Reviews

2.5 Stars

After two hours of sitting, thinking and stalling, I've come to the conclusion that I can't review this book. Not objectively, anyway; because the only thing I can't think of is how disappointed I am after reading it.

This is a series that I really liked, with characters that I cared about, and I was so excited about this book, the last book in the series. The excitement didn't last very long.

In the beginning of the book, Rafe and Lia have escaped from Venda and are trying to go back home. Lia stabbed the Komizar but she's still worried about the army in Venda.

Well, Lia's "gift" is worried about the army. The "gift" is also one of my biggest gripes with this book. I hated the fucking thing. It was, plain and simple, a plot device. It was barely explained at all and only there so Lia could be important and "strong". "Strong" in this case, seemed to mean inconsiderate, bossy, bitch.

Lia seemed to think that just because she was born with some stupid-ass, so-called gift, it made her the only person who mattered, whose opinion mattered. It was like if Harry Potter started lording over everyone because he had Voldemort in his head. Just... NO.

Then there was her constant "there's more than one type of strength" thing. I'm not saying I don't agree with there being different types of strength, I was just reminded, every time, of the strength Lia was missing. I just wanted to yell at her, "Yes, there are different types of strength. One of then is called brain. Why don't you try using that for once, Lia?" It was infuriating.

I hated Lia in this book and her special specialness. And I hated "the gift", a cop-out of actually having the characters thinking and strategizing. I could rant about it all day, but there are other things to address.

I'm happy that there's no love-triangle. But what replaced it was Kaden being a prick and trying to cause unnecessary tension. Him and a few other cheap twists were thrown into the book to become "obstacles" in Lia and Rafe's relationship. Because God forbid they be happy in their relationship and focus on the real problems. Like the huge fucking army.

The Komizar could have been an interesting and menacing villain if the author didn't keep telling us that he was menacing. I would have liked to see him being evil instead of being told so through dragon metaphors! His perspective could have been only good thing to come out of the multiple perspectives, but it wasn't done. He was barely in the book.

Then there was the pace, which had me bored to tears by the end. And the writing was so repetitive that if I didn't want to know what happened in the end, I would have 'DNF'd the book.

That brings to my final point, the ending. In one word: Anticlimactic.

The battle was pathetic, especially the way it ended. My reaction was honestly:

The very end was, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, highly unsatisfactory.

Overall, this book was aggravating, boring and disappointing. I wish I hadn't read it because, that way, I could've at least reread the first two books without the bitter feeling that this one will surely cause if I try rereading them now.

I gave the book 2.5 stars because it does have positives. Problem is I don't have any inclination to even try to put them into words. The lack of love-triangle and the Emily Dickinson reference would've been two of those positives, by the way.

...

...And, that it for this (kind of) review. Sorry if I offended anyone but, to be fair, the book offended me as well so we're even.

chuspinawi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

faeriesparks's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars

Such a fantasic end to a series. This was an emotional rollercoaster for me and while I'm not 100% satisfied with certain things, it was still so, so amazing.

**SPOILERS**

Lia's character development throughout the entire series and especially in this book was phenomenal. She is definitely one of my new favorite female leads. I loved some of the things she said and decided to stand for - even if that meant going against people she loved because it was HER CHOICE and that was important to her.

Rafe aggravated me for most of the book. I wanted to reach into the book and strangle him multiple times. The way he tried to control Lia and wouldn't let her be what/who she wanted to be really annoyed me. BUT I was very happy that he realised that and changed at some point in the book.
Still - I was a hardcore Kaden/Lia shipper after The Heart of Betrayal and was very heartbroken that they didn't end up together. Nonetheless I was okay with the ending and Lia/Rafe (kinda lol).

I loved that Lia went to rule Venda. You could really tell she loved that kingdom and the people and I'm so happy she went to stay there along with Kaden, even if he was 'just' her right-hand man.