I am not sure on my thoughts of this trilogy so far. . .

The books are of a decent length, I appreciate and enjoy that they are not as long as other fantasy novels. However, even with fewer words I feel sometimes the plot can drag on the slow parts of the book. Slower parts were better handled in this book than the first book . I find often authors struggle to understand there can be months of tedious training sessions or planning or waiting and still events can take place to do with and move the plot, rather than going back and forth.

This book was a stark improvement from the first book, but I rated both 4 stars, because first books tend to have a more concise plot - even if in the middle it was somewhat lacking. In the second book, the plot takes place at sea, on foreign lands and explores more of Os Alta. Alina Starkov's journey has drastically changed and shes is now facing many challenges but most disturbing and present is the inner turmoil or the darkness inside her and who she really is. Great character dynamics between Alina and Mal play out and truly represent how she changes throughout the book. There are also more characters to contend with, most don't feel placed there just for the sake of it or to bring minor thoughts in the plot, but hold their own story and purpose. The writing isn't some complex masterpiece but it mostly suffices for a short - mostly action packed - YA fantasy.

I realised while daydreaming a MASSIVE piece of plot that was hinted and can now only be explored in the last book. I bolted upright as the realisation came, grabbing the book to reread the scene. This is huge and I don't know the wider picture and how everything works and will play out, but I get the striking point and I'm excited and scared.

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.

Imagine some of the most well known Netflix documentaries and the wild winding journey they take you on in hunt for an answer. Now you have an idea about this book.

This was such an engaging mystery, the mixed media element of course brings an added layer of intrigue. My mind was constantly thinking about the book while I had put it down. You will truly be taken on a journey. While murder is obviously not the most joyful subjects, this book isn't dark and bleak but at the same time isn't a cosy read either; it's all about the intrigue of the mystery.

It is a journey of the incredibly complex life of our murder victim, and discounting the suspects as we go through. The book reads as a script from the documentary TV show being aired in an attempt to crack a 20 year old case - with six experts in the crime field, with a relative of the aggrieved being the director. These experts will interview and travel across the globe in search of the answer. And don't worry about the possibility of feeling detached from the events 20 years ago and not knowing the expert's characters, as the experts all have intriguing stories of their own. There are also communications, newspaper articles and forum posts being made before and after each episode. You're travelling between time of filming and time of airing, giving yourself a sense of being apart of the audience also trying to solve the crime on the forums, just with a little bit more inside knowledge.

I would recommend a physical book to easily flick between pages. The UK paperback was readable but still I found the graphic elements such as newspaper articles sometimes hard to read due to too small font.

There were a few errors in the book, such as dates not aligning. Laziness in the mixed media, such as some voicemails being exactly the same length. This is an English setting, there is an American character so it is understandable the language and concepts they have are different, I also understand this is written in American English, but now and again I would come across something that wouldn't be how the English do something. Also police and criminal justice procedures where completely disregarded for the sake of progressing this TV investigation at times - an ex detective is not going to go on camera and not so subtly give major hints on where to dig.

Why 3.75 stars and not 5? I felt more details about the murder victims life could have been involved in the circumstances surrounding the death. I wish a different route had been taken for the circumstances of what actually happened. I felt like the mixed media elements could have been amped up a little bit more - I get this was real life mixed media (such as script and communications). But even a few graphical illustrations of events, such as something like from the Illuminae series would really allow the format to shine. But recommend this book? one thousand percent.

In terms of the reveal:

I had the ideas all floating in my head. (I must admit going in from reviews and a friend, I was aware the reveal wasn't too ground breaking).

I figured that the sisters obviously knew something from what and how they were discussing. But also because why include their texts otherwise, which was slightly annoying as the book should be guessable from the clues not the formatting. I felt if it was family it appeared Maura was protecting Amelie, but also I thought 'would they go down the cliché route of it being Guy?'

I do wish all the strings of the different lives our imposter led had tangled and caught up with him, or just one of the leads investigated was the culprit. Ian Wilson did have a role, Rebecca McKenna also came back to haunt Guy. It would have been more interesting and convoluted crime, also the journey of the doc was revealed not at all relevant to the crime. To me I could see the experts may be involved and once a few were cracked, it was just a matter of time waiting for the others to follow. The Netflix doc element really came in here, where such a winding road was taken for their to be a very simple explanation. That being said all the reveals and the effects on the understanding on the narrative made the story very gripping - Netflix follow that formatting for a reason!

