What a ride this has been! Never have I imagined that I would be so devasted by this story when I first picked it up. After I did crave in and picked up this series, I did enjoyed the first book a lot, I completely loved the second, but the last installement left me craving for more.

We know what happens at the end of The Vanishing Throne; Aileana takes one last chance to come back to the world and try for the last time to save it - to save them all. The sequel already has given us a glance to faerie folklore, to the history and curse of the Seelie and Unseelie courts, and I must admit I loved the take it had on this. Now it's about fighting it all: the end of the world, the loss of her loved one, the curse who started it all thousands of years ago.

As the previous books, this one is a fast-paced story that includes all you need: fighting, magical elements, sadness, morally questions, romance, and the uncertainity if all can be saved.

I must admit I admire how well done everything is composed in this trilogy. Fast-paced books usually tend to be lacking of some things, and even though I would have enjoyed this series to be longer, so I can have more time with my characters, I feel the pace suited the plot very well. It's a series you could read in one go during a couple days off. One that makes you leave reality, travel to a place that sounds familiar, and then does not really, and forget about anything else. I had to tell myself to put this book aside to catch some sleep. I was constantly reading it, not necessarily because I couldn't put it aside, but because I didn't want to.

I loved the characters a lot; some of them from the very beginning, some of them grew on me during the course of the sequels. One especially has grew very fast on my heart in this book. Aileana is a character you can not dislike. She might have her flaws, but it's nothing that makes her less of a person and great protagonist. I even think it's good that we get to see those flaws of herself, because it makes it so clear that she is human, and being dragged into all of this, but that she chose to be the one who was. And Kieran... I really came to love him a lot. While I already did love his character in the first book, I completely fell for him in the sequel; but in this one, he just became another child of my harem which I wish to protect with everything I got. Speaking of protecting... Derrick. Derrick has been my favorite since The Falconer, and I have loved him ever since I met him.

Spoiler

And his death has destroyed me. I was believing he would come back. I was sure that Kieran would be saved by Sorcha, but Derrick... I kept rereading that last paragraph of the book. Tears rolling down my cheeks. Don't cry. You're my favorite, he said. But I did cry, because he was mine and I'm still not okay with that.

And Sorcha. Oh Sorcha. There is a lot to say about her, but what I loved most was the development she endured. No I'm not speaking the kind "she-redeemed-herself"-development; this was so much more than that, and so much better.

The only thing that makes this final installement more of a 4.5 than a full 5 stars read is that I just enjoyed The Vanishing Throne more, and I can't place what it was. I can't tell. There were some things that felt lacking for me, but don't tell me to explain what things those are, because I still haven't been able to tell.

Spoiler

But honestly, it could also be my denial arse not being able to give this a full five star, because my favorite pixie ever Derrick died.

That's it, guys. READ IT! I am so glad I stumbled upon this series (which means my dearest friend telling me non-stop to read it!) because it has been added to my favorites-list.

Definitely an ending worth its story; filled with amazing characters, great folklore elements, a mix of historical and fantasy setting, an unique magic system that comes with its own history and a range of all feelings you can have, I can only recommend this book (or this series) to anyone out there. Due to it being a fast-paced story with great dialogue including sarcasm, an amazing storyline, shocking plot twists and its special turns of fantasy tropes, it's a series you can reread whenever you feel like escaping the world, and returning to one that will make you forget anything else. I sure will.