Veronyka is no longer an orphaned stable boy or a nameless Phoenix Rider apprentice: she is the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire, the last queen of the Golden Empire . . . and the niece of Avalkyra Ashfire, the resurrected rebel queen who tore the empire apart.
Now that the secret is out, everyone at the Eyrie treats Veronyka differently, and with Tristan still a hostage of the scheming Lord Rolan- and Sev with him as a spy- Veronyka feels very much alone. Except for her beloved phoenix, Xephyra, of course, and her new friend, Kade, who has his own reasons for wanting to save Tristan.
Veronyka is determined to do whatever it takes to get Tristan back, even if that means revealing her identity to the world and inheriting the throne she's not sure she wants. But when she discovers that Alvalkyra has bonded with as trix- a legendary creature of darkness that feeds off the life force of others- Veronya realizes she has more to deal with than an encroaching war with the empire. Val is willing to destroy everything to get her revenge on a world that rejected her, and if Veronyka wants to bring peace to the empire and Pyra alike, she must face down her sister once and for all.
Loved
- The characters! Ah, I just adore these characters and I miss them already. This has always been one of my very favorite elements of this series is that the characters are so relatable. They all have their own fears, insecurities, vulnerabilities, and struggles- and we get to watch them face these and work on them throughout the series. In this last book we really see the main characters develop into the heroes they've been becoming over the past two books, and they become heroes by working with their imperfections and facing their fears in their own way. They all had meaningful moments of character development in this book, which was so fun to see after getting to know them over the trilogy.
- Veronyka. While Veronyka is always a very likeable heroine, she really steps up her game in this third book with her maturity and wisdom. She has always been smart, brave, and compassionate, but in this story we see her become less reckless and impulsive and more queenly in the way she thinks about situations and uses her power and position for the good of both her people and everyone in the Empire. I gained a lot of respect for her by the end of this book, and loved watching her grow into herself and her lineage and power.
- The ending! I won't spoil, but I have been dying to know how this story ends since I read the first book three years ago. As this book progressed I started to get worried, wondering how it was going to wrap up and concerned it wouldn't live up to expectations. This didn't end how I had expected, but it was perfect for the characters and was a powerful and exciting finale to so much buildup and so much conflict between Veronyka and Val. There were some clever plot twists and moving character moments that made for a climatic and satisfying end to the trilogy.
- Sev. Oh my, I just love Sev, as you know if you've read my other reviews for the other books. I've always just been a huge sucker for Sev because he's adorable, insecure, and so relatable. "Sev wondered at his ability to charm older women." Ah, so adorable :) He's never been the natural leader, hero, animage, or fighter that everyone else around him seems to be. But in this third book he is such a hero, but always in quiet ways that almost go unnoticed by everyone else. Although he has some angsty moments in this book, it serves to make him more relatable and his heroic acts even more meaningful knowing that he is insecure and unsure of himself. He has some of the best moments in this story and I found myself smiling at many of them! :)
Didn't Love
- My only complaint about this story is that I wish there was more of it! I already miss these characters and I would eat up anything else written about them. I did feel like the ending happened a little quickly- that the last battle was a little sudden after so much buildup, but it all worked out nicely and it was a satisfying ending :)
Content
- Language:
- A little more language in this book than the others: uses of "damn," "hell," "a**," and "sh**" and "bit**y."
- They swear by the gods of this book, such as "gods no," or "godsforsaken"- referring to the gods of Pyra and other lands in the book.
- Sexual content:
- A scene between the main m/f couple where he dresses a cut down her chest and stomach. At first he looks away while dressing it (since she's topless), but she presses herself against him and pulls him down on top of her. They kiss, and he kisses her neck and jaw, and then "lower." He trails his hands down her stomach and hip. Fades to black with them kissing. No sex described or explicitly implied (pages 252-254).
- Multiple kisses described between main m/m couple.
- A scene where they sleep next to each other- Kade puts his hand on Sev's hip, kisses him from behind, hold hands. Tension described more than physical touching (pgs 194-195).
- A scene where they wake up after sleeping next to each other and Sev "follows the column of Kade's throat with open-mouthed kisses, down to his collarbone." He tries to unlace Kade's tunic (pgs 214-215).
- Sev thinks about missing Kade's kisses and the "feel of his tongue."
- A kiss described pushed against the back of the tree. Talks about how Sev had missed the "slide of Kade's tongue and the drag of his lips." A passionate kiss, but focused more on thoughts during the kiss than the physical touching (pg. 346).
- A few other kisses, but much more rushed and less passionate.
- Violence:
- A main character is sliced with a spear down her body, but lives.
- Another main character is stabbed and nearly dies, lots of blood described.
- Many deaths through arrows, throat slittings, fire, and daggers.
- Many deaths and injuries from strixes- creatures that cut flesh and take the life from others.
- An older woman is thrown off a cliff for disobedience and dies, but not immediately.
- A few dramatic deaths of prominent characters with getting shot by arrows, burning, and having throats slit.
- A little more language in this book than the others: uses of "damn," "hell," "a**," and "sh**" and "bit**y."
- They swear by the gods of this book, such as "gods no," or "godsforsaken"- referring to the gods of Pyra and other lands in the book.
- A scene between the main m/f couple where he dresses a cut down her chest and stomach. At first he looks away while dressing it (since she's topless), but she presses herself against him and pulls him down on top of her. They kiss, and he kisses her neck and jaw, and then "lower." He trails his hands down her stomach and hip. Fades to black with them kissing. No sex described or explicitly implied (pages 252-254).
- Multiple kisses described between main m/m couple.
- A scene where they sleep next to each other- Kade puts his hand on Sev's hip, kisses him from behind, hold hands. Tension described more than physical touching (pgs 194-195).
- A scene where they wake up after sleeping next to each other and Sev "follows the column of Kade's throat with open-mouthed kisses, down to his collarbone." He tries to unlace Kade's tunic (pgs 214-215).
- Sev thinks about missing Kade's kisses and the "feel of his tongue."
- A kiss described pushed against the back of the tree. Talks about how Sev had missed the "slide of Kade's tongue and the drag of his lips." A passionate kiss, but focused more on thoughts during the kiss than the physical touching (pg. 346).
- A few other kisses, but much more rushed and less passionate.
- A main character is sliced with a spear down her body, but lives.
- Another main character is stabbed and nearly dies, lots of blood described.
- Many deaths through arrows, throat slittings, fire, and daggers.
- Many deaths and injuries from strixes- creatures that cut flesh and take the life from others.
- An older woman is thrown off a cliff for disobedience and dies, but not immediately.
- A few dramatic deaths of prominent characters with getting shot by arrows, burning, and having throats slit.
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