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Shattered Realms #4
Deathcaster
SPLINTERED ALLEGIANCE.
Warrior Alyssa ana’Raisa would do anything to protect her home, the Fells, and her legacy, the Gray Wolf Line. But as a prisoner of Empress Celestine, Lyss is forced to turn her fearsome talents as an army commander against her beloved homeland. Refusal would swiftly lead to her death, and her death would end the Gray Wolf Line.
ANCIENT DANGER.
In Lyss’s absence, Fellsmarch Castle swarms with intrigue, deception, and a primordial threat. Destin Karn, a Southern spymaster with a hidden agenda of his own, might be the queendom’s only hope of defeating the forces aligned against the Seven Realms… as well as the enemies within the castle.
THE DEADLY COST OF PEACE.
Master storyteller Cinda Williams Chima delivers spellbinding action, bittersweet reunions, and dazzling revelations in this indispensable conclusion to the Shattered Realms series.
Warrior Alyssa ana’Raisa would do anything to protect her home, the Fells, and her legacy, the Gray Wolf Line. But as a prisoner of Empress Celestine, Lyss is forced to turn her fearsome talents as an army commander against her beloved homeland. Refusal would swiftly lead to her death, and her death would end the Gray Wolf Line.
ANCIENT DANGER.
In Lyss’s absence, Fellsmarch Castle swarms with intrigue, deception, and a primordial threat. Destin Karn, a Southern spymaster with a hidden agenda of his own, might be the queendom’s only hope of defeating the forces aligned against the Seven Realms… as well as the enemies within the castle.
THE DEADLY COST OF PEACE.
Master storyteller Cinda Williams Chima delivers spellbinding action, bittersweet reunions, and dazzling revelations in this indispensable conclusion to the Shattered Realms series.
651 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2019
450 people are currently reading
9831 people want to read
About the author
Cinda Williams Chima
35 books11.6k followersNew York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima comes from a long line of fortune-tellers, musicians and spinners of tales. She began writing romance novels in middle school, which were often confiscated by her teachers.
Her Heir Chronicles series (magic comes to contemporary Ohio) comprises The Warrior Heir The Wizard Heir . The Dragon Heir The Enchanter Heir, and the Sorcerer Heir.
Chima's Seven Realms series comprises The Demon King The Exiled Queen The Gray Wolf Throne and The Crimson Crown ).
Her Shattered Realms quartet comprises Flamecaster ( 2016) Shadowcaster (2017) Stormcaster (2018) and Deathcaster (2019.)
Her newest series, Runestone Saga, marries Norse magic and mythology with swordplay (axeplay?) and romance. Children of Ragnarok was released 11.8.22, and the sequel and conclusion, Bane of Asgard, is set for release 10-22-24.It is available for preorder now.
Chima is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron. Chima has been a workshop leader, panelist, and speaker at writing conferences, including the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference, the Western Reserve Writers’ Conference, and the World Fantasy Convention. She frequently speaks to young writers and readers at schools and libraries nationwide.
Chima lives in North Carolina with her family, and is always working on her next novel.
Her Heir Chronicles series (magic comes to contemporary Ohio) comprises The Warrior Heir The Wizard Heir . The Dragon Heir The Enchanter Heir, and the Sorcerer Heir.
Chima's Seven Realms series comprises The Demon King The Exiled Queen The Gray Wolf Throne and The Crimson Crown ).
Her Shattered Realms quartet comprises Flamecaster ( 2016) Shadowcaster (2017) Stormcaster (2018) and Deathcaster (2019.)
Her newest series, Runestone Saga, marries Norse magic and mythology with swordplay (axeplay?) and romance. Children of Ragnarok was released 11.8.22, and the sequel and conclusion, Bane of Asgard, is set for release 10-22-24.It is available for preorder now.
Chima is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron. Chima has been a workshop leader, panelist, and speaker at writing conferences, including the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference, the Western Reserve Writers’ Conference, and the World Fantasy Convention. She frequently speaks to young writers and readers at schools and libraries nationwide.
Chima lives in North Carolina with her family, and is always working on her next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 645 reviews
March 10, 2019
yesssssss
March 11, 2019
Whose here after Stormcaster just staring at the blank page hoping that you will see something change through sheer force of will?
Edit: Hanalea's bloody bones, has it already been a year? Deathcaster releases tomorow? Im so ready!
Edit: Hanalea's bloody bones, has it already been a year? Deathcaster releases tomorow? Im so ready!
June 4, 2024
"I'm not the heir. I'm the spare."
Well.. I finished the book quite some time ago, and now don't remember much other than Chima gave an outstanding ending to a phenomenal series.
Going to wait until a re-read is done to do a proper review.
"It's always easier to tell other people what to do than fix yourself."
Well.. I finished the book quite some time ago, and now don't remember much other than Chima gave an outstanding ending to a phenomenal series.
Going to wait until a re-read is done to do a proper review.
"It's always easier to tell other people what to do than fix yourself."
April 24, 2019
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Another series in the The Seven Realms is complete and we have fallen in love with another generation of its characters, journeying along with them against foes - both new and old, in their quest to preserve the Gray Wolf Line and way of life in the Fells. I will not add too many details as to not spoil the series.
Deathcaster was good; it had most of the things I hoped for in a final book; the reunions of characters and the culmination of events to vanquish the main Villains to finally bring peace to the Shattered Kingdoms. BUT, for a 600+ page finale I think I expected a little more wrap up at the end or an epilogue set a few years in the future just to give me total closure. Still, it is very implied where things are headed and so I won’t complain too much on that one. I would have probably given this just one more star if I hadn’t read The Crimson Crown, which is one of the best final books a of series I’ve ever read.
There were some very tense and action-packed moments. All the players are very scattered: Lyla and Destin are in the Fells trying to keeps Raisa’s council in check. Lyss is across the sea with Celestine, trying not to become blood sworn and training Celestine’s army to attack the Fells, hoping she can escape or lead then a different way. Hal, wants desperately to find and save Lyss but keeps getting pulled into fighting within his homeland. Hal is trying desperately to find a way to help keep Lyss’s Queendom intact for when she finally returns. Jenna and Caz are also on Celestine’s Island waiting for the perfect moment to ‘Burn the Nest’, teaming up with Lyss and finding some baby Dragons along the way. Evan is still playing the long game with frenemies everywhere, looking for a way to destroy Celestine. And then there is Adrian sul’Han who is both looking for Lyss and Jenna with the help of one of the Magemarked and trying to figure out who is attempting to kill off everyone in their family.
With so many different PoVs and plot lines going, the entire story had a lot of ground to cover to make it to a good conclusion and cover it, it did. I really loved most of this book and some of the reunions were so touching and much needed since we haven’t seen a couple of the characters together since the very first book. I was a little surprised with who was ultimately behind the plot against the Greywolf throne, but it seemed a little fitting. I enjoyed seeing Raisa outsmart her enemies yet again and still be in the background to the new generation.
The plot arc with Celestine fell just a smidge flat for me after all the buildup, but why she was looking for the Magemarked was pretty original and added a lot of tension to the story.
Overall, there are a lot of fantastic things for a YA fantasy novel series conclusion. Yes, the series is a little guilty of some instances of insta-love and few other YA tropes we all know well, but the story works and I love the both the male and female cast are strong and bring different attributes to the story. Not one individual is overpowered or the chosen one, it took a team of players to make everything happen. Plus, there are baby dragons (shhh don’t tell)
Narration:
Kia Mia Guest does a pretty good job with the extended cast. There were a few instances where a couple characters sounded a little alike to me but overall with the large cast, she did great with keeping both the narrative and the emotion of the story. I listened to this at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us...
