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adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is an emotional marathon but one that is absolutely worth it, especially for the happy ending.
It manages to connect every thread (including the seemingly tiny ones you might not have even noticed) going all the way from the shorts in the Assassin’s Blade prequels and continuing through each book in the series; closing every loose end & answering every question, giving every crossover, cameo, interaction, character, joke, fan favorite, and wish, its moment in the sun. Weaving together into a beautiful tapestry with branches you can see going out into their futures.
It will keep you on your toes, breaking your heart, and then remake it with your day. Be ready to cry, and scream, and have your jaw drop with its twists. And be ready to smile, laugh, and have new inspirational phrases.
It is a finale worthy of the entire series.
And definitely worth the read as one of the best (and most emotional rollercoasters) of the books!
It manages to connect every thread (including the seemingly tiny ones you might not have even noticed) going all the way from the shorts in the Assassin’s Blade prequels and continuing through each book in the series; closing every loose end & answering every question, giving every crossover, cameo, interaction, character, joke, fan favorite, and wish, its moment in the sun. Weaving together into a beautiful tapestry with branches you can see going out into their futures.
It will keep you on your toes, breaking your heart, and then remake it with your day. Be ready to cry, and scream, and have your jaw drop with its twists. And be ready to smile, laugh, and have new inspirational phrases.
It is a finale worthy of the entire series.
And definitely worth the read as one of the best (and most emotional rollercoasters) of the books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Blood, Pregnancy
Generally speaking, be prepared for this book to give you all of the feelings! Maas does not hold back, for better or for worse.
If you want to know in advance, whether it be reassurance or warning (or further information for content warnings & context, here is the information I wanted below). However, some of these have MAJOR SPOILERS so, do NOT read any further if you do not want them & read at your own risk & guidelines! So last chance:
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
Quick questions:
—Does it have a happy ending?
Yes.
—Do Evangeline & Fleetfoot stay safe?
Yes.
—Does anyone get severely injured? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Yes. Nearly every character has a nearly fatal injury, primarily: Lorcan, Fenrys, Abraxos, Lysandra, Aedion, Dorian, and Aelin. Falkan & Borte also have an unexplained moment. SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Do any good characters die? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! The Thirteen & their Wyverns (except for Manon & Abraxos), Gavriel the lion, Murtaugh Allsbrook (Ren’s grandfather), Connall (Fenrys’s brother), Elena (disappears for good), The King has one last visit, Mala leaves for good, and Aelin (but she comes back). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Do any bad characters die? If so, who?
SPOILERS BELOW DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! Cairn, Maeve, Erawan, The Blackbeak Matron, The Yellowlegs Matron, Iskra Yellowlegs & her Wyvern, and Uncle Vernon (presumed dead). SPOILERS ABOVE DO NOT READ YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!
—Pregnancy tag:
There is a pregnancy warning as a main character is pregnant. Neither baby nor mother are harmed, though it is a concern brought up a few times.
—Suicidal thoughts tag context:
Characters have to self-sacrifice to save lives. There are debates over who this should be. There is also a continuing feeling of “doomed fate” that characters are “tired of fighting” and moments of “giving up”. This is furthered by trauma, PTSD, and suffering leading characters to “want to die” or more so not “want to live” with it. And reckless behaviors that unintentionally lead them close to death. — There are also minor self-harming behaviors such as digging fingers into palms, or unintentional habits of anxiety, or loss of power control.
—Sexual content tag:
This book does contain sex scenes, they are not as fade to black as that in Crown of Midnight, but remain less explicit and more eluded/short in comparison to Empire of Storms.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love the complete character arcs for the main and side characters throughout this series. This book was too long though! But it was written in chapters that made it easy to pick up and put down whenever I wanted to read just a little bit. I wouldn't have finished this book if it wasn't for the audiobook to get through large swaths of this book in between my little reading sessions at bedtime. The build up for this conclusion was SO big that the climax felt a little rushed and simple compared to the rest of the series. I also feel like Dorian and Manon didn't get the love and attention they/their relationship deserves. I understand the ending, but it also feels like something was missing. I needed a chapter set a few years in the future to get some closure I think. All in all, not my favorite of the series, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a finale! I really enjoyed this wrap up. There was so much ground to cover, and I liked the way it ebbed and flowed with action. My only thing is that I wished some of our troubled couples had to work a little harder to resolve their issues. For them to just come close to death and then be forgiven felt a little too easy. I at least wish they'd spoken a bit more about their issues afterwards so it would've felt fully resolved. And then I found some of the battle scenes repetitive. How many times can a group of people almost die and then just barely not!? But I really appreciated the themes and plotlines all coming to fruition here. Just reading this book makes you realize how much work it must've been to plot it, let alone write it! I know these characters and this story will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Slavery, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow!!! What a conclusion to this series. I really loved how fast this book felt compared to the others, and I think the backstory was absolutely worth it to really feel the emotions of this book.
I wish we would’ve gotten a little bit more of their future than we did…and I would’ve loved to have seen more of a resolve in Manon and Dorian’s relationship (I know she would outlive him but still!!). But overall I love how Aelin really finds her way through the trauma by the end and is able to even overtake Maeve’s vision and start to destroy her within it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I waited a LONG time to write this review. The emotional pain that the characters AND ME experienced— made it difficult to think about the book critically. I tore through this book and it’s almost 1,000 pages. Aelin is who we live for and kept reading on for is experiencing so much pain. But I’ve come to love so many of the characters— I still feel like there’s so much story to be told. This is hands down the best read of my year so far. I wish I could read it for the first time again. There hasn’t been another experience like it— where the building and building and building finally pays off over and over and over. At least for me so far, and I’ve been an avid reader all my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, War
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An incredible ending to an incredible series. Finishing this series I feel satisfied with the wrap up of each character's storyline. I have no lingering questions and the ending that each character receives feels fitting and exactly how it should be.
I'm leaving this series proud of the accomplishment of reading all 5000+ pages of it and this book in particular is leaving me feeling hopeful. It's absolutely a tear-jerker for many reasons, so be prepared for that!
I couldn't believe it, before I finished this series, when people would say that they liked this series more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. Well, I'm one of those people now!
I'm leaving this series proud of the accomplishment of reading all 5000+ pages of it and this book in particular is leaving me feeling hopeful. It's absolutely a tear-jerker for many reasons, so be prepared for that!
I couldn't believe it, before I finished this series, when people would say that they liked this series more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. Well, I'm one of those people now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Abandonment