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mastersal's review
3.0
A good end to the series but the plot didn’t build up for me. The twist you learn at the end of book 2 is fine and all but Riyah accepts it too easily. The logic was too strained for me. The majority of the book is spent with her not doing too much while she is looking for clues. The action exploded in the last bird of the book but it was too late for me. The first person narrative made this book more teenage romance than epic fight.
However, overall as a fantasy for younger readers - which I am unfortunately not - this does work. The ending made me smile if it was a little odd mix of dark but still ended up being happy. I won’t give away too much but despite all the talk of consequences there didn’t seem to be too many. Consequence and sacrifice is expressed in terms of pain and blood here which I can see working for some but not for me. It was a little too simplistic. Riyah’s obsession with Darren got a bit much and her focus on his garnet eyes made me roll mine.
His constant screaming at her grated. Do you trust her or not? The lack of his POV made his character seem inconsistent as heck and Riyah came across as naive. The author bounces between the “good of the nation” trope and “nothing is greater than my love for you” syndrome. It gave me a headache since neither felt real after a while.
Why a 3 stars then? Because I finished it as soon as I got to the 2nd half. The plot picks up then and redeems the facile attempt at political intrigue. Action is where the author shines. I don’t regret reading it. I also gave it a little bit of a pass since it’s target reader is not me. I’ve read this plot before - read it better done by stronger authors. However, in those cases the books have tended towards fantasy more than this. This comes across as an amalgam of romance and fantasy. The entire series is like this so if you liked the earlier books this one will be great. My ambivalence continues though.
On to the next.
PS. I read this one with the revised cover - the blue one with on Riyah on it. So much better. Thank god they redesigned the covers!
However, overall as a fantasy for younger readers - which I am unfortunately not - this does work. The ending made me smile if it was a little odd mix of dark but still ended up being happy. I won’t give away too much but despite all the talk of consequences there didn’t seem to be too many. Consequence and sacrifice is expressed in terms of pain and blood here which I can see working for some but not for me. It was a little too simplistic. Riyah’s obsession with Darren got a bit much and her focus on his garnet eyes made me roll mine.
His constant screaming at her grated. Do you trust her or not? The lack of his POV made his character seem inconsistent as heck and Riyah came across as naive. The author bounces between the “good of the nation” trope and “nothing is greater than my love for you” syndrome. It gave me a headache since neither felt real after a while.
Why a 3 stars then? Because I finished it as soon as I got to the 2nd half. The plot picks up then and redeems the facile attempt at political intrigue. Action is where the author shines. I don’t regret reading it. I also gave it a little bit of a pass since it’s target reader is not me. I’ve read this plot before - read it better done by stronger authors. However, in those cases the books have tended towards fantasy more than this. This comes across as an amalgam of romance and fantasy. The entire series is like this so if you liked the earlier books this one will be great. My ambivalence continues though.
On to the next.
PS. I read this one with the revised cover - the blue one with on Riyah on it. So much better. Thank god they redesigned the covers!
writings_of_a_reader's review
3.0
He’s the Black Mage and she’s the traitor to the Crown.
Ryiah’s world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne’s nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war.
Last Stand is the final book in The Black Mage series and to be honest it was incredibly hard to read at times even though I was glued to it. This book broke my heart into a million pieces and then attempted to put them back together, but they didn't all fit back together the way they were supposed to. Darren was not a likeable character in the beginning of this series but I grew to like him as I grew to understand him and I believed that he truly loved Ryiah. But the things that Darren did in this book crossed a line for me that even the self-sacrificing acts that they both commit near the end, and that sweet ending could not completely fix for me. I'm just really sad about it.
Ryiah as much as I like her and was rooting for her, did some things here that I thought were very foolish. If you love someone you should trust them. She should have trusted Darren in the beginning and just told him what she had learned. Don't get me wrong, there were things I really loved about this book, but it put me through an emotional roller coaster. For the most part I enjoyed this series. But this is a great example of why I hesitate to finish a series sometimes. I've got a pretty big list of unfinished ones, and I'm always afraid that I'm going to be disappointed with how they end. While I wouldn't say this ending was a complete disappointment, it did put a bit of a damper on how I feel about the series. It's a real bitter-sweet feeling. Even though I was a little disappointed in some things about this book I still will most certainly be looking forward to seeing what this author writes next.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
Ryiah’s world was shattered the night she discovered King Blayne’s nefarious plans. Now, she has to betray the one she loves most in order to save the realm from war.
Last Stand is the final book in The Black Mage series and to be honest it was incredibly hard to read at times even though I was glued to it. This book broke my heart into a million pieces and then attempted to put them back together, but they didn't all fit back together the way they were supposed to. Darren was not a likeable character in the beginning of this series but I grew to like him as I grew to understand him and I believed that he truly loved Ryiah. But the things that Darren did in this book crossed a line for me that even the self-sacrificing acts that they both commit near the end, and that sweet ending could not completely fix for me. I'm just really sad about it.
Spoiler
I did not find it very plausible that Darren would have been so set against believing Ryiah, whom he was supposed to love so much. And the fact that he let her be tortured like that and then participated in some of it himself was more than disappointing, it crossed a line for me. There is no way that a person could do that to someone they truly love. Darren is just not a believable character to me any more. I was convinced that it was over between them. How could it not be after all that? And realistically it would have been.Ryiah as much as I like her and was rooting for her, did some things here that I thought were very foolish. If you love someone you should trust them. She should have trusted Darren in the beginning and just told him what she had learned.
