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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
It breaks my heart to give this rating. The two stars are for Blackwood, Howel, Maria, and the writing. But I cannot forgive what happened in this book. My heart is wildly hurting, and not from a good pain, but the pain of shattering disappointment and betrayal. I know it’s “just a book” but I’ll be rewriting this ending in my head. To be vague, a lot of character actions/emotions felt jarringly inconsistent, overblown, or just out-of-the-blue. I might write out a fuller review once my emotions have time to settle. Hopefully some of you know what I’m referring to.
I loved the first two books in this trilogy so much, and A Sorrow Fierce and Falling left me somewhere between aching and hollow. This book broke my heart but not in a good way.
The Good: The writing was as stark and beautiful as ever. Maria continues to be an awesome addition to the crew. I especially enjoyed the duality part of her storyline.
The Rest: The characterizations. Though I still love Howel, she seemed more wishy-washy in this book, and I didn’t always follow her line of reasoning. Overall, though, I was okay with Howel.
The real problem was Blackwood. I hated how he was handled in this book. There were times when I barely even recognized parts of his character. The author made him seem cartoonishly villainous at points, ignoring all the development he made in the previous two books. The issue with Blackwood hit home for me the most because he was my favorite character – I recognize a lot of myself in him, in his guardedness. But the author narratively punishes Blackwood, someone I yearned to watch grow, and instead strips Magnus of any flaws to make him “the better choice”. Don’t get me wrong, I like Magnus. But without the flaws he showed in the first two books, he lacks a believable and interesting personality. He has nothing to work on in himself, which leaves him as bland as a piece of unbuttered toast. Part of what makes Blackwood so intriguing a character is how he grapples with his blatant wrongdoings – sometimes healthily, sometimes not so healthily. Jealousy, ambition, and possessiveness - these can all be dangerous traits if unchecked, but struggling to overcome them is relatable.
Overall, I think Blackwood deserved more time in the book because he had a compelling storyline. Magnus didn’t even really have his own storyline. I definitely can’t swallow his relationship with Howel. They had no romantic spark whatsoever, so their romance landed flatter than a British pancake. Not to mention it came out of nowhere halfway through the story.
I just...it’s been a while since a book let me down so entirely. I rarely ever rate books below three stars, but I cannot accept what happens in this finale.
Spoiler
Longer Rant-ier Review :I loved the first two books in this trilogy so much, and A Sorrow Fierce and Falling left me somewhere between aching and hollow. This book broke my heart but not in a good way.
The Good: The writing was as stark and beautiful as ever. Maria continues to be an awesome addition to the crew. I especially enjoyed the duality part of her storyline.
The Rest: The characterizations. Though I still love Howel, she seemed more wishy-washy in this book, and I didn’t always follow her line of reasoning. Overall, though, I was okay with Howel.
The real problem was Blackwood. I hated how he was handled in this book. There were times when I barely even recognized parts of his character. The author made him seem cartoonishly villainous at points, ignoring all the development he made in the previous two books. The issue with Blackwood hit home for me the most because he was my favorite character – I recognize a lot of myself in him, in his guardedness. But the author narratively punishes Blackwood, someone I yearned to watch grow, and instead strips Magnus of any flaws to make him “the better choice”. Don’t get me wrong, I like Magnus. But without the flaws he showed in the first two books, he lacks a believable and interesting personality. He has nothing to work on in himself, which leaves him as bland as a piece of unbuttered toast. Part of what makes Blackwood so intriguing a character is how he grapples with his blatant wrongdoings – sometimes healthily, sometimes not so healthily. Jealousy, ambition, and possessiveness - these can all be dangerous traits if unchecked, but struggling to overcome them is relatable.
Overall, I think Blackwood deserved more time in the book because he had a compelling storyline. Magnus didn’t even really have his own storyline. I definitely can’t swallow his relationship with Howel. They had no romantic spark whatsoever, so their romance landed flatter than a British pancake. Not to mention it came out of nowhere halfway through the story.
I just...it’s been a while since a book let me down so entirely. I rarely ever rate books below three stars, but I cannot accept what happens in this finale.
3.5 stars
Really enjoyed this series overall though this one felt rushed. There were a lot of little story threads that needed to be tied up plus the plot and 400 pages didn't seem like enough length to dedicate adequate time to everything.
