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Review

4 stars

Phew. I just finished this book and feel like I’ve run a marathon. I’ve binged this series from start to finish on audio – 64+ hours in total, 25 of them with this final book, and I feel completely wrung out. But from start to finish – wow, what a ride!

This book marks the end of the initial story arc, and I’m keeping my review deliberately vague in order to avoid spoilers.

War is coming, and all of Prythian is at risk as Hybern’s army closes in. Feyre begins this book far from home and finding out what information she can – leading to an epic journey to return to her loved ones, and an even epicer rescue and reunion! And then is the time for her and her allies to rally the High Lords together to plan for the upcoming battle, bringing a whole lot of intrigue as friends and enemies unite.

And so begins the twists and turns as old wounds are opened, alliances are questioned, vengeance is sought, secret plots are revealed and carried out, and plans are made to prepare for the fight ahead. And in the search for help and the power play between the High Lords, you never really know true motivations, and tempers fray as they battle it out. Who can Feyre trust among the deadly group? And which enemies can be counted on to fight for the good guys when the time comes – and at what cost? There’s a whole lot of plotting and manoeuvring going on, and as the attack draws nearer, friends, family and enemies will be drawn together like never before in order to protect their homeland, and their very existence.

“Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. Only you.”

With all of this going on, you would expect this book to be jam packed with action and excitement, and while there is certainly a lot going on, this is a really long book and, for me, it lagged a bit, lacking the intensity of the last book in the series (which was epic), and even the first. There were so many little side-plots that fizzled into nothing much and didn’t really do much to progress the story, and more characters are introduced with complex backstories that I honestly wasn’t overly interested in. Maybe they will be revisited in the spin-offs? And with so many characters popping up here and there, I sometimes had trouble keeping characters and their complicated dynamics straight in my head. And the main group of characters that I loved so much going into this book all felt a bit flat with less page-time and not as much of their fabulous interactions.

As for the romance… I’m a romance junkie, and as much as I love the fantasy, intrigue and action aspects of the story, I’m here for the love story, so that was key for me.

“I believe that everything happened, exactly the way it had to… so I could find you.”

Feyre and Rhys are great together, loved-up and wholly committed, and while I love them as a couple, their spark and passion for each other that was so wonderfully explored in ACOMAF seemed to be missing. Of course they’re still feeling it, and the declarations are there, but again it felt a bit flat – especially after the epicness of the last book.

“I would have waited five hundred more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have… The wait was worth it.”

And now for a spoilery purge of random thoughts…

The big battle that we had been building up to through the series seemed a bit predictable. Sure, there were some surprising moments, but the big dramatic reveals were all things that I figured would happen given the build-up. Of course, the bone carver, the weaver and Bryaxis would show up to fight for the good guys… of course the Drakon and Miryam would show up. Feyre’s Dad was a surprise, but I felt like that one came out of nowhere and it felt a little odd, like it didn’t fit with his character, so what was supposed to be a triumphant return felt more like a ‘huh’ moment.

I am surprised, however, that everybody made it out alive. Of course, I didn’t want anybody to die, but it seems a bit unrealistic that they all made it out ok. There was the big ‘heartbreaking’ moment, but my immediate thought was that it was so freaking heartbreaking that there’s no way it wouldn’t be undone. So it really had very little impact on me at all when it happened – which is probably a good thing.

Mor’s confession was all very dramatic and a little bit bizarre, coming out of nowhere. And while I felt bad for her, my heart broke for Azriel. Just tell the guy that you’re into women! Why drag out 500 years of unrequited love? Especially when there is mention of other same-sex couples in the story, and even talk of a threesome – so obviously sexuality not a huge deal to the fae. The build up to something happening between Mor and Azriel died in that moment, which was disappointing.

And I’m sad at the way Tamlin’s storyline played out through the series. Sure, he had his moments of dickdom, and I was so mad at him, but I didn’t want him to be villanised as badly as he was. He was somewhat redeemed – in satisfying scenes that had my heart racing – but I still feel like the poor guy got treated badly.

Those are my random ramblings, and though I clearly did have some issues with parts of story, overall I thought it played out well and I was happy with how it ended up.

I’m so curious where the series is going to go from here. I know we’ll be getting spin-off books featuring other characters/couples, and I’m excited to get to know those characters more. And while Feyre’s sisters honestly don’t do a lot for me, Cassian and Lucien certainly do, and I’m desperate to see Azriel get a happy ending – even if it may not be the one he wants right now. So bring it on!

4 stars.