Previous book here. I should probably put this one below the spoiler cut. Overall I give it 4.5 stars. Good roller coaster ride and great character developments that gave me the warmies. I'm bummed that this is apparently the end of this series, but it ends well, even if I will keep hoping for more.
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"You piss people off, Roper. The only things you've got going for you are that you're good at solving puzzles and you shut up when I tell you to." -Tjuan to Millie.
After finding out in the last book that fey have been casting spells by enslaving spirits--and they don't have to, they could just ASK FOR WILLING VOLUNTEERS--there's a split and a civil war brewing between those who love the old ways (Dame Belinda/London) and those who want to stop the slavery (Millie and the LA branch). After Tjuan is framed for murder because Dame Belinda has a stash of all Arcadia Project personnel's blood that she can use for making people facades, Millie takes it upon herself to figure out a plan to stop that and get a hold of all that blood. And get Tjuan unframed somehow. And how to manage to travel around Arcadia without breaking anything and also carrying her own portable toilet. And how to deal with so-called allies getting upset and going rogue on her and breaking all kinds of shit. It's a hubbub. I *almost* had a hard time figuring it all out, but I managed to get it somehow, so good for me.
I was happy to see Brand back and reunited with his Echo. That was kind of an aww moment. I also enjoyed seeing Shock when he got pulled into the plot. He's a sweetie. I also still really like King Winterglass (his advice about heroism and Dawnrowan is choice). The Unseelie go to interesting places in this one. I was kind of bummed at how things ended there, but we'll see.
As for Millie and Clay, they're still happy when together, but it felt like there was less focus on them and more on Clay's polyamorous relationships. Things with his girlfriend/fellow royal Dawnrowan aren't going so well--she's mad and trying to depose him--but I enjoyed how that played out in the end. I wasn't too fond of Dawnrowan in the last book but she really grew on me in this one, acting like more of a normal person and less a mandatory happy-happy-joy-joy robot. I felt for her in her agony of being a monogamous sidhe in love with a polyamorous faun and trying to figure out how to deal with it--and her relationship with Millie in this one ended up really working for me. The ah, mind journey Dawnrowan took Millie on at one point also revealed a lot about Millie's horrible past and how she's still managed to survive with a good heart. Also awww. And Millie gives some great advice about their relationship that was a bit "aww" to me too.
As for Caryl...poor girl. She's kind of a wreck in this one. Devastated by the truth, and her taking hasty actions make things go complicated (at best) with her long time spirit Elliot. Elliot is very surprising in this one, I'll leave it at that. I also enjoyed the introduction of a new spirit, Caveat, who has her own ties and interests. Caryl and Millie have Some Moments, which you both root for and agree with Millie is a terrible idea at the same time.
Zach, the guy Millie is banging, is a dude she barely remembers once in a while. Which I guess beats "Her?" and Paul from the Gilmore Girls revival, but still, I felt sorry for him. Why is he even in here? I dunno. We also meet a new girl, Alondra, who also has BPD and seems to set off Millie's bad side. I felt sorry for her, but they seem to make it work out as things go on, so that's good.
I do enjoy how Millie is both a pretty big disaster and yet somehow makes at least some things work in this series. She says she's "an antihero at best," but she makes it work. (I was also amused at the ah...scene where Millie makes out with a version of herself and is all, "Did my eyes really get all sultry like that when I was kissed?" and "So that's what I taste like.") By the end, she gets a very cool shoutout in front of most of the Arcadia Project for her contributions, and that was a big awww as well. Then Millie is all, "This is like a bad dream, except in the dream I'd have no clothes on," and finishes with telling everyone to have drinks.
"This young woman does nothing but question." -Alvin on Millie.
It's good stuff. I liked it. Good job. This series is very cool. I'm sorry it's over (there's potential for more even though this ends on a mostly happy-ish note). I hope someday there is more.
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