As Shadows Fade is the fifth book and also the conclusion to the Gardella Vampire Chronicles. It has benn quite a while since I read the other four books of the series but the author did a great job at "explaining" everything that previously happened so I was up to date without looking anything up.

Our main character is Victoria, also known as Illa Gardella, and she's a vampire hunter. In this last installment she finally wants to rid the world of the vampire queen Lilith with a little help of Max Pesaro, Sebastian Vioget and two other Venators. She has to make some difficult decisions ... and yes, even the one we're dying to know since the beginning - who will she choose - Max or Sebastian?

I, for myself, am okay with her decision. I won't spoil anything but you're either in Max' Team or in Sebastians', although I really liked both characters. Sebastian Vioget is charming, cheeky but totally different to the first books. He's now a fierce Venator and tries to protect "his" people and - for me - he has grown the most. When I think back to who he was at first and now ... there's so much more to him than any other character, in my opinion. Yes, I'm Team Sebastian. I love him to pieces!

That's also why my heart broke for him in this book. Like, so much. We knew what plagued him, what scared him and what helped him through various situations. The decisions he made were hard and sacrificing and I admire him for his strength. He did all those things to protect his loved ones and even the ones he couldn't stand at first. There's just so much good about him. *sigh*

I also think that Max Pesaro is a great man, so I totally get why Victoria couldn't really decide. Although he's somewhat different to Vioget he's probably also the safest choice. He's protective, brave, devoted and in his presence you just have to feel safe. I also really liked him in the is book because we finally got some emotions out of him! He was always this reserved guy when it came to his feelings, I'm glad it changed a bit because I really needed to know.

Victoria is as badass as ever. I always liked that she's a strong, independant woman and knows how to fight. She never let anyone push her around and always made her own decisions, no matter how stupid they were. She had to go through a lot but in the end that only made her stronger. Plus, she's also funny and sarcastic which is damn awesome!

The ending is ... well, satisfying although I wished there would have been a bit more answers. I have more questions now than when I started the book but overall it was a good, thrilling conclusion with lots of action. So, if you've already read this far you should definitely pick up the last book and complete the series! It's really worth it and I enjoyed the majority of the book - the ones with Sebastian the most, of course. :P

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