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katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
What a stunning conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. This is truly one of the best YA fantasy series out there, even if you’re not a YA fan I highly recommend giving it a try.
Reading the author’s bio and seeing she studied political theory explained her genius political plot lines and twists. It was done with such nuance, complexity, and thought that it felt like something that could happen in the real world (if there were dragons in the real world of course). She doesn’t rely on deus ex machina or any other annoying devices to propel the plot forward, plans don’t ever go 100% the way they were planned, and it makes it all the more believable.
Intelligence of the plot aside, this book made me so emotional, I actually cried (which never happens to me with fantasy). I love the bit of romance we get in this book also, it didn’t overtake the plot but it perfectly rounded it out. The character development remains unmatched, and while the author does not shy away from brutality, it’s never done in a way that doesn’t make sense for the character committing the brutal acts. She also doesn’t draw out goriness just for the sake of it. My only complaint is that I don’t feel like Delo’s POV added a lot but it’s very minor in the scope of the book.
I couldn’t put this book down and the ending didn’t disappoint. Honestly I don’t think I’ll be able to read any YA fantasy for a while after this, nothing will compare.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Violence, Classism, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Confinement
Minor: Torture, Child death, Sexual content, Excrement, Death of parent, and Incest
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