Thank you to McElderry and NetGalley for access to an early release copy.

In Book 3 of the waxways series; we are following Mercy Whitaker in part I and my first thought was, who? Kind of wish the opening of the book had been a main character, not feeling like a new character or developing a new side character. Chapter 2 was a blessing but if you haven’t read these books before, a year break from the previous wasn’t too long and I still felt caught up. 

In our third journey, we’re dropped now into a plague- new characters are introduced again and I’m realizing how much this series revolves around plot, especially with more new characters added. Ren still feels little to no growth- still a hypocrite- while Theo is completely different from where he once was. In book 3, it feels like the focus is very much the new character and the new plot- with an introduction of new characters. The old leadership family of the Tin’vori, introduced in book two, disappointingly, felt placed on a back burner. Like an after thought. I did enjoy the moments Ren reflected, her circle back to the beginning, to have the third book feel a little more connected. 

For the series, it always feels pretty intelligent, with new ideas here and there. This was no exception, particularly when it came to why the plague. At times, it does feel disjointed, like more like a companion piece. And although the third saga’s plot was enjoyable, it still feels like some of the stories from the first two never felt fully wrapped up or concluded.