I don't normally do spoilers in my reviews, but I need to process, and this is the only way I know how. Lol so... Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk!
I was so excited for this final installment of the Ringdweller series, and while everything was wrapped up nicely, I don't feel as though it was to my heart's content.
The pros first:
Action was fast paced and unpredictable. Migo killing the emperor in the first act was completely unexpected, and the conflict in Jehubal with the mutiny and subsequent crowning of Hatan as king was shocking. Those scenes kept me on the edge of my seat. The world building was on point, and no questions were left unanswered (though maybe some subplots were left open, but more on that in a minute).
The character growth of Katsi and Migo felt organic and not rushed, though there were some problematic areas to me with their relationship (again, more on this later). The villains in this book were once again straightforward, but also there were twists and turns. There were allies who were actually traitors, and there were enemies who ended up being allies. I appreciate the thought out plot. Of course, the ending was happy. Migo and Katsi were together ruling the entire world and Hatan and Penym got a much deserved happy ending.
So now the problems. From the beginning, it has slightly bothered me that Katsi and Migo are so young. I mean, I completely understand that they live in a post-apocalyptic world and therefore grew up much differently then most other children. But it's problematic for me that they are so young and act more maturely then their age. Then there is the matter of their marriage in this 3rd book. It's proposed so abruptly, and while we know that Migo loves Katsi, it wasn't entirely clear to me how much Katsi loves
Migo until she suggests that they get married. Katsi has spent most of this series trying to grow her power, so it seems rather out of character for her to want to connect the shamans and the Marems through her ill-advised marriage to Migo. Some more love scenes would have been nice, to be honest. I don't think they even kissed more than once after being married. I know this isn't primarily a romance book, but if marriage is going to be a subplot, I think some swoony moments are in order. I enjoy clean romance books, but the swoon was seriously lacking in this book, compared to the first 2. The other main problem I had is that there are so many character perspectives being given. We read from Migo, Katsi, Shanon, Hatan, the Emperor, Hashivir (creator of the Waheshi), Ris, Lady Vasash, and Adrina. It just felt like too much. In some ways, I understood it, but there was just a lot going on that sometimes took away from the main events that really didn't hold my attention. There were a couple of scenes with Hashivir and then Lady Vasash that created some questions for me. I felt like i needed more backstory than what I was given. They were rushed perspectives, in my opinion and didn't add anything to the book. Hashivir's perspective could have been more enlightening, but it fell short for me. I had a harder reading this book then the 2nd. I don't enjoy that many character perspectives. I felt situations could have been handled differently and avoided using the other non-essential characters. The last problem for me was the final battle felt rushed. The battle between Migo and the emperor was intense, lasting several pages, but the battle between Hashivir and Migo was over so quickly. I would have loved more.
So why am I giving it 4 stars? Well, I genuinely believe this book is well written. Despite some things that may be personal preference, Brady Hunsaker finished up his debut series well. I hope to see a few things differently as he grows as an author. But either way, ultimately, I enjoyed this series.