Ahoy there me mateys!  This novel is the fifth (and last!) in the Lightbringer series.  If ye haven't read any of this series then ye might want to skip this post and go read the first book, the black prism.  Worth the read.  If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

I read books one to three in this series before I had a blog and so I have no reviews on them.  I did give them five stars on Goodreads.  Book four was a bit of a letdown because it felt like a placeholder book even though there was a lot to love there.  I still needed to know what happened next so it was with both excitement, sadness, and trepidation that I got me mitts on this last book.  The thoughts on this book will have spoilers because I want to record what I am feeling now for the future.  These are in no particular order but rather as they occur to me:

- This book was long (almost 1000 pages) and I sat for two whole days to read through it.  I was annoyed that I had to sleep.  I do have to admit that the pacing in this first part of the book was very choppy though.

- I needed the recaps to jog the memory and yet within two pages of the new material I was completely engrossed in the book.  It was crazy how quickly I was absorbed back into the story.

- I did not think the author's explanation before the book of his writing choices involving timelines and writing choices was necessary.  It made it seem like a bigger problem than it ended up being.  I think the writing is excellent even if I didn't agree with all of the author's plot choices.

- I adored the extra stories at the end and how they were put in almost as fun secrets.  I know I was surprised and that last page was perfect even if I didn't end up loving the bonus story online.

- Teia be without a doubt me favourite character.  She really did have the worst possible journey and yet how it ended was kinda perfect.  I do hope she manages happiness in the future given all that she went through.  I wouldn't mind many future stories about her (please!).  There is a tie for best Teia moment - when ye realize the dog tooth trick and her giving up her life to poison the Order.  She is always in the background and gets no recognition but deserves the most.

- Gavin's chapters were interesting and annoying at the same time.  Too much philosophy for me but he still had me rooting for him.  Gunner still is insane and I found more enjoyment in his wordplay this time.  The journey up the tower was kinda plodding and the fight at the top was kinda boring.  However, I did enjoy watching him reflect on his past choices.  Oh and I still love his obnoxious yet endearing attitude.  Though if I met him in real life I would want to punch him in the face.

- Karris' sections were interesting only up until the midnight execution.  I really didn't care about her after that.  I found that surprising given that she had been one of the characters I cared about most.

- Kip started out being one of the best characters for me in book one but by the end of the series was one of the worst ones.  I am not quite sure why.  I just got tired of his thoughts on basically everything.  I also feel like his leaps of intuition were rather arbitrary and sometimes ridiculous.

- I thought the forest chi sub-plot was kinda stupid.

- I still like the Mighty individually but not their dumb jokes when they are together.  Winsten might have become me favourite.  I especially liked how hard he was on himself about fighting the bane.

- I want more short stories about Liv Danavis' future.  She is crazy and awesome.  I enjoyed how her section ended even if she made the wrong choices leading up to it.

- Watching Andross be wrong (finally!) made me happy.  However he did not get his comeuppance and that was weird and yet perfect.  I hated him this whole time and then the ending made me kinda respect him.  But I still hate him.  The final card game scene was great fun.

- This book is not a five star read because the philosophy and religion was just too much.  It completely bogged down entire sections of the book and felt more like a morality lesson for the reader.  In the second half of the book it became overwhelming and kinda silly.

- I also didn't like the deus ex machina (literally) coming down and fixing things.  Dead people should have stayed dead rather than having happy ever after.  I don't even understand the white / black luxin junk at the end.  The solutions to the war were both kinda lame and nonsensical.  After such a great set-up for the war ending, it just stopped and poof! fixed.  And no Kip and Gavin should not have gotten their magic back.  It only solidified that ye have to be a magic user to matter.  What about all the non-magic users?

- I did love that ye can choose who yer Lightbringer is.

A decent end overall to the series and lots of plot twists I wasn't expecting.  I be very interested to see what the author will come up with in the future.  Arrr!