Another series in the The Seven Realms is complete and we have fallen in love with another generation of its characters, journeying along with them against foes - both new and old, in their quest to preserve the Gray Wolf Line and way of life in the Fells. I will not add too many details as to not spoil the series.
Deathcaster was good; it had most of the things I hoped for in a final book; the reunions of characters and the culmination of events to vanquish the main Villains to finally bring peace to the Shattered Kingdoms. BUT, for a 600+ page finale I think I expected a little more wrap up at the end or an epilogue set a few years in the future just to give me total closure. Still, it is very implied where things are headed and so I won’t complain too much on that one. I would have probably given this just one more star if I hadn’t read The Crimson Crown, which is one of the best final books a of series I’ve ever read.
There were some very tense and action-packed moments. All the players are very scattered: Lyla and Destin are in the Fells trying to keeps Raisa’s council in check. Lyss is across the sea with Celestine, trying not to become blood sworn and training Celestine’s army to attack the Fells, hoping she can escape or lead then a different way. Hal, wants desperately to find and save Lyss but keeps getting pulled into fighting within his homeland. Hal is trying desperately to find a way to help keep Lyss’s Queendom intact for when she finally returns. Jenna and Caz are also on Celestine’s Island waiting for the perfect moment to ‘Burn the Nest’, teaming up with Lyss and finding some baby Dragons along the way. Evan is still playing the long game with frenemies everywhere, looking for a way to destroy Celestine. And then there is Adrian sul’Han who is both looking for Lyss and Jenna with the help of one of the Magemarked and trying to figure out who is attempting to kill off everyone in their family.
With so many different PoVs and plot lines going, the entire story had a lot of ground to cover to make it to a good conclusion and cover it, it did. I really loved most of this book and some of the reunions were so touching and much needed since we haven’t seen a couple of the characters together since the very first book. I was a little surprised with who was ultimately behind the plot against the Greywolf throne, but it seemed a little fitting. I enjoyed seeing Raisa outsmart her enemies yet again and still be in the background to the new generation.
The plot arc with Celestine fell just a smidge flat for me after all the buildup, but why she was looking for the Magemarked was pretty original and added a lot of tension to the story.
Overall, there are a lot of fantastic things for a YA fantasy novel series conclusion. Yes, the series is a little guilty of some instances of insta-love and few other YA tropes we all know well, but the story works and I love the both the male and female cast are strong and bring different attributes to the story. Not one individual is overpowered or the chosen one, it took a team of players to make everything happen. Plus, there are baby dragons (shhh don’t tell)
“There’s a rumor going around that you died at Delphi but the witch queen brought you back to life because she fell in love with your dead body.”
“What?” Hal stared at him, horrified, while Robert stifled laughter.
“No worries, sir,” LeFevre said hastily. “I don’t think too many believed it.”
“If anything, it enhanced your reputation,” Remy said.
When Evan asked Jenna for advice on how to win Cas over, she rolled her eyes. “You put a collar around his neck, locked him in a dark hold, and carried him across the ocean. Don’t you think that might have been off-putting?”
Evan cast about for excuses. “He was wearing the collar when I bought him in the market.”
“That’s another thing. You don’t ‘buy’ dragons or ‘have’ dragons or ‘tame’ dragons. Dragons are not weapons or airships. They are comrades. You partner with them, you bond with them—or you don’t.”
“He burned my ship,” Evan said. “Doesn’t that make us even?”
“‘Even’ is for enemies and rivals. You’re going to have to give him more than that if you want him to trust you.”
Narration:
Kia Mia Guest does a pretty good job with the extended cast. There were a few instances where a couple characters sounded a little alike to me but overall with the large cast, she did great with keeping both the narrative and the emotion of the story. I listened to this at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us...
March 21, 2019
Deathcaster is nothing if not ambitious. Eight POV characters, more mysteries than the Hardy Boys can solve, several pairs of star-crossed lovers, and an epic sprawling world full of various magics and prejudices. In this four-book series, a full two and a half books were just setup. So the fact that this book is even remotely coherent is worth lauding, let alone that it had some really good and satisfying moments.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty, it’s worth noting that I’m grading on a curve. Cinda Chima is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this is my favorite world of hers, and I would still recommend any book of hers over 90% of what’s out there.
With that said… *deep breath* … this book is unfortunately too ambitious. There are too many characters and too much plot for one book, and it never quite takes off the way it should.
There are so many POVs, that the jumps between them get immensely frustrating. A good book should, of course, make you lament any jump in POV. But the problem here is that I’ll just be getting into a storyline, and then see a new POV when a chapter ends. Then there’s so many characters to cycle through that it’s 100 pages before we return to the story I was invested in, and by then I’m a little fuzzy on all of it and my passion’s cooled. This book is the literary equivalent of constant blue balls – forever sucking you into a story, never staying long enough for payoff.
One of Chima’s fortes is writing war councils – a room with lots of people arguing over strategy and politics. But those war councils comprise at least half the book, and they grew wholly wearisome after a while. There were three or four armies chasing each other across a continent, and it all became the same after a while – characters looking at maps in small groups, talking about deepwater ports and Spiritgate and Watergate and which direction to march in. It’s the same problem as history class: when wars are diluted to the story of which army marched where, it no longer holds interest.
As a matter of fact, the first two-thirds of Deathcaster (400 pages or so) were devoid of the very things that drew me to Chima’s writing. I’m here for the backstabby politics of court – which are in short supply when everyone’s on the march with an army. I’m here for the swoonworthy romance – but all three power couples spend the book with a continent between them.
Eventually, it got to the point where I only cared about three of the myriad POVs: Destin and Lila (who were together in the only interesting storyline), and Evan Strangward (whom I cared about mostly for Destin’s sake). Make no mistake, those POVs were riveting, and I wanted to do a little dance every time I got to their chapters. The intrigue! The drama! The happily familiar and eternally contentious world of Fellsmarch! All the interesting side characters gathered together! And a romance to die for! It felt like their chapters were a reward for slogging through the rest.
That said, the rest of them got on my last nerve. Lyss hangs out with Jenna, is afraid of Celestine, then marches with an army through the Realms. Hal marches through the Realms, conquering as he goes, and fretting about things. Ash is forever chasing someone he loves around the world. Breon is mercifully voiceless (thank the Maker for small miracles). And Jenna leads everyone in lessons of “How to Train Your Dragon,” because dragons fix so many story problems. And the whole time, I couldn’t help wondering what Destin and Lila were up to.
Talk of romance, I’m quite displeased at how it all shook out.
There are two big mysteries at the heart of the Shattered Realms: who’s trying to take out Raisa and her family, and what’s up with the magemarked individuals that Celestine is after?
The former mystery gets a very good conclusion, and leads to some of the best scenes and coolest character moments in the book. The best thing about the Seven Realms remains the intrigue surrounding the Gray Wolf line, that’s as true as ever!
As to the other mystery… the ball was somewhat dropped there. In general, a few things were somewhat ignored in Deathcaster after promising setup – first and foremost, badass Queen Marina is entirely gone in this book. But the empress ends up being a very toothless villain. Considering the threat of Celestine is what brings the bajillion characters together, she’s just not interesting. When compared to the epic villainy of Gavan Bayar or Gerard Montaigne, or even the second-tier ones like Fiona Bayar or Reid Nightwalker, she pales in imitation.
And the magemarked… Honestly, the magemarks seem like a plot convenience created to bring disparate characters together, not like a worthy overarching plot of their own.
