Reviews

The Queen of the Dawn by S.M. Gaither

_myliteraryobsession's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

nite0wl29's review against another edition

4.0

★★★★.✭ stars

I’m SO sad this series has come to an end. I totally wasn’t prepared for this book and I want to thank the author for the opportunity to read one of my highly anticipated releases early.

Casia and Elander have come so far. I admit I thought the conflict between them was going to last a little longer the way things ended for them in book 4. But I was equally glad to see it wasn’t dragged out and a bit bummed that it was resolved so quickly? Maybe I’m too much of a sucker for angst but it did feel a bit…anticlimactic.

Varen… :’) That’s all I will say. His scenes with Casia had my heart in knots. I was hoping things would’ve been different there but alas…I really know how to pick some of these characters as faves.

Some of the action scenes I thought were a little confusing. I had to reread certain parts just to figure out what was happening and I’m sure it was probably intentional. Regardless this book had me on the edge of my seat! The imagery was incredible and I love how certain battle scenes felt reminiscent to LOTR.

Overall, I loved this book!! I’ll miss this cast but I’m super excited to see what else SM Gaither has in store for her readers.

thewordslinger's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

THIS! This is the book I've been waiting for and wanting since book 1! 

Finally we have a plot that's plotting from page 1 all the way through. We have action and intrigue and character growth. We have twists and turns and finally our enemies get what's coming to them. And the ending! It had all the high-stakes we've been missing, the tear-jerking sacrifices, the heart-felt goodbyes and joyful reunions...and we're left with a completely changed world, one that holds promise, even if all the (literal) magic is fading away. 

<u>The Queen of the Dawn</u> is the first book since book 1 that matches book 1's energy. 

There was no point in this where I was bored and skimming. Even in the lulls between battles, the stuff going on was interesting, entertaining, or important enough to keep me turning pages.

Which leads me to this: This series could have been a trilogy and would have been equally, if not <i>more</i> satisfying. 

Coming out of the middle 3 books in this series, I was prepared to be disappointed with how things ended. But I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't necessarily think this book was perfect. But it's definitely redeemed this series for me.

alaina_grace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

this filled a hole left in me since i finished throne of glass… and those are big claims 

brittradomski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

shelbrei's review against another edition

5.0

4.5⭐️ rounded up.

Thank you to S.M. Gaither for an ARC of the finale!

What a beautiful ending to an amazing series. Everything wrapped up in such a beautiful way but didn’t come without sacrifice. I love that Casia was loyal to herself and her friends until the very end. I’m sad it’s over but so happy to have been involved in both reading and promoting this series along the way ❤️

paigebrinkley's review against another edition

3.25

I found it not quite as slow as the last one but still quite slow until the end.
I did really like the ending (and the epilogue!) but I really would have liked to see her friends’ reactions to…you know…

genhuggins's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kriscent's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

4.0

This was a bittersweet ending. This book was much better then the last two. That being said the last couple books really could have been condensed into one 500-700 page book. Cas became increasingly annoying, weaker characters were besting Gods and Titans, obstacles became inconsequential in the face of love, there were no real sacrifices, tension lessened after multiple "fake deaths," or as I'd like to call it, the supernatural effect. With all these negatives I still found myself happy with the ending which is while I'll give it a 4 star rating. 

kelly723's review against another edition

3.5

This was probably closer to a 3.25, but I do enjoy the way each character’s story was concluded, so I rounded up instead of down. The characters really save this series, I stopped caring much about the plot a book and a half ago but I still did enjoy the characters. I do think there’s some “what happened to the original plot of the movie” towards the end of this series, but it still was entertaining for the most part. I am, however, glad that it’s over.