The Unbound Empire
{4.5/5} “She had been La Contessa for my entire life, powerful and inexorable as the tide, standing in the doge’s shadow, holding up the Empire and subtly molding it all the while. I had never really thought about what she might have been before she became such a potent and terrible being, or what choices and sacrifices she might have made in the course of her transformation.”
The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso, published in 2019
When Amalia goes to visit her uncle Ignazio in prison, he reveals that he’s been telling Lord Ruven he will help him with his latest plot against the Serene Empire. He’s willing to tell about it in return for his freedom. But before he can do that he’s killed by a chimera. On the Night of Masks, Amalia is watching for trouble, but then she comes face to face with Lord Ruven himself.
This is the sequel to The Defiant Heir, and concludes the trilogy.
It’s about duty versus love, agonizing decisions, and people being forced to do things against their will.
I like how Amalia remembers her mother’s words of wisdom to help her deal with trying situations.
One more quotation: “The world will keep trying to make us harder, and more broken. But if we know who we want to be, we can keep striving to become that person.”
I’ve read 3 books by Caruso and am interested in reading more.