starryeyedwings's review against another edition
5.0
Hector and Elisa sittin' on a camel. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
Yes, I realize that was silly and stupid okayyyyyy. I am allowed to be silly and stupid with this oh-so-lovely couple. And oh! His CONFESSION. GAH.
ALSO.
Storm. He really came a long way in terms of character development, and I think Ms. Carson depicted his maturation as a person wonderfully. And the fact that not even HE is immune to Alodia's allure is absolutely hilarious. Made him slightly more flawed and way more likeable.
All in all, a very satisfying ending. Now there is just one thing left. I wanna know how many kids E&H have........
Yes, I realize that was silly and stupid okayyyyyy. I am allowed to be silly and stupid with this oh-so-lovely couple. And oh! His CONFESSION. GAH.
ALSO.
Storm. He really came a long way in terms of character development, and I think Ms. Carson depicted his maturation as a person wonderfully. And the fact that not even HE is immune to Alodia's allure is absolutely hilarious. Made him slightly more flawed and way more likeable.
All in all, a very satisfying ending. Now there is just one thing left. I wanna know how many kids E&H have........
trin_ney18's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 Stars
rating calculated using CAWPILE
This was a very sweet ending to the series. However, it just made me realize how mediocre the whole thing kind of is. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two and I remember raving about them but reading this makes me question the passion I had.
I have absolutely no drive to ever reread this series, nor do I plan on continuing with the spin-off stand-alone.
For characters and logic, I took off some points because some characters would declare a certain opinion and then go against their own beliefs later. Or decisions would be made with no clear reasoning behind them and since I don't live in a kingdom, I don't really understand why these decisions were made besides creating intrigue.
The atmosphere was okay. We constantly kept changing locations so the whole thing felt rushed and there was always something happening. That helped with intrigue but it also created a sense of overload.
Writing and plot were fine. Nothing outstanding and spectacular.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun reading this and I feel bad for not liking it as much as I wanted to (I mean 4 stars is still pretty good).
rating calculated using CAWPILE
This was a very sweet ending to the series. However, it just made me realize how mediocre the whole thing kind of is. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two and I remember raving about them but reading this makes me question the passion I had.
I have absolutely no drive to ever reread this series, nor do I plan on continuing with the spin-off stand-alone.
For characters and logic, I took off some points because some characters would declare a certain opinion and then go against their own beliefs later. Or decisions would be made with no clear reasoning behind them and since I don't live in a kingdom, I don't really understand why these decisions were made besides creating intrigue.
The atmosphere was okay. We constantly kept changing locations so the whole thing felt rushed and there was always something happening. That helped with intrigue but it also created a sense of overload.
Writing and plot were fine. Nothing outstanding and spectacular.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun reading this and I feel bad for not liking it as much as I wanted to (I mean 4 stars is still pretty good).
aurodon's review against another edition
Although there were few clues to help me pick up the story after such a long time since reading the second in the trilogy, this was my favorite of the three books.
jerihurd's review against another edition
4.0
Good, but the pacing was really off in this, which ruined the ending for me. Seriously, she spends 3/4 of the book rescuing Hector, then forces a historic treaty, completes her god-mission and stops a civil war in 30 pages??? And what's up with that ridiculous god-mission, anyway?
I'll go out on a limb and predict it will be set in the same world, but focus on Alodia, so maybe it will come in vicariously.
I'll go out on a limb and predict it will be set in the same world, but focus on Alodia, so maybe it will come in vicariously.
leadanielle's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mliztucker's review against another edition
5.0
Another series I didn't want to end. I think CoE was my favorite of the series, but TBK was a satisfying ending.
After a re-read, I still loved it. Maybe more than I did the first time.
After a re-read, I still loved it. Maybe more than I did the first time.
roseice's review against another edition
4.0
Only 4 stars, though it probably deserves 5 for the quality fantasy writing. It was a grand adventure, and I had only two issues with it. First, Elisa's character rubbed me the wrong way at times. Just enough. The book is littered with instances of her selfish, self-important personality. Yes, she's a queen, yes, she grew up spoiled, so I suppose I should allow for them. But by the end, I had a deep impression that Elisa loves herself more than anyone else. That's not a healthy position to be in, and it's annoying to read about, too. "The one person who matters" thinks she's beautiful, and she was referring to HERSELF. She's a strong and hardheaded personality, but not wholly in a good way. Though I did like how she could take care of herself.
