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The Night & Its Moon #4
The Dawn & Its Light
All that remains… If Nox and Amaris are ever to have the life together they've always hoped for, they will have to use all the power and strength within them to protect their continent. When powerful enemies from Sulgrave wielding unspeakable access to magic threaten to shatter their world for good, they must join with Raascot's military, the reevers, and an unlikely ally from the mountains to have any hope of saving their kingdoms. Together, their forces press north across deadly wastelands, facing unknowable threats, impossible battles…and new questions of what their fate truly holds. Their entire lives have been building toward this moment. Caught between faith and frenzy, questions and identity, love and lust, past and present, Nox and Amaris's story draws to an explosive conclusion as they fight once and for all to protect their people, their future, and each other.
Unknown Binding
Published November 14, 2022
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5942 people want to read
About the author
Piper C.J.
21 books2,776 followersFantasy author with an M.A. in Folklore, who loves to take pictures, eat french fries, and live my life as an all-around creative forest nymph! I'm so excited to bring you with me on my journey as I step out of our everyday lives and into the new fantasy world within The Night and Its Moon fantasy series!
I wrote these books for an audience of one, and that audience was me. I wanted to see bi representation, love, mental health struggles, religious trauma, and overcoming the of obstacles that I needed to be modeled in my own life. At the end of the day I'm so proud of myself for creating the series that I'd always hoped I could read, and I hope someone is able to connect with them in a way that I have.
I wrote these books for an audience of one, and that audience was me. I wanted to see bi representation, love, mental health struggles, religious trauma, and overcoming the of obstacles that I needed to be modeled in my own life. At the end of the day I'm so proud of myself for creating the series that I'd always hoped I could read, and I hope someone is able to connect with them in a way that I have.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
January 19, 2022
Your friendly neighborhood queer author giving herself 5 stars again because: if I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else? I love slow burn, I love *love*, and finally: I love spice. There's a special place in my heart for so many of the moments that happen in the final installment of the series. I hope you get a chance to glance at the acknowledgment section before you're done, and that you come back to Gyrradin for the villain prequels. (Book 4 was the longest in the series for me to write, at 14 days for draft one, because I got distracted and wrote 70k words of the villain prequel). Thank you for coming on this adventure with me. It means more to me than words can ever say. <3
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, this novel complains explicit content and is not suitable for minors. Purchase, read, love and explore with caution.
Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, this novel complains explicit content and is not suitable for minors. Purchase, read, love and explore with caution.
January 13, 2022
This is the worst book of all the series. Why? BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST ONE AND I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END. But for real, this book was everything I wanted in a finale. It brought us a beautiful new setting, beautiful new characters, redemption, love, betrayal, heartbreak, and best of all, a really adorable fluffy friend. It hurt my heart in the way only the best stories can and it made me cry happy tears to know I have been apart of this world. Nox and Amaris and their beloved family will forever remain with me as some of my favorite characters of any book I've ever read. I see myself in them. I am honored to know them.
I know there is more to this world and I know it still contains stories I want to read, so I have hope this isn't the last we've seen of it. This is only the very promising start to Piper CJ's writing journey. I can't wait to see where she takes us from here.
I know there is more to this world and I know it still contains stories I want to read, so I have hope this isn't the last we've seen of it. This is only the very promising start to Piper CJ's writing journey. I can't wait to see where she takes us from here.
March 11, 2024
1 star
Every time I start the next book in this series, I genuinely hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised and enjoy myself, but sadly, it never happens. Despite giving this series multiple chances, I have been let down again and again by little to no improvement. While I would say this is the best in the series, it still needs substantially more editing, revision, reworking, and time to bring it up to the quality of what I would expect from a traditionally published book. I genuinely want Piper to improve, but it doesn’t seem like she’s getting and/or implementing any constructive feedback from her editors, publishers, beta readers, etc.
As always, below are my spoiler free thoughts before I get into specifics.
