Reviews

DNF at 30%.

Seriously what am I reading? Isadora is so different from the other two books, the storyline is so slow and dragging. The main point from the two previous books was that love is strong, forgiving, gentle and see no difference; but with Isadora, it is different.

I was hoping to like the this book as much as I like the other two, but I guess, it's not happening..

kjanie's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

5/5 Stars

My first read of 2017 and it was amazing! I have loved every single book in this series and I could not have asked for a better finale than this. Every loose end was tied, characters finally get their justice and/ or revenge and this book delivered by far the most meaningful romance of the series.

It's hard to write a synopsis of a third book in the series without spoiling the first two books, but I'm going to try.
The people of Kaya have always died in pairs, when their bond mates (basically soulmates) died, so would they. But what happens when your paired with your sworn enemy? What would you do if you were bound to the person you've promised to kill? Isadora, the rebel leader Sparrow, has always wanted to kill Falco, the feckless emperor of Kaya. But, not everything goes to plan and instead Kaya is overthrown by dark people with monstrous powers and Isadora must fight alongside Falco to free the kingdom. In this book, all the old favourite characters from the trilogy join together to fight an evil that could destroy them all.

Before I go any further I have to mention how much I love this cover. I have loved every cover in this series, but this one stands out to me in particular. I'm not normally drawn to books with a close-up of a cover model but these books are an exception. The girl on the cover portrays a perfect Isadora and the contrast of her red eyes with pale skin, it's such an eye catching cover! The cover definitely drew me into buying this book, although with that said, I would have bought the book even if it had an awful cover because I love this author's writing!

My favourite thing about most books are the characters and I have a list of characters that I deem 'amazing', 'loveable' or 'complex'. But, this book blew that list out of proportion because these characters are just phenomenal. I loved all the main characters from the first two books in the series and I'm glad that they all made an appearance in Isadora, but Falco and Isadora were definitely the stand out personalities.

“How, I wondered, was one meant to live without killing, when killing sought one out at every turn? The world made its monsters indeed.”

That quote made me so sad when I read it because it truly reflected how Isadora felt about herself, she thought herself a monster. Isadora was definitely a flawed character but in no way was she a monster. She did, however, kill people and sometimes even people you didn't want her to kill. She was such a strong character but at the same time, she was so vulnerable. We learn that she had been tortured form a very young age which gave reason to so many of actions. She felt that she needed to kill even though it hurt her to do it. Isadora was such a well-written and complex character, she was so badass (her fighting and assassin skills were off the scale) but she was also just a lonely girl who wanted to stop doing evil things. Isadora captured my heart from the very beginning and she has become one of my all-time favourite characters.

With such an amazingly written heroine, the hero also needed to have a wow factor in order to stand out in this book, and Falco certainly did. Whilst I loved Isadora for her strength and complexity, she was no way as complicated as Falco. When we first meet Falco in the previous books, we think him weak, clumsy and feckless which explains his title of 'Emperor Feckless'. But, throughout this book we realise that Falco was actually just wearing a mask (one of many) to hide his true self. He is in fact very cunning, smart and kickass in the most literal way.

The romance in this book progressed very differently than the first two books in this trilogy. With such flawed and broken characters it would have been hard to believe if they had a conventional and sweet romance. Instead, the pair fought a lot, caused each other pain and often didn't want to be with each other. They had so much tension between them from the very beginning which made the little sweet moments between them so much more rewarding. Although, this romance took a lot longer to develop, it was definitely the most meaningful within the series.