Second, I could've done without romance entirely in this series. It just did not add anything, and could easily have been taken away. Elisa could have had the same passion about rescuing Hector if she saw him as a close friend, closer than a brother, and I think I would've valued such a relationship more than what it became in the end. It just wasn't a satisfying romance.
Regardless of all that, I loved this series. Despite Elisa, it was an awesome journey. Carson is a fantastic writer. I loved her descriptions and how she kept taking Elisa and friends onto long trips through sand and snow. My favourite type of fantasy encompasses such journeys.
Spoiler
She refuses to let anyone give her away at her wedding because she wants to give HERSELF away. (I viewed that as a blow to Nicandro, who became like a father figure to her, and also to Belen, who was with her through thick and thin. Though Elisa probably didn't mean it, it still bothered me how she herself is so important she doesn't take this into account).Second,
Spoiler
and I think I could connect this to Elisa's self-focused personality, it's like she can't love Hector without sex at the forefront of things. It was a stale and boring relationship, and their hooking up before the wedding just alienated what I may have enjoyed about the relationship.Regardless of all that, I loved this series. Despite Elisa, it was an awesome journey. Carson is a fantastic writer. I loved her descriptions and how she kept taking Elisa and friends onto long trips through sand and snow. My favourite type of fantasy encompasses such journeys.
narnianbrigette's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book more than the second book, but overall as a series, I can't really say I loved it or that it was amazing. It was mostly just okay. The writing is fine, the characters are fine (the only one that really stands out to me is Storm, who is my favorite in this series), the plot is fine. It's certainly not a terrible series. I don't have a lot of problems with the series overall, just a few things that don't actually damage the entire story that much.
My biggest one isunlike a certain other YA triolgy third book that starts with an A and ends with llegiant, but she doesn't use it in this moment when it really matters. Hector and Red are the only ones to find Waterfall and interact with her right before she dies - but we only see the result of it from Elisa's POV and we're told instead of shown, and then her death is just kinda rushed over so we can get to the next scene. Like...why wouldn't you use that opportunity to make her death really impactful? It was such a waste of an opportunity and a disrespect to her character.
I also
And I also feel like the worldbuilding and religion was sort of confusing and shaky in some ways?
Anyway those are my main thoughts, I guess. Not an amazing series to me, but it was okay. Slightly above average, I guess.
My biggest one is
Spoiler
the way Waterfall's death was handled. The author suddenly introduces Hector's POV to this book, and fortunately doesn't abuse it too muchI also
Spoiler
feel like there was, at times, a little too much emphasis on physical relationships. It wasn't that much and romance doesn't overtake the entire plot as a whole, but the moments when it does, I always felt like there were far more important things to worry about. Like ya'll have all this plot stuff to worry about and could fail and die at any moment, is this really the time to be like "I wonder if my boyfriend will still want to sleep with me later? Let's make out right now at least". Good grief.And I also feel like the worldbuilding and religion was sort of confusing and shaky in some ways?
Spoiler
The origin story still seems...off to me. I'm not sure why, and I don't care enough to actually go back and document everything every character says about it, but it seemed like there could have been discrepancies between what the Inviernos believed and what the Joyans believed, but it's all just taken at face value? I don't know, I guess I was expecting more from it. And the characterization of God and the religion seemed very disjointed and inconsistent to me. Maybe it's just me, but I get the feeling that this "God" is supposed to be modeled after the God of the Bible in a lot of ways (especially since some of the things said in the books that are from their sacred scriptures are very similar to actual Bible verses), but this "God" is also quite different from the Biblical God at the same time, and it just didn't mesh well to me for this world. It felt kind of lazy, and the reveal of what Elisa's service as the Godstone bearer actually is was anti-climactic. I'm sure it was intended to be, but that doesn't make it a good choice. "God's ways are a mystery" doesn't fly as an excuse in a book where the writer can control what happens.Anyway those are my main thoughts, I guess. Not an amazing series to me, but it was okay. Slightly above average, I guess.