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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
3 out of 5 stars
While I found this installment slightly better than the second book, this novel was still infuriating. I could not really focus on the action of the story because I was so annoyed at Maura and Cate the entire time.
While I still blame Maura for her naivety and gullibility, I realize that about 25-30% of her problems stem from Cate being a horrible person. She would never tell people the essential information that they needed. It took over 200 pages and several characters nagging her until she finally told Finn the truth. It was shocking to me how quickly he trusted her. A lot of people just accepted the whole witch thing without question. It was too unrealistic for me. Cate is also extremely overprotective, and while that can be a sign of being a good sister, she also did not have her own life together. Honestly, Tess was the smartest character in the novel, so I am not sure why they didn't just listen to her. I half expected Tess to just go "That's it!" and kill Maura and Cate and then save the world in two seconds. While I understand Maura was being manipulated by Sister Inez, there was no reason for her not to step back and think about her sisters. Spotswood set her up to be a sociopathic character when she clearly isn't. Betraying her sisters in that deep of a manner made absolutely no sense.
My review of the second book included my rant on Maura, and I got my wish of her dying. While I was pleased with this turn of events, I was not happy for the reason I thought I would be. Yes, Maura did reconcile with her sister at the end, and that was nice. I was happy that the ending wasn't totally cupcakes and rainbows. I thought that all of them would reunite and be happy and Cate would marry Finn and have adventures with their father. I'm weirdly glad that there were casualties. It made more sense.
The only real part of the plot that made it 3 stars was the last 50 pages. I liked the events at the end, and I think those were the best action scenes of the whole series. I'm pretty sure I only liked it because the petty sister drama was over, and if that took Maura's death, then so be it.
This is such a minor detail, but if you are pretty much on top of your sister's grave, don't have cutsy romance time with your boyfriend. That's just rude.
This series was alright for me. I think if pettiness wasn't my biggest book pet peeve, then I would have liked it more.
While I found this installment slightly better than the second book, this novel was still infuriating. I could not really focus on the action of the story because I was so annoyed at Maura and Cate the entire time.
While I still blame Maura for her naivety and gullibility, I realize that about 25-30% of her problems stem from Cate being a horrible person. She would never tell people the essential information that they needed. It took over 200 pages and several characters nagging her until she finally told Finn the truth. It was shocking to me how quickly he trusted her. A lot of people just accepted the whole witch thing without question. It was too unrealistic for me. Cate is also extremely overprotective, and while that can be a sign of being a good sister, she also did not have her own life together. Honestly, Tess was the smartest character in the novel, so I am not sure why they didn't just listen to her. I half expected Tess to just go "That's it!" and kill Maura and Cate and then save the world in two seconds. While I understand Maura was being manipulated by Sister Inez, there was no reason for her not to step back and think about her sisters. Spotswood set her up to be a sociopathic character when she clearly isn't. Betraying her sisters in that deep of a manner made absolutely no sense.
My review of the second book included my rant on Maura, and I got my wish of her dying. While I was pleased with this turn of events, I was not happy for the reason I thought I would be. Yes, Maura did reconcile with her sister at the end, and that was nice. I was happy that the ending wasn't totally cupcakes and rainbows. I thought that all of them would reunite and be happy and Cate would marry Finn and have adventures with their father. I'm weirdly glad that there were casualties. It made more sense.
The only real part of the plot that made it 3 stars was the last 50 pages. I liked the events at the end, and I think those were the best action scenes of the whole series. I'm pretty sure I only liked it because the petty sister drama was over, and if that took Maura's death, then so be it.
This is such a minor detail, but if you are pretty much on top of your sister's grave, don't have cutsy romance time with your boyfriend. That's just rude.
This series was alright for me. I think if pettiness wasn't my biggest book pet peeve, then I would have liked it more.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-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
This series instantly became one of my all time favorites. Absolutely fantastic.
SPOILERS****
I stayed up till 2 in the morning to finish (totally worth it)! At the end of book two Cate and a couple girls helped break out girls from Harwood, Inez and Maura and a few others used mind magic to turn the head council of the Brotherhood in to vegetables and Maura ERASED Cate from Finn's memory! If that's not a lot to deal with I don't know what is! I have to say that I was not a fan of Maura. I get that she wanted to be the chosen one and she wanted to be important, but you don't throw a temper tantrum and betray your sisters because you didn't get your way! I don't think I have ever disliked a character as much as I dislike Maura. And yet for all Maura has done Cate still protects her and still defends her. This is why I like Cate so much. She's fiercely loyal and she's willing to put herself in danger not only for those she loves but also for those who are mere strangers to her.
At the end Cate makes the mistake of telling Maura that she is not the oracle but Tess is. Which of course causes problems! Because if you can guess Maura is going to run to Inez and tell her straight away! This honestly surprised me. I know I shouldn't have been surprised but I was. Maura may not have been on good terms with her sisters but I really didn't think that she would tell Inez something that is that important. But I guess I just kept hoping that Maura would begin to redeem herself! And despite all that is happening Cate continues to come through. She's strong and kind and willing to do what's right regardless of the bad situations around her. Cate and Finn are what really made me fall in love with this story! The fact that Finn does not want Cate to change who she is and he loves her regardless of the fact that she's a witch. He is another character who wants to do what's right and his mother is fantastic! All through this series was the prophecy "One Cahill sister will kill another" and to be honest I was hoping it was Maura! I'm sorry for any of you fans who like Maura (although I'm not sure you exist), but I just hated her character! She was mean and spiteful and just wanted everyone to pick her first. It was like that scene in the Brady Bunch.
Every time Maura told Cate she wanted to be chosen first or be included I thought of this scene. Maura really was such a spoiled brat. Anyways moving on.... This one actually took me awhile to pick up, not for lack of buying (I have two copies) but because I was really scared that it wouldn't end decently. I should have known better because of course when I finally picked it up I couldn't put it down. Which you could obviously tell from my previous statement. I think what I love most about these books is the way relationships change and that it doesn't go from oh I hate you to oh we're now friends. You get to see the relationships grow and change. Not only between her and Finn but Cate and Elena. I really hated Elena and thought she was a manipulative B&^%$.. If you know what I'm saying but in the end she turns out to be the right person to lead the Sisterhood and a friend to Cate. She was a smart women. And that's another thing that Jessica does well. She writes women and not just one type of woman but several different ones. The one thing they have in common (well most of them) is that they are loyal. I love to see female leads who are weak, and strong, and smart, and funny, and capable, and don't change themselves for a man but finds one who will stand on her side always. I really am surprised I didn't cry more! This was such a well done series.
I have to say as series go this was a really well done one. A lot of times the second book seems like a placeholder, a book to throw all the things that you couldn't in the first one, or just a place to put unnecessary drama. But Jessica did such an amazing job of staying true to the story. There wasn't to much drama or unnecessary drama. Which I liked. Sometimes authors feel like they have to throw in more drama to keep the readers invested. But a series done right won't need that. I think the way Jessica ended the book was really well done. The way the end really isn't tied up all neat and tidy (which I love) but that it shows that Cate and Finn and the Sisterhood still have a lot of work to do. There are still people who hate witches, but yet there are those who will support them! And I love that it ended like that. I know this review is kinda all over the place.. But I really am still not sure how to sum out the greatness of this book in simple form so it's not like 6 pages long! All I will say is that this book was really well done and that if your looking for witches or a book with a strong female lead you really should pick this one up! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Jessica!
I stayed up till 2 in the morning to finish (totally worth it)! At the end of book two Cate and a couple girls helped break out girls from Harwood, Inez and Maura and a few others used mind magic to turn the head council of the Brotherhood in to vegetables and Maura ERASED Cate from Finn's memory! If that's not a lot to deal with I don't know what is! I have to say that I was not a fan of Maura. I get that she wanted to be the chosen one and she wanted to be important, but you don't throw a temper tantrum and betray your sisters because you didn't get your way! I don't think I have ever disliked a character as much as I dislike Maura. And yet for all Maura has done Cate still protects her and still defends her. This is why I like Cate so much. She's fiercely loyal and she's willing to put herself in danger not only for those she loves but also for those who are mere strangers to her.
At the end Cate makes the mistake of telling Maura that she is not the oracle but Tess is. Which of course causes problems! Because if you can guess Maura is going to run to Inez and tell her straight away! This honestly surprised me. I know I shouldn't have been surprised but I was. Maura may not have been on good terms with her sisters but I really didn't think that she would tell Inez something that is that important. But I guess I just kept hoping that Maura would begin to redeem herself! And despite all that is happening Cate continues to come through. She's strong and kind and willing to do what's right regardless of the bad situations around her. Cate and Finn are what really made me fall in love with this story! The fact that Finn does not want Cate to change who she is and he loves her regardless of the fact that she's a witch. He is another character who wants to do what's right and his mother is fantastic! All through this series was the prophecy "One Cahill sister will kill another" and to be honest I was hoping it was Maura! I'm sorry for any of you fans who like Maura (although I'm not sure you exist), but I just hated her character! She was mean and spiteful and just wanted everyone to pick her first. It was like that scene in the Brady Bunch.
Every time Maura told Cate she wanted to be chosen first or be included I thought of this scene. Maura really was such a spoiled brat. Anyways moving on.... This one actually took me awhile to pick up, not for lack of buying (I have two copies) but because I was really scared that it wouldn't end decently. I should have known better because of course when I finally picked it up I couldn't put it down. Which you could obviously tell from my previous statement. I think what I love most about these books is the way relationships change and that it doesn't go from oh I hate you to oh we're now friends. You get to see the relationships grow and change. Not only between her and Finn but Cate and Elena. I really hated Elena and thought she was a manipulative B&^%$.. If you know what I'm saying but in the end she turns out to be the right person to lead the Sisterhood and a friend to Cate. She was a smart women. And that's another thing that Jessica does well. She writes women and not just one type of woman but several different ones. The one thing they have in common (well most of them) is that they are loyal. I love to see female leads who are weak, and strong, and smart, and funny, and capable, and don't change themselves for a man but finds one who will stand on her side always. I really am surprised I didn't cry more! This was such a well done series.
I have to say as series go this was a really well done one. A lot of times the second book seems like a placeholder, a book to throw all the things that you couldn't in the first one, or just a place to put unnecessary drama. But Jessica did such an amazing job of staying true to the story. There wasn't to much drama or unnecessary drama. Which I liked. Sometimes authors feel like they have to throw in more drama to keep the readers invested. But a series done right won't need that. I think the way Jessica ended the book was really well done. The way the end really isn't tied up all neat and tidy (which I love) but that it shows that Cate and Finn and the Sisterhood still have a lot of work to do. There are still people who hate witches, but yet there are those who will support them! And I love that it ended like that. I know this review is kinda all over the place.. But I really am still not sure how to sum out the greatness of this book in simple form so it's not like 6 pages long! All I will say is that this book was really well done and that if your looking for witches or a book with a strong female lead you really should pick this one up! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Jessica!
Now this was a really well done ending to a series! I loved that it wasn't all nice and neat, and I loved the way the whole prophecy thing played out. Two thumbs up for sure!
Full review to come soon!
Full review to come soon!
I felt lukewarm about the first two books (so lukewarm about the first that I almost didn't read the rest of the series) but I really enjoyed this one a lot. Maybe because we were finally getting to the heart of the plot points I most cared about, or maybe because I was able to become more connected to the characters. Either way, this one was a lot of fun and had me really invested by the end.
That said, the romance plot line is a huge disappointment to me because it uses one of my least favorite tropes, so I can't give this one five stars.
That said, the romance plot line is a huge disappointment to me because it uses one of my least favorite tropes, so I can't give this one five stars.
I'm going to miss this series so bad! After the huge ending of Star Curses, I could not wait for this book and it delivered everything I was hoping for.
I really loved Cate throughout the series, imperfections and all. I appreciated how much she did care about her sisters, despite everything that was going on. I also loved Tess. I really felt for her, with everything going on with the prophecy, but also with the more mundane struggle of growing up, especially with a big sister as protective as Cate. Maura drove me bit up the wall. I know she was opinionated and her opinions differed from Cate's, but she really was painfully stubborn and I have so much trouble forgiving her for the end of Star Cursed.
It was a bit tough to watch Cate and Finn, after the ending of Star Cursed. But I did enjoy the development there and I don't really want to say too much more for the sake of spoilers.
There is a ton of action in this one, which was to be expected in the final book of a trilogy. I loved seeing a bit of all of Cate's friends in the finale. I really loved Mei and Rilla, so I was glad they had parts in this story.
Overall, I'm sad to see this series end and I can't wait to see what Jessica Spotswood does next!
I really loved Cate throughout the series, imperfections and all. I appreciated how much she did care about her sisters, despite everything that was going on. I also loved Tess. I really felt for her, with everything going on with the prophecy, but also with the more mundane struggle of growing up, especially with a big sister as protective as Cate. Maura drove me bit up the wall. I know she was opinionated and her opinions differed from Cate's, but she really was painfully stubborn and I have so much trouble forgiving her for the end of Star Cursed.
It was a bit tough to watch Cate and Finn, after the ending of Star Cursed. But I did enjoy the development there and I don't really want to say too much more for the sake of spoilers.
There is a ton of action in this one, which was to be expected in the final book of a trilogy. I loved seeing a bit of all of Cate's friends in the finale. I really loved Mei and Rilla, so I was glad they had parts in this story.
Overall, I'm sad to see this series end and I can't wait to see what Jessica Spotswood does next!