In particular, I felt like Blackwood's character arc in this was a bit of a whiplash. He mostly seemed grumpy and a bit ambitious in the other books, but this one he went full Gaston-In-The-Mob-Scene and was ready to burn a woman alive. Then once Henrietta got together with the endgame love interest, he just went back to being grumpy and stubborn again. Just seemed like a plot contrivance., like he needed to be especially bad to make it so Henrietta would end up with who she ended up with. Which I didn't mind, but still.
I would have liked more with the witches, more time with her father and a bit more Faerie stuff. Also, like all the other books, Rook was a non-entity. He shows up for a page and a half and then he's gone. A bit of a waste.
I did love all the atmosphere surrounding Sorrow Fell and I enjoyed the way it all ended. It was a very satisfying conclusion with loss and change and characters not really being able to go back to how they were before. It was bittersweet and felt like everyone had really struggled and gone through things and come out the other side a little older and a little wiser. Overall I enjoyed this series -- it's a solid YA debut fantasy and I would read anything else Jessica Cluess puts out.
A Shadow Bright and Burning: 3 stars
A Poison Dark and Drowning: 4 stars
A Sorrow Fierce and Falling: 3.5 stars.
Really enjoyed this series overall though this one felt rushed. There were a lot of little story threads that needed to be tied up plus the plot and 400 pages didn't seem like enough length to dedicate adequate time to everything.
In particular, I felt like Blackwood's character arc in this was a bit of a whiplash. He mostly seemed grumpy and a bit ambitious in the other books, but this one he went full Gaston-In-The-Mob-Scene and was ready to burn a woman alive. Then once Henrietta got together with the endgame love interest, he just went back to being grumpy and stubborn again. Just seemed like a plot contrivance., like he needed to be especially bad to make it so Henrietta would end up with who she ended up with. Which I didn't mind, but still.
I would have liked more with the witches, more time with her father and a bit more Faerie stuff. Also, like all the other books, Rook was a non-entity. He shows up for a page and a half and then he's gone. A bit of a waste.
I did love all the atmosphere surrounding Sorrow Fell and I enjoyed the way it all ended. It was a very satisfying conclusion with loss and change and characters not really being able to go back to how they were before. It was bittersweet and felt like everyone had really struggled and gone through things and come out the other side a little older and a little wiser. Overall I enjoyed this series -- it's a solid YA debut fantasy and I would read anything else Jessica Cluess puts out.
A Shadow Bright and Burning: 3 stars
A Poison Dark and Drowning: 4 stars
A Sorrow Fierce and Falling: 3.5 stars.
I loved book 1, was unsure of book 2 but truly appreciate the ending of the series. May not be the ending I saw but better.
An exciting and emotionally satisfying conclusion to the series. What a ride!
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a fitting conclusion to the trilogy! I enjoyed reading it very much! Henrietta and Maria’s friendship is beautiful. Love the friendship, love, and respect between Henrietta and Magnus. Loved it!
Parts of it were just as good and magical as I wanted, but really, I could not get over what happened with Blackwood, starting in the second novel and finishing here. This was not the character or the storyline I expected when the first book ended and honestly, I think it would have been best if there had never been any romance between Blackwood and Henrietta--it wasn't a good storyline, the way it played out didn't feel authentic, and the way it turned out left a sour taste in my mouth, to the point where I just couldn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to.
I’m being generous in giving this book 2.5 stars.
This series was never a perfect series. The first book was a three star read for me and the second book managed to creep up to a 3.75 with some twists at the end. There were some flaws in those two but they were easy to overlook. Unfortunately I feel like all those flaws culminated in this book and it became so glaringly obvious.
I wanted to dnf this book for the first 150 pages. I absolutely hated it. The pacing was horrible, the romance with Blackwood was awful (he was always my least favorite of the three) and it was a miserable time. I pushed on and the book did improve but not much.
A character in the previous books who seemed like they were going to be a big ordeal showed up and was killed within a span of two pages. Another minor character who had been gaining more agency was fridged. Rook seemed all but forgotten for the most part. The prophecy and Maria’s part in it seemed suddenly so unimportant.
Basically my two biggest issues with this series were 1) it didn’t use its full potential and 2) the three love interests. Blackwood was unnecessary as a love interest and I feel like the story would have been so much better off without him. I hadn’t minded him in the first two books but I was sort of indifferent. This book just murdered Blackwood and made him absolutely awful. And then I had enjoyed her romance with Magnus, but it had been pushed aside for Blackwood and when it returned it felt like it came out of nowhere. And then there’s Rook. There was so much potential with Rook that was just utterly wasted. There could have been so much good angst. Cluess tried to make Blackwood the dark and mysterious love interest but he really was just a privileged, misogynistic pig who I couldn’t stand. Meanwhile Rook, who had been shunned his whole life for being tainted by Kozoroth and became Kozoroth himself, was sort of tossed aside. There was so much there that could have been used but nope! All three romances could have been incredible interesting (Rook as this dark figure she saves, Magnus with their falling out and giving him time to learn and improve, Blackwood - if he hasn’t turned into such an ass in this book - as a hate to love) but because all three were forced in, none of them got the full potential they deserved. All three could have been incredibly compelling romances because none of them were perfect which made it wonderful, but trying with all three meant none of them really got to shine. I wish Cluess had focused on only one of them.
