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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this series so much. I fell full force into the world and loved how Jessica Cluess wrote a story about "good and evil" but showing that no one is perfectly one or the other. We all have bits of good and 'bad' in ourselves.
Spoiler
I do have to say I'm mad about my OTP. I was a little miffed that my ship sinks and a little annoyed that Blackwell had such a character switcharoo from book 1 to book 2 and now to book 3. However, *swoon* they still got to get married, despite the sinking.
Thank you for giving me such a beautiful ending to a great series.
This was a very satisfying conclusion to the Kingdom on Fire trilogy. I read the first two books a while back and had a little trouble remembering details from those books, but luckily, "A Sorrow Fierce and Falling" does a good job of reminding readers of important past events.
The story picks up shortly after the second book ended. Henrietta Howel is engaged to Lord Blackwood (and seemingly happy about it), and their friends/allies are hunkered down at Sorrow-Fell Estate. They are awaiting the arrival of the Ancients and their army, led by Rh'lem (the Skinned Man) whose identity was revealed in book 2. Among her friends is the witch Maria, who Henrietta believes is the Chosen One foretold in the prophecy she originally thought was about herself.
There is a good deal of action and lots of satisfying character moments in this book. I thought it was well-paced and wrapped up all the loose ends nicely. And it reminded me of the characters and cozy mood I had fallen in love with back when I read the first book in the series ([b:A Shadow Bright and Burning|23203252|A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire, #1)|Jessica Cluess|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460211196s/23203252.jpg|42747312]).
Now that the whole series is out I can say that this is a delightful experience throughout! <3
The story picks up shortly after the second book ended. Henrietta Howel is engaged to Lord Blackwood (and seemingly happy about it), and their friends/allies are hunkered down at Sorrow-Fell Estate. They are awaiting the arrival of the Ancients and their army, led by Rh'lem (the Skinned Man) whose identity was revealed in book 2. Among her friends is the witch Maria, who Henrietta believes is the Chosen One foretold in the prophecy she originally thought was about herself.
There is a good deal of action and lots of satisfying character moments in this book. I thought it was well-paced and wrapped up all the loose ends nicely. And it reminded me of the characters and cozy mood I had fallen in love with back when I read the first book in the series ([b:A Shadow Bright and Burning|23203252|A Shadow Bright and Burning (Kingdom on Fire, #1)|Jessica Cluess|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460211196s/23203252.jpg|42747312]).
Now that the whole series is out I can say that this is a delightful experience throughout! <3
A good end to the series. I don’t know that I’d read this series again, but I am glad I read it at least once. It was quite enjoyable.
That didn't end the way I thought it would. Full review to come.
I’ve been waiting to get my hands on A Sorrow Fierce and Falling by Jessica Cluess since the moment I turned the last page of book 2 in this series. Cluess does a fantastic job of combining a fantasy and magical world into a historical setting and since these also happen to be some of my favorite genres I definitely hopped on board the “I’m loving it” train. Since this is a book 3, I can’t promise not to spoil any of the prior books but will avoid any spoilers with this one.
Book 3 picks up shortly after the wrap of A Poison Dark and Drowning. As Henrietta is preparing to marry Blackwood, she finds out she must complete a ritual and when she does, she also finds out that Sorrow-Fell is not the safe place they thought it would be. The thing I like about Henrietta is that she isn’t afraid to do whatever is necessary to further their cause against the Ancients and protect the people she loves. Because of that, she also has to face some pretty daunting things but with the right people at her side, she does well.
As the war against the Ancients continues, Henrietta’s relationships with the people around her do take some hits...don't get me wrong, there are for sure some good things, but a lot happens and not all of it turns out great. Of course, there is Blackwood…but she also has Maria, Magnus, and Rook is out there somewhere too. I thought Cluess did a great job of pulling all these characters together and keeping their stories connected. Now, you all know that with a book 3 that it is possible that not everyone will make it out of this fight alive and that’s all I will say about that.
So much happens in this book that I can’t really give you details on only because I don’t want to ruin even one page of this book for you. Just know that there is great progression in this book. We find out a lot about all of the characters and how they react when things go wrong, that’s for sure. Admittedly, I wasn’t entirely happy with some things that happened and some of it felt a bit rushed and there were for sure characters I wanted more of in this story, but I also have to keep reminding myself that Henrietta is at the center of this story and not everyone else.
In the end, there is so much about this series that I love, and I will admit that I had a few moments of disappointment with this installment. With that said, I still really enjoyed the series and look forward to more from Cluess. If you are looking for a book that combines magic, danger, and solid characters with a historical vibe, consider checking this book/series out.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
Book 3 picks up shortly after the wrap of A Poison Dark and Drowning. As Henrietta is preparing to marry Blackwood, she finds out she must complete a ritual and when she does, she also finds out that Sorrow-Fell is not the safe place they thought it would be. The thing I like about Henrietta is that she isn’t afraid to do whatever is necessary to further their cause against the Ancients and protect the people she loves. Because of that, she also has to face some pretty daunting things but with the right people at her side, she does well.
As the war against the Ancients continues, Henrietta’s relationships with the people around her do take some hits...don't get me wrong, there are for sure some good things, but a lot happens and not all of it turns out great. Of course, there is Blackwood…but she also has Maria, Magnus, and Rook is out there somewhere too. I thought Cluess did a great job of pulling all these characters together and keeping their stories connected. Now, you all know that with a book 3 that it is possible that not everyone will make it out of this fight alive and that’s all I will say about that.
