A satisfying conclusion to the series. As has been the case throughout, the characters are a highlight, with Cate in particular demonstrating a rounded and believable set of flaws and strengths that generate their own conflict. Unfortunately, there were so many characters, and so much going on, that there wasn't really space for nuance, even with Maura and Tess. (I mean, I liked our new additions, but they weren't stiff cliches so much as they only had space to hit a couple of character notes each.) And I enjoyed the historical world, and in particular the absence of that usual dystopian niggle: what is the rest of the world doing about this? (The answer in this case being: the rest of the world doesn't give a damn what some backwater northern American religious fanatics do with their own insignificant society.)

Really, my only significant niggle with this concluding book is that Cate doesn't really step up and take charge. It's always been a bit of a scramble for her; her goals have been primarily around keeping her and her sisters safe, and responding to threats against that. But I was really hoping to see her getting to take the front foot and do as she levels up in the final book. Instead, it was more of the same: Cate foiling the nefarious plots of others.

Still, the series overall ran some thoughtful and well-delivered messaging, around the importance of forgiveness, and that tolerance must be better than the intolerant. I enjoyed reading. ( )

This book surprised me in some ways, and was predictable in others.

A lot of the secondary characters had a bit more page time here, which I enjoyed.

There is a lot of secrecy, and betrayal, and all of it comes at a price. Everything comes at some sort of price, and the costs in this story are high. Friendships are tested, some people can't be trusted, with magic, or otherwise.

Cate comes into her own more in this last installement. She finally stops worrying about what the proper thing to do is, and starts doing what needs to be done. She comes up with clever plans that put forth a lot of the action in the story. She's angry over what happened to Finn, and her cracks do show, but the anger seems to give her strength. She and Finn seem to be headed into a good place in their relationship, toward the end of the book, which is nice.

The girl's father finally gets to come out of his stupor, and be more of a father, which I also appreciated.

There's a lot of loss, and it had me tearing up at times. Some of the losses were harder to take than others, and some of them, I wasn't surprised at.

I'd definitely be interested to find out what goes on after the end of this story, but at the ssame time, this wraps up well enough. ( )

Actual rating: 3.5 ( )

This book surprised me in some ways, and was predictable in others.

A lot of the secondary characters had a bit more page time here, which I enjoyed.

There is a lot of secrecy, and betrayal, and all of it comes at a price. Everything comes at some sort of price, and the costs in this story are high. Friendships are tested, some people can't be trusted, with magic, or otherwise.

Cate comes into her own more in this last installement. She finally stops worrying about what the proper thing to do is, and starts doing what needs to be done. She comes up with clever plans that put forth a lot of the action in the story. She's angry over what happened to Finn, and her cracks do show, but the anger seems to give her strength. She and Finn seem to be headed into a good place in their relationship, toward the end of the book, which is nice.

The girl's father finally gets to come out of his stupor, and be more of a father, which I also appreciated.

There's a lot of loss, and it had me tearing up at times. Some of the losses were harder to take than others, and some of them, I wasn't surprised at.

I'd definitely be interested to find out what goes on after the end of this story, but at the ssame time, this wraps up well enough. ( )

Fudging Maura. Still hate her. Kinda. Ugh. This damn book. Even though it's been a while since I had read Star Cursed, when I started this book, all those feelings came right back. A sign of good writing in my opinion. (Along with making you cry or shouting obscenities around toddlers.)

The pace in this book is much quicker than the previous two, which is probably why I read this book in only a couple days.

While the ending doesn't exactly wrap itself up in a nice little bow, there is definitely a cute ribbon. You see where the characters and story are heading, and I think that suits the story the best. While I wouldn't have minded a few more concrete details, the openness of the ending felt natural and realistic. ( )