The pacing in this book was also rather absurd. It seemed like something was happening every second and within a span of a page we would jump wildly from one thing to the next and I kept getting whiplash and having to go back and check for where the single sentence of transition was.
Not to mention the plot felt like too many strings of ideas thrown together that didn’t make much sense. It jumped wildly around and I’m not sure why.
And the climax of the battle made absolutely no sense at all whatsoever. Did I miss something from the previous books? It’s possible but it was as if the Ancients whole motivation suddenly changed and I’m not entirely sure why.
This entire series as a whole just had great ideas but didn’t reach those ideas to their full potential and ultimately this book really disappointed me. Especially because it spent so much damn time with Blackwood and his manipulative, abusive “love” towards Henrietta. Ugh.
This series was never a perfect series. The first book was a three star read for me and the second book managed to creep up to a 3.75 with some twists at the end. There were some flaws in those two but they were easy to overlook. Unfortunately I feel like all those flaws culminated in this book and it became so glaringly obvious.
I wanted to dnf this book for the first 150 pages. I absolutely hated it. The pacing was horrible, the romance with Blackwood was awful (he was always my least favorite of the three) and it was a miserable time. I pushed on and the book did improve but not much.
A character in the previous books who seemed like they were going to be a big ordeal showed up and was killed within a span of two pages. Another minor character who had been gaining more agency was fridged. Rook seemed all but forgotten for the most part. The prophecy and Maria’s part in it seemed suddenly so unimportant.
Basically my two biggest issues with this series were 1) it didn’t use its full potential and 2) the three love interests. Blackwood was unnecessary as a love interest and I feel like the story would have been so much better off without him. I hadn’t minded him in the first two books but I was sort of indifferent. This book just murdered Blackwood and made him absolutely awful. And then I had enjoyed her romance with Magnus, but it had been pushed aside for Blackwood and when it returned it felt like it came out of nowhere. And then there’s Rook. There was so much potential with Rook that was just utterly wasted. There could have been so much good angst. Cluess tried to make Blackwood the dark and mysterious love interest but he really was just a privileged, misogynistic pig who I couldn’t stand. Meanwhile Rook, who had been shunned his whole life for being tainted by Kozoroth and became Kozoroth himself, was sort of tossed aside. There was so much there that could have been used but nope! All three romances could have been incredible interesting (Rook as this dark figure she saves, Magnus with their falling out and giving him time to learn and improve, Blackwood - if he hasn’t turned into such an ass in this book - as a hate to love) but because all three were forced in, none of them got the full potential they deserved. All three could have been incredibly compelling romances because none of them were perfect which made it wonderful, but trying with all three meant none of them really got to shine. I wish Cluess had focused on only one of them.
The pacing in this book was also rather absurd. It seemed like something was happening every second and within a span of a page we would jump wildly from one thing to the next and I kept getting whiplash and having to go back and check for where the single sentence of transition was.
Not to mention the plot felt like too many strings of ideas thrown together that didn’t make much sense. It jumped wildly around and I’m not sure why.
And the climax of the battle made absolutely no sense at all whatsoever. Did I miss something from the previous books? It’s possible but it was as if the Ancients whole motivation suddenly changed and I’m not entirely sure why.
This entire series as a whole just had great ideas but didn’t reach those ideas to their full potential and ultimately this book really disappointed me. Especially because it spent so much damn time with Blackwood and his manipulative, abusive “love” towards Henrietta. Ugh.
What a mess of a series- in a somewhat good way.... miss girl literally got with three boys?!?!?- so yeah! Much drama and a ton of romance- which is a little unexpected given they’re literally trying to save the world- how does Howel have time for all that.... fav scene is still when Blackwood asked her to dance. Would have liked a bigger redemption for Blackwood..and Howel’s father. Thought it was weird how Howel became pregnant and then the extra thing about Magnus and Howel reuniting...was kind of unnecessary. Pretty entertaining book but could have been more enjoyable.