The Beauty of Darkness (the Remnant Chronicles #3)

Synopsis

Darkness was a beautiful thing. The kiss of a shadow. A caress as soft as moonlight. . . 

Lia has survived Venda- but so has a great evil bent on the destruction of Morrigan. And only Lia can stop it.
With war on the horizon, Lia has no choice but to assume her role as First Daughter, as soldier- as leader. While she struggles to reach Morrigan and warn them, she finds herself at cross-purposes with Rafe and suspicious of Kaden, who has hunted her down. 

In this breathtaking conclusion to the Remnant Chronicles trilogy, traitors must be rooted out, sacrifices must be made, and impossible odds must be overcome as the future of every kingdom hangs in the balance.

Loved

• The characters. I feel like all the characters had moments to shine in this book. I love the last book in a series because we've had time to be invested in the characters and they have become our friends. I loved watching them make sacrifices and find their strength and potential in different moments during the story.

• Kaden. Ah Kaden, our angsty assassin. In the other two books, Kaden was so conflicted and was so driven by his love for Lia, that I was annoyed with him. But he is a strong and powerful character in this book and I found myself appreciating and loving him for the sacrifices he makes although he is definitely rough around the edges. I love his ending too, but I won't spoil ;)

• Lia! Okay, Lia and I have officially become friends. She's still stubborn, headstrong, fiesty and by no means gentle, but her strength really shines as she embraces her role of First Daughter of Morrighan and also leads Venda. I love watching her understand her role in the story of these kingdoms and I love how her decisions are based on that role, not on her own personal interests, like they were in the beginning when she ran away from her arranged marriage. She truly does become selfless and a powerful leader.

• The battle. The battle took a looong time to finally happen, but it was worth it! It was sad and hard to read at times, but definitely had the epic-ness I was expecting after leading up to it for three books. There were some awesome moments and satisfying endings.

• The ending. Sometimes the endings of stories don't give me the closure I need, especially in a series when I feel like I have been very invested in these characters and I deserve to know how they end up! But I felt like this story gave me closure and despite the death and loss, I felt heart-warmed with how the story ends- especially the love triangle that caused me so much pain :)

• The mysticism. As I've said in the reviews for the other two books, I looooove the mysticism in these stories. I love how Lia finally learns how the stories of the Ancients connect with her story and how she embraces the role she was destined to inherit. I love how the story we've seen woven through all three books finally makes sense and provides so much depth to the world and Lia's role and story.

• The writing. Mary Pearson just writes beautifully and flawlessly. Her writing is so lyrical and matches the power and depth of her world and story.

Didn't Love

• Let's be real- Lia's romances were rough for me from the start, as you know if you've read my review of Kiss of Deception. I definitely became more invested in her romance with Rafe, but I still had reservations about it throughout. I just found myself frustrated so many times with their lack of effective communication, their stubbornness, and the drama. I mean I know all the kingdoms are about to get blown up and everything, but can we cut some of the drama? I felt like very interaction between them left me somewhat rolling my eyes with the intensity. But I still was able to appreciate their romance and I do really appreciate that Lia doesn't let her feelings for Rafe keep her from fulfilling her role as princess and leader of Venda.

Content

• Language: 
• Fairly frequent uses of bastard, hell, damn, and ass.

• Sexual content: 
• Lia and Rafe have two sexual encounters. There is very little description of the actual act, but it is clear the interactions are sexual. Mention of their using protection.
• Romantic kisses between Lia and Rafe.
• Lia is sexually assaulted as one of the Komizar's men puts his hand on her breast about to remove her clothes, but is killed in the act.
• A main character gives birth while a male character she dislikes helps her. She is worried about him seeing her, but he is respectful and helpful to her.

• Violence:
• LOTS of violence! The last battle is very brutal: mentions of blood, body parts and horse pieces falling all around the battle during explosions. There is a lot of blood and fairly graphic descriptions during the battle.
• Many descriptions of people being punched, hit, stabbed, hit with arrows and bolts, being beheaded, and killed with swords in battle.
• Description of one man being "halved."
• Description of a character being stabbed in the abdomen with blood gushing out.
• Description of bolts going through a character's hand.
• Lia kills one man by putting a bolt through his neck.
• Children are used as front-line soldiers to manipulate and confuse the opposing army.
• One character pushes another off a cliff and they both die from the fall.
• Mention of a woman slitting her wrists after a child dies.

 Overall Thoughts

This was a satisfying conclusion to a fascinating, brutal and beautiful trilogy. I definitely enjoyed this book the most out of the three. I loved Lia's strength and her finally taking on the roles she has been destined for for centuries. I loved how the story ended and although the battle was devastating, it was the epic conclusion we all hoped for throughout the book. I have had my issues with this series, but overall it was definitely worth reading and I'm so glad I got to experience the Remnant world. I definitely recommend this, but younger readers may want to read the content reviews to know the extent of violence and sexual content in these books. While there are no graphic sex scenes, it is clear Lia and Rafe's relationship is sexual. The violence is quite graphic, bloody and disturbing. For older readers I definitely recommend this series and I don't think you will be disappointed with the beautiful writing, strong characters, and harsh but unforgettable Remnant world.