Everything I've mentioned in the review so far has been positive, but this book still had moments that I certainly didn't like. I don't mean this in a negative way, only that some money's in the book were so heartbreaking and I couldn't believe what was happening. There were so many times in this book where I couldn't imagine how things could possibly get better. Nothing was going to plan and it seemed like every character I loved was going to die. And when thing started looking good for these characters again, the author just had to knock them back down. This story was definitely an emotional rollercoaster full of forgiveness, vengeance, acceptance and love.

deslinnl's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Wow, between Isadora, Avery and Finn I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much whilst reading a series. It is a testament to how absolutely amazing this book was and what an adventure I was brought on (though inconveniently right in the middle of exam week). I loved Falco and Isadora’s story, the multiple POVs , the bond and the idea of eyes that change colour with ones emotions. And though I don’t believe in the perfect book this one is one of the closest yet.

puppylove42's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Every character in this book went through their own version of hell which makes this book very hard to get through and I found very little I actually enjoyed.

arielle_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I am so emotionally ruined right now. rtc.

---
I understood that even if, in some horrendous twist of fate, it did disappear—all this love—I was still better for having had it in the first place. Just as I was better for having loved and lost my Avery.

Isadora starts off a short period of time after Thorne ends. Kaya is now a wreck of a nation with Penn’s crazy ass parents standing in as Warder rulers. Falco and the gang are all in Pirenti, trying to figure out what in the hell they are going to do. For everyone who still things that Falco is Emperor Feckless (everyone), they pretty much think that all hope is lost. Isadora, who we now know is the Sparrow, is in denial over being mated to Falco and is slowly trying to as kill as many warders as possible from within the capital. Adventure, and romance, AND HEART WRENCHING FEELINGS ENSUE.

How badly he loves, petal. Who has ever loved so boldly as Ambrose of Pirenti?

You. Guys. This series. What in the hell have I even gotten myself into. I just innocently started Avery about a week ago and now here I am, suddenly done with the entirely trilogy. I legitimately feel like I have had part of my heart ripped out and crushed but I’m also feeling so in love. These characters and their journeys have quickly and easily become embedded in my heart and will never leave. I honestly can’t wait until I can re-read them all again.

Ambrose’s eyes found me in the dark. We looked at each other and our gazes shifted to gold. I decided then that fate would be what I made it. And my fate was to return to my family, no matter what stood in my way.

Sitting here, even about twelve hours after I finished this book, I’ve gotten to the point where I am suddenly thinking, “How can I ever write a review that could even slightly do this series justice?” About all I can do is tell you guys what made me love everything about this series and hope that it makes you also want to check it out.

I saw her forcibly don a cloak of calm. I wanted to rip her free of it, of all that fucking calm.

Once again, this book had another case of stubborn female. Isadora though was SO much worse than Ava and Finn combined. She was brought up trapped in a cage so she already has problems with intimacy and being around people in general. Throw in a mating bond with a man who until now has been your sworn enemy and shit goes down. The most frustrating thing about all of this was that it wasn’t just Isadora struggling but also Falco. They both grew up hating who they thought the other person was. And all of a sudden they are bonded? Add in having to watch Falco still acting like an idiot, even in front of all of his best friends/ family. UGH. The two of them. I wanted to smack them both and then lock them in a room together for an extended period of time.

’You’re safe,’ I whispered to them in the dark.
‘Of course we are,’ Sadie replied. And Ella said, ’We’re with you, Aunt Rose.’

Aside from the main thread of romance/ angst between Falco and Isadora and then the conflict in Kaya, this book did a really great job of tying up everyone’s stories. While there were mainly four POVs in the previous two books, this book features at least one from all of our old friends from books one and two. By now all of their stories have been interwoven into something very special. They are all family and they would all do anything to protect one another.

Tagging the rest as spoilers so I can just fangirl and rant my heart away

Spoiler

YOU’VE BEEN WARNED PEOPLE—MAJOR spoilers ahead

’I’m death. I’ll be the death of you,’ I said, agonized.
Falco smiled. ’You’re the life of me.’

