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kaneli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Somehow the worst book in the whole series. HERE'S EVERYTHING I DID NOT LIKE AND WHY.
1. Did... did we just say "fuck it" about all those other characters in the first two stories?? Luc was barely in the novel to begin with AND HE WAS SOMEHOW SUPPOSED TO BE THE PERSON EVANGELINE LOVED FIRST??? I THOUGHT HE'D BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HE WAS. Instead he was like background information??? He was only really used as a plot device. First he's cursed, then he's stone, then he's disappeared?? And Evangeline misses him?? then he's just A VAMPIRE and then he looses all importance.
1a. Tiberius who???? Also another plot device. He was really only there to make life hard for Evangeline in the first novel and then POOF. GONE. Clearly he wasn't important so why even put him in the novel?? He just disappears and no one hears of him EVER AGAIN.
1b. I thought her stepsister would come back WHERE DID HSE EVEN GO?!?! DID SHE REALLY JUST RUN AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK IN THE SECOND BOOK??? That felt like some very lazy fucking writing. What was the point of having a powerful witch stepsister IF SHE WASN'T GOING TO BE UTILIZED PROPERLY.
1c. I did not need all this Valor crap. They bored me honestly. I saw their careful usurping of Prince Apollo's throne from a mile away. Aurora's whole ARC wasn't news either. I knew she loved Jacks and that her thing with Lyric was probably all a lie. Hell, for a minute there I even though Lyric would POP UP and turn out to NOT actually be dead. That seemed on brand with how Stephanie writes so I wholeheartedly expected it.
1d. I still don't like LaLa and I HATE how Stephanie would bring the one POC character (Luc seemed POC too?? unclear honestly) in only to move the plot along. Lala only appeared to help Evangeline or to throw a wrench in the plans (like when Eva overheard Lala talking to Jacks about how she put the Archer curse on her). Still never forgave her for that in book two.
1f. Kristof Knightlinger (if that's even how you say his name. I can't remember. But the journalist of the north!) what was the point of showing him TWICE in this novel. I thought Eva was going to go meet him, talk to him. NOPE. Why even have him give her his card if SHE WAS GOING TO LOOSE IT (or Apollo took it. I'm unsure). Seemed like a pointless addition to the story.
1g. Why did she suddenly make me hate Prince Apollo? In the first two books I felt so BAD for the Prince. He was cursed MULTIPLE TIMES. He seemed to really love Eva and I was actually rooting for them to be together a little bit (mostly when Jacks was being a prick). So why was he made the bad guy in this novel??? If she wanted him to be a villain, she should have just shown how Aurora was manipulating him the whole time AND NOT ACTUALLY HAVE HIM BE A BAD GUY. He never seemed like a bad guy in the other two novels. He seemed pretty decent. This was how I felt about Jacks in Finale too. Whats the point of suddenly making these boys into bad guys.
2. Still can't wrap my head around how Eva is in love with Jacks??? It makes no sense. Just because a guy is hot doesn't mean you should love him. I'm still of the mind that the best version of Jacks is his introduction in Legendary (still hated how he was in Finale though). He was... okay here in this series for the most part though I guess.
2a. That scene where they're covered in sleep dust and trying to take each others clothes off was so hard to read. Eva still didn't have her memories and they seemed like they were drugged almost it just felt SO WRONG. I didn't like it.
3. hearts... in glass jars.... Again... why is Stephanie adding lore RIGHT AT THE END.
4. THE COP OUT OF NOT TELLING US WHAT THE APPLES MEAN??!?!?!!!? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ADDING THAT IN THE EPILOGUE. SHE SHOULD HAE JUST LET THE STORY CURSE "BURN" THE STORY. THAT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER HONESTLY.
1. Did... did we just say "fuck it" about all those other characters in the first two stories?? Luc was barely in the novel to begin with AND HE WAS SOMEHOW SUPPOSED TO BE THE PERSON EVANGELINE LOVED FIRST??? I THOUGHT HE'D BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HE WAS. Instead he was like background information??? He was only really used as a plot device. First he's cursed, then he's stone, then he's disappeared?? And Evangeline misses him?? then he's just A VAMPIRE and then he looses all importance.
1a. Tiberius who???? Also another plot device. He was really only there to make life hard for Evangeline in the first novel and then POOF. GONE. Clearly he wasn't important so why even put him in the novel?? He just disappears and no one hears of him EVER AGAIN.
1b. I thought her stepsister would come back WHERE DID HSE EVEN GO?!?! DID SHE REALLY JUST RUN AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK IN THE SECOND BOOK??? That felt like some very lazy fucking writing. What was the point of having a powerful witch stepsister IF SHE WASN'T GOING TO BE UTILIZED PROPERLY.
1c. I did not need all this Valor crap. They bored me honestly. I saw their careful usurping of Prince Apollo's throne from a mile away. Aurora's whole ARC wasn't news either. I knew she loved Jacks and that her thing with Lyric was probably all a lie. Hell, for a minute there I even though Lyric would POP UP and turn out to NOT actually be dead. That seemed on brand with how Stephanie writes so I wholeheartedly expected it.
