As much as I love the Folk of the Air, I had to push myself through this one. Oak and Wren had moments of acting out of character. For example, Wren struggles in this book about what kind of ruler to be which was a theme that was so different from the last book where she didn’t even want to rule. When we finally learn Wren’s motivations, it felt like I had already forgotten how that supports how she acted at the beginning where the Stolen Heir left off. She has such a soft inner dialogue from the first book and she came off super hard from Oak’s perspective. There were many reasons why I enjoyed Oak’s point of view in this book, but it felt like we walked away from the Wren I grew to love in the last book. The plot also felt pretty weak imo. I wonder if because Jude’s trilogy did so well focusing on the politics of the throne that the intention was for Oak’s story to do the same. However, we saw so much of Oak’s role in this political struggle, that it wouldn’t be so bad to go a little more romance heavy. The biggest thing that didn’t work for me was how Oak and Wren fell under the friends-to-lovers trope last book (which was so cute and refreshing) to enemies-to-lovers in this book. The switch up did not feel natural to me. My favorite parts were definitely Oak coming into his own person and breaking away from the persona as the boy-prince he made for himself.

I really enjoyed the quick development of Shazi’s predicament. It had such a strong start, and the pacing didn’t miss as the story progressed. I loved the multiple points of view as each character focused on is someone that is close to Shazi, so you learn more about her through the others as well! The whole story felt like an elevated fairytale. I look forward to reading the next book!

Wow, there was so much I did not expect from that ending. It felt complete and made sense given the setup from the first two books. I enjoyed this conclusion, and it’s brilliant the way these storylines intersect by the end. Some things that left more to be desired from me: it took a bit too long to receive an update on Rowan and Citra. From reading the Unwind Dystology, I understand Shusterman is great at using the last book to show how the issues they are apart of are bigger than the scope of the main characters. However, even with this notion in mind, it still felt a bit too long. I also wish there was more development of Rowan rather than him just getting passed around the whole book. On the other hand, this book takes risks adding Jeri and Loriana into the mix. I wasn’t as emotionally invested in Loriana’s story as much as Jeri’s. I LOVE Jeri’s writing and thought her interactions elevate the depth of the people around her. Like, we learn so much about others by the way they respond to him. Overall, this absolutely had me hooked once everyone was re/introduced.

The characters, unveiling of the plot, and unsettling atmosphere made this book such a page-turner. It tied up all the loose ends, and the themes were incredibly empowering. I was not expecting found family to be a trope that added a necessary depth at the right time. It explains enough of what is going on while still leaving plenty of grotesque imagery to interpret for myself. It was the perfect balance that left me wanting to talk about it for days after.

I thought this was such a strong conclusion. I loved how the structure of this was so different from the other books in the series, mostly taking place in one setting rather than questing all over.

I really loved how empowering Circe was in this retelling. It’s definitely a slow paced self discovery journey, and having a working knowledge of many of the myths discussed helped my personal investment in the story.

This was such an interesting world. I liked learning about the magic; it definitely seems like there’s still so much more to learn about it. The ending felt rushed - for example, there was a lot of lore delivered with a twist, but it was the reader’s first time being introduced to some of these stories. It would have felt more like connecting the dots if they were teased earlier, then brought full circle. Some moments flew by like a crucial character being affected by events at the end, occurring off-page. The realization of this isn’t really explained well, but it is a pivotal moment for one of the girls. Instead of it carrying the emotional impact it needed, I was confused and going back to see if I missed something. Something I really enjoyed about this book was Merri and Rue working through their misconceptions about their world. They were compelling main characters and complement each other well.