A review by lezreadalot
Death's Abyss by S.D. Simper

3.0

‘Can I save her?’

‘No,’ her mind said and she mouthed the words unbidden. ‘But you can love her.’

 
3.5 stars. In terms of plot, this last book in the trilogy didn't do the greatest job of keeping me on board 100% of the time? I didn't think the pacing was the best, and while I really liked all the character arcs, I don't think the way they were portrayed was deftly done? But still, the author managed to bring this home for me. I just adore this couple so much; they've come so far and seeing all that growth was really emotional. The MFEO vibes were there, and I was a little obsessed with their love. Yes, I wanted to shake Dauriel a fair bit, but I really enjoyed what lay at the core of her story, and the messages about mental health and grief. These characters were archetypal in a few ways, but still so fresh and wonderful and they both brought super meaningful things to the reading experience. There were a couple of really interesting reveals in here (especially the ones that involved Khastra) and the ending was sooooo good. So fitting.

Unfortunately, the more I read in this series, the more I disliked the writing; so much so that this could have been a full star lower if I didn't love the ending so much. I won't get into it, because at the end of the day, a lot of it is down to personal preference, but there continued to be a lot of telling-not-showing, clunky/flowery phrasing and word choices, and annoying repetition in the writing that made this a lot less enjoyable for me.

But overall, this has been such a total winner as a series, and I love these women so much. The world was very unique, simple enough to grasp, and provided lots of opportunities for interesting stories. I look forward to coming back to this world in the author's other series, but I'll probably take a bit of a break.