Spoiler
Maybe it wouldn't have gone well, but at least Darren wouldn't have felt betrayed by her.Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
worldsunlikeourown's review
5.0
So I discovered this series only around a month ago and I was hooked from book 1! It just kept getting better with each book, but I'd say this was the best one by far. There was, I felt, a significant improvement just in the writing alone. A completely engrossing read that is next to impossible to put down!
Beware of minor spoilers.
Darren and Ryiah's epic battle followed by that beautiful last stand scene was undoubtedly my favourite part of the entire book. Ryiah is one of the most genuine heroines I’ve read about. She’s is no way perfect, but you can really see how far she’s come through the series. I especially liked the fact that she could have easily given up and taken the easy way out at so many points, but she kept fighting till the end.
Warning: this book will turn you into a complete emotional wreck (and I thought after Candidate it could hardly get worse but somehow it did). I am so glad that it didn't end Romeo and Juliet style though because honestly, about halfway through the book, I was almost certain that that was the way things were heading.
Only two things I found a little annoying about the entire book : Blayne died far too easily and Darren can be so FRUSTRATING at times - somehow I can't picture him being so unwilling to even consider that Ryiah might be telling the truth. Second - the epilogue was a nice addition, but I would have liked it more if the ending was left open for imagination. It just felt like everything was wrapped up too well.
I do wish the book had been longer because I did not want this series to end. Overall, in my opinion, it most definitely deserves a five star rating! Be prepared for a serious book hangover after this!
Beware of minor spoilers.
Darren and Ryiah's epic battle followed by that beautiful last stand scene was undoubtedly my favourite part of the entire book. Ryiah is one of the most genuine heroines I’ve read about. She’s is no way perfect, but you can really see how far she’s come through the series. I especially liked the fact that she could have easily given up and taken the easy way out at so many points, but she kept fighting till the end.
Warning: this book will turn you into a complete emotional wreck (and I thought after Candidate it could hardly get worse but somehow it did). I am so glad that it didn't end Romeo and Juliet style though because honestly, about halfway through the book, I was almost certain that that was the way things were heading.
Only two things I found a little annoying about the entire book : Blayne died far too easily and Darren can be so FRUSTRATING at times - somehow I can't picture him being so unwilling to even consider that Ryiah might be telling the truth. Second - the epilogue was a nice addition, but I would have liked it more if the ending was left open for imagination. It just felt like everything was wrapped up too well.
I do wish the book had been longer because I did not want this series to end. Overall, in my opinion, it most definitely deserves a five star rating! Be prepared for a serious book hangover after this!
selin_1704's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
5.0
mhuang's review
5.0
Honestly I'm just crying rn, this was such an emotional rollercoaster?? I've cried my eyes out several times, screamed way too often and gotten my heart broken a miLLION TIMES
soulbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This one was quite dark. It showed how much Riyah cared for others and how she couldn't stand to witness injustice. Her determination, even though she could lose it all, was fascinating. She grew a lot over this series.
duvyna's review against another edition
3.0
Woo, that was a ride. This book is chalk full of tragedy, it's one thing after another at breakneck speed and I think the author was on a mission to break all her characters. The tragedy was so much that it really went into the realm of unbelievable and unrecoverable. So while the author does do a great job of making you feel their pain it was a little much. The story is wrapped up with an HEA that I'm not convinced could happen after all the trauma. So yeah it's fast-paced, it's got emotion and you get the conclusion to the series but it has its flaws.
furzi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
alialu's review
4.0
Oh gods I can finally breathe.
I don't have the strength to go and write a review for Candidate, so I'll just put it all here. Because, honestly, at the speed I read this it's not like I could really tell where one book finishes and the other starts.
I am in a train, surrounded by people, cornered to a window, not even able to extend my legs, with a mask on my face, and I'm about to cry.
This book was infuriating. Frustrating. Dense in its lies. Not unexpected.
But even if I would have liked for once for the story to be made other way, it was still somehow brilliant.
I was anxious. I had to skip through some of Ryiah's repetitiveness and angst, but it was worthy in the end.
It was beautiful how the Crown was remade. It was touching that its characters still managed to stay together.
It was also cheap how Darren and Ryiah got to live because of "some unexplainable magic", but I will let it slide, since it wasn't straight happy ending after that.
There were twists I didn't expect here, a lot more death and pain, and tons of stubborness.
But overall, a very strong lesson on allegiances, love, and the greater good.
I don't have the strength to go and write a review for Candidate, so I'll just put it all here. Because, honestly, at the speed I read this it's not like I could really tell where one book finishes and the other starts.
I am in a train, surrounded by people, cornered to a window, not even able to extend my legs, with a mask on my face, and I'm about to cry.
This book was infuriating. Frustrating. Dense in its lies. Not unexpected.
But even if I would have liked for once for the story to be made other way, it was still somehow brilliant.
I was anxious. I had to skip through some of Ryiah's repetitiveness and angst, but it was worthy in the end.
It was beautiful how the Crown was remade. It was touching that its characters still managed to stay together.
It was also cheap how Darren and Ryiah got to live because of "some unexplainable magic", but I will let it slide, since it wasn't straight happy ending after that.
There were twists I didn't expect here, a lot more death and pain, and tons of stubborness.
But overall, a very strong lesson on allegiances, love, and the greater good.