This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.

Well I got the spectacular conclusion I was hoping for! This was a brutal, bloody, nonstop end. And I loved the way the story concluded. As I had mentioned in the second book, the story really moved away from the “trio” as a single unit and looked at each of them separately. In this final book, the focus truly shifts to Lada and Radu and, while Mehmed still plays large role (both in the present and in relation to what the three of them were in the past), his story is more in how it relates to the Dracul’s development that on it’s on/from its own perspective. While I would of course have loved more from him, I felt like the shift was naturally done and I don’t feel like this particular story is missing anything because of it. And really, it makes sense. Lada and Radu were the story from the start, and thus everything needed to finish back with them. Probably one of my favorite things was the no holds barred ruthlessness of Lada. It is refreshing and strangely empowering to follow a female character like that – one who makes the hard choices for power without regard to personal consequence. And though we get to see how that affects her emotionally, of course, her strength to push through and continue to make those choices without capitulating to feeling was wonderful to see. I mean, horrifying at times too, but my respect goes to the author for creating such a bloodthirsty leading lady. Especially one for whom the acts, although they get ever more gruesome (and are perhaps partially exacerbated by personal feelings) are truly carried out in pursuit of the greater goal/the benefit of the people and country that Lada loves so much. She never loses sight of that end game. On the flip side, I loved Radu’s more tender personality. Although he works in service to/of Mehmed and Lada, he spends this book really growing into his own character, realizing where he must draw lines and where he is not willing to go. Also, I love how he comes to accept that his personality traits that are so different from Lada and Mehmed’s need for power and “do anything for it” attitudes, are in fact strengths in their own right, that they would be able to find the same end, if that were what he wanted. And I and so unbelievably happy that he gets the ending he gets. He deserves it more than anyone. Lada and Radu were just…phenomenal flipsides of the same coin, sibling opposites, yet so true to their own beliefs/wants with an unwillingness to change/bend that was the perfect connecting shared trait. And in the end, they way they leave each other is a beautiful illustration of them both having grown up/matured. They both made compromises, but never once looked away from their individual end goals. Their personalities matured, but never swayed. Although there were some sad losses, there were also some beautiful moments (both of which made me tear up a bit). And while perhaps some things seemed to fall out a little too perfectly at the end, I cannot lie and say I wasn’t hoping for that type of ending. I was too invested in the story to want something else (and it’s not completely unrealistic, by any means). Altogether I was very happy with this final installation and ending to the Dracul story. It was a thoroughly entertaining and fascinatingly detailed historical fiction trilogy from an author who did a wonderful job tossing some YA themes and gender stereotypes on their heads.