Book three in the Spiritwalker trilogy.
Short, totally spoiler-free review is "aahhhhh, read it!" but three words may not be enough to persuade everyone. So to that I'll add that this is a book by Kate Elliott and so it has great female characters, epic fantasy action, magic, treachery, love, and examines power structures all in a great story.
This is the final book in the trilogy, but I'm going to try and avoid all mention of plot, because spoilers are just horrible when you aren't looking for them. The story began in Cold Magic when Cat (our narrator) and her cousin Bee were forced to confront some of the realities of their world. And throughout the three books one of the primary focuses of the book has been the power structures in society. The roles of women, the roles of the peasants and the working class, the power wielded by the feudal lords, and how recognising the inequalities in the world you live in is just the first small step into true adulthood.
The world of Cat and Bee is a sort of alternate Europe in the time of the Napoleonic wars, and it has a sortof version of the French Emperor, and in a way the French revolution, as the two girls get entangled in the fight for the freedom of the working classes, and of women's rights.
And all woven into a great entertaining story.
By the end of this book I was in love with this series, the first book was good, as was the second, but they hadn't hit that sweet spot with me that previous Elliott books have [ref]Jaran I loved from the very start. It's so great, and I'm not just pushing it because the series isn't finished and needs reader love to bring it back from its hiatus. Honest.[/ref]. But the final two thirds of this book pushed it from really enjoyed this series to "loved it".
Yeah, in conclusion aaaahhhh, read it! ( )

I find myself somewhat ambivalent about this book and the whole series. There are some great things--the characters, the twisty and unflinching nuance with which the central theme of freedom is addressed, a really interesting world. And then there are some things that I didn't really think worked overall.

My biggest frown-inducer is the overall plot. I think broadly I'd have to describe these books as "adventures on the road to finding safety and security" which is absolutely enough to drive a book, even a trilogy, especially when spear-headed by a character as interesting, dynamic and pivotal as Cat. However, the focus in this book on James Drake as A Big Bad really distracted from the thematic and character arcs. Now, in a way, James Drake personifies issues of personal and general freedom for Cat, as well as just generally being a great example of the abuse of power. But personally, I found him so parenthetical to the struggles of the book that I felt like this book pulled itself apart along its tension lines, rather than having multiple conflicts hauling together to tighten tension.

Overall, plot and pacing were my problems with this series, as it sprawls delightfully, but also distractingly, and everything from a line-by-line to a broader arc was given just a little too much slack (charming slack; elegantly phrased slack; slack nonetheless) that made an otherwise intriguing and enthralling book sadly easy to put down. ( )

And so I finish out my 2015 with a series I enjoyed deeply, including little bits like the Taino teaching Europa more advanced technology, how multiple plots interwove pretty well, and all sorts of grace notes, which is hard to do in a series this stuffed. ( )

Returning to Europa after the disastrous time in Taino isn't as easy as taking a ship. It's more like as difficult as walking through the land of the fey while being hunted by those who want to kill you and avoiding the deadly waves that sweep the land and change everything they encounter.

Bee and Cat are secure in their powers in this book, and Bee, especially, seems secure in all aspects of her life.

Naturally, as you'd expect in the third book, deadly secrets are revealed, and the fight to survive isn't simple. But Bee, Cat, Andevai, Rory, and the rest of the family they've found can do it. ( )

Honestly, when you are fighting for your life, are you really commenting on how intricate the nearest man's clothes are and how good he looks in them? ( )