Among the good things…
Also, the best thing: Destin Karn. I love Destin Karn so damn much. He’s fascinating and fierce, ruthless and romantic, unexpectedly kind, a loner who interacts with all the interesting characters… when he worried for Evan, my heart breaks for him. I never thought Destin would be the character I gravitate towards so much in this series, but here we are.
Chima does a terrific job with utilizing the characters from her first series in small doses for maximum effect – she knows that Han and Raisa are her emotional trump cards, and plays them accordingly. I do think one of the biggest strengths of the Shattered Realms was the exact right amount of the prior generation showing up – props to Chima for that!
On the whole, with Deathcaster wrapping up the Shattered Realms, I think the series as a whole is a solid four-star affair. It’s not as transcendentally perfect as the Seven Realms, and there is an imbalance of too much setup and too little payoff. But it is still a rich and engaging story with characters to love and a world worth exploring. I suspect it’ll actually work much better on rereads when I can skip the characters I don’t like (a little blasphemous, I know, but there it is).
Lastly, if I can get a bit sappy, the world of the Seven Realms has been one of my favorite literary homes for an entire decade. I’ve obsessed over these books, reread them, foisted them on everyone I know… even if it didn’t 100% stick the final landing, I am still so grateful for this story. I would love to revisit it one day, but if not, I will display the books proudly on my shelf, and will look forward to my next return visit. It has been an absolute pleasure, and in the words of our heroes: It was worth it.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty, it’s worth noting that I’m grading on a curve. Cinda Chima is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this is my favorite world of hers, and I would still recommend any book of hers over 90% of what’s out there.
With that said… *deep breath* … this book is unfortunately too ambitious. There are too many characters and too much plot for one book, and it never quite takes off the way it should.
There are so many POVs, that the jumps between them get immensely frustrating. A good book should, of course, make you lament any jump in POV. But the problem here is that I’ll just be getting into a storyline, and then see a new POV when a chapter ends. Then there’s so many characters to cycle through that it’s 100 pages before we return to the story I was invested in, and by then I’m a little fuzzy on all of it and my passion’s cooled. This book is the literary equivalent of constant blue balls – forever sucking you into a story, never staying long enough for payoff.
One of Chima’s fortes is writing war councils – a room with lots of people arguing over strategy and politics. But those war councils comprise at least half the book, and they grew wholly wearisome after a while. There were three or four armies chasing each other across a continent, and it all became the same after a while – characters looking at maps in small groups, talking about deepwater ports and Spiritgate and Watergate and which direction to march in. It’s the same problem as history class: when wars are diluted to the story of which army marched where, it no longer holds interest.
As a matter of fact, the first two-thirds of Deathcaster (400 pages or so) were devoid of the very things that drew me to Chima’s writing. I’m here for the backstabby politics of court – which are in short supply when everyone’s on the march with an army. I’m here for the swoonworthy romance – but all three power couples spend the book with a continent between them.
Eventually, it got to the point where I only cared about three of the myriad POVs: Destin and Lila (who were together in the only interesting storyline), and Evan Strangward (whom I cared about mostly for Destin’s sake). Make no mistake, those POVs were riveting, and I wanted to do a little dance every time I got to their chapters. The intrigue! The drama! The happily familiar and eternally contentious world of Fellsmarch! All the interesting side characters gathered together! And a romance to die for! It felt like their chapters were a reward for slogging through the rest.
That said, the rest of them got on my last nerve. Lyss hangs out with Jenna, is afraid of Celestine, then marches with an army through the Realms. Hal marches through the Realms, conquering as he goes, and fretting about things. Ash is forever chasing someone he loves around the world. Breon is mercifully voiceless (thank the Maker for small miracles). And Jenna leads everyone in lessons of “How to Train Your Dragon,” because dragons fix so many story problems. And the whole time, I couldn’t help wondering what Destin and Lila were up to.
Talk of romance, I’m quite displeased at how it all shook out.
There are two big mysteries at the heart of the Shattered Realms: who’s trying to take out Raisa and her family, and what’s up with the magemarked individuals that Celestine is after?
The former mystery gets a very good conclusion, and leads to some of the best scenes and coolest character moments in the book. The best thing about the Seven Realms remains the intrigue surrounding the Gray Wolf line, that’s as true as ever!
As to the other mystery… the ball was somewhat dropped there. In general, a few things were somewhat ignored in Deathcaster after promising setup – first and foremost, badass Queen Marina is entirely gone in this book. But the empress ends up being a very toothless villain. Considering the threat of Celestine is what brings the bajillion characters together, she’s just not interesting. When compared to the epic villainy of Gavan Bayar or Gerard Montaigne, or even the second-tier ones like Fiona Bayar or Reid Nightwalker, she pales in imitation.
And the magemarked… Honestly, the magemarks seem like a plot convenience created to bring disparate characters together, not like a worthy overarching plot of their own.
Among the good things…
Also, the best thing: Destin Karn. I love Destin Karn so damn much. He’s fascinating and fierce, ruthless and romantic, unexpectedly kind, a loner who interacts with all the interesting characters… when he worried for Evan, my heart breaks for him. I never thought Destin would be the character I gravitate towards so much in this series, but here we are.
Chima does a terrific job with utilizing the characters from her first series in small doses for maximum effect – she knows that Han and Raisa are her emotional trump cards, and plays them accordingly. I do think one of the biggest strengths of the Shattered Realms was the exact right amount of the prior generation showing up – props to Chima for that!
On the whole, with Deathcaster wrapping up the Shattered Realms, I think the series as a whole is a solid four-star affair. It’s not as transcendentally perfect as the Seven Realms, and there is an imbalance of too much setup and too little payoff. But it is still a rich and engaging story with characters to love and a world worth exploring. I suspect it’ll actually work much better on rereads when I can skip the characters I don’t like (a little blasphemous, I know, but there it is).
Lastly, if I can get a bit sappy, the world of the Seven Realms has been one of my favorite literary homes for an entire decade. I’ve obsessed over these books, reread them, foisted them on everyone I know… even if it didn’t 100% stick the final landing, I am still so grateful for this story. I would love to revisit it one day, but if not, I will display the books proudly on my shelf, and will look forward to my next return visit. It has been an absolute pleasure, and in the words of our heroes: It was worth it.
March 17, 2019
After some consideration, I unfortunately had to drop this down to 4 stars. That doesn’t mean I loved it any less! It just wasn’t quite sitting right with me that I ignored some issues I had.
After so long, this series has come to an end. I’ve been invested in the world of the Realms for years and it’s crazy to be letting it go. I’ve fallen in love with two generations of characters and been mesmerized by the scale of politics and intrigue and magic. These novels have truly never received the appreciation they deserve.
Admittedly, I came to love The Shattered Realms slightly more than its predecessor series. But one would not be the same without the other.
As a finale, I really thought this book delivered—but not to the extent I was hoping for.
I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time and was so relieved these characters all got their ending, but in a few ways it just didn’t quite get there. So many reunions happened that I’d been waiting for and I was so, so thrilled about that. Plus all the bombshells and close calls really kept everything moving. The drawbacks had more to do with the ending. I feel that, given how high the stakes were made out to be and how many novels had been crafted to set up all the problems, I didn’t quite get all the fleshing out I was hoping for. The accumulation of everything—and this is mainly regarding Celestine and the Mage-marked but applies to several other things—felt rushed. I was hoping for more answers and more depth, especially for who turned out to be essentially the series’ main villain. With all the terror, I ended up wanting more. But I suppose we can’t always have everything.
That said, I still adore this world with all my heart and plan to return to it someday. Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t have to take away from the enjoyment of it.