So due to how emotional the previous two books made me, I just had this feeling that someone was going to die. There was no way that a main character wasn’t—it was all just a matter of who and from what. THE FACT THAT ALL THREE OF MY BELOVEDS (Jonah, Finn, and Penn) WERE THE ONES TO GO…Oh my gosh I sobbed like a little girl. Seriously, my sister walked into my room right as I was reading that part and then once she saw me silently sobbing she slowly backed out with a very judging look on her face. (Screw you, Ali lol).

’So much is lost,’ I commented. ’But look at the beauty what beauty remains.’

ALSO. Getting to see Avery and Thorne (Sr.). Oh my gosh that ripped my fucking heart out. How Ambrose and the twins also reacted to seeing him was priceless. And the fact that he is still with them every day and gets to experience all of their joy and sorrow and EVERYTHING. It was everything to read about. Thorne meeting his father was also something special. Them hugging and dad telling son that he was proud of him—also priceless. My heart just aches thinking about it.

’What madness is this?’ she whispered.
Slowly I shook my head. Because it felt like the tide again, the great ocean tide pulling me towards her, and what mortal man was strong enough to resist that? It felt like fate and inevitability; it felt like magic.

Skipping around, the romance between Isadora and Falco was my least favorite of the three couples. While I was still so happy when they got together, the fact that it just took so damn long and struggled SO HARD. Right when they broke that bond though, I knew that they’d still end up together. I mean come on Isadora, you might not believe in fate and you might want to be able to choose, but the bond is a bond for a reason. It’s not a whim. She sure learned.

I wept for all the time lost, for all the memories he’d seen without being able to share, and for this. For the love that somehow existed in two children and a man who’d never met him. It felt bigger than me, bigger than this, than everything.

I didn’t care about the cage or brutality—I was so far beyond it because of him. I cared only for him, I loved only him, desperately and endlessly, no magic and no bond needed to make it true.

Finally, even after telling you guys time and again that I love these books, I can’t tell you they’re perfect. While I would like every single one of my GR friends to go out and read this series IMMEDIATELY, not all of you would probably like them. There are a few little tiny problems I had with the plot, the writing in the first book wasn’t my cup of tea, and the lead females pissed me off several times…BUT IT’S WORTH IT. God is it worth it. This story is about love and family and will have you laughing and crying and biting your nails the entire time.

Love was inexplicable. This I knew to be true.

hcaticha's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

blackgoddessreviews's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Nothing I write will adequately express how this book, indeed, how this series, made me feel. The characters are really the defining point of The Chronicles of Kaya. So much so that sometimes I felt some elements of the plot weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked them. I wanted a bit more explanation on the power/magic of the warders and how it worked for different individuals. I wanted to know WHY the warders hadn't told Falco they found his family's murderers. Why were they killed in the first place? I had the same feelings in the last book when Finn and Thorne II are in the Berserker Mountains. Things just sort of happened really quickly without much explanation.
BUT
The main characters were all complex, and flawed, and so beautiful because of it.

As an aside, I was so happy that King Thorne got to come back. He was pretty bloody awesome. I loved pretty much all the main characters in this series, but I think Thorne senior was my favourite. Because even though he was hard, and violent, he became more than the slaughter man he was trained to be. He loved as fiercely as he hated. He was clumsy expressing it, especially in a world which tried to beat those emotions out of him, but he loved his wife, imperfectly as it was. But how true is that of real life? That he sacrificed his very life for the people he loved speaks volumes about the kind of man he was becoming.

The ending was really satisfying for me. I really loathe 'happy endings' where everything works out for everyone, because that is not how life works. I bawled like an infant, but when a book is going to culminate in a huge battle, you know someone isn't going to make it. I think, if it had to be any of them, Jonah, Penn & Finn going together was the only way for it to end. I loved that Thorne junior could still see them anyway, and that he stayed with their father Alexi.
I was happy Rose finally had someone to look after her and cherish her. Erik was a godsend.
And oh gods. Avery. The love he had for not only Ava, but also Ambrose and the girls. And the way they all loved him too.

Definitely one of my favourite series.

More...