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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Like others, I was worried about starting the last book in this series because of all the negative reviews. Maybe it’s because I was bracing myself for something truly awful that I actually liked what happened! I think there is so much deeper meaning in this book that I’m going to have to reread it to further reflect. What struck me were the themes of what it means to be evil or good, whether or not either of those is possible or if the fate of humanity is that we are all a bit of both. Themes of redemption and restitution, and again, questioning if either of those are actually possible.
I really liked the ending and how unexpected it was. I thought it was bittersweet and again, packed with meaning. What does it mean to sacrifice oneself? Is martyrdom actually easier than other means of sacrifice? Is it worth certain sacrifices for the greater good? And the existential philosophy of how to make meaning of ones own life — whatever we are dealt.
I really liked the ending and how unexpected it was. I thought it was bittersweet and again, packed with meaning. What does it mean to sacrifice oneself? Is martyrdom actually easier than other means of sacrifice? Is it worth certain sacrifices for the greater good? And the existential philosophy of how to make meaning of ones own life — whatever we are dealt.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am so conflicted about that ending but the journey was amazing.
15 minutes later: I’m so MAD
4 hours later: I’m really sad
15 minutes later: I’m so MAD
4 hours later: I’m really sad
This book started out as a 4.5 star review, until I got to the deus ex machina of the end. How frustrating. What was the point of the previous books if everything got reset? Ultimately the only stories that mattered were the distracting narratives of Lily and Katie (which were kind of boring). The Red Queen is built up so much in previous books and it doesn't really amount to anything.
I was expecting some more resolution at the end as well, beyond a "you have your whole life ahead of you" where Kelsea has to just suck it up and pretend nothing happened. Very disappointed by this novel.
I'm also super tired of people portraying Christians as either weak, corrupt, or stupid. At least in the first two books the church bashing was balanced out by Father Tyler as a positive example. This one was just full of hate, which is tiresome and unnecessary.
I was expecting some more resolution at the end as well, beyond a "you have your whole life ahead of you" where Kelsea has to just suck it up and pretend nothing happened. Very disappointed by this novel.
I'm also super tired of people portraying Christians as either weak, corrupt, or stupid. At least in the first two books the church bashing was balanced out by Father Tyler as a positive example. This one was just full of hate, which is tiresome and unnecessary.
adventurous
tense
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
This series sort of died on me. I was just uninterested in continuing.
3.25 Stars!
All in all, I’d say that this was a decent finale to the trilogy. There were definitely a few issues with it that I’ll talk about more further down, but overall I found it to be much more engaging than The Invasion of the Tearling.
Right, so here’s the thing - as with the previous book, I preferred the storyline set in the past to the one set in the present. Kelsea’s storyline in this book was more interesting, but the events in the past were just more engaging to read about and I much preferred the other narrator’s voice.
Another issue that I had was that the book wasn’t particularly well-paced. It starts off pretty slow and by about half way in I was beginning to wonder if anything was actually going to happen in this story. However, just after that point, it picks up enormously and sort of rushes the ending a little bit.
This rushing, I think, is caused in part by what a villain problem. There were way too many, which made the final threat seem very rushed (which is odd, given that we spend a lot of time thinking about him) and less impactful. I also felt that there were too many characters, in a way, and they were sort of wasted. I’m specifically talking about two characters that were introduced in the last novel, seemingly to only serve one purpose in this novel and nothing more. For this reason, I also felt like I didn’t really care for many of the secondary characters - not because I didn’t like them, but because they all seemed just underdeveloped and not there for any particular reason.
Having said all of this, the second half of the book had me hooked. I loved Katie’s storyline, and there was enough action to keep things going.
Contrary to popular opinion, I also really liked the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was foreseeable from very early on in the story, and I guess in a way it seemed like a cop out, but that last chapter had me weeping, I’m not going to lie.
Overall: A nicely wrapped up finale with and engaging second half
All in all, I’d say that this was a decent finale to the trilogy. There were definitely a few issues with it that I’ll talk about more further down, but overall I found it to be much more engaging than The Invasion of the Tearling.
Right, so here’s the thing - as with the previous book, I preferred the storyline set in the past to the one set in the present. Kelsea’s storyline in this book was more interesting, but the events in the past were just more engaging to read about and I much preferred the other narrator’s voice.
Another issue that I had was that the book wasn’t particularly well-paced. It starts off pretty slow and by about half way in I was beginning to wonder if anything was actually going to happen in this story. However, just after that point, it picks up enormously and sort of rushes the ending a little bit.
This rushing, I think, is caused in part by what a villain problem. There were way too many, which made the final threat seem very rushed (which is odd, given that we spend a lot of time thinking about him) and less impactful. I also felt that there were too many characters, in a way, and they were sort of wasted. I’m specifically talking about two characters that were introduced in the last novel, seemingly to only serve one purpose in this novel and nothing more. For this reason, I also felt like I didn’t really care for many of the secondary characters - not because I didn’t like them, but because they all seemed just underdeveloped and not there for any particular reason.
Having said all of this, the second half of the book had me hooked. I loved Katie’s storyline, and there was enough action to keep things going.
Contrary to popular opinion, I also really liked the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was foreseeable from very early on in the story, and I guess in a way it seemed like a cop out, but that last chapter had me weeping, I’m not going to lie.
Overall: A nicely wrapped up finale with and engaging second half
A thoughtful conclusion to this series. Not my favorite book series, but one that really makes you think. I was surprised by the ending, but I cannot say I was delighted simply because of the nature of the ending. The book gave me hope, but not in the way I thought it would.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have very mixed feelings about the ending, but I am a HUGE fan of these characters and the world.
This book felt waaaay longer than it actually was
I loved this series, I really did but Erika Johansen left us with soo many plot holes and things unexplained that I just can't anymore. I was kept waiting for too long. And then we get this whacky ass ending with ??? I am just beyond mad but mostly sad.
The further I got into this the more I thought "She can't possibly fix this and give me all the explanations I want..."
And she just didn't.
I loved this series, I really did but Erika Johansen left us with soo many plot holes and things unexplained that I just can't anymore. I was kept waiting for too long. And then we get this whacky ass ending with
Spoiler
time travelThe further I got into this the more I thought "She can't possibly fix this and give me all the explanations I want..."
And she just didn't.