*SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS OR THIS ONE! 

Oh. My. God. I finally reached the final and last book in the TOG series! Ahhh! I didn’t want it to end, but regardless there so much that happened and I was constantly at the edge of my seat, and internally screaming from either delight or straight up fear of what was happening next. From beginning, middle, and end, so much happened, and all the characters had their missions to accomplish. 

From the first few pages, I was shocked because not only were Aelin and Rowan separated, but I was still reeling from the revelations of the last book, “Empire of Storms” that revealed significant information about Rowan and Aelin!!!! Looking back at all the clues from the previous books, it made complete sense that Rowan and Aelin were actually mates from the beginning and I was so over enjoyed with finding that out. Poor Aelin was in Maeve’s evil clutches and enduring all sorts of torture. Meanwhile, Rowan was hellbent on trying to find and rescue Aelin by any means necessary. Definitely starting this book, I was instantly hooked and was insistent on reading as much as I could.  

From Aelin, to Rowan, and all the other characters, this story was the final culmination of not only so many books in the series, but within the story, all the plans and ideas, and missions each character went on finally came together. Also little by little past characters were brought back within the fold and newer characters we’ve met found their footing within the gang. All, in all, it was great to see Chaol, Yrene, Manon, Dorian, Elide, Lysandra, and even Lorcan, and Gavriel. Each character I had a special feeling towards them, and I loved them each for different reasons. The past two books saw the characters in different parts of the world not only trying to rally more allies and help in the war against the Vlag King and Maeve, but also each character’s own storyline too. I feel like I’ve said this before, but I truly did like seeing more of the characters stories like, Elide, Manon and Lysandra, etc. Some characters who you wouldn’t have expected much from earlier on in the series, but they immediately became so much more. 

Aelin has always been the strong character who was faced with so many obstacles and despite the many twists and turns she was faced, she managed to overcome them. I feel like during the early half of the story when Aelin was tortured and kept as a captive with Maeve, it was truly by far the most horrible thing that Aelin had ever faced. Aelin had suffered so much trauma from what she went through while being held captive that it was not surprise she wasn’t herself, the kind of things she endured took it’s toll on her both mentally and physically. Rowan was literally the best mate ever, for being patient and just trying to help Aelin in whatever way possible. As much as Rowan wanted to hold Aelin and kiss her, he respected that she needed time and no matter what, he was just happy he was reunited with her. For sure once Aelin was rescued though, OMG! I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders! I kept waiting and wondering, “WHEN THE HECK ARE THEY GONNA GET TO AELIN?!” Phew I was just glad they got to Aelin finally! 

Although with Aelin finally being rescued, things on the other side where her other friends were… things weren’t going exactly to plan… Aedion was trying to maintain the constant battles he and his warriors were up against, and even with the new allies, it was becoming increasingly worrisome whether or not they could actually turn the tide in the war, and not to mention Aedion was still angry at Lysandra for pretending to be Aelin in order to keep appearances for the allies. I honestly felt bad for Lysandra because, she was just trying to do what she promised Aelin, but meanwhile Aedion kept giving her a hard time, and said some pretty horrible things to her. 

By far the longest book I’ve ever read, and with so much happening it made sense why the book was chunky, but I still couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was a way to condense it. Overall, I understood that with so much going on with each character and how each provided vital information to the plot, it was a lot to take in. Nonetheless I still enjoyed reading the book, and managed to squeeze in an arm workout from holding this book for long periods of time haha. 

I was so happy when Aelin was reunited with her friends, and seeing her meet with people like Yrene made it come full circle in how past events (from the other books) really did impact certain characters lives, and fate had a funny way of bringing these characters together. Despite the severity and darkness within the wars they constantly had to fight, there were still moments between the characters that were heartfelt such as, Rowan and Aelin. This story not only provided the action, suspense, strong characters, but also romance. I felt like by this book, everyone was essentially paired up (or been paired) with their special person, or at least trying to figure out where they stood with that place such as, Dorian with Manon and Elide with Lorcan. Those two couples were fascinating to me, but I also couldn’t help get a little giddy to see what would occur next between them. 

Overall, this was a fantastic book and a great way to end this beloved series. I can’t believe it took me this long to finally read this series, but oh well better late than never. A truly wonderful, fantastical, action packed filled story with romance, betrayal, mystery, suspense, and amazing characters who I love very much. I’m blown away by the magnitude of this book, this series, officially obsessed if you couldn’t tell by my many long filled reviews. I could go on and on about this series and books, but I’m sure you get the idea, worth the hype and time to read this!