Alanna the knight of Tortall has become restless and sets out on a quest to acquire the Dominion Jewel to aid her kingdom. Along the way she makes news friends of a Shang Warrior, an exiled princess, and her fiercely loyal servant. But soon, Alanna feels that she might be needed at home. She returns to find Prince Jonathan has been made King of a land that is becoming harder to rule by the minute, George the Rogue's rule is also being challenged, and her brother Thom is very ill after restoring life to her old nemesis Duke Roger.

I really enjoyed this end to the series. I had a few small gripes about relationship stuff, and if Thom is going to be so important to the series, I would have liked to have spent more time with him, but all in all I couldn't wait to see what happened, and I'm looking forward to continuing on with [a:Tamora Pierce|8596|Tamora Pierce|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1209044273p2/8596.jpg]'s other series.

After the absolute bog of the 3rd book, the 4th delivers on returning to what makes this series so amazing. All of our besties are back and then some, like our new friends Liam and Thayet! More foreign politics and amazing feats of magic, continuing the lore and history of Tortall and other cultures in it.
I did cry, maybe just a bit, it really is a good book and great end to the series.

I do thing Alanna makes some silly decisions in the beginning that put her and her travel companions at risk, but the later half of the book is just so good it outweighs the beginning for me :)

The final book in the Alanna series!

Final thoughts:

Starting with book three, Alanna is basically a grown up. I have always categorized these books as "childrens" as well as adventure, but I don't think that's the case anymore. Its for anyone who likes adventures, as our heroine does.

I was unsure about the different love interests introduced for a while.. it smelled faintly of a love triangle, which I truly don't like. But this is something else entirely. This is being able to have and end relationships, to take lovers for a time and let things end (without judgement or bad blood). This is so rare in fiction (fantasy or otherwise) that I found it truly refreshing. My girl grew up! She was never shamed for taking more than one lover! Huzzah!

Spoiler

In the end, surprising myself, I had sympathy for Thom at the moment of his death. He did behave in an idiotic way, but he was alone and over his head, and had plenty of time to regret it. I was sad for Alanna, that they never got to reclaim their former friendship from childhood. She really was almost the last person standing, of her first book friends. Though thankfully Coram made it through and received his happy ending.

The final installment on the Alanna/Lioness books. This one is longer than the others and puts Alanna through the paces as she strives to be a better warrior and figure out her role in the kingdom. Enjoyable YA read - like cotton candy and a good reading escape.

what a way to go out. the perfect mix of relationships and adventure, quest and battle. and while the romantic relationships are the least interesting, i'm very happy with the turnout. i also appreciate pierce's willingness to make war realistic in that she didn't only let the bad guys die. and the death with lightning? *chefs kiss*

4 stars only because it was a little confusing at times, and the jewel plotline felt a little forced.

Finally finished my reread of this quartet. Very pleased to say that I still love it! This is the series that really started my love of all things fantasy. It's a little dated now, and the writing reflects that, but I still adore these characters and the story was wonderful!

Rereading this series always makes me appreciate it more and more. While my perspective on the characters and the books changes, especially as I get older (since I was probably about 10 when I first read them) my love for them grows, and I appreciate how formative they were on me growing up.

I will always enjoy reading about Alanna, one of my first and favourite childhood heroes, and this book just ties together her story so wonderfully.