3.5

The strongest book in the trilogy by far. I like how the characters matured and truly realized who they were here. I loved Damien and Selene individually and liked the journey they went through individually, but they are also very good together. They respect each other as husband and wife and as heads of their own Houses. They had some rocky moments but they sorted it out like mature people, so no bad angst here. The war could've been a little more epic but this is kind of "light" as far as high fantasy goes. It's kind of like a Disney movie, if you get my analogy.

The Christian theme is very much reinforced with all the looking to the light mentioned, but it doesn't feel preachy. It feels surprisingly sincere, which I think is a strength of the author. I also appreciated the politics that dictated the dynamics among the Houses and the characters, because despite the big cast, no one feels caricature-like. It's a solid trilogy, though for a high fantasy-lover like me, it's not the best thing I've read. It's also most definitely not a waste of time.