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Night's End by Yasmine Galenorn

kristyloves2read's review against another edition

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5.0

What a wild end to this series!!!

kathydavie's review

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1.0

Fifth in the Indigo Court urban fantasy series and revolving around Cicely, the Queen of Snow and Ice, and her family and friends who live in New Forest near Snoqualmie, Washington.

It’s been a month since Night Vision, 4, and it’s been two months since Cicely returned to Veil House at the start in Night Myst, 1.

My Take
Oh, brother, this is one of Galenorn's off days — she is such an uneven writer! I gagged my way through this juvenile writing, wondering why, and knowing it was only because I wanted to know if this series would end — please god.

Can you say melodramatic? The way Cicely whines on about getting lost within her wind powers, how tragic it would be, and she keeps stepping into it. Rhiannon reminds her that if she learned to use it, she could use it in greater safety. So, why hasn't she worked at this? Why aren't both girls out on the front lines using their tremendous powers to take out the bad guys?

She whines on about Myst, her past, her far past, the negatives and positives of her new powers. She just whines and whines and whines about everything. For the salacious aspect, she whines about how she needs Lannan, that he allows her to be vulnerable with Grieve. The sex thing feels shoved in…yeah, yeah, yeah, I didn't mean it that way!…as if Galenorn figured she needed sex in the book to get people to read it, so it gets dumped in. And just in case, she hints at this threesome possibility [not three at a time, but Cicely with Lannan and Cicely with Grieve] with Cicely whining about how she loves being with them both. Get off the pot, Galenorn! Either go for it or stop. It's just annoying.

Cicely does have a lot of learning experiences in this. She must become colder and more detached. She must accept the "growth spurts" as she becomes accustomed to the new powers her crown gives her. She must learn what it is to truly wield power, the horror of it.

In this story, as Cicely whines about her childhood, she talks about Veil House as if it was refuge, a place she couldn't wait to return to. So…why did it take so long for her to return once her stupid mother died?

There is more back history in this about Cherish, her life with Myst, and the first glimmerings of rebellion on her part. It also provides the detail about Cherish and Shy. How they met, some of their courtship, their escape, and most important, the manner in which they bound their souls.

One of the few real things in this story is Peyton's and Luna's reactions to Kaylin's invasion of their minds.

Galenorn goes on and on about how they have to get the policemen back into the police station. Why? What's so important about the police station? Wouldn't any secure building work? In fact, with all this magic around, why didn't the vampires and the fae put together wards and enchantments to protect people? To protect the town?

From Cicely's memories, it sounds like Myst was a psychopath. As for Violet, I can understand the need, the reason they need to merge, and it's both sad and wonderful. So the two of them and a select group of others go after Myst's great secret and figure she'll have traps up. Why does it never occur to any of them that Myst might have warnings set up as well?

There's an epilogue at the end which takes place 25 years after that last battle. Now, trust me on this, borrow it from the library. Don't waste any money. Unless you do read it and decide you like it. Each to her or his own taste…

The Story
It’s a harsh thought with a brutal action to follow. Someone is spying on Cicely and her court and the shamans must torture every single person in the burrow to be sure they are true. It’s a torture that will not be reserved for the fae alone.

The Characters
Cicely Waters has magic, a gift of wind control as well as the ability to shift into an owl through her connection with the Uwilahsidhe. Violet is one of Cicely's incarnations. Ulean is her Wind Elemental, bound to her by Grieve, who was the Prince of the Court of Rivers and Rushes — and is a Vampiric Fae of the Indigo Court. He's also Cicely's husband. Hunter is Cicely's grandfather and Wrath's father, a Uwilahsidhe. Krystal had been her waste of a mother. "Uncle" Brody had taught her to survive the streets. Andy Chase is a little boy who is the only survivor.

The Court of Snow and Ice
The court resides within the Eldburry Burrow. Check and Fearless are Cicely's personal guards; Olrick leads the first brigade. Druise is her lady's maid. Silverweb is the treasurer; Strict is Cicely's chief advisor. The shamans guard the magic of the court; Thorn is the Elder. Van is another of the shamans.

The Snow Hag is one of the Wilding Fae and has become a friend of Cicely's. Dorthea is a dead spirit, Luna's great-great-grandmother, who will aid them all with Luna's help, but she asks a steep price. Townspeople who come out to help include Trevor Grant.

The Court of Rivers and Rushes
This court resides within the Marburry Burrow. Rhiannon Roland, Cicely's cousin, the Amber to her Jet, is queen to Chatter's king — and Grieve's best friend and cousin. She has a Gift of Fire and is also half Cambyra Fae. Edge is Rhiannon's court advisor. Lanuile is the former queen and Rhiannon's and Grieve's aunt.

