Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Much of the filler in this book was spice. The book is so horny. Don't get me wrong, I love some good spice, but when a book is this long, I don't think we need quite *that* many sex scenes. It felt like filler to make the book longer instead of being meaningful.
The book also tried to touch on so many heavy themes or 'hot button' issues: assault, suicide, general trauma, abortion...there's more I'm sure. At first is was interesting, but then it started to feel a little shoe horned in, a writing challenge to see how many heavy/triggering topics can we fit in here or how can we stretch this book out even longer than it needs to be. It stopped feeling genuine very quickly.
You know Sera ends up pregnant at some point, but I don't love how it was done. Maybe its the place I currently am in life (hi from a childless cat lady), but I did not love the long bits going on about being pregnant and how wonderful & magical it is to be a parent. Had I been reading the physical book and not the audiobook, I would have skimmed/skipped those sections. I was over it very quickly.
The whole plot with the prophecy felt very convoluted to me. What they thought it meant, what other characters thought it meant, what it actually means and how it ties to the Blood & Ash series. I got so lost. I have not currently read the last two B&A books, so maybe that's part of the issue? I know enough to be dangerous, but not helpful? I also got lost in the last chapter that was part of the future
Last notes - I thought this series had way too many characters I did start to mix them up. However, some of them had fun personalities and were very interesting. In this book, too many people blended together and felt flat. The charm that I found it a large cast was lost.
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Abortion, Death of parent
Minor: Medical content
Sera and Ash are reunited and Sera has a lot of PTSD from her time with Kolis, but she’s in denial and fails to address it for most of the story, which has serious implications. Sera gets reunions with her Lasania family while also building her chosen family with Nyktos and friends in Illesium. I loved both for her.
Nyktos shows care and starts to allow others to see him happy and as Ash, which made me happy as both he and Sera acknowledge the chosen family they built.
Hollander returns and makes a few brief appearances that surprise and inform.
While a lot happens, this book ends
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
I enjoyed learning more about the prophecy and the ancients and so on and so now I want to reread the Blood and Ash series to see some of these characters again later on…
And of course certain dragons are adorable. <3
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol