My overall impression after finishing this one is relief (especially because as of writing this, the final book is almost a year away from publication). The intensity in this story is high, it’s clearly the beginning of the end for the story, but at the same time, Michele doesn’t leave us hanging and I am so grateful for this. I was actually able to predict the major event for this one based off the name of the final book, but ironically, and thankfully, said conflict is successfully finished by the end of the book. Ultimately, I loved the intensity, but also how none of it felt cliche at all which meant I kept getting excited with how the events continued to pan out!


Would I go back in time and still read this book, knowing what I know now?
Absolutely. Probably even faster. I was so worried because the final book isn’t coming out for another year (as of this review) that I actually put it off (okay, so it was only a day but still), because I was so worried about being left hanging. But that didn’t happen. So worth it!


See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book


CHARACTERS: What can I say? I love these characters. I love that Haiden and Logan are growing up and so they’re playing even bigger roles in the plot now. I enjoyed that the way the events occurred, Charlie had a slightly bigger role too, which I absolutely loved. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cos and Mads. Sometimes it’s fun to see the other characters being able to step up in a way we’d always expect that it would be Mads for Cos or Cos for Mads. It’s refreshing. And Mads was honestly super super super cool in this one too. He has some moments to shine that are…really badass to read.


PLOT: The stakes are highest in this one and the plot flies. Everyone is undertaking something new that the reader is not used to either, so given how dangerous the world is and what they attempt to do in this book, it’s understandable. I was impressed with the moments of ‘waiting’ that were included. They’re realistic, but also, Michele was able to write them in a way that didn’t drag down the plot pacing, which truly was awesome. The climax of all the events is a little muddled, intensity versus events, but ultimately I loved reading it. I’ll admit though, I did keep expecting that one final big event to occur.


EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

5 out of 5/high. Thankfully, Michele does such an incredible job of taking care of the reader, but the stakes, the world, the conflict… highest of the series so far.



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled?

99%. As I said at the top, I’m so so so relieved with how this book ended overall. The author didn’t leave us hanging, even though there is clearly a final conflict to tackle in the final book. The last 1% is only because I actually felt like there was just that one final bit that was missing from the aftermath. And part of that possibly had to do with simply how she had to tell the events based on where the characters were. But ugh, so much relief.