“You don’t need to be gifted with a blade. You are your own best weapon.”
I am trying very hard to remain calm and collected right now so that I can write an articulate review, when what I really want to do is turn into a fully raging fangirl.
Oh, my poor heart. Marie Rutkoski certainly knows how to shred it into pieces. This book flooded me with so many emotions—it made me feel incredibly sad, angry, surprised, frustrated, and joyously happy. The plot was carefully constructed so that each scene was able to evoke a new emotion from me.
“As he spoke, it occurred to her that maybe he, too, felt like two people, that maybe everybody does, and that it’s not a question of whether one’s damaged, but of how easily or not that damage is seen.”
The beginning broke me—it was one of the most powerful first chapters I’ve ever read. My heart went out to Kestrel and I even cried a little. I kept thinking over and over, Is this really happening to these poor characters? I couldn’t believe what the author was putting them through.
The plot focused much more on the war between the Valorians and Herrani. I appreciated that Rutkoski didn’t romanticize war—the fighting wasn’t awesome. Rather, she showed war for what it really was by highlighting the awful deaths—a brutal tragedy.
I feel like one of the biggest strengths in this series is the author’s writing. It’s so gorgeous to read and only emphasizes the plot and characters. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every single word is carefully chosen to fit into a beautiful sentence.
Rutkoski’s prose never feels stunted or awkward either. I’ve read many books where the author’s writing feels forced, as though they’re trying to get that perfect, quotable sentence and it just feels weird. Rutkoski’s style is elegant, yet natural.
Can we just talk about Kestrel and Arin for a minute? Their romance was to die for. Each scene was spun full of longing and compassion that made me catch my breath with the perfection of it.
I think the fact that Kestrel and Arin were separated through sections of the book just added to the intensity of their relationship. It made me want them to be together more than ever. I loved how everything unraveled between them, the lies and jealousy and doubt all peeling away as their love became stronger.
The ending was perfect—it was beautiful and completely satisfying without ever getting cheesy.
A magnificent finale. I wouldn’t have had it end any other way.
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