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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So Brigid Kemmerer said that she was crying buckets on her Instagram when she finished this book, so I expected to be hurt and absolutely destroyed.
But I wasn't.
And it was still a very good ending (in my opinion) nonetheless.
Age rating: 14+
But I wasn't.
And it was still a very good ending (in my opinion) nonetheless.
Age rating: 14+
This was only an excerpt provided by Netgalley but having read the two previous books and loved them I can only expect great things from the last one in this trilogy! I love the fact that there are 4 POVs since I fell in love with the characters right away - even though I'm a little bit worried about Rhen...Can't wait til I have the book in my hands!
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really struggled with a rating for this one, so I'm settling for 3.5 stars for now. It was a compelling ending to the series (although it took me much longer to read than the first two books), but I have some qualms with the ending of some plot points and the content.
MAJOR Spoilers ahead!
What I liked:
~ The writing style. I truly have enjoyed Kemmerer's writing style throughout this series. It flows well, is engaging, and is a good mix of modern (especially for the modern characters) and fantasy. In general, it's also just beautiful.
~ Along with this, Kemmerer writes really well-done description. I could picture the world and these characters well throughout the series, even when I didn't want to (gore + violence)
~ Lillith is the WORST and even though I could empathize with her origin story (the bonus chapter at the end), I cannot ever see her as anything but a monster because those are the actions she chose.
~ after SO MANY PAGES of Grey and Rhen hurting each other and misunderstanding each other (so incredibly stubborn, my word), I actually sighed in relief when Rhen finally yielded to Grey and they reconciled. It was a moving moment and I did really enjoy their starts of rebuilding their relationship as brothers. Probably the best character developments in the book.
~ I'm already running out of things to put here which doesn't bode well (haha), but mostly because I've already mentioned them in my reviews for the first two books (ex. characters, originality, etc.).
What I didn't like:
~ OH BOY here we go....the ending. I'm not as worked up about this as some reviews I've seen, but the ending was disappointing. After everything, after all the sacrifice and character growth, for Rhen not to even keep his kingdom felt like a failure even though I was being told it was a win? I wanted Grey to rule A kingdom absolutely, but why could they not each rule their own kingdom? There really wasn't any huge pushback remaining for either one of them, besides the expected dangers, so I didn't see that coming, and didn't like it. I guess I can see wanting to keep the characters together, but it felt like a cop out.
~ Lia Mara didn't get much opportunity to grow as a character. I loved her in book #2 and was excited to see her blossom in her role as a "Soft" queen. Instead, she spent every chapter doubting herself, being challenged, acting passively, and just generally, I wanted so much more for her. I truly did love her personality and the potential her character had.
~ WAY too much spice for me personally. Technically the "intimate scenes" (there were several) never showed everything, but it was both heavily implied, and described far past the point of my comfort. I skimmed over them, but it made me uncomfortable, and I would have much preferred those be left as -- if anything -- very minor suggestions and not shown.
~ this is my low comfort levels, but some of the gore/violence descriptions were heavier in this one (ex. someone's throat being ripped out, blood, descriptions of wounds and infection, etc.). I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't be bothered, but if you're sensitive to that, definitely be aware.
~ a few plot threads felt kind of rushed and unfinished, but maybe that's me missing things? (ex. the scravens plot points, Harper and Rhen's reconciliation, Lia Mara's pregnancy, etc.) No major complaints, but I would have liked to see more of all of it.
Overall, I'm disappointed that I can't recommend these books (due to content, mostly), as I really did enjoy many aspects and had such high hopes. There are plenty of elements I had fun reading, and the characters and plot are both super memorable. It just fell a bit flat at the end for me.
CW: several described but not outright explicit intimate scenes, gore + violence, descriptions of wounds, deaths, magic (an enchantress curses several characters, one character heals with his magic), emotional torment and torture, multiple mentions of vomiting, a character is pregnant and the possibility of miscarriage is mentioned, and a m/m couple (barely mentioned in this book)
MAJOR Spoilers ahead!
What I liked:
~ The writing style. I truly have enjoyed Kemmerer's writing style throughout this series. It flows well, is engaging, and is a good mix of modern (especially for the modern characters) and fantasy. In general, it's also just beautiful.
~ Along with this, Kemmerer writes really well-done description. I could picture the world and these characters well throughout the series, even when I didn't want to (gore + violence)
~ Lillith is the WORST and even though I could empathize with her origin story (the bonus chapter at the end), I cannot ever see her as anything but a monster because those are the actions she chose.
~ after SO MANY PAGES of Grey and Rhen hurting each other and misunderstanding each other (so incredibly stubborn, my word), I actually sighed in relief when Rhen finally yielded to Grey and they reconciled. It was a moving moment and I did really enjoy their starts of rebuilding their relationship as brothers. Probably the best character developments in the book.
~ I'm already running out of things to put here which doesn't bode well (haha), but mostly because I've already mentioned them in my reviews for the first two books (ex. characters, originality, etc.).
What I didn't like:
~ OH BOY here we go....the ending. I'm not as worked up about this as some reviews I've seen, but the ending was disappointing. After everything, after all the sacrifice and character growth, for Rhen not to even keep his kingdom felt like a failure even though I was being told it was a win? I wanted Grey to rule A kingdom absolutely, but why could they not each rule their own kingdom? There really wasn't any huge pushback remaining for either one of them, besides the expected dangers, so I didn't see that coming, and didn't like it. I guess I can see wanting to keep the characters together, but it felt like a cop out.
~ Lia Mara didn't get much opportunity to grow as a character. I loved her in book #2 and was excited to see her blossom in her role as a "Soft" queen. Instead, she spent every chapter doubting herself, being challenged, acting passively, and just generally, I wanted so much more for her. I truly did love her personality and the potential her character had.
~ WAY too much spice for me personally. Technically the "intimate scenes" (there were several) never showed everything, but it was both heavily implied, and described far past the point of my comfort. I skimmed over them, but it made me uncomfortable, and I would have much preferred those be left as -- if anything -- very minor suggestions and not shown.
~ this is my low comfort levels, but some of the gore/violence descriptions were heavier in this one (ex. someone's throat being ripped out, blood, descriptions of wounds and infection, etc.). I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't be bothered, but if you're sensitive to that, definitely be aware.
~ a few plot threads felt kind of rushed and unfinished, but maybe that's me missing things? (ex. the scravens plot points, Harper and Rhen's reconciliation, Lia Mara's pregnancy, etc.) No major complaints, but I would have liked to see more of all of it.
Overall, I'm disappointed that I can't recommend these books (due to content, mostly), as I really did enjoy many aspects and had such high hopes. There are plenty of elements I had fun reading, and the characters and plot are both super memorable. It just fell a bit flat at the end for me.
CW: several described but not outright explicit intimate scenes, gore + violence, descriptions of wounds, deaths, magic (an enchantress curses several characters, one character heals with his magic), emotional torment and torture, multiple mentions of vomiting, a character is pregnant and the possibility of miscarriage is mentioned, and a m/m couple (barely mentioned in this book)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
The characters became a little more likable after the downward turn they took in book 2, so that was a pleasant surprise. And I liked the story well enough (not as good as book 1 but definitely better than 2). My biggest complaint is the ending though… how are we just going to end a trilogy like that?! There is so little resolution :(