georginaballantine's review
4.0
Following on from my reviews of Books 1 and 2 (Irina the Wolf Queen/Irina and the White Wolf), in Book 3 the true depths of Vilmos' evil become clear. He's a twisted individual and no mistake, though the Venerated Dragon can tear strips off him!
There were times in Book 3 where my daughter and I found ourselves flummoxed by the constant head-hopping within chapters — all separated by section breaks, but at times rather relentless! We also found the concept of the Shining Realm/Junsong confusing at times. However, the story kicks along at a great pace and has plenty of tension, change, vengeance and redemption.
We both loved the end battle scene, especially Irina and her steed's starring roles, and the slightly ambiguous ending to the series as a whole. There were a couple of loose ends that we felt were not cleared up, but maybe we misunderstood the significance of those sections.
Although we did not enjoy Book 3 as much as Books 1 and 2, we're still awarding it four stars as a satisfying ending to a great series of fantasy novels. Thanks, Leah Swann, for writing these books and giving us hours of reading pleasure!
There were times in Book 3 where my daughter and I found ourselves flummoxed by the constant head-hopping within chapters — all separated by section breaks, but at times rather relentless! We also found the concept of the Shining Realm/Junsong confusing at times. However, the story kicks along at a great pace and has plenty of tension, change, vengeance and redemption.
We both loved the end battle scene, especially Irina and her steed's starring roles, and the slightly ambiguous ending to the series as a whole. There were a couple of loose ends that we felt were not cleared up, but maybe we misunderstood the significance of those sections.
Although we did not enjoy Book 3 as much as Books 1 and 2, we're still awarding it four stars as a satisfying ending to a great series of fantasy novels. Thanks, Leah Swann, for writing these books and giving us hours of reading pleasure!
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