The Eternal Rose by Gail Dayton is the third book of The Compass Rose Trilogy. I do not recommend reading it as a stand alone; it is a continuation of the story from the two previous books The Compass Rose and The Barbed Rose.

Adara’s new Reinine Kallista and her Iliasti have settled into a routine of searching for their missing family member Merinda and her child and seeking out demons to destroy. When their home is attacked the same day word comes of where Merinda and her son can be found, as slaves in Obed’s home country, the Iliasti suspect a trap but they will not leave their family members as slaves. There are traces of demons everywhere in Daryath but Kallista cannot identify the demon. Then one of her Iliasti is murdered along with a Daryath official and the simple retrieval of their family members is complicated and winds up in the Daryath court system. Worse than that the Adaran’s discover that their countrymen are slaves of the Daryaths and they are on political rocky ground. Kallista will not leave any people of her country as slaves but can they will their freedom through politics or must they have a war? Is this all the work of the Demons they sense in the country? Do they have the power they need to defeat demons without the full Iliasti?

The Eternal Rose is a fascinating story but very confusing unless you have some of the background from the earlier books. Many of the loose ends from the earlier stories are resolved in this tale but a few new ones are left in case Ms. Dayton decides to follow this trilogy up with further books later. Kallista and her family are subjected to a range of emotions from the joy of living comfortably raising their children to the depths of despair when Stone is murdered and back to a level to build upon when The One moves to restore balance in the family. The exceptionally complex relationships of the Iliasti (four women and five men in a group marriage with a psychic connection) are tested to the extreme when demons mess with some of the people in the group and when Stone is murdered. The story line is intricate too and full of political intrigue that keeps the suspense high as the family deals with another country’s leaders and laws while trying to do right by their own citizens. They also need to rid the world of the demons so that everyone is protected from the demonic influence. I enjoyed The Eternal Rose, but plan to read this with minimal interruptions so that you can follow the complicated story.

Reviewed by: Stephanie B.