Final Chance

This is the second book in the Shards of Sevia series by E.B. Roshan. A series set in the fictional country of Sevia. A country divided by civil unrest.

We follow Preen, a young lady who has just lost her husband, Rama.

Left with a two year old daughter and family that wishes to see her remarried, Preen’s life is decided. Until she receives a call from her dead husband, and she must travel, in the midst of the International Peace Force’s mission to clear Dor of all Tur, to find Rama.

Thank you to E.B. Roshan for gifting me a free copy of this book to enjoy! I will review it honestly.

I enjoyed Right Place, Wrong Time, the first instalment in this 5 book series. So I was happy to see more.

Roshan’s writing style is one that really pulls realism and lets elements like tension, drama, and romance flow from the natural order of her characters and settings.

The fictional setting of Sevia has realistic cultural references. The sounds, the smells, the sights. I’ve never been in a country that faces such dangers on a daily basis, but I didn’t feel like it was romanticised. Not the condition of being human or the state of living. It’s like taking a step further than one of those documentaries about refugee camps or the clips on the news. It turns those places into experiences.

Smuggled away into a cramped camp with limited supplies, walking in a city torn apart by war, soldiers on every corner and danger ready to end them, and the possibility of death. With a child to raise. To some people, that is every day.

The way story is written called for a real representation of that. I’m glad it was delivered so well.

In book one, we were on a different side, focused on different characters. They were people in the capital, with opposing views to these ones. Preen is the widow of a Rayad fighter. It’s not a perspective I’d usually read, but I’m glad I did.

There are some thoughts that simply never entered my head about what it might look like to be a group of people fighting for their convictions and what that does to the people they love. Especially because Preen and Rama are so young and their daughter is only two. Anybody would struggle to navigate the stress, responsibility, and dangers of raising children in this setting while working on their marriage. Imagine being so young and in a gang? Again, it touches real issues. Young people are often recruited in such situations. They are hot blooded, passionate, and riled up to stand for their beliefs. Right or wrong. They have families who bear the consequences of their choices in the background. Everybody pays.

There are themes of revenge and anger that teach us about self-destruction. And perhaps when to step away and let go.

The story and the plot were good.

The story was simple and characterised by this feeling of a ticking time bomb. Not in the sense of a measured countdown, in the sense of knowing that one has to see something to the end. While fully knowing that there is no happy end. You’ll keep begging Preen to just let things go and start over instead of looking back. Especially as her life with Rama is unravelled through multiple flashbacks.

I would’ve liked to have seen more emotional descriptions worked through the book. Preen’s situation calls for strength in itself. Being deeper in her head and in her pain would’ve brought that added impact. I wanted to understand her better at those times.

She wasn’t a whiny girl who pitied herself too much. Her reaction to most things was to keep going – to take action. I wasn’t looking for her to be anything but herself, but seeing more of her thoughts would’ve given her character depth and set moods for some of the scenes better.

I had a good time reading Final Chance. It was easy to read, and it left me thinking more deeply about all that it addressed.

I fully recommend giving the series a read.