SPOILER FREE
EDITING
I’m really disappointed in the sheer number of copy and line-editing errors in this book, including but not limited to:
1. Wrong words, e.g. “ready for combatant” instead of “ready for combat”
2. The author changed her mind on wording but didn’t delete the word she didn’t want anymore, e.g. “the sparrow dove pecked”
3. Pronouns without clear antecedents, e.g. sometimes at the beginning of chapters it’s just “he” for multiple pages until a name is finally given
4. Side characters seem to magically appear in scenes because the reader doesn’t know they are present until they start speaking
5. Exact wording or phrases used in close proximity, e.g. “unincorporated mountain towns or small villages” is used in back-to-back paragraphs
6. No fact checking, e.g. an albatross is incorrectly referred to as a bird of prey
7. Inconsistencies, e.g. Amaris’ shirt changes from bronze to gold back to bronze over a couple pages
A handful of these issues every now and then is normal, but the amount present in this book cannot be by mistake alone.
PROSE
I’ve said this in all of my reviews, but so much of this series is overwritten, redundant, and grammatically and/or semantically confusing. I have to constantly reread passages to actually understand what’s trying to be conveyed. After four books of this, I’m frustrated. Let’s look at just a few of the quotes I marked.
While the diction is lovely, the construction and abstract descriptions ultimately muddle the intended meaning. Many other things are also confusing: the subject changes mid-sentence, the numerous independent and dependent clauses make it hard to keep track of what’s going on, and there’s a pronoun that refers to something not mentioned in the sentence.
Here’s just one possible way of reworking this sentence: The crescent moon and sea of too-bright stars pierced the darkness while the group rested for only minutes at a time. I left most of the original diction, yet the overall effect and meaning is conveyed more succinctly.
This phrasing makes it sound like the cellos are literally exploding, the correct spelling is “bass” for the instrument, it should be “harmonized with”, and “with violins” makes it sound like the cellos themselves are using violins to harmonize.
If I was an editor for this, I would ask Piper pointed questions about what she wants to convey and then have her express that as simply as possible. Does “exploded” mean that the cellos are energetic or that they are suddenly loud? Do you mean “base” as in a foundation, or did you mean the instrument? Do you want to say that the violins are playing the melody? Readers shouldn’t have to work to figure out what a sentence means, and this kind of writing can end up feeling like a chore.
Here’s an example of a clearer version: The deep, energetic cellos and basses harmonized with the melody of the clear, eager violins.
This sentence just keeps going, adding more and more information, and it’s hard to remember how the sentence originally began. There is a weird disconnect between the character and the action by saying “the forearms” instead of “her forearms.” The changing of verb aspects (from simple past to perfect past) within a single sentence can create confusion as to which events are happening when; we start with smelling soil, vegetation, and night sky (whatever that means) and then jump back to refer to something that already happened.
Here’s another version: As she crashed into the earth, she smelled soil, vegetation, and the night air. Her skin burned where it had been rubbed raw.
I’m sure that everything made perfect sense to Piper as she wrote it, but it’s the author’s and editor’s job to make sure that intended meaning comes across to readers. I wish, rather than tackling long and meandering sentences in an attempt to be showy, Piper would focus on concise writing. Right now, she is doing herself a disservice by potentially putting off readers who might otherwise enjoy the story. I also wish her publisher would give her more thorough and critical editors to help her hone her craft.
WORLDBUILDING
I haven’t gone over this in my previous reviews, but the on-the-nose naming conventions in this series bother me, which I acknowledge is mostly subjective. However, it also highlights another issue I have with Piper’s storytelling that I haven’t quite been able to put into words yet: she doesn’t consider implications.
For instance, in this book, there is a group of nobles from Sulgrave who have specific embroidered symbols on their clothes. All of these characters have a name related to their symbol, e.g. Ryu meaning ‘dragon’ has a dragon, Dhamir meaning ‘heart’ has hearts, Surya meaning ‘sun’ has a sun, etc. If all of these characters are supposed to be from the same country, then why do they have Japanese, Arabic, and Sanskrit names?
Similarly, the story explains that Amaris means ‘child of the moon’ or ‘gift from the goddess,’ Nox means ‘night,’ and Ayla means ‘oak tree’ and ‘light around the moon,’ among other examples. These are all the real-world meanings of these names, indirectly canonizing multiple languages that shouldn’t exist in this fictional world. Just because a name has a cool meaning in our world doesn’t mean it would have the same meaning in a fictional one. These over-literal names come across as heavy-handed and tacky to me, especially when the author explains their meaning in text. I would have preferred if Piper created her own names with her desired meanings. This would add depth to the world and avoid illogical connections to our world.
