I've already done a review for 'Siege and Storm' which pretty much sums up my view of this trilogy, so these are just final thoughts mostly on the last book. I liked the story spanning the trilogy. I maybe didn't appreciate it as much as I could, because I read the books back to back in a reasonably short space of time.

I also appreciated the controversial ending.

It's rare to find a book that doesn't go down the usual heroic ruling ending route.

At the moment I've rated all three of the books in the trilogy, 4 stars. I've been tempted to lower or wanting to say it was really a 3.5 at times for all of them. But there has always been qualities in the plot or characters or writing, that (bearing in mind the reading level) I've kept them at 4 stars. They're cosy, easy, YA, fantasy reads. I will be reading all the other books in the Grisha Verse, as I have widely heard they are vastly improved.

My issue is mostly with the writing. Of minor note, lots of 'I said', 'she said', 'he said', a little basic at times. Then very wild and confusing when Alina is talking about inner thoughts of the amplifiers and the Darkling. It’s forgivable for the reading level. My issue is the lack of continuity at times. Sometimes things just don't add up, descriptions are poor and I'm lost in what is actually happening in a battle. There is a bonus story at the end of this edition 'The Demon in the Wood - a Darkling prequel story' which flips back and forth through time without even a page break, leaving me confused for a while. And if I'm being really fussy, right down to the fact the bonus contentdoesn't get page numbers apart from two random pages numbered near the end. That just felt all a bit rushed.

Update:
It's been a few hours since I finished this book and wrote the review. I have found my mind keeps slipping back to it's characters and the ending. Which I was struggling to keep a few tears back when I read it.

I've also been thinking about how well this book shows grief and torment. Many characters were badly affected by the war. I wish more positive attitudes were shown towards them even by Alina. However, compared to many books which have characters shrug harrowing experiences off like there nothing, I appreciated the beauty of this. It seams to have found a place in my heart.