After so long, this series has come to an end. I’ve been invested in the world of the Realms for years and it’s crazy to be letting it go. I’ve fallen in love with two generations of characters and been mesmerized by the scale of politics and intrigue and magic. These novels have truly never received the appreciation they deserve.
Admittedly, I came to love The Shattered Realms slightly more than its predecessor series. But one would not be the same without the other.
As a finale, I really thought this book delivered—but not to the extent I was hoping for.
I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time and was so relieved these characters all got their ending, but in a few ways it just didn’t quite get there. So many reunions happened that I’d been waiting for and I was so, so thrilled about that. Plus all the bombshells and close calls really kept everything moving. The drawbacks had more to do with the ending. I feel that, given how high the stakes were made out to be and how many novels had been crafted to set up all the problems, I didn’t quite get all the fleshing out I was hoping for. The accumulation of everything—and this is mainly regarding Celestine and the Mage-marked but applies to several other things—felt rushed. I was hoping for more answers and more depth, especially for who turned out to be essentially the series’ main villain. With all the terror, I ended up wanting more. But I suppose we can’t always have everything.
That said, I still adore this world with all my heart and plan to return to it someday. Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t have to take away from the enjoyment of it.
March 8, 2019
As much as I wanted to love this book I didnt, I thought it was a good book but I don't feel it like it measures up to the other books in this series. The reunion between ash and Jenna was amazing but that was all we saw from them that stood out and as someone who loved the dynamic between ash and Jenna I felt that after the reunion their relationship fell flat and I get the feeling that they were pushed a bit to the sideline and the same can be said of the other couples with a slight exception of Destin and Evan as I felt their longing for each other felt a lot more real so when they finally met again it was incredibly satisfying. Also for a moment it felt like Lily and shadow were going to find solace in each other but it never went anywhere.
I do think my disappointment with the relationships and how I feel they got a little bit forgotten is mainly due to me liking Ash and Jenna much more than the others and since they didn't have much screen time as a couple I was left wanting more than what I got. The author touched a but on both Jenna's and ash insecurity of whether there was any room for ash but then never explored it.
The ending felt very much like it was rushed and I would argue the entire book felt rushed as Cinda had to tie up a lot of plot points which she did a very good job of but I think the series might have benefited from one more book. The end of the empress felt a bit meh, it never seemed like anyone was truly in any danger as they had a bunch of dragons with then who could decimate entire armies and while the empress was supposed to be very powerful it never really crossed my mind that she would be able to compete with all of them there. I new Jenna wouldn't die from that as it has been stated several times that she has resistance to heat though it did cross my mind of how the earlier empresses succeeded in killing Jenna's ancestors when they are almost immune to fire? The entire sequence played more as a comedy than a life and death situation and if that was what the author was going for then I can't say anything else but I disagree with that choice.
So in conclusion everything fell a bit flat most likely due to there being multiple couples,wars and different plot points and it was just too much to tie it all in together without skipping important moments.
I do think my disappointment with the relationships and how I feel they got a little bit forgotten is mainly due to me liking Ash and Jenna much more than the others and since they didn't have much screen time as a couple I was left wanting more than what I got. The author touched a but on both Jenna's and ash insecurity of whether there was any room for ash but then never explored it.
The ending felt very much like it was rushed and I would argue the entire book felt rushed as Cinda had to tie up a lot of plot points which she did a very good job of but I think the series might have benefited from one more book. The end of the empress felt a bit meh, it never seemed like anyone was truly in any danger as they had a bunch of dragons with then who could decimate entire armies and while the empress was supposed to be very powerful it never really crossed my mind that she would be able to compete with all of them there. I new Jenna wouldn't die from that as it has been stated several times that she has resistance to heat though it did cross my mind of how the earlier empresses succeeded in killing Jenna's ancestors when they are almost immune to fire? The entire sequence played more as a comedy than a life and death situation and if that was what the author was going for then I can't say anything else but I disagree with that choice.
So in conclusion everything fell a bit flat most likely due to there being multiple couples,wars and different plot points and it was just too much to tie it all in together without skipping important moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2019
Guys..... guys..... I can't handle it.
The WAIT.
A YEAR.
I can't. I really, really can't. I'm sorry CWC, I'll be dead from anticipation long before this comes out.
So please, please, any tender soul, show me a morsel of mercy that when you read this for yourself, do it out loud so that my spirit can hear you. Hold your book out arms-length so that the last ghostly vestiges of my eyeballs can read over your shoulder. In a totally non-creepy way.
Do it for me. For Lyssa and Hal.
For Han.
A YEAR! *GASP* *clutches chest*
Goodbye cruel, Deathcaster-less world!
*dies*
***
3/4
It's Deathcaster-eve and I'm patiently stalking my Kindle just in case my pre-order shows up an hour and 15 minutes early.
Can't be tooo careful.
***
IT'S LITERALLY ONE MINUTE LATER AND I HAVE IT!!!!! I HAVE IT!!!! AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES EARLY I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!! OHMYSWEETGOODNESS IF THIS WAS GOING BY EASTERN TIME AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT I COULD HAVE HAD THIS 45 MINUTES AGO!!!!!!!!!!
@$*!#×$?%÷!!!!!!!!!!!
***
3/8
I'm done.
It's finished.
It was beautiful.
I have no more words.
I need to gather my thoughts.
I may share these thoughts later, I may just stew in them myself.
.
.
.
But we can totally squeeze another series or two out of the Seven Realms, right CWC???
The WAIT.
A YEAR.
I can't. I really, really can't. I'm sorry CWC, I'll be dead from anticipation long before this comes out.
So please, please, any tender soul, show me a morsel of mercy that when you read this for yourself, do it out loud so that my spirit can hear you. Hold your book out arms-length so that the last ghostly vestiges of my eyeballs can read over your shoulder. In a totally non-creepy way.
Do it for me. For Lyssa and Hal.
For Han.
A YEAR! *GASP* *clutches chest*
Goodbye cruel, Deathcaster-less world!
*dies*
***
3/4
It's Deathcaster-eve and I'm patiently stalking my Kindle just in case my pre-order shows up an hour and 15 minutes early.
Can't be tooo careful.
***
IT'S LITERALLY ONE MINUTE LATER AND I HAVE IT!!!!! I HAVE IT!!!! AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES EARLY I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!! OHMYSWEETGOODNESS IF THIS WAS GOING BY EASTERN TIME AND I DIDN'T REALIZE IT I COULD HAVE HAD THIS 45 MINUTES AGO!!!!!!!!!!
@$*!#×$?%÷!!!!!!!!!!!
***
3/8
I'm done.
It's finished.
It was beautiful.
I have no more words.
I need to gather my thoughts.
I may share these thoughts later, I may just stew in them myself.
.
.
.
But we can totally squeeze another series or two out of the Seven Realms, right CWC???
March 9, 2019
Not Chima’s best. The Seven Realms and Shattered Realms cobbled big shoes for Deathcaster to fill, but Chima falls short for one of the first times in resolving it.
The world building remains fantastic; readers are brought through extensions of what we’ve seen before, and with a renewed purpose to it all. Characters receive well-deserved returns on emotional investment and find their own in some ways; the joining of multiple arcs is fluid and excellent.
However, some are not given the endings that Cinda built up to. Certain characters are thrown (not left) to the wayside and certain arcs seem almost abandoned. It feels almost like a finished product that received an editorial “yes, but cut 200 pages of the last 300” to the audience’s loss.
I can’t give this less than 3 stars because of how well written the character interactions and worldbuilding finish out, but I left a bit disappointed and bitter by the overuse of certain plot devices and poor management of arc endings.
