A review by thebakerbookworm
The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi

adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I didn’t quite get the satisfaction I wanted from this conclusion: a lot of the plotting felt like the first two books—same problems, same tensions, same issues—and I remain confused by aspects of this world. The world-building just never really made sense to me, and I was really hoping everything would click together in my head by this book, but nope. What exactly is forging? Couldn't tell you.
How did it get undone at the end? I have no idea.
Honestly, I felt more confused with each book, and the plot seemed to get worse with each one too.

The ending also left much to be desired, especially because the characters were so interesting. They deserved a more powerful conclusion. I think Enrique and Zofia are my favorite characters because they had the most consistent arcs across the trilogy (
though I knew Zofia was gonna lose that letter and it annoyed the heck out of me that she didn't open it in the second book...felt like it was more for tension than what she truly would have done
) and they also had the most satisfying ending. I remain annoyed by Séverin's development and I became annoyed with all of what happened with Laila in this book.
Seriously, Séverin's quest to become a god never made sense and it did not get the resolution that it needed for it to have impact on the character...like he still went through with it? even though everyone agreed it was a bad idea? and his only consequence was that he got eternal youth? but had to wait a century before he could see Laila again? because she became a god instead? And we still don't know anything more about Laila's creation and how it happened and why her gift works or how she became L'Enigme. The stakes about Laila dying in this book never felt as urgent as they kept saying it was.
I liked Laila and Séverin together but their relationship is never really fleshed out over the trilogy so I don't know why they like each other.

All that being said, I’m still glad I read the series. I mean, I decided to still give this conclusion three stars, even though I had issues with it. I think the characters are intriguing enough to still read it, and Hypnos's humor in this book made for some good chuckles. Overall, the series had a lot of potential and great characters so I wouldn’t not recommend it…but being disappointed in the ending makes it hard to wholeheartedly recommend.
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