After 3 books of this, I’m not really surprised by much. Violet and Xaden are on the same page for the most part this time, though his dark side really pushes her to make rash decisions. Finding Andarna’s kind is essentially the only thing that can save the world, and consequently, she hopes, a cure for Xaden too. There’s a decent amount of steam in this entry to get you hot and bothered, though it takes care to focus on the plot for the most part.

Politics and princes become more important in this entry and it really helps to focus on other events as Violet’s unyielding love for Xaden does get to be a bit much at times. Honestly, more chapters from other perspectives would have really livened up this story. As it is, there are some surprises, but the amount of characters really makes it hard to follow at times because none of them really do anything to stand out. Some die, some are grievously injured, but the only ones that get any real development, that we see, are Xaden and Violet, kind of. Mostly they’re the same, though they understand each other’s perspective more and that helps prevent unnecessary arguments, but without those, there’s not much friction. Dane is a puppy at this point and though Rhiannon has some gusto, none of them really challenge our main two other than Mira. All she does is worry about Violet though, so overall the massive group is united. While it makes sense in a world ending situation, it doesn’t lend to a very dynamic or interesting cast. Seeing their perspectives more would make them leave a more lasting impression as we don’t know any of their personal motivations or struggles. I was mixing up Bodhi and Garrick for the entire story and I still don’t know which is Xaden’s relative. (I think it’s Bodhi?)

As a third entry, it left me wondering what all of it was for. There are a couple important events, but most of the novel felt like filler. It’s weird to say that because there are constant time jumps, sometimes of months at a time, and even with those, I felt my time being drained away. I went into this expecting it to be the final entry, but it really just felt like setup for more, which is actually the case. I’m pretty invested in how this all turns out, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to circle back for the next one. Taking any time between these books will make you lose track of who’s who, which wouldn’t be a problem if the characters were explored more as individuals instead of a cheer squad for the main couple. This could change given events near the end of this story, but I won;t hold my breath. If you’ve made it this far into the series, you’ll probably read this one, though I think spark notes before the next book would be more than enough to get the gist.