Sage, a former Demoran matchmaker's assistant and more recently a sort-of tutor to the crown prince, is suddenly appointed Demora's Ambassador to unexpected peace talks with long-standing enemy country Kimisara. Once the talks begin she discovers the depth of the power struggle going on in that country, and when the Queen invites Sage to private negotiations, she and her friends are caught in a political trap that could lead to a disastrous war. The third book in the trilogy that includes The Traitor's Kiss (2017) and The Traitor's Ruin (2018), returns to familiar characters ge, her lover (Captain Alex), and friend Clare, among others t gives them more interesting work to do, thus allowing readers deeper insights into their personalities and growth. The focus of this romance-adventure novel moves from the on again/off again relationship between Sage and Alex to her place on a larger stage and allows her talents to shine. In fact, this concluding (for now) entry truly showcases the strengths and abilities of all the major female characters, from matchmakers to queens.

Power grabs spoil peace talks in this trilogy finale.After saving a Demoran prince, befriending the long-estranged, desert-dwelling Casmuni, and deploying a dreadful weapon against a Kimisar army, Sage Fowler seeks peace between the three contentious kingdoms. Now an ambassador with powerful allies among the royals of Demora and Casmun, teenage Sage's solitary schemes alienate her friends and frustrate her loyal love interest, Maj. Alex Quinn. When assassins interrupt Sage's clandestine rendezvous with Kimisara's Queen Regent Zoraya, the women flee, and Sage scrambles to protect Zoraya, Casmuni Princess Lani, and her grieving Demoran friend, Lady Clare Holloway. Feminist Sage wants peace but also empowerment for the women of all the kingdoms; always strategizing, Sage insists that women be queens, not pawns in this political chess game. Amid danger, romance still blooms: Sage and Alex contemplate marriage while Lani, Clare, and Zoraya also encounter love. Like a PG-13 Game of Thrones, the flurry of political and military maneuvering unfolds against a pre-industrial, Northern-European-like setting. Many Demorans—such as Clare and Sage—are white, in contrast to the usually bronze-skinned, dark-haired Casmuni and Kimisar. Beaty (Traitor's Ruin, 2018, etc.) offers flawed, flailing, and often furious characters grounded in reality and sans superpowers or inexplicable skills.A satisfying and suspenseful end to a solid political fantasy series. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)