A review by izumisano
Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong

3.0

The ending to this series was very anticlimactic. There was more purpose to this installment than the pervious one I felt. Their aim was to defeat Alvar Kitsune, instead of wondering around looking for missing children. I was really excited when Ashyn meets people from the North and they promise to raise dragons. DRAGONS. Who doesn't love dragons? Well, don't get your hopes up because the dragons are barely there in any real standing. Armstrong also builds Alvar to be this dastardly sorcerer mastermind, but he also isn't really involved in this book. He puts plans into motion from the side lines, but doesn't really do anything. Just an evil, lurking shadow they can never quite catch or approach.

Spoiler

When he finally does make an appearance, it is at the end for about 2 minutes. He releases the shadow stalkers for the final time, the twins are able to dispel them after much effort, and he makes a grand show in front of the emperor to prove that he has been wronged. Nothing is really said about the feud between the emperor and Alvar. It is possible that the sins were mentioned in the earlier books but I don't remember what he did, other than it caused him to be in disgrace and living on the edge of society. His caste hasn't even stripped from him like Ronan. But whatever. Anyways, he goes about beheading the imperial sons, trying to get the emperor to admit that he loves Tyrus the best. All this evilry is ended when Gavril sacrifices himself for Tyrus and supposedly dies. And then Avril allows Moriah to kill him because, omg I killed my son that I sort of tortured his whole life. With his dying breath he magics Garvil alive again and they all hold hands and go about their new empire roles (because she couldn't just let him die). See very anticlimactic. No all out battle for the empire. Just a tete-a-tete in the royal chamber. Sure there was some beheading and blood and death, but nothing that she built it up to be.

Even the skirmish after the dragons were released turned out to be nothing. Moriah is injured and they all just hang out and have a camp fire while there is a battle outside. When they finally do decided to join in, they hide behind some rocks and runaway. Oh boy. I don't know, I guess I just wished for some more drama.