Can't remember what exactly inspired me to start a re-read of this series but I'm not sorry I did. It's a fantastic medieval European fantasy series (truly a great depiction of a medieval Europe -inspired setting) that feels so real; from the most desperate of war refugees to the daimones of the Upper Spheres to the working economy... Do yourself a favor and read this series if you haven't already.

Book Seven! Phew, I made it! This gorgeous, sprawling, awesome series comes to an end. Don't mind my tears, I just don't want to say goodbye. What a great ending. I'm so happy for Liath, Sanglant, Theophanu, Rosvita, etc and hahahahahahahahah F U, Hugh! My only little quibble is for Alain. I know he's fine (and Rage and Sorrow will always take care of him) but why solo? At least he is at peace at last. ( )

The end of the Crown of Stars series ends in a disappointing way. The whole series build and builds and then the last two books seem to just fizzle out. On a whole I still enjoyed the series, but just not the last 2 books. ( )

concluding volume[volume 7] of the Crown of Stars series. I didn’t think it ended really satisfactorily. Hughe never gets his. Things just kind of petre out, with no long lasting happy ending. Kind of like real life. Never get a real chance to see Sanglant and Liath’s love in peacetime. It ends with Blessing[their child] as an older woman. ( )

I have to admit, I started this book with some trepidation as it's always hard to successfully wrap up a well-written series. In addition, I thought the prior book, ‘In The Ruins’, was the worst of the series. The characters seemed flat, and the plot almost simplistic, especially given the wonderful complexity of the prior books.

I shouldn't have worried: in Crown of Stars, most characters were back to their original three dimensions. However, I ended up with far more questions than answers.

Kate Elliott is an excellent writer but, in this instance, she doesn't seem to be able to pull off a satisfactory ending. While there were a few things that were cleared up nicely... but there were more that made me go ‘what the?’.

Yes, Sanglant and Liath get to live happily ever after; and that’s great. And I could even accept the alliance between Theophanu and Stronghand. But I still can’t work out the back story to Alain. What happened when Anna and Papa Otto come back together? What about the relationship between Liath and her grandmother? What is that about Hanna and Ivar, after all that time? Why introduce Sharp Edge so late in the piece? And, most importantly of all, what was the point of all that rapid growing up Blessing did?

I guess now I’ll never know. ( )

A great series. My only complaint is that the ending of this final book seemed to end too abruptly. I still highly recommend the series. ( )