4.5 stars

Hm. The ending is a lot more open than I like (especially since, if memory serves, the Dreamer trilogy wasn't a sure thing yet) which is frustrating — having spent four books with these characters, I really wanted to know that they're as close to okay as they could be, after everything.

I remember actually sobbing the first time I read this, not knowing how it would end (specifically

whether they would find a way to save or bring back Gansey

); upon rereading I did tear up, but to be honest I zipped through those scenes to avoid the pain. Because I didn't feel up to reliving that experience, as wonderful/terrible as it was.

Also: I know a lot of people take issue with the way Henry Cheng (and, by extension, the Vancouver crowd) is portrayed. Personally I felt that he was treated as any other character would be — he's as contemplative as Gansey, as much of an outsider as Ronan, as much ordinary-but-not teenage boy as Adam. Being Korean-Chinese-Canadian is part of his identity, and sometimes his second-language English is a little stilted, but I didn't think it was stereotypically or offensively so. There is one in-passing arguably racist joke made by Ronan, but offensive is part of the Ronan Lynch brand, though admittedly it’s not challenged in-text. Of course, this is just the opinion of one Asian(-American) reader; I don't speak for us all, and I’m not saying that it couldn’t possibly be seen as offensive to anyone.

content warnings: 

major character death(s), some violence, minor gore, blood, classism, past physical & verbal child abuse, past kidnapping [of a child]

rep: 

gay Irish Catholic MC, bisexual MC, ESL Korean-Chinese-Canadian major character, M/M main relationship

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CONVERSION: 13.1 / 15 = 4.5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5