Avoiding spoilers, but this might imply some: it is a slap in the face for characters that we know and love/hate for their intense personalities to have no personal interactions for 150 pages before an unceremonious death, or for romances to appear out of implications involving characters who had less lines in this iteration than in their eponymous previous books. It is extremely disappointing to have watched nations struggle in battle for 7 straight books only to seemingly have no armies exist on almost any front in Deathcaster.
[SPOILERS HERE ONLY] to have Ardenscourt, the entire Desert Coast of Carthis, and Fellsmarch fall without a pitched battle is ludicrous without more explanation. Jarat’s incursion into the fells not being met by any resistance or patrols was as confusing to the reader as it was to Lyss on her way in. All battles were merely alluded to and almost entirely took place in the east of the Fells, with only minor main character interference. Char Dunedain doesn’t even appear outside of having her name mentioned once or twice. It, shockingly and saddeningly, felt as though Chima wanted more to describe Destin as “like a snake shedding one skin to step into another” for the hundredth time than to give Ash more of his personality than “hi mom I’m home I like Jenna she’s hot” in the entire book. Sad, as he was my favorite character for his introspection in ways that Seph, Han Alister, and Amon Byrne has evoked in the past - some of Chima’s best written characters, imo. It was also extremely frustrating to see Micah Bayar brought to his lowest form of representation yet. Readers received implications in Stormcaster that he fathered Mellony’s daughter Julianna, which are completely not addressed here; Bayar is conveniently absent from the plot in opinion, presence, and development purely to simplify everything.
The anticlimactic ending of Celestine disturbed me as well. She had absolutely no voice after splitting ways with Lyss; she had no opinion on the warfront losses in the Fells besides as an airstrike target, and no real ending. Did she not know what Jenna’s powers were? It seems to me that if Jenna can survive fire and a lava pit, the “sacrifice by lava pit” plan would have been different, or at least it would be suggested that Jenna surprised her. Something other than being chomped by a third-string young dragon would be appropriate - and no, I don’t see it as a fun ironic twist for an empress’s death.
Evan and Destin didn’t have enough time to talk and figure out what they’re doing next in the end. They needed that. Or at least I did. I would rather more screen time of the two of them than just hear Lyss say “oh yeah they’re gonna sail around, probably to Tarvos” as a side note.
Finally: seriously? The seemingly end-game threat of Lord Darian’s return in another body gets taken care of entirely by Speaker Obi-Wan Jemson throwing some dirt and water? I expected an Aediion reprisal with Han to finish that plot. My expectations are irrelevant, I suppose, but it was disappointing to see Han not get another speaking moment.
[SPOILERS END]
If you loved Evan and Destin and Hal as I did their first times around in PoV roles, or if you are excited to see Hadley DeVilliers, Lila Byrne, Julianna Barrett, Evan’s crews, and Magret again, you’ll still enjoy this book. My opinion: don’t expect to be satisfied with this iteration of Jenna, Ash, Raisa, Micah Bayar, Hanson Alister, Fire Dancer, or especially Breon and Celestine. There are fun new characters to look forward to as well.
All in all/tl;dr: it felt to me that Chima watched How To Train Your Dragon and forgot what made these books so great in the first place: her characters, the respect she showed them in their writing, and the power of emotions and conversation in bringing that value forth. The good things aren’t gone, but I was hoping for more greatness.
The world building remains fantastic; readers are brought through extensions of what we’ve seen before, and with a renewed purpose to it all. Characters receive well-deserved returns on emotional investment and find their own in some ways; the joining of multiple arcs is fluid and excellent.
However, some are not given the endings that Cinda built up to. Certain characters are thrown (not left) to the wayside and certain arcs seem almost abandoned. It feels almost like a finished product that received an editorial “yes, but cut 200 pages of the last 300” to the audience’s loss.
I can’t give this less than 3 stars because of how well written the character interactions and worldbuilding finish out, but I left a bit disappointed and bitter by the overuse of certain plot devices and poor management of arc endings.
Avoiding spoilers, but this might imply some: it is a slap in the face for characters that we know and love/hate for their intense personalities to have no personal interactions for 150 pages before an unceremonious death, or for romances to appear out of implications involving characters who had less lines in this iteration than in their eponymous previous books. It is extremely disappointing to have watched nations struggle in battle for 7 straight books only to seemingly have no armies exist on almost any front in Deathcaster.
[SPOILERS HERE ONLY] to have Ardenscourt, the entire Desert Coast of Carthis, and Fellsmarch fall without a pitched battle is ludicrous without more explanation. Jarat’s incursion into the fells not being met by any resistance or patrols was as confusing to the reader as it was to Lyss on her way in. All battles were merely alluded to and almost entirely took place in the east of the Fells, with only minor main character interference. Char Dunedain doesn’t even appear outside of having her name mentioned once or twice. It, shockingly and saddeningly, felt as though Chima wanted more to describe Destin as “like a snake shedding one skin to step into another” for the hundredth time than to give Ash more of his personality than “hi mom I’m home I like Jenna she’s hot” in the entire book. Sad, as he was my favorite character for his introspection in ways that Seph, Han Alister, and Amon Byrne has evoked in the past - some of Chima’s best written characters, imo. It was also extremely frustrating to see Micah Bayar brought to his lowest form of representation yet. Readers received implications in Stormcaster that he fathered Mellony’s daughter Julianna, which are completely not addressed here; Bayar is conveniently absent from the plot in opinion, presence, and development purely to simplify everything.
The anticlimactic ending of Celestine disturbed me as well. She had absolutely no voice after splitting ways with Lyss; she had no opinion on the warfront losses in the Fells besides as an airstrike target, and no real ending. Did she not know what Jenna’s powers were? It seems to me that if Jenna can survive fire and a lava pit, the “sacrifice by lava pit” plan would have been different, or at least it would be suggested that Jenna surprised her. Something other than being chomped by a third-string young dragon would be appropriate - and no, I don’t see it as a fun ironic twist for an empress’s death.
Evan and Destin didn’t have enough time to talk and figure out what they’re doing next in the end. They needed that. Or at least I did. I would rather more screen time of the two of them than just hear Lyss say “oh yeah they’re gonna sail around, probably to Tarvos” as a side note.
Finally: seriously? The seemingly end-game threat of Lord Darian’s return in another body gets taken care of entirely by Speaker Obi-Wan Jemson throwing some dirt and water? I expected an Aediion reprisal with Han to finish that plot. My expectations are irrelevant, I suppose, but it was disappointing to see Han not get another speaking moment.
[SPOILERS END]
If you loved Evan and Destin and Hal as I did their first times around in PoV roles, or if you are excited to see Hadley DeVilliers, Lila Byrne, Julianna Barrett, Evan’s crews, and Magret again, you’ll still enjoy this book. My opinion: don’t expect to be satisfied with this iteration of Jenna, Ash, Raisa, Micah Bayar, Hanson Alister, Fire Dancer, or especially Breon and Celestine. There are fun new characters to look forward to as well.
All in all/tl;dr: it felt to me that Chima watched How To Train Your Dragon and forgot what made these books so great in the first place: her characters, the respect she showed them in their writing, and the power of emotions and conversation in bringing that value forth. The good things aren’t gone, but I was hoping for more greatness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2019
Very good ending to a fun and fast paced series. Full RTC!
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
March 24, 2019
No spoilers in this review of Deathcaster. I really liked this book and give it 4.5 stars! I rounded the 4.5 stars down to 4, however, because I didn’t love it as much as The Crimson Crown, the finale of Seven Realms, the predecessor series. Each book in that series was better than the last, culminating in one of my all-time favorite finales.
