Review: Wilde's Army

Wilde's Army by Krystal Wade

Genre: YA

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Says: “Hello, Katriona.”

Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of. 

However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem. 

Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested. 

How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?


This review might not be spoilerish for Wilde’s Army but might be for Wilde’s Fire.

There is a lot going on in Wilde’s Army. Kate finds herself alone at the end of Wilde’s Fire. The turn of events experienced in the last few pages leads her to face reality real quick. In Wilde’s Army you meet a new and refined Kate. This chick is strong, determined, confident and very much worthy of the immense responsibility of having to save a dying world and its people.

The writing once again was impressive as was this world created by Kyrstal Wade. In fact I think everything was much better as a whole in Wilde’s Army than in Wilde’s Fire. The storyline came together nicely and I think the author set out to manipulate my feelings at times and did exactly that with much success. I was held in suspense at all times trying and dying to find out what came next.

I felt that the middle in Army was very much like Fire in that it was kind of slow. Although the details found in the middle of the book were necessary, it could’ve been summarized/edited a bit better to keep the momentum going while maintaining the integrity of the story and still gaining the knowledge revealed in those pages. Brit, Kate’s sister, had some minor inconsistencies which I thought should have been nixed. I can’t mention specifics because it’s a spoiler but let’s just say she has a “nah nah nah nah nah, I get to touch Arland and you don’t” kind of moment moments after revealing how hurt she felt in a similar situation.

There is an underlying theme in this series and a lesson to be learned. I’m not sure if this is the author’s real intent but this is what really stood out for me. These were the things that made me say hmm…

1. This is a battle between good and evil; Darkness and Light.
2. Power and wealth is evil.
3. The people of Encardia need to start believing in gods again by praying to them and using old magic.
4. Darkness has become stronger because of the loss of prayers, belief in the gods and old magic.
5. Kate is a female messiah.

So yeah… hmm. I don’t have a problem with it just… Things that make you say hmm.

On another note, I think it is important to mention that in this series love is huge. It’s all about love. The fate of this world is determined by the strength of Kate and Arland’s love. Consider yourself warned that love is in your face at all times. I don’t mind it. In fact I think this is the first book I've read where the love and happiness is up front and center AND you can’t get around it. It’s all or nothing. There’s a lot more to this book but the romance is something you can’t ignore.

With that said… I can’t wait for book 3, Wilde’s (insert here)!

I'm wishing the author much success because this is a very nice series indeed.

ARC provided by Curiosity Quills Press via NetGalley