Their magic-born friends…
…are now living in Rhiannon's old home, Veil House. Her mother (and Cicely's aunt) was Heather Roland. Kaylin Chen shares his soul with a night-veil demon, and he's a dream walker with the skill of a martial arts sensei. Luna Saunders is a powerful Yummani bard who has taken over Wind Chimes, the magic shop Cicely had planned to open. Zoey is Luna's sister and a member of the Akazzani, a secret society. Peyton MoonRunner is half werepuma and half magic-born with a Gift for divination who wants to open a magical private investigation agency, Mystical Eye Investigations, that will operate from Veil House. Anadey was Peyton's traitorous mother. Rex MoonRunner was her Native American father and a werepuma who was killed in Night Vision. Ysandra Petros is a prime member of the Consortium, a Yummanii, and a powerful witch who has the Gift of sound, energy, and force.

The Vein Lords…
…are true vampires, and they are the true rulers of New Forest. Lannan Altos is the new NW Regent of the Vampire Nation, a perverse vampire who wallows in hedonism. He's Regina's brother and her lover and works as a professor at the New Forest Conservatory. Due to earlier events, Cicely must have sex with him on a regular basis. Regina Altos can appear and function better in society and is the emissary for the Crimson Queen. Crawl is the Blood Oracle, created by the Crimson Queen. He's lost all sense of any scrap of humanity and is the sire of Regina and Lannan. Dakota is the day-runner Lannan appoints. Mort is a vampire Lannan pulls in for the mission to Myst's life-giving secret.

Geoffrey was the previous regent until he betrayed his true colors. Leo Byrne was a day-runner for Geoffrey and Rhiannon's fiancé and betrayer.

The Indigo Court…
…is named for the color their skin becomes when Fae are turned into Vampires and become the Vampiric Fae. Myst is queen and mother of the Indigo Court, turned by Geoffrey centuries ago — and mother to an earlier incarnation of Cicely known as Cherish. The daughter who fell in love with the enemy, Shy. Shadow Hunters is another name for Vampiric Fae. Snow weavers are supernatural spiders.

The Uwilahsidhe are the Owl people of the Cambyra Fae. The Consortium is ruled by the Elder Council and appear to be the hidden rulers of the world. The Wilding Fae are independent, obligated to no one, feral. Everything with them is a bargain, carefully negotiated. The Yummanii are humans. Ice Elementals simply exist. They have no feeling either way about who they serve or if they serve. The Bat People are the children of the night-veil demons. A paralaxium is a creature from a plane of Ice and can kill with a touch.

The Cover
The cover is blue lavenders — soft and peaceful with a snowy night in the forest, an owl perched on a fallen log, and a sexy Cicely in black jeans, deeper lavender bustier, a choker, and a jewel in the middle of her forehead.

The title is a foretelling, for it will be Night’s End.

romancejunkie1025's review

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5.0

a sad but perfect ending to a great aeries.

violettwilight's review

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5.0

This was a fantastic book and gave a very satisfying ending to the series. I am actually sad that it is over, but I am happy with the ending.

I must say that there were some aspects of the book I found a little harsh. They are worried about a spy in their group and go to some extreme measures to try to find them. I thought it was harsh what they did, but I can understand they felt that they needed to do that to stop the spy from spilling their secrets.

I really like the character of the wind element Ulean. She was a wonderful addition to the other characters and I loved that she was able to check around for danger and stay hidden.

I felt bad for Luna, so many issues that she had to face in this book. She loves Kaylin but can't let go of her fears to truly love him. Than he is asked to do something that causes Luna even more harm. I'm glad that it seems to work out for her in the end.

athenaevarinya's review

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3.0

I really think this thing with the Lannon is ridiculous. Grieve is supposed to be her one true love, but she loves Lannon and needs to have sex with him a few times a year because he fulfills her dark side as the once Princess of the Indigo Court? Grieve as his past self, Shy managed to make Cherish the Indigo Court Princess perfectly happy. Plus there have been several sex scenes between Cicely and Grieve that weren't all rose petals and fluff, but more edgy sex. And Grieve is a vampiric fae, so he has the danger in him that should fulfill the part of Cicely's soul that is Cherish. There is no need for her to be stepping out on Grieve with Lannon even if it's totally kosher in the Fae world and he's "accepted" it.

Also while Lannon has done many good things, I still can't get over how he treated her in the first few books. Is anyone forgetting that he was okay with taking advantage of vampire blood being basically a date-rape drug to get into Cicely's pants?