Another example of Piper’s carelessness with implications is her use of specific cultural or scientific ideas that shouldn’t exist in-universe without proper explanation (e.g. comte, centurions, volts, labradorite, various hormones, etc.). Most notably, she sprinkles in real-world folklore, mythology, and religion without clear purpose, explanation, or cohesion. Here’s just a sample of the terms that illogically exists in this book alone: banshee, seraphim, “turn water into wine,” “into the lion’s den,” “her olive branch was accepted,” golem, “fate would not cut her thread,” hounds of hell, “angel fallen from heaven,” and “every head we cut off will grow three in its place.” Based on this, I can only assume that the Bible and Ancient Greece somehow exist in this world.
Folklore is the specific beliefs of a certain people, so why and how does this fictional world have knowledge of so many unrelated real-life cultures? Instead of creating a rich world, this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink method of worldbuilding often leaves readers feeling confused due to lack of consistency. I think the editor probably thought that Piper knew what she was doing as a folklorist, but I would like to disagree. I think this series would have been much stronger if Piper had created her own original folklore for this world.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Okay, here we go. I’ll start this section with a short list of things I actually liked (with caveats of course).
1. I love when characters adopt a big, dangerous creature, so I liked Fjolla, but I do think she trusted Nox way too easily. I will say, Piper’s original creatures are some of the strongest elements of this series, and I wish she took the time to develop a wider range of them.
2. This book has more of an actual plot in which the characters actually have a clear goal. This is an improvement compared to the other books, especially Gloom. The plot still sometimes feels drawn out, though, and sections could be trimmed. For instance, I liked the concept of crossing the Frozen Straits and how the characters have to problem solve, but yikes, it took so long because we kept getting the same descriptions over and over.
3. Polyamory representation is always wonderful to see, but I would have liked a more in-depth and nuanced depiction. Maybe we get scenes of Nox, Amaris, Gadriel, and Malik all talking about their wants and boundaries for the relationship.
PLOT
Like I said, there is more of an actual plot in this book, but a lot of it is confusing or contrived. For instance, during a “pivotal moment,” Yazlyn just somehow immediately knows that Daifa, the “villain” in this book, can plant memories and is manipulating the Sulgrave church. It feels like Piper couldn’t think of a natural way to reveal this information, so the characters just magically know. This squanders potential tension and conflict.
These characters are so bad at communicating with each other and are constantly withholding valuable information, needlessly drawing out these books even further. Instead of properly explaining their reasoning during disagreements, a lot of the time the characters just scream “No, you’re wrong!” at each other for a couple pages. Why would Tanith not tell the others about the deadly, invisible creature on the Frozen Straits? Why doesn’t Yazlyn bring up her experience with perception-altering magic when she thinks Nox has had false memories planted? This comes across as the characters being complete idiots and makes it hard for me to like them.
The climax is the most contrived part of this whole book. The main characters don’t actually do anything. Instead, an incredibly overpowered character, who was introduced in the last 10% of the book and was found off-page by characters we also hadn’t met yet, defeats Daifa. This is not a satisfying climax whatsoever, because the characters we’ve been following for so long don’t actually accomplish or overcome something. They sit by while a deus ex machina takes care of their problems for them.
Not only is the climax unsatisfying, the incomplete resolution feels like a cheap setup for a sequel series. The characters don’t actually stop the “main villain” (the reader doesn’t know their identity), but at the end of the book, everyone is like, “Yay, we did it!” We skip some time in the epilogue where everyone lives happily ever after in Raascot. Except Malik. He’s alone in Farehold, but it’s okay because he’s king now. Get it, because Malik means ‘king...’ This ending felt like Piper ran out of time or ideas and just wrapped things up as quickly as possible
Piper also has a problem with getting rid of her villains too early and then has to pull a new one out of thin air. None of these villains ever feel properly set up with actual motivations. I know there’s a prequel series about the villains coming out, but I shouldn’t have to read the prequel books to understand the villains.
CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS
Your mileage may vary, but I don’t feel like any of these characters have a satisfying arc. Most of them don’t learn anything about themselves, change their ways, or grow as people, at least in a way that feels natural and earned. To me, Amaris is still just as reckless and selfish as she is in book one. Nox never fully addresses the awful or traumatic things that happened to her nor does she really confront the systems that caused that harm. Tanith doesn’t really unpack her religious trauma either. I would argue that characters like Gadriel, Malik, and Yazlyn don’t have an arc at all; they’re stagnant.
After thousands of pages with these characters, I’m still unsure about many of their motivations, personal wants (besides having sex), and even personalities. Many of these characters’ actions don’t feel like manifestations of their individual personalities and backgrounds but rather arbitrary choices on the part of the author to facilitate the plot. This might be a case of Piper having a more nuanced understanding of the characters than what comes across to the reader. I think a good exercise for her would be to write a scene without a character’s name and then see if someone else can figure out who it is based on the actions alone.
Another problem I have with the characterization is that Piper clearly wants you to like the main characters, even when they are often argumentative and rude, make poor decisions, jump to conclusions, cause problems for each other, get distracted easily from their goals, etc. I don’t want to be told what a character is supposed to be like based on the author’s opinion; I want to learn about them organically.
The relationships in this series have felt pretty forced to me. I understand it can be difficult to make relationships feel natural and properly paced when we only see curated interactions, but after four books, I’m still having trouble understanding why these specific characters like each other, aside from sexual attraction and forced proximity.
This review is long enough as it is (and I still have more to say), so here’s my quick thoughts on each of the relationships:
1. Nox and Amaris: I’ll never be able to root for these two due to its heavy-handed racist imagery and tropes and how much Nox suffered because of Amaris.
2. Nox and Malik: I get that Nox likes that Malik is kind after suffering for most of her life (no thanks in part to Amaris), but we mostly get the narration telling us that Malik is good rather than understanding this from his actions. I’m not sure why Malik specifically likes Nox besides her physical appearance.
3. Amaris and Gadriel: I genuinely don’t understand why these characters like each other besides sexual attraction. It’s fine for a relationship to be purely sexual, but these characters seem to constantly bicker. There’s a part where Gadriel realizes he doesn’t even know basic things about Amaris like her favorite color.
4. Tanith and Ash: These two spend very little on-page time together so their relationship feels very underdeveloped and forced. The narration assures the reader that they’re in love, but I don’t buy that Ash trusts Tanith (I guess she saved him in book 3 but that is not enough to compensate for her bigotry). Ash dies and it’s supposed to be devastating, but I didn’t care at all.
5. Yazlyn and Ryu: I have no clue why Yazlyn decides to stay in Sulgrave instead of going with her friends. I think she and Ryu interact maybe a total of two times in this book.
THEMATIC CONTENT
Here is another major area where the implications Piper creates ultimately weaken the story. The book often undermines and contradicts its own themes.
This book has tried to hammer home the idea that the world isn’t black and white and that people should be allowed to exist in grey areas. Except, the main characters constantly refer to the villains as objectively evil. This comes across as hypocritical; the protagonists are allowed to be morally grey but how dare anyone else do that. Similarly, this is supposed to be a book about various types of women coming into their own power, and yet we get lines like this about the villains: “Moirai was an evil, curse-bringing bitch” or “ the bitch Speaker opened her mouth.” Villainy is tied to femininity while characters we are supposed to like are removed from femininity by being called “bastards.” We shouldn’t be uplifting certain women by putting others down.
I really didn’t like that we learn that Sulgrave’s church’s fanaticism is due to magically-implanted memories. Instead of dismantling these harmful systems, helping the victims, and reforming the perpetrators, this conflict is solved by killing the person implanting memories. Piper wants to make criticisms against real world religious institutions that manipulate and oppress others in order to maintain control. But bigotry in our world isn’t magically created. Part of why religious fanaticism is so insidious is because people genuinely believe what they are doing is right. Making this an issue of magic, rather than institutionalized corruption, significantly weakens the commentary Piper is trying to make. She has changed a fundamental aspect of what she is trying to critique.