1d. I still don't like LaLa and I HATE how Stephanie would bring the one POC character (Luc seemed POC too?? unclear honestly) in only to move the plot along. Lala only appeared to help Evangeline or to throw a wrench in the plans (like when Eva overheard Lala talking to Jacks about how she put the Archer curse on her). Still never forgave her for that in book two.
1f. Kristof Knightlinger (if that's even how you say his name. I can't remember. But the journalist of the north!) what was the point of showing him TWICE in this novel. I thought Eva was going to go meet him, talk to him. NOPE. Why even have him give her his card if SHE WAS GOING TO LOOSE IT (or Apollo took it. I'm unsure). Seemed like a pointless addition to the story.
1g. Why did she suddenly make me hate Prince Apollo? In the first two books I felt so BAD for the Prince. He was cursed MULTIPLE TIMES. He seemed to really love Eva and I was actually rooting for them to be together a little bit (mostly when Jacks was being a prick). So why was he made the bad guy in this novel??? If she wanted him to be a villain, she should have just shown how Aurora was manipulating him the whole time AND NOT ACTUALLY HAVE HIM BE A BAD GUY. He never seemed like a bad guy in the other two novels. He seemed pretty decent. This was how I felt about Jacks in Finale too. Whats the point of suddenly making these boys into bad guys.
2. Still can't wrap my head around how Eva is in love with Jacks??? It makes no sense. Just because a guy is hot doesn't mean you should love him. I'm still of the mind that the best version of Jacks is his introduction in Legendary (still hated how he was in Finale though). He was... okay here in this series for the most part though I guess.
2a. That scene where they're covered in sleep dust and trying to take each others clothes off was so hard to read. Eva still didn't have her memories and they seemed like they were drugged almost it just felt SO WRONG. I didn't like it.
3. hearts... in glass jars.... Again... why is Stephanie adding lore RIGHT AT THE END.
4. THE COP OUT OF NOT TELLING US WHAT THE APPLES MEAN??!?!?!!!? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ADDING THAT IN THE EPILOGUE. SHE SHOULD HAE JUST LET THE STORY CURSE "BURN" THE STORY. THAT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER HONESTLY.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Cursing, Blood, Murder, Stalking, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Infidelity
cornelia24's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was terrible.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Adult/minor relationship
bbmaan's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: War, Sexual content, and Suicide
lemonpi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
man what even was that
edit: 3/5/24 these will all be extensive spoilers so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled. these are purely rambles like 1 month post reading because i can't keep silent any longer lol.
i was thinking about this book again and got mad LOL. i honestly feel bad for the people that actually do enjoy this series because this was such a disappointing finale book in a trilogy. it ties up very little ends, and that's such a disservice to audiences. i already heard this book gave mixed feelings to the audiences and boy......idk where the mixed feelings are. it's just bad. you all truly deserved better.
Jacks as a character angered me more than anything because he just can't stick to his word. He was also a bit TOO OKAY with the idea of kissing Evangeline when it could have literally killed her. (and the part where she said she forgot to breathe when they kissed. i laughed. get that away from me.)
i hate to feel bad for evangeline because she as a character annoyed me to no end but that girl is a victim. a child. a child bride. and she's being pulled every which way between two men who both frankly do not have her best interest at heart. i felt bad for apollo at first because of the fact that he's been under curses for majority of the two books and finally had the chance to be clearheaded, but with the way he was acting.........maybe not. he really had the chance to be a good villain with despicable plans but he came up short and was just.....a guy. amnesia trope isn't even something I hate. tbh i quite like it, but the way this story went about it was less than mediocre. she spends so much time not getting her memories back and when she did, it was so. underwhelming. also, we are given so little to no real fleshed out reasons as to why apollo is truly in love with evangeline. and funnily enough that can also apply to jacks!!
jacks has been such a strange and unlikeable influence in her life from the get go. i can see how the romance could work but his characterization just fell flat for me especially with the way he treats her. in the first book, i really didn't enjoy how manipulative he was to her but in bona, i was seeing the vision BUT then this version of jacks in this book?????? who even is that??? no wonder the poor girl is confused all the time. the mixed signals are endless. the romance in this last book was also incredibly lackluster. how do you put so little scenes of interactions betwen the love interests in a FINALE!! and then the peak romance we get was in the epilogue if you could even call that excuse of a last chapter an epilogue. the fact that jacks did ALL of that just for what? maybe 50 years with a girl? and then she'll die and he'll live on. she is a blip in his whole lifespan, and i just find it hilarious to think about. also she's 17 and he's an immortal fate whos prob hundreds of years old. someone arrest him please.
i just genuinely believe evangeline just needs to be left alone and given the space to actually grow and learn about the world. sooo many characters in the previous books were also conveniently left out. any girls in this book (and the last two) have probably not passed the bechdel test or barely passed it when speaking with evangeline. another thing to be disappointed about. disappointed but not surprised.
this book series had potential. the worldbuilding was interesting but when the characters are hard to like, the book itself is hard to like. i found bona to have an interesting enough plot but the plot in this book was nonexistent. it was literally just evangeline is confused, jacks tries to do literally anything, apollo gets mad and tries to hide/fix it, rinse and REPEAT. no overarching plot.
we never learn what happens with the last broken heart on her wrist. we never learn why jacks eats apples all the time. and if you say its because hes resisting the urge to kiss - please imagine jacks trying to make out and slobber all over an apple and tell me thats okay. its not.
overall this book was such a disappointing read. both evangeline and jacks need extensive therapy. and to not be anywhere near each other. they are so not good for each other. and this book wasn't good for my health.
edit: 3/5/24 these will all be extensive spoilers so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled. these are purely rambles like 1 month post reading because i can't keep silent any longer lol.
Jacks as a character angered me more than anything because he just can't stick to his word. He was also a bit TOO OKAY with the idea of kissing Evangeline when it could have literally killed her. (and the part where she said she forgot to breathe when they kissed. i laughed. get that away from me.)
i hate to feel bad for evangeline because she as a character annoyed me to no end but that girl is a victim. a child. a child bride. and she's being pulled every which way between two men who both frankly do not have her best interest at heart. i felt bad for apollo at first because of the fact that he's been under curses for majority of the two books and finally had the chance to be clearheaded, but with the way he was acting.........maybe not. he really had the chance to be a good villain with despicable plans but he came up short and was just.....a guy. amnesia trope isn't even something I hate. tbh i quite like it, but the way this story went about it was less than mediocre. she spends so much time not getting her memories back and when she did, it was so. underwhelming. also, we are given so little to no real fleshed out reasons as to why apollo is truly in love with evangeline. and funnily enough that can also apply to jacks!!
jacks has been such a strange and unlikeable influence in her life from the get go. i can see how the romance could work but his characterization just fell flat for me especially with the way he treats her. in the first book, i really didn't enjoy how manipulative he was to her but in bona, i was seeing the vision BUT then this version of jacks in this book?????? who even is that??? no wonder the poor girl is confused all the time. the mixed signals are endless. the romance in this last book was also incredibly lackluster. how do you put so little scenes of interactions betwen the love interests in a FINALE!! and then the peak romance we get was in the epilogue if you could even call that excuse of a last chapter an epilogue. the fact that jacks did ALL of that just for what? maybe 50 years with a girl? and then she'll die and he'll live on. she is a blip in his whole lifespan, and i just find it hilarious to think about. also she's 17 and he's an immortal fate whos prob hundreds of years old. someone arrest him please.
i just genuinely believe evangeline just needs to be left alone and given the space to actually grow and learn about the world. sooo many characters in the previous books were also conveniently left out. any girls in this book (and the last two) have probably not passed the bechdel test or barely passed it when speaking with evangeline. another thing to be disappointed about. disappointed but not surprised.
this book series had potential. the worldbuilding was interesting but when the characters are hard to like, the book itself is hard to like. i found bona to have an interesting enough plot but the plot in this book was nonexistent. it was literally just evangeline is confused, jacks tries to do literally anything, apollo gets mad and tries to hide/fix it, rinse and REPEAT. no overarching plot.
we never learn what happens with the last broken heart on her wrist. we never learn why jacks eats apples all the time. and if you say its because hes resisting the urge to kiss - please imagine jacks trying to make out and slobber all over an apple and tell me thats okay. its not.
overall this book was such a disappointing read. both evangeline and jacks need extensive therapy. and to not be anywhere near each other. they are so not good for each other. and this book wasn't good for my health.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Emotional abuse
bookfilledcottage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Stephanie Garber writes beautifully and her way of describing characters as well as their feelings has such a gorgeous depth, that they truly jump out of the page.
I’d heart readers were generally diaappointed with the ending to this trilogy: but I can honestly say, I think this might’ve been my favourite of the three!
The way everything started to click and was resolved felt satisfying and made a lot of sense to me. I think the story developed really well since the first novel and I actually am very pleased with the way everything was wrapped up.
Now, do I think this is the best romantic famtasy I’ve ever read? Personally, I like others better and I do think this saga might be a tad over-hyped.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the books and read them as fast as I could because I wanted to know how things would turn out in the end. So, they’re kind of perfect for a reading slump if you’re struggling to read.
I’d heart readers were generally diaappointed with the ending to this trilogy: but I can honestly say, I think this might’ve been my favourite of the three!
The way everything started to click and was resolved felt satisfying and made a lot of sense to me. I think the story developed really well since the first novel and I actually am very pleased with the way everything was wrapped up.
Now, do I think this is the best romantic famtasy I’ve ever read? Personally, I like others better and I do think this saga might be a tad over-hyped.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the books and read them as fast as I could because I wanted to know how things would turn out in the end. So, they’re kind of perfect for a reading slump if you’re struggling to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Blood
esterslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Torture
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
deluna's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death and Animal cruelty