Otherwise, I liked the book although I have to wonder about Cicely as a character and I also think that the end of Myst is just a bit anticlimactic.

chllybrd's review against another edition

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4.0

Cicely has gone through a lot in a very short time. Her life was turned upside down when she came back to New Forest and now that she is a Fae Queen she has to not only protect herself but her court as well from Myst who once again is ready to attack the Golden Wood. I have always felt that Cicely was a very strong character. The slow reveal of information about her past and what she was meant for when she was born was intriguing and I was never bored with it. Her relationship with her cousin Rhiannon has remained strong and I have enjoyed watching them fight for their friends and family while growing closer.

Although this is Urban Fantasy there is some romance to be had in the Indigo Court series. Cicely and Grieve have a long history as soul mates and this lifetime together they are finally able to be with one another after a long struggle. I have always been a bit disappointed that Lannan was brought into their story. I'm not really into the sharing of Cicely so it never felt right and I wasn't really satisfied with how things turned out in that department.

The events of NIGHT'S END happened at a nice pace with plenty of action and lots of danger. I felt like the series was over by the end and all loose ends were tied up to my liking. We got a tiny glimpse of the characters future at the end of NIGHT'S END which was nice, I wouldn't mind another little short story diving a bit more into it as I am always interested in what happens after the fact but overall I was happy with the conclusion to the Indigo Courts series.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

renpuspita's review against another edition

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4.0

4 stars

Well, at least my Indigo Court binge reading comes to end. I will said the ending is pretty much satisfying which tying all the loose end while still bring some potential of story (which Galenorn prove with one follow-up novella). I do enjoy the world building and the tone of the story. It's all doom and gloom from the start and you can't help to feel the despair that the characters feel. Read the book back to back, make me follow Cicely's journey from nobody important into a Queen of her own right. Although, Galenorn's tendency to summarize the event that happen in the previous books can be too jarring to read. Like, it's just come from nowhere and can take my concentration from the plot. She also like to write the event in Cicely's past as Cherish abruptly, and I know that it's supposed to be a flashback, but it can be written more smoothly.

The strength of the Indigo Court series is in sisterhood and friendship. I like that Cicely got full support from her friends and ally, although what she put them through in this book change their dynamic. I like that Galenorn didn't afraid to take a risk, that in the grande scheme of war, something can be lost, and it's not just about losing a soul. To my surprise, there's no casualties in what supposed as a final battle. No worry to think that your favorite character will meet their demise or not. Which, yeah, can be a little disappointing. The spy plot in this book also concluded to easily, not to mention too rushed for my liking. But, eh, all is well that now Myst is finally gone from the picture.

If you want romance, I can said the romance department is suck with capital S, and you must know what I talk about. I never a fan of Lannan, from the first I dislike his abusive relationship with Cicely. And I feel that Galenorn try so hard to make Cicely and Lannan relationship work. When Cicely admit that she love this sick vampire, it's feel forced. It's like a classic case when the woman feel in love with her abuser, because let's not forget that Lannan is a BULLY. Let's not forget that he humiliated Cicely from the start, continue to taunt and abuse her with his unhealthy obsession. I just rolling my eyes because Cicely think that her desire for Lannan come from her darkest past as Cherish. In this point, I just kinda give up. What's the point of the reincarnation thingie, if in the end your heart will torn in two in your latest reincarnation?? Heck, even Cherish and Shy have much believable romantic relationship which come as star-crossed lover rather than Cicely and Grieve. And speaking about Grieve, MUCH RESPECT for the dude, because his heart apparently as big as the sky. To accept Cicely and Lannan because apparently Lannan save them both. Wow, I can't even *rolling my eyes again. I really wonder if the table turned, that if Grieve in his darkest part still desire Myst, and when Myst died he will..Idk cried like a baby. I will find that pretty hilarious and "ha, joke on you, Cicely". But, eh. Well, at least Galenorn try to solve this love triangle things with everybody happy in the end, and because Cicely is the Queen she will get what she want.

If you like your urban fantasy dark and gritty, with right amount of violence, gore and many twist, Indigo Court might up to your forte. I'm not sure I want to revisit this series again, because I dislike the romance aspect that feel forced and how Galenorn address the issue of abusive relationship. I really try to like Lannan, I do. But he just failed to be the anti-hero like what he supposed to be. Anyway, if you can get pass behind the romance aspect and prefer the urban fantasy part, I really recommend the latter. And I like that Cicely still have flaws, continue to make mistakes, continue to doubt herself if she will failed her Queenly duties, but at least she got support from her close friends. Galenorn's writing is not that stellar, but at least still bearable and easy to read.

aly36's review

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5.0

The final book in the Indigo Court series is just as great as the rest of the book! Can't wait for more from Yasmine!!

owlshelle's review

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5.0

What an ending to this series!!

rpukoszek's review

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4.0

Decent ending.