ARC received via the author in return for an honest review.
First Year (book 1) is on sale for $0.99 if you are looking for a good YA high fantasy series! Also if you have read the previous books in this series, check out the newly released covers! They are 100 times more awesome than the previously crappy ones!
Now to my review of Last Stand!
I think I psyched myself out with this one. I left the last book on a high, then had to wait forever for this to release. Luckily, Rachel gave me an ARC so I could ease the pain a little sooner. That being said, I would definitely recommend reading Candidate before starting this because I must have forgot half of what happened! There is no short summary of the previous book (nothing wrong with that), you just really need to know your stuff to stay caught up. I wish I would've had time to reread it, and maybe I would have enjoyed the beginning a bit more.
I felt like the first 25% was Ryiah feeling guilty and moping about her situation. Granted, it sucks. One moment she’s married to the love of her life, and the next she’s knowingly ripping his heart out of his chest. If you loved Ry in the previous books, get ready to feel some heart-wrenching pain! The first 30% also lacked action! Both romantically and fighting-wise. Now that Darren's the Black Mage, I feel like he should've been doing more than just his brother's dirty work (because that's what it felt like). I still cannot wrap my mind around how much Darren cares for his brother. I mean I get it, they're brothers. But he's a completely evil! Their relationship has always nerved me. Speaking of Darren, he just didn't feel the same to me, but I can't quite place what it was. I just didn't care for him as much this book. Darren and Ry has some beautiful and long awaited moments together. But they had so much crap to deal with, sometimes the romance had to be pushed aside. Honestly, I forgot they were married sometimes!
Compared to the other novels, this one was SO much darker and dreary due to the context. I actually didn't mind the darkness. Shit's getting serious! They aren't kids anymore, and it turns out being an adult sucks (who knew?). Ry learns that being a Princess and wife to the Black Mage puts her in a position to change the world. She's always wanted to be a hero, but no one ever tell you what the hero has to sacrifice. Losing her love might just be the consequence of saving the entire kingdom. What is one loss compared to the lives of thousands? To Ryiah its everything.
I rated this 4 stars because I really liked it, but I didn't freak out and love it. Its a great conclusion to an epic fantasy series.
