The First Argentines Book 3
In kingdoms at war, alliances are made to be broken in a thrilling novel of magic and dark conspiracies by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Warrior’s Ransom.
Ransom Barton and his wife, Claire de Murrow, have arrived in Legault to reclaim the title that was Claire’s birthright. Claire intends to rebuild a war-ravaged palace to its former glory and to teach Ransom about the magical history of their new home. But when Ransom is summoned to return to King Benedict, his loyalty to Claire is tested. Fealty prevails, however questionable the king’s motives.
The ambitious Benedict, who controls his late father’s dominion, must prove his might. The warriors of the East Kingdoms have disrupted the trade routes, weakening every kingdom in their path. Benedict’s plan is to fend off a coming war through strategic alliances. But it’s Ransom’s post to keep the king’s allies—as well as his poisonous enemies—in line, even as Benedict’s defense may be inviting further chaos.
As the king’s power grows and Ransom’s rise in the council is secured, a shadowy conspiracy threatens to destroy everything Ransom has worked to build. Now torn between allegiance to the woman he loves and duty to king and country, which will Ransom choose?
Note: I have attempted to write this review on a third book in a series without giving any significant spoilers for the whole series but still talking about what stands out for me in this particular story.
What I Loved
Lady’s Ransom is the third book in the series and follows Ransom as he serves his third king. One of the things I love about the series is that each book follows Ransom as he serves a different king. That manner of organizing the series is quite unique. It lends itself to each novel having a different tone, pace, and story. Lady’s Ransom has a bit of a slower pace, with more story than the other two books that preceded it, but still compelling with the numerous challenges this new king has to face. The story felt very much like the movement of puzzle pieces, dare I say, like on the magic Wyzr set, preparing for the fourth and final book in the series.
The magic is explored more and more in each book. In Lady’s Ransom, the possible history of the magic is discussed. The number of items out there with magic was determined to be originally 13, which has the reader and Ransom wondering what he will run across next. I always enjoy a unique magic system. This one, taken loosely from the legend of King Arthur, is based on blessed items that serve a particular purpose. Ransom carries a scabbard that will not allow him to bleed to death and quickly heals all wounds. There is also a ring that brings the wearer to where they are needed the most and a board game where the pieces represent real people so movements can be watched and dictated at will. Plus, a few more objects have been discovered to be in use and are equally as intriguing.
Ryain Hood (Robin Hood) makes an appearance. I had just been thinking about isn’t this the time of Robin Hood, when in walks Ryain Hood – an expert with a bow and arrow who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. His role in this story is very unexpected though I can’t say more.
Lastly, I loved the twist at the end. It took me by surprise but also felt right. And I always enjoy a good twist.
The Characters
Ransom Barton is true of heart and fiercely loyal to those he gives his word to. He is the epitome of Knighthood and one to be held as a paragon of all the virtues the knights hold sacred. His path is rarely easy, but then, we all know that doing what’s right is rarely easy in life.
I adored Claire De Murrow’s character in the first two books but was not as happy in this installment. She became less self-confident, and as her mind filled with doubt, I became more frustrated with her. I’m hoping that will change in the 4th and last book of the series.
Reminds Me Of
This series is loosely a retelling of the King Arthur story from the perspective of one of the knights.
What I Wish
My wish for the last book in the series is that Ransom stays true and all that is good and that Claire finds that inner strength and confidence that the earlier Claire exhibited. And that he who would king and bring the land peace does make it to the throne with Ransom’s help.
My Rating
To Read or Not to Read
If you are looking for an epic fantasy that will take you back to a time of magic, myth, and legend, The First Argentines series by Jeff Wheeler is waiting for you to pick up book 1 and be whisked away.
Tessa Talks Books 
Sounds like a good series for fantasy lovers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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It really is. Jeff Wheeler makes fantasy writing seem so easy, even though it’s definitely not.
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You know I want to start this series – anything with shades of King Arthur always interests me.
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As I’ve mentioned before, if you want to give non-YA fantasy a read, Jeff Wheeler is your man. He writes so much and so incredibly well that he makes it look easy.
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This sounds like a fantasy series I would love. King Arthur, Robin Hood–two of my all-time favorite characters from lore. Ransom also sounds like a great character. Excellent review, Tessa!
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He is! This is a wonderful series ❤️
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It’s so tough writing a spoiler free review for a book this far into a series but you’ve managed to convey excitement about the story. Well done, Tessa💜
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Thank you! I think it was something you said once that had me challenging myself to do it. It is hard unless you haven’t read other books in the series.
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This sounds like a good series! I’ve been really into retellings lately as well.
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It is so good ❤️
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I really need to catch up in this series! I suppose it was expected Ransom and Claire would end up married (they’re such amazing characters!), so I’m glad to know it finally happened and all the magic sounds like a lot of fun. I love the idea of blessed items and it must be so interesting to read about Ransom serving different kings. Great review!
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Each king is so different and they are all leading up to the king that will bring on a period of peace, so it’s interesting to see that happen step by step.
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I always struggle with the “to read, or not to read” aspect of series. Will my followers read reviews of books in a series if they haven’t read the previous books? The first series I ever reviewed was Anne of Green Gables, which has eight books. I thought that was a safe choice because everyone knows/loves Anne. However, my readership of those posts dropped off significantly around book 3 or 4. Lately, I’ve been reading some urban fantasy novels that are part of a series, so I’ll read the whole series and write one review. That’s a lot of reading to only get one review out of it, though. What is your approach to reviewing a series?
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I’ve done it multiple ways and still am trying to find ways that work. Mystery Thriller series you can usually pick up out of order and are fine but fantasy is different. I’ve been considering just doing the first book and if I get ARCs of subsequent books in the series, then just doing an updated review off of the first. I’m not sure whether to repost the first with my addendums or just add the addendums to the original post since I know from the stats that my old posts are looked at all the time.
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One of the reasons my friend Jackie and I do one Valdemar fantasy book per month is (we hope) to not overwhelm readers with so many books from a series.
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