"Maybe the price of saving the world is forgetting how to live in it." p.375

That was a non-stop conclusion. With the majority of the exposition having already been taken care of in books 1 and 2, May was able to really take us for a ride in this last installment. It was so hard to put this book down because I felt like I was always in the middle of reading something super important. Phew.

Character-wise, the final development for our hero and heroine was spectacular. Aileana really fought through all her issues with desperation and skirting the line of ruthlessness, going "too far" a few times, but in the end finding the balance she needed to. Plus, her true lie to Kiaran at the end. Gorgeously pulled off. And my poor heart. UGH. Kiaran, of course, really saw a lot of change here - fighting to fully control his darker side for real [this time], making selfless decisions for the first time, and really just proving his own Unseelie redeemability, despite everything. He's the poster boy for second chances. The winner for story development has to go to Sorcha though. What we learn about her is eye-opening and, honestly, heartbreaking. She is the embodiment of Aileana's "dark side," if you will, and it's not hard to imagine, at times, that with just a few different decisions, Aileana would have been just like her. In fact, at times she was just like her. But learning how she got to that point, how many years she suffered in so many different ways, why she feels the way she does about Kadamach, you have to wonder if Aileana wouldn't have ended up in the same place after all that too. Sorcha is a character that got deeper and deeper with each book and, in a way that emulates Snape's story (Harry Potter), we really see how much there is under the surface. What she really means when she stops Aileana sacrificial train of thought by saying "He deserves better than this." is everything. Truly she is the most nuanced character in the bunch - I really enjoyed her. Aithinne was lovely as always, the right female lead for her role, but not much in the way of growth for her here. And, as always, the extra human characters just seemed like afterthoughts (like Gavin, the way his story ends by not really ending in the way everyone else's does - poor guy - it's like everyone forgot him). And last but not least, of course, Derrick. OMG HEARTBREAK. Though maybe he's happier this way...

As I already mentioned, the story was high paced action from start to finish. A thrilling conclusion. I loved reading all the twists and turns and reveals (especially where/what the book actually was). And I never would have thought of sending the humans back to where Aithinne did, of bringing back as many people as she did. I don't know why, but I didn't, so that was a pleasant surprise in the end for me. As far as the "pre-ending," the reader knows the whole time that something like that is going to happen. You know. And you also know that there's no way that's actually how things end. But it still isn't enough preparation emotionally - I cried. And then, for the "real" ending, I of course cried again. I'm a sap. But credit to the author for pulling off that emotional investment even when I pretty much predicted the ending from the start, more or less. It was all the perfectly cheesy ending to an epicly crafted story.

Random things I liked: The introduction of the Morrigan. She's such a huge part of Scottish lore that I would have been sad without her presence/the nod to her. The names. I love the way the author used so many names for Aileana/Kam and Kiaran/McKay/Kadamach. Names are powerful and she crafts different meanings into them beautifully. The "let me tell you a story" pieces - so adorable, such a great way to talk about love, mmmmmmm.

Random things I didn't like (spoilers): This is not a critique just of this book, but the entire genre has an obsession with bringing people back from the dead (sacrifice being the only way to break curses, but that's not the happy ending, so there always needs to be a loophole) and I wish sometimes that a different denouement could be tried. The the curse said something about sacrificing their heart - I mean hadn't she already kinda done that by letting Kiaran make that deal with Sorcha? You can lose something completely without it having to die. Just a thought. Also, the overuse of the "internal repetition of impactful things people have said to me" that Aileana has a habit of - it's not a bad plot device in general, but I felt a little annoyed by how often she did it in these books.

One spot of confusion: Um, where did the steampunk element go? After the first book, Aileana just like, stops building stuff and creating weapons. I mean I know she gets some magic, but still, it just seems odd that it completely disappears from the story.