Nice end to this series. It unfolded pretty much as I thought it would, but Lirael and Sam are great characters and I enjoyed reading them. I'm glad Nix kept this third book focused on their storyline.

This trilogy doesn't really feel like a trilogy - it reads more like the second and third are a duology and the first is a prequel. The stuff that happens in the first is really inconsequential to the second and third, whereas the second and third basically follow the same story arc. The characters in the second and third books are also a lot better than the ones in the first. They're more developed and their personalities are more consistent throughout the story.