So much happens in this book that I can’t really give you details on only because I don’t want to ruin even one page of this book for you. Just know that there is great progression in this book. We find out a lot about all of the characters and how they react when things go wrong, that’s for sure. Admittedly, I wasn’t entirely happy with some things that happened and some of it felt a bit rushed and there were for sure characters I wanted more of in this story, but I also have to keep reminding myself that Henrietta is at the center of this story and not everyone else.
In the end, there is so much about this series that I love, and I will admit that I had a few moments of disappointment with this installment. With that said, I still really enjoyed the series and look forward to more from Cluess. If you are looking for a book that combines magic, danger, and solid characters with a historical vibe, consider checking this book/series out.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
4.5 stars
I loved it. I loved it I loved it I loved it I loved it!!!
I enjoyed every bit of it.
The romance, the politics, the conflicts, the resolutions, the plot twists, the friendships, the familial bonds, the guilt, the forgiveness, and finally....the ending.
It was the perfect ending, and I couldn't imagine a better one.
I loved it. I loved it I loved it I loved it I loved it!!!
I enjoyed every bit of it.
The romance, the politics, the conflicts, the resolutions, the plot twists, the friendships, the familial bonds, the guilt, the forgiveness, and finally....the ending.
It was the perfect ending, and I couldn't imagine a better one.
This was a satisfying finale to this series... probably not as great as the first but overall a lovely fantasy series.
3.5*
Warning: Contains Spoiler-y things mentioned in vague ways
Okay so here's the thing. Doing a star rating for this book as a whole seems wrong, and that's because the first half of this book for me was a 3 star read, the next 100 pages were a 4 star, and the last hundred were a 4.5 star.
HOWEVER rounding up and giving it 4 stars seems wrong because the first half was so messy, confusing, everyone seemed out of character, a lot of people were brought back into the story with very little reminder of who they were so it was hard to keep track of people, and there were a lot of new ideas introduced suddenly that weren't really brought back in clever useful ways. I have to say, reading the first half of this book I was frustrated and disappointed by the characters and story I'd grown to love from the first and second books and had expected a similar format of the story arc going into this one and that's not what I got. What I got was one character we are supposed to root for just being an asshole and saying and doing a lot of shit that frankly I can't forgive. Even with the guise of a redemption arc I'm like nah, you're a shitty person and you're dead to me sorry.
The second half of the book however-- oh ho hooo that's when things start picking up. The book refocuses on the plot, and the established narrative from the first two books, more likeable characters are brought in (I get unlikeable characters being shitty, but if you're meant to route for them and they suck then wut???) And the ball is a rolling.
We leave behind the asshole for a lot of the fun parts of the book, and work with old friends to figure out a way to stop the world ending, mixed in with eery shadowy thoughts and I was HERE FOR IT. Any time she looked at a shadow and was like "omg ur so cute" I loved her more and more and just wanted her to live out her shadow queen life tbh
And the final 100 pages don't even @me i went from not liking the book to crying because of how much I liked the book sooooo yeah. Don't care for smaaaall details that happened, mostly involving you-know-who but in the end thought the story was wrapped up in a very satisfying way and now I can sleep at night knowing that if I just allow my shadow friends to worship me I can become queen of darkness so thx books for teaching me that lesson
In the end since I thought the book closed nicely rounding it down just didn't feel right so live on in your 4star glory, and please someone sign a petition for Goodreads to give us half star ratings ♡
Warning: Contains Spoiler-y things mentioned in vague ways
Okay so here's the thing. Doing a star rating for this book as a whole seems wrong, and that's because the first half of this book for me was a 3 star read, the next 100 pages were a 4 star, and the last hundred were a 4.5 star.
HOWEVER rounding up and giving it 4 stars seems wrong because the first half was so messy, confusing, everyone seemed out of character, a lot of people were brought back into the story with very little reminder of who they were so it was hard to keep track of people, and there were a lot of new ideas introduced suddenly that weren't really brought back in clever useful ways. I have to say, reading the first half of this book I was frustrated and disappointed by the characters and story I'd grown to love from the first and second books and had expected a similar format of the story arc going into this one and that's not what I got. What I got was one character we are supposed to root for just being an asshole and saying and doing a lot of shit that frankly I can't forgive. Even with the guise of a redemption arc I'm like nah, you're a shitty person and you're dead to me sorry.
The second half of the book however-- oh ho hooo that's when things start picking up. The book refocuses on the plot, and the established narrative from the first two books, more likeable characters are brought in (I get unlikeable characters being shitty, but if you're meant to route for them and they suck then wut???) And the ball is a rolling.
We leave behind the asshole for a lot of the fun parts of the book, and work with old friends to figure out a way to stop the world ending, mixed in with eery shadowy thoughts and I was HERE FOR IT. Any time she looked at a shadow and was like "omg ur so cute" I loved her more and more and just wanted her to live out her shadow queen life tbh
And the final 100 pages don't even @me i went from not liking the book to crying because of how much I liked the book sooooo yeah. Don't care for smaaaall details that happened, mostly involving you-know-who but in the end thought the story was wrapped up in a very satisfying way and now I can sleep at night knowing that if I just allow my shadow friends to worship me I can become queen of darkness so thx books for teaching me that lesson
In the end since I thought the book closed nicely rounding it down just didn't feel right so live on in your 4star glory, and please someone sign a petition for Goodreads to give us half star ratings ♡