Even though it lacked a little of the action-packed and emotional punch of The Crimson Crown, Deathcaster was a fitting conclusion overall. How lucky are we as readers that we got eight books in this world? Being in the Seven Realms with Han and Raisa and then later Ash and Lyss has been a treat, and I’m sad that my time with them has come to a close!
The main characters in the previous three books in this series are scattered far and wide when Deathcaster opens. They’re each working against Celestine, their common enemy, in their own way using their unique skill sets. Many characters are eventually reunited, and each of these reunions tugged at my heartstrings. They must work together to have any hope of defeating Celestine, but to complicate matters, a few are quietly working against each other.
Chima shines in character development and world-building. It’s all achieved slowly, closer to the pace of an adult fantasy than a YA fantasy. And this isn’t a criticism. We know these characters and these realms well because of how Chima deliberately, beautifully built this world and these stories. And I loved every minute of it. She is simply one of the very best in the YA industry today.
I wanted just a little more in this finale, though. I wish the final battle was more epic, and I wanted an epilogue or one last gathering of all the major players. There was a set-up for a perfect final scene where we could get updates on everyone we’ve grown to love. Chima dangled the carrot and then didn’t give us this scene, which I think would’ve served as a love letter to the fans. Don’t get me wrong; we know how each character’s tale ended as well as which romantic pairings worked out. All besides one pairing, that is, one that I’d wondered about for nearly the whole series. Did they or didn’t they end up together?
Nevertheless, this was a great book and a fantastic series. I recommend all YA fantasy readers pick it up. The writing is smart and smooth. The YA tone is spot-on. The characters and their challenges are real. And the magic adds just the right touch of, well, magic to the story. I hope Chima will eventually bless us with an epilogue in novella form. I’d love to journey back to the Seven Realms and see what everyone has been up to!
Read all of our reviews here.
Check out our full book recaps here.
Even though it lacked a little of the action-packed and emotional punch of The Crimson Crown, Deathcaster was a fitting conclusion overall. How lucky are we as readers that we got eight books in this world? Being in the Seven Realms with Han and Raisa and then later Ash and Lyss has been a treat, and I’m sad that my time with them has come to a close!
The main characters in the previous three books in this series are scattered far and wide when Deathcaster opens. They’re each working against Celestine, their common enemy, in their own way using their unique skill sets. Many characters are eventually reunited, and each of these reunions tugged at my heartstrings. They must work together to have any hope of defeating Celestine, but to complicate matters, a few are quietly working against each other.
Chima shines in character development and world-building. It’s all achieved slowly, closer to the pace of an adult fantasy than a YA fantasy. And this isn’t a criticism. We know these characters and these realms well because of how Chima deliberately, beautifully built this world and these stories. And I loved every minute of it. She is simply one of the very best in the YA industry today.
I wanted just a little more in this finale, though. I wish the final battle was more epic, and I wanted an epilogue or one last gathering of all the major players. There was a set-up for a perfect final scene where we could get updates on everyone we’ve grown to love. Chima dangled the carrot and then didn’t give us this scene, which I think would’ve served as a love letter to the fans. Don’t get me wrong; we know how each character’s tale ended as well as which romantic pairings worked out. All besides one pairing, that is, one that I’d wondered about for nearly the whole series. Did they or didn’t they end up together?
Nevertheless, this was a great book and a fantastic series. I recommend all YA fantasy readers pick it up. The writing is smart and smooth. The YA tone is spot-on. The characters and their challenges are real. And the magic adds just the right touch of, well, magic to the story. I hope Chima will eventually bless us with an epilogue in novella form. I’d love to journey back to the Seven Realms and see what everyone has been up to!
Read all of our reviews here.
Check out our full book recaps here.
March 9, 2019
Really, 2.5 stars.
I think this one was my least favorite of the series, and I really did not like the second book.
I’m not entirely sure if it’s because it’s been a year since I read the last one or if the last one was just so mind blowingly good that this one could never hope to compare, but this one just fell far short of all my expectations.
For one, there was no real battle. For another, all of the endings for the characters were immense let downs. And for a final thing, the characters themselves seemed flat and uninteresting this time around. It was just incredibly disappointing.
I think this one was my least favorite of the series, and I really did not like the second book.
I’m not entirely sure if it’s because it’s been a year since I read the last one or if the last one was just so mind blowingly good that this one could never hope to compare, but this one just fell far short of all my expectations.
For one, there was no real battle. For another, all of the endings for the characters were immense let downs. And for a final thing, the characters themselves seemed flat and uninteresting this time around. It was just incredibly disappointing.
March 7, 2019
Ah. The last 200 pages were excellent, but the 400 before that were just all over the place. Connection to characters got lost in all the perspectives (seven, I think). And while I was inherently invested in the secondary characters, I wish it had not come at the detriment of Lyss and Ash. I love this world and these series, but was ultimately disappointed in this finale’s distraction with servicing every character a superficial character arc.
August 7, 2020
“Courage wasn't lack of fear - it was doing what needed doing in the face of it.”
4.5 stars. Deathcaster was well constructed, following all of the characters from the former books as they battle the Empress in the east. Dragons are more important in this book, and acted like giant fire breathing puppies. The way they bonded with certain characters was adorable, making for my favorite scenes in this book, if not the series. The way Jenna, Breon, and Evan interacted was also sweet, as was the way Lyss and Ash did. The romantic relationships also grew in this final volume. Jenna and Ash were adorable, as was the way Destin and Evan were constantly worrying about each other. My favorite couple, Lyss and Hal, didn't get as many great interactions until the last 200 pages. The plot was as explosive and fast paced as ever. Cinda Williams Chima did an amazing job tying up the loose ends in the series, and every twist that occurred had grounding in the earlier books. The only reason this book didn't receive five stars is that I felt that the end came to easily. Overall, Deathcaster was an amazing end to an epic series, and I would recommended the Shattered Realms series for any fans of High Fantasy.
4.5 stars. Deathcaster was well constructed, following all of the characters from the former books as they battle the Empress in the east. Dragons are more important in this book, and acted like giant fire breathing puppies. The way they bonded with certain characters was adorable, making for my favorite scenes in this book, if not the series. The way Jenna, Breon, and Evan interacted was also sweet, as was the way Lyss and Ash did. The romantic relationships also grew in this final volume. Jenna and Ash were adorable, as was the way Destin and Evan were constantly worrying about each other. My favorite couple, Lyss and Hal, didn't get as many great interactions until the last 200 pages. The plot was as explosive and fast paced as ever. Cinda Williams Chima did an amazing job tying up the loose ends in the series, and every twist that occurred had grounding in the earlier books. The only reason this book didn't receive five stars is that I felt that the end came to easily. Overall, Deathcaster was an amazing end to an epic series, and I would recommended the Shattered Realms series for any fans of High Fantasy.
March 8, 2019
Such a fantastic conclusion to the Sattered Realms series. Cinda Williams Chima has such a way with writing engaging political warfare. I truly feel when I am reading this series that I myself am in the middle of all the action. With this being now the 13th book of Chima's I have completed I can definitely say she is still to this day one of my favorite author of all time. I want to continue reading any and everything she writes in the future. Deathcaster has such a large cast of characters but I never once felt overwhelmed by any of them. They each have their own agenda and it is amazing to watch all their stories become one as the story progresses. Another really interesting thing about this series is that there are little plot points from the original Seven Realms series that become very important to this concluding novel.
I am so sad that this series is over because it was so amazing. I look forward to whatever comes next from Cinda Williams Chima and highly highly recommend this series. Of course with that you must first read Seven Realms and then continue on with Shattered Realms.
