I loved this series. I mean, wow! It was fantastic.
That said, I was really disappointed with how this ended. And I don't mean the conclusion. That was fine, it was even surprising.
Emma, oh how I have mixed feelings for you already. I decided that I really just don't like you. She kept a mind to be a martyr in this book, which I suppose was to keep her in line for the ending. But it annoyed me. She was such a fucking selfish hypocrite. She kept secrets while telling Will he wasn't allowed to have any. Her expectations of him were just down right awful. She was pregnant--again--with his child, which made the ending not too surprising, since there was a need for four elements. However, she expected will not to feel any loyalty to this child, but instead put her son, Jake, first. At first, I thought she was a good mother. But as the series progressed, and then especially with this book, she just proved herself to be selfish. Sure, she had made it apparent from the get go that Jake was her only motivation. And I would feel the same way with any of my kids. But there is no way that she should have ever expected Will to put hers before his own.
Emma made stupid decisions, and normally that pisses me off. In this case, however, I felt that it fit into to circumstances. She was distraught and single minded. Panicking for the sake of her child, confused and angry, I think her decisions reflected those emotions perfectly. Not many people keep their had about them under duress.
Will, oh how I have loved his badassery. My only complaint with him is that he let Emma walk all over him. Her nasty retorts, and her need to talk about things while not letting him get things off his chest, really annoyed me. She had a lot of double standards that he just put up with. I really don't think a man of his type would respond in the ways he did. Will was very practical, while Emma worked solely off her emotions. So Will succumbing to his emotions the amount of times he did, just really didn't fit with his development. It also ruined his whole masculine aura.
I liked the incorporation of the shadows. I liked how Marcus was used as a wild card. I really enjoyed Aiden's ruthlessness. I was so disappointed with the last battle, though! This series is just packed with action. The whole reason I loved these books as much as I did, was due to the amount of action and how well it was handled. The last battle was so hyped up throughout the series that I expected more. It was supposed to be epic and should have lasted more than one chapter! Like I said, the conclusion was fine, and that didn't need to change, there just needed to be MORE. It was so anticlimactic. What was the real purpose in having them practice with their power when it wasn't even needed? Jake was a badass! No...it ruined everything. What's worse is that Swank can do better. She has proved it with all of the books before this one. So. What. The. Fuck. Happened?
Aside from the shitty battle, the overall book was really worth 4 stars. But because of the books before this, and this one not doing them justice, I just can't give it more than 3.