the reader thinks that these clues mean something else entirely. I think that because this shift in power was so sudden, and the book became about something else entirely, it just felt a bit disconnected from the first two novels.

Although I did feel as though the third book was set apart from the first two a bit more, that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I thought that the revelation Noll discovers was very original. This entire series has been very original, so it's not surprising that Amy McNulty continues to impress. When Noll uncovers the answers to the secrets that surround her village, it made me think. I love when a book forces you to consider or analyse without making the prompt too overt or trying to be too much like a textbook. I realized that Noll's discovery could double as an allegory. Again, it was not in-your-face, but more open to interpretation, which I always appreciate.

The ending of this book was also the ending of this series, and I wasn't entirely happy with it. Yes, it explained a lot, and it wasn't overly ideal and thus unrealistic, but there wasn't enough romance for me. I'd been waiting for Noll and the lord of the village to act on their love for each other since less than halfway through the first book. I understand that this series is meant to focus on the repercussions of love, as opposed to perfect relationships, but I wanted to read more about Noll and the lord once they were actually allowed to be together, by others and by their own choice. I found the ending satisfactory, but not necessarily happy or detailed enough to totally please me.

I did enjoy this book, and I am glad that the series ended in the way it did. I think that Amy McNulty is a talented writer with very original ideas, and I'm happy that I stumbled across the first book. Overall, this book deserves a rating of four stars, same as the others in the series. Although I did have more complaints about this book, I still found it just as enjoyable. I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy unconventional magic, plot twists, and a strong female lead.