Rating: 4.5/5
This review contains spoilers from previous books but not this book :-)
Sephy Sinclair has been through a lot. First, she finds out that she is the daughter of none other than the ruler of the underworld -- Hades. She is nearly killed by the Demon Lords and Pandora, who are scheming to take over Mortaria. Then she is actually killed by a measly human using Sephy's own opal blade. She struggles to adapt to the world (and Mortaria without her father, who gets killed by Pandora) when she is painfully resurrected by Luce. She must deal with the darkness that has been brought out in Luce and work to help restore her to the way she was before. Amidst all this, she is falling in love and does not want to admit it.
In this last installment, Sephy struggles against the realization that she must do something about the impending apocalypse. With the Hades and the Mortarian sun gone, the balance between worlds is precarious, and Pandora continues to scheme and plot. When Sephy is attacked in her own home, she realizes that, no matter how much she wants to be just a "normal girl," she is needed desperately by the world to restore order...
I'll admit I fiercely disliked Sephy in the first book. She was selfish and not really that nice of a person. She has gone through incredible character growth throughout this series though. She never asked to inherit Hades's powers. She never asked to bear the responsibility of defeating Pandora, but she handles herself with much more grace in this book. She is less whiny.
The relationship between her and Xion is heartbreaking throughout the entire series, as first she finds herself attracted to him but pushes him away, saying she will never love him. He constantly brings out the best in her, and he is patient and loyal throughout. This book tore my heart open with Xion's ultimate fate, but what is a book if it doesn't elicit strong emotions?
I also love Luce's transformation through the series. She starts out as a very pleasant, friendly person who struggles from time to time with the darkness inside. When she succumbs, it is easy to understand why. We understand her motivation, but Thane does not, and her departure is incredibly selfish. I hate Thane for what she did, though it is also understandable.
Hades is probably one of my absolute favorite characters, and I missed seeing more from him in this book. I could honestly read an entire book from his POV. :-) I find the Higher Plains fascinating, and I loved how we did get to experience a bit of his presence near the end.
Jules is, of course, dependable and reliable as ever. I always enjoy reading anything about him. Sephy is surrounded by such an amazing, loving, caring group of people. I was honestly very happy with the ending to this book, and ending a series satisfactorily is a challenge for any author!
The events of this book are frankly mind-blowing. Sephy and the rest are like old friends, and each page was honestly thrilling.
I found Pandora to be sort of a puzzling villain. She came in a sort of black horse, and no one really took her seriously. But then she managed to pull off some pretty incredible and terrible things thanks to the box and the fickle loyalty of the Demon Lords. I found her to be a weaker villain in this book -- falling for stuff she shouldn't, trusting the Demon Lords too much (until it was too late), and not considering Sephy a serious threat. Her fate was also sort of confusing to me. I have trouble keeping track of where people can go and what powers they have. The last scene with her was pretty funny though :-)
I thought the section about them staying in a hotel and going to McDonald's was hilarious, and a much needed breath of fresh air after all of the intense action they have to go through.
I agree with the other reviewers that this is Kristy Nicolle's best work yet. I have the Tidal Kiss Trilogy sitting on my shelf and hope to crack that open soon. I am also looking forward to her next trilogy.
No comments:
Post a Comment