This volume is so full of action and emotion that I felt like I was holding my breath through the whole of it. It picks up just a few weeks after where the last volume left off, and it hits the ground running with the Old Readers lobbing attack after attack at Alice and her crew.

With lives at stake, and no time to think, Alice has to scramble to figure out a way to defeat the Old Readers. She has to push herself to the absolute limits physically, emotionally, and magically. She experiences loss, guilt, and betrayal. She comes to learn who she is, and where she stands as a person and a Reader. All the while having to push through to the end game.

Also... Holy crap that plot twist! I should have seen it coming, but I was so captivated by the story that I was totally floored.

There was a point where I got a little worried because felt the author was really stretching things with Alice’s powers. She’s naturally gifted and an advanced Reader for her minimal tutelage. Okay. But to be able to accomplish what she did in this volume just wasn’t believable after a certain point. But then the author backtracked and explained in a much later chapter where Alice’s power boost came from, and everything was rectified.

This is the strongest of the series, and what a way to end it! ( )

The final volume of the series. It gets off to a rough start because it includes no brief reminder of where we are in the story. The story is almost exclusively travelogues as the hero makes her way and back. Some of the details are imaginative, but the endless series of obstacles did feel at bit...endless. A less creative contribution than the earlier titles, but a quick and pleasant enough conclusion. ( )