Reviews with content warning for Death - The Fate of the Tearling

Wow, what a roller coaster ride this book was. I was right in my feeling that the first two books were the lead up to the grand finale third, and this was definitely my favorite of the three. There was nonstop action that kept me hooked. I can see why this book is polarizing with such a shocking ending but I actually liked it and thought it fit well with the messages the author was writing.

The author tackles some pretty big themes about the evils of capitalism and religion, the importance of history and learning from the past, the im/possibility of true altruism in humankind, the inescapability of unforeseen consequences of any choice whether it’s made in good or bad faith, and even more. While it doesn’t feel preachy, the amount of lessons woven into the story gets a bit unwieldy and at times, especially in the last third when everything comes to a head. There were some scenes that just didn’t really make that much sense given what we knew about the magic system/world and it seemed like the author was writing without any rules to get to the finish line and make her point. The author also loves to string the reader along with bits of information at a time by having her characters unnecessarily withhold information from each other, and while this isn’t inherently a problem, I found myself frustrated at times because there didn’t seem to be a reason to withhold the information except for convenience, to not give away the answers before the big reveals. There are also several unanswered questions which always feels disappointing.

Overall I did enjoy the series even though the first book felt like an overdone typical fantasy and the second, while better, still felt like set up for this book. It is one of those series that truly brings you on a journey and I liked it for that, and it’s originality.

Content Warnings

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Details:
Narrated by Polly Lee
Unabridged

Even though I only read the last book (both really - in quick succession), last month, I found that there were minute details I had already forgotten.

Despite this (and the fact that I wasn't properly listening to it all the time - thank you migraine...) I found it to be an entertaining read. I wouldn't necessarily say I enjoyed it... I went into this one knowing I would probably feel unsatisfied by the conclusion and I did, but not really in the way I had expected.
I much more enjoyed how the transition of the timelines blended together. I think it made more sense in the conclusion and seemed a bit more seamless.

I feel like Kelsea got back to herself... Not necessarily her old self - too much of life had been experienced for that - but definitelya self I was my aligned with.

I didn't like the ending. I felt like it was a bit of a cop out and although a unique conclusion than anything I would have thought of, it was one that was unsatisfied and left me with the question of this: what about everyone else?!

The narrator (on normal speed) sounds like a she's documenting a wildlife film, which was, at best amusing, at worse kind of annoying. I sped it up to 3x pretty sharpish.

Content Warnings

cmbohn's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I have to agree with others who said what a disappointing ending this was to a truly engaging series. I loved the characters and the development we got to see and then what a letdown in those last 2 chapters.

Content Warnings

kalmia31's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Content Warnings

smashlyn09's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

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