Flamecaster-5/5
Shadowcaster-4/5
Stormcaster-5/5
Deathcaster-5/5
Shattered Realms-19/20
I am so sad that this series is over because it was so amazing. I look forward to whatever comes next from Cinda Williams Chima and highly highly recommend this series. Of course with that you must first read Seven Realms and then continue on with Shattered Realms.
Flamecaster-5/5
Shadowcaster-4/5
Stormcaster-5/5
Deathcaster-5/5
Shattered Realms-19/20
May 15, 2019
Cinda Williams Chima's Deathcaster concludes her Shattered Realms series. The previous novel, Stormcaster left Alyssa ana'Raisa a captive of the fearsome Empress Celestine, who was forcing Alyssa to wage war against her own kingdom. This book brings all the characters in the previous three together – from Alyssa's brother Adrian sul'Han (aka Ash), Jenna Bandelow, Halston Matelon, Evan Strangward to the rest. Wars are waged against Felsmarch and the Kingdom of Arden and a revolt overthrows a kingdom. Phew! It makes me tired just thinking about all that.
The plots from the previous three books finally merge together into a complex web that brings conclusion to the series and – I'm not giving anything away – preserves the Gray Wolf line. (Did you actually think the line would end? Of course not.)
Unfortunately, the three-year passage of time since the first book came out presented a problem for me reading this last book because I had trouble remembering the earlier characters. When I encountered a familiar name, I had to break my reading trance to find out who the person was and his or her connection to the story. I had to do it a lot, which spoiled my enjoyment. I think it would have been helpful if Chima had provided a Cast of Characters I could have consulted to assist in my recall.
All in all, though, Deatahcaster was a good read, Chima remains one of my favorite authors, and I'm looking forward to her next book.
The plots from the previous three books finally merge together into a complex web that brings conclusion to the series and – I'm not giving anything away – preserves the Gray Wolf line. (Did you actually think the line would end? Of course not.)
Unfortunately, the three-year passage of time since the first book came out presented a problem for me reading this last book because I had trouble remembering the earlier characters. When I encountered a familiar name, I had to break my reading trance to find out who the person was and his or her connection to the story. I had to do it a lot, which spoiled my enjoyment. I think it would have been helpful if Chima had provided a Cast of Characters I could have consulted to assist in my recall.
All in all, though, Deatahcaster was a good read, Chima remains one of my favorite authors, and I'm looking forward to her next book.
April 10, 2019
An excellent conclusion to the series! Perfectly wraps up all the plotlines, but only after a heck of a lot of exciting action--love those dragons!--and near misses for our heroes and heroines. There are lots of battles, on land and on sea, some nice surprises and of course I love the romances between characters. Sigh. I always hate to see a Chima series end. Hoping there will be more someday soon!
March 31, 2019
23/06/2018
The cover was epic. 💞😍
31/03/2019
Plot - 5/5
Character - 4/5
World Building - 4/5
Writing Style - 4/5
Cover - 3/5
Rating - 4 / 5
I truly like the proposal part. ❤😍❤
The cover was epic. 💞😍
31/03/2019
Plot - 5/5
Character - 4/5
World Building - 4/5
Writing Style - 4/5
Cover - 3/5
Rating - 4 / 5
I truly like the proposal part. ❤😍❤
March 10, 2019
This may be the best series of ever. I mean, heists on heists, dragons, pirates, betrayals and oh yeah DRAGONS. I’m in love and I will reread this series every single year of my life. Good job Chima. You are Queen.
March 9, 2019
A truly well-earned, authentic happily ever after. Everything isn’t “fixed,” but all questions are answered, and characters completed. Difficult for non-high fantasy fans, but a truly perfect high fantasy novel.
May 6, 2019
This book was a total HEA, but I love the cheesy endings, so I wasn't disappointed. All I really cared about the whole book was Destin and Evan. If they weren't together in the end, I might've thrown the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2020
4.5 Stars
Very good ending to a great series.
Very good ending to a great series.
April 22, 2019
Shattered Realms Trailer
This last volume in the Shattered Realms was a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!
Be aware that it will contain spoilers!
I begun this book with very huge hopes and it let me down big time! Lets start with the plot shall we; so I felt that the all plot was so rushed in so many levels, I mean it took one all page to kill Celestine! We have this ambitious empress that is finished in a few paragraphs! Were was the big war, the climax ? Well friends we have not such a scene happening!
From all the plot I thing the subplot I loved the most was the court betrayal in the North. I loved how Lila is forced in the intrigues from the palace together with Shadow. I must confess I suspected Julianna of betrayal but I loved how she was innocent in the end.
Speaking of Lila , I just loved her POV but I found very superficial how she accepts her father's sacrifice for the queendom. It did not convinced me of her father's love for his family. I hated that the author treated Lila's struggles with her father so superficial. Another thing I hated was the thing between her & Shadow. I mean it was clearly that there was something between them but in the end the author does nothing about them ....
Evan grow a little more to me in this volume but I loved Destin more. If Evan was somewhat a more likable character, Lyss made me cold, I felt that she could have been much more then what the author presented us. Hal had some awesome scenes but there were others that made me skip some pages. Breon was treated worse then an episodic character also could be said of Sasha, Celestine, Raisa, Finn...
The most anticipated interactions and reunion was between Jenna and Ash and what the author does?! Oh yeah they celebrate their reunion in the most superficial way possible: sex that starts in the most weird way possible. I understood what the author intended but the outcome was so horrible.
I felt she choose the sex to promote the deep bond as well as in Lyss and Hal's case but at least there it worked to be more than a maneuver in pleasing the fans. That scene put this couple in a superficial sexually bond and had nothing to do with what a strong bond really was meant to become. This disappointed me the most! Plus that it made Ash so swallow because after that scene we do not get any POV of what he really felt and also the issue of the fact that they grow apart and they need to know each other.
In conclusion:
-the action scenes were few
-the plot was rushed
-the relationships were superficial
-the characters did not received a complete development
If you want a series with a superficial touch, with action that takes place in a rushed way with a swallow romance then this series is for you!
This last volume in the Shattered Realms was a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!
Be aware that it will contain spoilers!
I begun this book with very huge hopes and it let me down big time! Lets start with the plot shall we; so I felt that the all plot was so rushed in so many levels, I mean it took one all page to kill Celestine! We have this ambitious empress that is finished in a few paragraphs! Were was the big war, the climax ? Well friends we have not such a scene happening!
From all the plot I thing the subplot I loved the most was the court betrayal in the North. I loved how Lila is forced in the intrigues from the palace together with Shadow. I must confess I suspected Julianna of betrayal but I loved how she was innocent in the end.
Speaking of Lila , I just loved her POV but I found very superficial how she accepts her father's sacrifice for the queendom. It did not convinced me of her father's love for his family. I hated that the author treated Lila's struggles with her father so superficial. Another thing I hated was the thing between her & Shadow. I mean it was clearly that there was something between them but in the end the author does nothing about them ....
Evan grow a little more to me in this volume but I loved Destin more. If Evan was somewhat a more likable character, Lyss made me cold, I felt that she could have been much more then what the author presented us. Hal had some awesome scenes but there were others that made me skip some pages. Breon was treated worse then an episodic character also could be said of Sasha, Celestine, Raisa, Finn...
The most anticipated interactions and reunion was between Jenna and Ash and what the author does?! Oh yeah they celebrate their reunion in the most superficial way possible: sex that starts in the most weird way possible. I understood what the author intended but the outcome was so horrible.
