When a government ceases to protect its people, it becomes necessary to overthrow it.

Oy.

That’s how you end a trilogy.

Revolution on revolution, coup on coup. Love and hate, betrayal and double/triple/who even knows crossing. And death. Oh the deaths.

Finally, we get a conclusion (for now) of the revolution we were first introduced to in Fireborne. And the government in exile of Flamefall.

The characters are still a large driving factor here, especially (but not only!) Annie and Lee. We finally get an answer to the whole ‘will they / won’t they’ which I expect we all saw coming, but it’s all in how it happened… and what came next. There’s a lot of sweet here–and more than a helpful of bittersweet as well.

On top of that Griff is a fascinating point here. He got everything he wanted in Flamefall and a few things that he couldn’t bear. So for half the book, he’s the hero–and drowning himself in his sorrows. But add in Delo as an actual point of view this time around? A plot well worth it.

On the antagonists side, we have Ixion. Oh we love to hate them. Being the last book, they have to fall, but it’s going to be a long painful trip to get there. The (re)introduction of the Bassileans, their princess, and their gargantuan dragon. I think that’s a sort of difference in dragon breeds and hints at a larger world that I could do with more of. It’s interesting to realize that for all the chaos we’ve been through with these books, they’re only a tiny part of the larger world.

And then there’s Power. He is very much the most complicated character in these books, thoroughly in the morally gray category. Oh Power.

Overall, I loved these books. I’m going to have to see what else Rosaria Munda has done! Onward!

I just wanted it to be in writing, somewhere. I wanted it to be in writing that it was you. For me. It’s always been you.