Lion Cub by JP Harker
The Caledon Saga #3
Publisher: JPH
Publication Date: July 12th, 2018
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Author
Format: Paperback
Pages: 736
Summary (from Goodreads):
Lucius Dessida, the only son of Rhianwyn, has lived among the Gaians for nine years in a bid to maintain the Caledon’s peace, though his dual heritage means life in Tamora is more complex than he had thought. But Lucius’ city worries will soon be put into harsh perspective. Prosperity breeds envy, and easy times breed complacency, and the rich lands of the Caledon offer a ripe target to those who simply take what they want.
Winds of war blow from the north, and Merian of the Gorvicae will be first to feel their chill. The brutal Sarracs have attacked without warning, and Taliesyn seems content to leave the frontier to its own defences. With the Wildcat far away and her own chieftain unwilling to help, Merian may be forced to look elsewhere for aid…
Trigger warnings for rape and violence.
The events of Lion Cub take place about 15 years after Leaping Wolf. Lucan has been living in Tamora with his Gaian aunt for the past nine years. Rhia is still leading the Caderyn and the Caledon. Gawan is an ornery old man. The Gorvicae are being overrun by Sarracs, who are butchering their people and taking their land while Taliesyn is holed up in his longhall with his cohort of the Dragon legion, like.. scared of his own shadow at this point, refusing to acknowledge this problem or offer aid to his people.
As usual, this book is told through multiple perspectives, mostly that of Lucan, a young Gorvicae girl called Merian, and Agmund, the leader of the Sarrac raiders. There were a few others, but these were the main ones.
So, all of the books deal heavily with war. The first two felt like they dealt a lot with different aspects of tribal politics, but I feel like this one seemed to deal heavily with sex and how it's viewed in different groups? Like, not so much with like the Caledon tribes because the way they view it has kind of been talked about in previous books. But like how the raiding Sarracs and the Gaians do.
The Sarracs are invading Gorvicae lands and taking cities trying to work their way toward the capital. So they are also taking any Gorvicae women they can back to their camp for all the warriors to have their way with. I don't recall this being a thing that any of the Caledon tribes practiced, at least not so notably and brutally, if at all. I want to say that maybe they aren't like this in their everyday, regular, not-raiding lives, but idk, they're a bad bunch. And Agmund wants the Gorvicae girl he took in battle to bear him strong sons, so they are probably awful all the time and not just sometimes.
The Gaians seem to be pretty free sexually, so long as their first time is with someone on equal standing to them, then they are free to do whatever with almost whoever. Like, Lucan and his friends frequent this sex club type place, but cannot partake of all of it's pleasures until they have been with someone of equal standing to them.
So that was all kind of interesting.
Character-wise, I really liked Lucan and Merian. Lucan is waiting for the day he's called back to Bryngarth to fulfill his duties to his people. He really does not seem terribly interested in this, he likes his life in Tamora. He likes his friends and doesn't want to leave his life there behind. It seems like whatever is going on in his life, he always has the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other. He always seems to know what it is he should be doing and what is right, but can't always talk himself out of or resist temptations. He might make some questionable choices in his journey, but overall I think he does the right thing... after a lot of back and forth with himself. He seems to be a natural leader.
Merian is a warrior for the Gorvicae who is battling the invading Sarracs. She has watched many of her fellow tribesman, friends, and loved ones die and is doing whatever she can to help rid her land of them. After going to Taliesyn and telling him of exactly what is happening and why they need aid and getting a mostly unhelpful response, she gets sent to Tamora to go over Taliesyn's head to ask Lucan for help herself. She really seems to rise up to whatever challenge is put in front of her and gives everything her best shot, especially when her people are at risk and even if she's not particularly comfortable with the methods of the plan.
And Sagris. How has that horrible little sorcerer managed to survive three books?! Someone needs to knock him down like six pegs. He's entirely too confident. I can't tell if his little plans go south because unexpected things pop up or if he is planning for every little mishap in whatever it is he's doing in the long term. Whatever is going on, I don't like it.
There is a little bit of a romance in this book, but completely expectedly, none of it is good or happily ever after material.
If I was going to complain about anything, I would say that the beginning felt like it dragged a little bit. Like, all the stuff that was happening in Tamora. It was interesting, but felt long. But that could also be because I like parts dealing with the tribes better than the Gaians. But I did quite like Lucan's friend group, which helped.
Overall, this book was interesting, brutal, heartbreaking. It made me cry twice and I am actually terrified to like any of the characters because things just don't go well for anyone in this series.
I am definitely still excited to continue on with this series and can't wait for the next book!
If you haven't read this series yet, you should go do it and then come talk to me about it!
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