EOTD picks up exactly where EOTV ends and boy was this one just as action packed. This review may contain some spoilers so please read with caution.

I thoroughly enjoyed the continuation of Gabriel's tale. It was twice as heart wrenching if you can believe it and I found myself tearing up and hurting for him. Kristoff is a masterful writer, making the reader feel every emotion: anger, despair, longing, elation and so on. I'm sorry that I waited so long to pick up one of his books. If you enjoyed the first book, or are looking for well crafted high-fantasy then I recommend picking up this series. Just as the first it is dense and we also get a new POV! Celene!

I absolutely lost it when Aaron was thralled. Knowing what he did in order to save Baptise and then for him to say such hateful and awful things to Baptiste when his love was trying to save him absolutely wrecked me. There are so many turning points in this book, in the story itself, but this part of the story is gutting but I need more of it.

Another gutting plot point was Gabriel and Phoebe. Both have endured so many awful things it is no wonder that they fall together- but that plot twist at the end...again, gutting. Kristoff, DO YOU ENJOY HURTING PEOPLE??

Getting back to our new POV as told from Celene. What an awful conniving lunatic of a bitch. I never thought much of her using the plural form when she spoke and I never could have imagined the reason once it was revealed. I stared at the page for a solid ten seconds with my mouth open and had to reread that scene. I have loved her character from the beginning for holding fast to her faith and believing in what Dior stood for but for what it amounts too...I am still in shock. She is the perfect example of a fanatic and why fanatics can be absolutely awful.

I was so torn because prior to this we had a moment where Gabriel kneels down beside her and prays and I felt such hope for them. For Gabriel, for their relationship, for Dior and Kristoff just ripped the rug right out from under me.

Dior is one clever ass of a woman. Still naïve at times, but watching her character develop has been the cherry on top. The relationship her and Gabriel have built is beautiful. This is the kind of found family story that I've been searching for. I was crying when he hit her but loved how Kristoff wrote their emotions so vividly and Gabriel's anguish about it even after so much time had passed. It was a heartbreaking and nasty scene in a moment of panic and severe love. It was disgusting what Gabriel did. Despite this response, they find their way back to one another and there I was cheering them on. I was crying when she called him papa and how he acknowledged that she was indeed a daughter to him. Gabriel made a mistake but his love for Dior is unconditional and Kristoff captures it beautifully.


I know Kristoff does not care for happy endings but my gosh if he does not give Gabriel some peace or a way to find his faith again I'm going to lose it. If Gabriel dies I'll understand, but not before he has found solace. I've never had a story twist me in so many ways and while I hate it....I absolutely love it.