The last two newspaper articles where a sad ending to the mystery, also loved the touch of genius of giving the reader one last mystery to solve. Who could want Guy dead? - there was only really one person. Who had red hair and glasses? - the obvious suspect, I searched for the page and found them. It gave me a boost in my mystery solving skills, when all was practically confirmed in the last newspaper snippet. But that being said, I wish I felt like that about the main story, instead the reveal was a tragic one.

 

But this must have been a very good novel, because despite not being the best way to plot a book, I was still gripped and happy with the end. Even if I would have preferred different, I didn't feel our journey was wasted, because there was more to solve about

so called

Luke Ryder than just his death.

Okay, here's the thing…

I got hooked to this book, so there must have been something about it that I enjoyed: The story is so different to most YA. The use of third person multiple POV. The concept and bluntness of it was quite something. But, here are my issues:

Plot -

Citra on the Run

The plot moved at a okay pace for me.

And when Citra was accused of Scythe Faraday's death and had to go on the run into 'Amazonia', things got interesting. But as soon as she reached her location and found Scythe Faraday, everything was okay. Scythe Curie somehow got her out of accusation and Citra returned home like nothing happened.

It was a waste of an interesting plot point that could have lead to a much larger and stronger ending.

Discrepancies in rules
I can only remember the main two tbh, but there were a few.

Scythes 'glean' people because natural death pretty much no longer happens - bar fire, if your scorched, your dead. Humans are advanced enough that Earth can sustainably support them. So, less pressure is there to keep the human population down. However, it is still brought up several times that the chance of being gleaned is ignorable, that most people can expect to live thousands of years. So why are Scythes so important, if they make a minute impact? Otherwise the small amount of dead are an even greater loss.

This is not a 'perfect' world, and there are disagreements. Once a year Scythes are checked that they are gleanings near enough equally of each genetic race. Scythe Curie points out in her journal that despite trying to be culturally and genetically non bias, peoples genetic index options  has 'Caucasoid' listed first. But people don't live evenly raced geographically. One Scythe who was bought up on their uneven gleanings protested that their area had uneven ethnicity and was merely told to glean further afield. This just makes no sense, it’s not a moral point of thought for the story such as listing Caucasoid first, it's just stupid logic.

Characters and their 'Romance'
I felt Citra's character wasn't fleshed out enough. The feelings Citra and Rowan developed for one another came from pretty much nowhere. No conversation suggests they feel anything for each other beyond Rowans crush for Citra. I appreciated a book with little romance, but to throw romance in there however small, it still needs to make sense.

The 10 'Scythe Commandments'
They are so bloody vague, no wonder there were massive issues in this world. Including these rules are great but they are deliberately vague to aid the story, no original right-minded Scythe would be stupid enough to make them so vague.

Well, where do I start with this?

So intriguing and bizarre, absolutely suitable for a Halloween read, which is when I read it.

This book has a theme of dividing worlds in two. The continent is divided; the cruel, overpowering Up-Mountain and the Down-Mountains who are constantly at war over the enslaving of their people and punishment of anyone not perfect - a 'freak' or jynx-worker, in the name of the Up Mountaineers God - Ovren. The travelling Gomorrah Festival is divided in two; the performing, show-front, the Uphill and the dangerous Downhill

whose citizens actually aid the war.

Then there's the people; the accusations and not knowing who to believe. And throughout the book, Sorina - the lead character, is constantly torn between opinions as she struggles to uncover who is killing members of her her family...

Sorina is daughter of the proprietor of the Festival and a her jynx ability is illusion-work, the only one known at present time. Her family-illusions work with her at their Freak Show in the Uphill. She created them but never imagines their individual 'freak' traits alike her own - she sees without eyes. Her illusions start dying and she needs to find out who is the killer, why they are doing it and also how, for her illusions aren't real? The beautiful part is that although their deaths suggest her illusions were more real then once thought, while reading the characters feel and are so real, that I never thought of them as otherwise. And it is heart-breaking to watch them, including Sorina, battle their daily lives and people with the idea they are not real.

