A review by wardenred
Prince of Agony by Tavia Lark

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kazia doesn’t make plans. He makes problems.

I kind of purposefully tried to read slowly, because it’s the last one in the series after all, and I’m so not ready to let this world go. But damn, this was so engrossing. Tavia Lark definitely saved the best for last—this is 100% my favorite book in the series. Yes, it could have been a bit longer, to flesh out the nuances more. Yes, it could have been a tiny bit better edited. But damn. The feels, the storylines from all the five previous books coming together, the characters, the dragons, and did I mention the feels? Also, lots of dark shit that is not at all made light of, and such a satisfying victory in the last chapters.

I suspected from the previous books in the Draskora arc that Kazia has it a lot harder than his demeanor suggests, that there are some interesting reasons and purpose behind all the chaos he causes, and that he’s the one who’s going to most confidently come out of top at the end. I turned out to be right on all accounts, but damn, I had no idea just how much darker his life is, and there were so many surprises about his plots and both the level and the… flavor? method? of his involvement. It’s a good feeling when you can be simultaneously surprised by each twist you face and proud of having called it.

It was great to know Lucien better, as well, and his relationship with Kazia is just another example of exceeded expectations. There were so many ways this specific type of set-up could go wrong in the “nope, can’t ship it, can’t read it“ way for me, and yet instead I was only getting more hooked with every chapter. I also loved how all the leads from the series got cameos at the very least, particularly Whisper’s active presence.

All in all, simply a wonderful conclusion to a series that hit all the right notes for me. The only big complaint I have is that it’s ended!
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