I felt she choose the sex to promote the deep bond as well as in Lyss and Hal's case but at least there it worked to be more than a maneuver in pleasing the fans. That scene put this couple in a superficial sexually bond and had nothing to do with what a strong bond really was meant to become. This disappointed me the most! Plus that it made Ash so swallow because after that scene we do not get any POV of what he really felt and also the issue of the fact that they grow apart and they need to know each other.
In conclusion:
-the action scenes were few
-the plot was rushed
-the relationships were superficial
-the characters did not received a complete development
If you want a series with a superficial touch, with action that takes place in a rushed way with a swallow romance then this series is for you!
March 12, 2019
I've always liked Cinda Williams Chima's books.
I was mad for the Seven Realms Quartet. Absolutely mad.
I don't know if my literary taste has evolved, the book has depreciated or I'm just becoming a bitter jaded old woman but.... I like this series less vigorously than I did before.
I still like it. But that's it. I like it.
Like. It's such a tame word.
My heart isn't pounding and I'm not really rooting for anyone but still. Reading this book and this series was... Pleasant. Like a warm cup of black tea on a slightly chilly Wednesday afternoon. You know. It's nice. Quite nice. Maybe even lovely.
But by tomorrow, I'd have forgotten about it.
I think that maybe the problem I had with this series was the lack of character focus. I'm such a character development oriented reader that I feel short changed when I don't get into the heads of the characters in a book. I want personality. I want grit. I want growth.
But all the characters in the Shattered Realms series seem to exist for the purposes of pushing forward the plot. And while I do appreciate a book where the plot moves forward, I generally prefer a book where the plot and the setting and the conflict is a backdrop for the character formation and progression of the protagonists of the novel.
Also -and I feel terrible for saying this, given how many people were lost in this book but- there were no stakes. Or personally, I never felt any stakes. Everything just came together so neatly. Everyone met everyone at exactly the right time and everyone was always there to intervene for everyone and everyone got what everyone wanted in the end.
And it was nice. Tame. Lovely.
I just wish it was a little bit more memorable.
I was mad for the Seven Realms Quartet. Absolutely mad.
I don't know if my literary taste has evolved, the book has depreciated or I'm just becoming a bitter jaded old woman but.... I like this series less vigorously than I did before.
I still like it. But that's it. I like it.
Like. It's such a tame word.
My heart isn't pounding and I'm not really rooting for anyone but still. Reading this book and this series was... Pleasant. Like a warm cup of black tea on a slightly chilly Wednesday afternoon. You know. It's nice. Quite nice. Maybe even lovely.
But by tomorrow, I'd have forgotten about it.
I think that maybe the problem I had with this series was the lack of character focus. I'm such a character development oriented reader that I feel short changed when I don't get into the heads of the characters in a book. I want personality. I want grit. I want growth.
But all the characters in the Shattered Realms series seem to exist for the purposes of pushing forward the plot. And while I do appreciate a book where the plot moves forward, I generally prefer a book where the plot and the setting and the conflict is a backdrop for the character formation and progression of the protagonists of the novel.
Also -and I feel terrible for saying this, given how many people were lost in this book but- there were no stakes. Or personally, I never felt any stakes. Everything just came together so neatly. Everyone met everyone at exactly the right time and everyone was always there to intervene for everyone and everyone got what everyone wanted in the end.
And it was nice. Tame. Lovely.
I just wish it was a little bit more memorable.
February 21, 2020
3.5
While I wish this last book had been as good as the other books in the series, I still enjoyed it and will miss the characters. It was the longest and didn’t need to be. Lyssa made choices for half the book that didn’t make sense for her character. The ending could have been better. Parts of this series felt as if the author had been inspired by game of thrones but who doesn’t like mind speaking dragons? Despite its flaws, this series doesn’t take itself too seriously and as long as you don’t question things too closely, and just go with it, it is very enjoyable and fun. I highly recommend it.
While I wish this last book had been as good as the other books in the series, I still enjoyed it and will miss the characters. It was the longest and didn’t need to be. Lyssa made choices for half the book that didn’t make sense for her character. The ending could have been better. Parts of this series felt as if the author had been inspired by game of thrones but who doesn’t like mind speaking dragons? Despite its flaws, this series doesn’t take itself too seriously and as long as you don’t question things too closely, and just go with it, it is very enjoyable and fun. I highly recommend it.
March 14, 2019
This is one of the absolute best series enders I’ve ever read. So many things that I’ve been hoping for finally happen in this book plus way, way more. Long awaited reunions, pirates, magic, dragons, dragon riders, and plenty of action, deception, and twists. I could not put this book down, and I already want to go back and read it again!
March 21, 2019
The most stunning series I’ve ever read. It’s painful to say goodbye to these characters, my friends. I’ve been waiting so long for this book/end and now that I’ve finished it, I wish I could start again. I’ll carry you with me- Queens of the Gray Wolf Line.
February 6, 2020
ooof the disappointment
March 14, 2019
Actual rating: 4.25
“Courage wasn't lack of fear - it was doing what needed doing in the face of it.”
Even though this series conclusion had pacing issues and the ending felt anticlimactic, I would still consider it a satisfying ending because of the awesome character development and brilliant world-building.
We readers have different priorities when we read books - and that's fine. Some readers prefer lots of romance, while others prefer an emphasis on individual character arcs. I belong to the latter group. I do enjoy a well-written romance, but it's not the be-all and end-all of a story for me. It's just a bonus. Because of that, I was happy with the development of most of the major characters. There were some romantic scenes, but before we got to those, we already saw how far the main characters had come and how much they had grown.
Here are my more detailed opinions regarding the characters with spoilers:
The awesome character development and the brilliant world-building that I mentioned above worked both ways. They made this a stronger book for obvious reasons. HOWEVER, because there were so many characters and subplots, I think that those two things also caused pacing issues and took the focus away from some important supporting characters that still needed to be developed. This book was quite long, but the last 1/4 seemed rushed. I was expecting so much more excitement and drama from the final battle with Celestine, but it felt like it was over after a few blinks.
Anyway, even though this series finale was far from perfect. the good far outweighed the bad. The things I loved really made me happy, while the things that could use improvement did not really make me Hulk-smash angry or sad Destin sad. Strictly speaking, I would give this a 4-star rating. The extra .25 is dedicated to the lovable characters that I would definitely miss.
“Courage wasn't lack of fear - it was doing what needed doing in the face of it.”
Even though this series conclusion had pacing issues and the ending felt anticlimactic, I would still consider it a satisfying ending because of the awesome character development and brilliant world-building.
We readers have different priorities when we read books - and that's fine. Some readers prefer lots of romance, while others prefer an emphasis on individual character arcs. I belong to the latter group. I do enjoy a well-written romance, but it's not the be-all and end-all of a story for me. It's just a bonus. Because of that, I was happy with the development of most of the major characters. There were some romantic scenes, but before we got to those, we already saw how far the main characters had come and how much they had grown.
Here are my more detailed opinions regarding the characters with spoilers:
The awesome character development and the brilliant world-building that I mentioned above worked both ways. They made this a stronger book for obvious reasons. HOWEVER, because there were so many characters and subplots, I think that those two things also caused pacing issues and took the focus away from some important supporting characters that still needed to be developed. This book was quite long, but the last 1/4 seemed rushed. I was expecting so much more excitement and drama from the final battle with Celestine, but it felt like it was over after a few blinks.
Anyway, even though this series finale was far from perfect. the good far outweighed the bad. The things I loved really made me happy, while the things that could use improvement did not really make me Hulk-smash angry or sad Destin sad. Strictly speaking, I would give this a 4-star rating. The extra .25 is dedicated to the lovable characters that I would definitely miss.
July 20, 2019
I love this world so much and this caracters. God it was great
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