This story is amazing being a YA and not creating a female lead who eventually strides to become a leader. Sorina is trying to take control of her own life but is not afraid or embarrassed to eventually decide leadership is not for her.

As I have only found my love of reading at the start of this year, this is the first book I have read with really clear relationships beyond straight. A few being: the main character is bi-sexual, a member of her family is lesbian and does have lesbian relationships and the love interest of this book is asexual/demiromantic. These were not the focus, there put in as part of the story line - like they should be, and one theme beautifully develops throughout.

This story is set in a world of constant wars, but the story itself takes a more centred look on the war - focusing mainly on the doings of the Gomorrah Festival. Being a stand-alone, this is a interesting approach to create the possibility of such a vast world but only show a small window into it. This book is a great stand alone but at the same time the bigger picture - the next upcoming war, leaves the reader really wanting more.

A 5 star book, and a place on my favourites shelf. I recommend with everything I have, for everyone to read this book. Breaking the current ground rules of YA and being completely original.

🖤 Just.. just let me go cry now their story has ended. Loved Feyre and Rhysand, they bought me into the love of reading, this will always be my favourite book series and I will never forget or stop rereading and I can’t wait to read of them in future books. ❤️ To the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered 🌄 

This world has been inescapable to my thoughts. The character’s hearts beat in mine. The magnificence of the dragons and the potential world politics and events that lie ahead encaptures my imagination.

I went into this series knowing and finding along the way a couple of major spoilers but luckily not too much about the plot. But that hasn’t stopped me falling head first into Basgiath.

This is such a rich book. The scenes are perfectly paced, so it gives the book a full and accomplished plot. There was very minimal difficulties getting into the start of this fantasy novel, which is a great accomplishment of the author. The little things that make each character a person were so subtly placed, allowing me to get to know them comfortably. The war college setting of this first novel has provided the perfect narrative to be able to comfortably learn the world and to become personal with many of the characters.

I was a little apprehensive with the blurb and being in a world of dragons. But this book is an adult fantasy, it’s modernly written alike other fantasies of today, and the dragons and riding them are epic. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I was distraught when Liam died. Although I had a feeling early on when he gave Violet the wooden carving of Tairn and he mentioned he hadn’t seen Andarna enough to carve her yet, I knew that the plot wasn’t looking in his favour. But I’d forgotten that worry by the time my heart was ripped out. I understand not all her friends could survive with the Basgiath death toll numbers against them, and I’m happy this first book made point to confirm there would be no plot/character body armour. But I felt we should have had him maybe for another book, it’s going to be a great loss to the character dynamics.

Sometimes descriptions weren’t the best, in terms of positioning. Such as imagining a building layout. Or movements between characters. One I can maybe remember was a character seemingly moving their arm into a position twice. Fight sequences were sometimes hard to visualise the exact movement. Locations are hard to imagine from descriptions and the maps were disappointedly wrong. Basgiath map seamed upside down and locations weren’t adding up in relation to each other on the continent map and most places were omitted from there anyway. I now understand Violet has a connective tissue disorder, like the author. But this wasn’t particularly clear in the book, so came across as just really exaggerating how weak the main character was, and it became tiresome at the beginning. However, all these specific criticisms seamed to reduce further into the book.

I would say, for a really clever character like Violet, love really did make her slow on the uptake of some things.

Also I appreciate ebbs and flows in stories, but sometimes I felt too detached from characters. Especially when in situations that the character(s) are around Violet rather than at a different location, but the focus is on specific scenes with others.

I’ve grown tired of the trope of destroying the character of the soft and warm friend / potential love interest, for the dark and mysterious, long-burn love interest. I appreciate Dain showed his overbearingness from the beginning, so it wasn’t destroying his character. And I appreciate if both Dain and Xaden were strong contenders, then we’d be dangerously near the love triangle trope. But I wish the true love interest character was built more from themselves, rather than in comparison to pulling apart another character. I guess more than anything, I’m fed up of those characters who are wasted/ruined with their main purpose being this character type.

This book is magnificent. This has become my favourite book.