::rambling::

A fitting end. Every loose end is tied with a bow. Everything’s still depressing, death and darkness everywhere. Joy? Can’t relate, boo. Sexual tensions run high with the couples, but it’s well-paced and earned. Elias and Laia’s relationship foundation was insta-lovey, but the soap opera yearning endeared me to them. Every time Elias started up his “Me Soul Catcher, not Elias” spiel, I wanted to throw a turkey leg at his head. Darin was utterly useless and nonexistent even to the bitter end. I loved how the Tribespeople took on a more prominent role.

I don’t regret reading this series, but, man, was it stressful. I felt for the characters though. Helene was my favorite surprisingly so. Laia I wanted to like but never really could in that way. Elias was just there but not annoying.

Major ending spoiler:

The forgiveness message may disappoint some people. The bottom line is “hate is not the way.” Trying to destroy the Nightbringer, without acknowledging his own rightful grief, just beget more suffering for everyone. A terrible cycle. It works, but a carnal part of me wanted his (and Keris) comeuppance to be grand.

Keris being shunned by her mother is tough, but I wanted her to die in an agonizing way. She reveled in people’s pain way too much and was too OP. She was too raggedy for that backstory. I get her killing the guys who killed her lover, but her undying thirst for blood was too much.
Y’all killed Harper just to be nasty. Like, an injury that caused him to never be a solider again would’ve sufficed but whatever.

I’ll always feel a little squicky with the wet nurses for reasons I won’t get into, especially since they’re Marcus’ dark-skinned cousins.

Musa and Helene? Eh, I don’t hate it. Potentially trauma-bonding but they also understand each other more than anyone else would 

Mauth’s raggedy-behind was playing favorites. He put Elias through the ringer but had kitten gloves for Mirra. Maybe because she was froggy enough to fight death itself or because Elias showed him emotion is not all bad,

That fact the the Scholar people never had a defining look or trait will always baffle me. How would the Martials know who to enslave if their looks run the gamut??? Was being a Scholar more of a cultural heritage, I don’t know.

I enjoyed the artwork. It’s cartoony and uses watercolors well. When things really start getting freaky, the colors get murkier and muddied. Also, Grey’s friend, Marshall, was too real for this series. Let me tell who wouldn’t die in a horror movie? This guy.

I was expecting the story to be non-stop horror elements, but it’s actually super cute! Grey meets a ghoul who is absolutely precious.

  This book really dives into the inner-workings of a bookstore, especially one that specializes in manga. There’s a lot of explanation about shelving, answering customer, sometimes ridiculous, requests/phonecalls, and handling “questionable” books as deemed by the government.

Unfortunately, even as a former library page, this isn’t keeping my interest though it is informative. 

 This manga is impressive. It shows the realities of life for an emperor’s concubine. It even comments on child brides momentarily. I hope this series delves more into messy court politics. I’m liking the mystery aspect too.

Also, did the art get a minor upgrade? There are some seriously beautiful shots here. 

 This has captured my interest 

 On one hand, I hate how STRESSFUL this series is. No one can be happy here. The realities and atrocities of war are here and constant. A particular double woman-child sacrifice was tough to read, but it showed how some people will do anything for power and the all-consuming nature of unstoppable violence. Some of the characters are even forced to seek help from foes or other vile humans.

And yet I can’t put this series down. I have come to enjoy these characters (Harper, Helene, Elias, etc) a lot though Laia can be irrational, often. But her heart is in the right place. I want more of Darin now that he FINALLY got his junk together. While Elias was seriously slacking at his job for 3/4s of the book, his new struggle with humanity and stoicness has my interest.

These novels are thick, but each one has been an easy reading experience. This dark, violent, and tragic mess of a story is enthralling. Everything's not perfect, but I want to read more.