I’m also bothered that the corruption didn’t originally come from within the church; the church was just a way for the real “villain” to spread the idea of unity. I think it would be more meaningful if the corruption came directly from the beliefs of the church because that is more in line with what happens in the real world.
MISC
I’m not Jewish, so please prioritize reviews from Jewish readers over mine on this topic. Although not previously mentioned in other books, goblins appear in this book and are implied to be evil, related to demons, and work for a greater evil. Piper supposedly has sensitivity readers, but this would have been flagged by a Jewish sensitivity reader. There is also a golem in this book, which is referred to repeatedly as a monster, and is used for exactly one scene. I find it weird and uncomfortable that Piper directly took from another group’s folklore when there is no other Jewish cultural influence in these books.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While this book shows a little bit of improvement in terms of craft from the previous installments, I’m still disappointed in the quality. It should not have taken four books for just a smidgen of growth. There were good ideas here, but the execution was just so messy. Going forward, I’ll probably only read the first book in Piper’s other series just to see how she’s (hopefully) progressing because I do genuinely want to see her grow.
Every time I start the next book in this series, I genuinely hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised and enjoy myself, but sadly, it never happens. Despite giving this series multiple chances, I have been let down again and again by little to no improvement. While I would say this is the best in the series, it still needs substantially more editing, revision, reworking, and time to bring it up to the quality of what I would expect from a traditionally published book. I genuinely want Piper to improve, but it doesn’t seem like she’s getting and/or implementing any constructive feedback from her editors, publishers, beta readers, etc.
As always, below are my spoiler free thoughts before I get into specifics.
SPOILER FREE
EDITING
I’m really disappointed in the sheer number of copy and line-editing errors in this book, including but not limited to:
1. Wrong words, e.g. “ready for combatant” instead of “ready for combat”
2. The author changed her mind on wording but didn’t delete the word she didn’t want anymore, e.g. “the sparrow dove pecked”
3. Pronouns without clear antecedents, e.g. sometimes at the beginning of chapters it’s just “he” for multiple pages until a name is finally given
4. Side characters seem to magically appear in scenes because the reader doesn’t know they are present until they start speaking
5. Exact wording or phrases used in close proximity, e.g. “unincorporated mountain towns or small villages” is used in back-to-back paragraphs
6. No fact checking, e.g. an albatross is incorrectly referred to as a bird of prey
7. Inconsistencies, e.g. Amaris’ shirt changes from bronze to gold back to bronze over a couple pages
A handful of these issues every now and then is normal, but the amount present in this book cannot be by mistake alone.
PROSE
I’ve said this in all of my reviews, but so much of this series is overwritten, redundant, and grammatically and/or semantically confusing. I have to constantly reread passages to actually understand what’s trying to be conveyed. After four books of this, I’m frustrated. Let’s look at just a few of the quotes I marked.
“The crescent moon waxed overhead, welcoming a crystal-sharp sea of stars, every speckle piercing the darkness as too-bright metallic shards cut through the clean, clear air, with each of them gaining minutes to the hour in snatches of fitful rest.”
While the diction is lovely, the construction and abstract descriptions ultimately muddle the intended meaning. Many other things are also confusing: the subject changes mid-sentence, the numerous independent and dependent clauses make it hard to keep track of what’s going on, and there’s a pronoun that refers to something not mentioned in the sentence.
Here’s just one possible way of reworking this sentence: The crescent moon and sea of too-bright stars pierced the darkness while the group rested for only minutes at a time. I left most of the original diction, yet the overall effect and meaning is conveyed more succinctly.
“The deep cellos exploded with the accompanying base [sic] as they harmonized the melody with clear, eager violins.”
This phrasing makes it sound like the cellos are literally exploding, the correct spelling is “bass” for the instrument, it should be “harmonized with”, and “with violins” makes it sound like the cellos themselves are using violins to harmonize.
If I was an editor for this, I would ask Piper pointed questions about what she wants to convey and then have her express that as simply as possible. Does “exploded” mean that the cellos are energetic or that they are suddenly loud? Do you mean “base” as in a foundation, or did you mean the instrument? Do you want to say that the violins are playing the melody? Readers shouldn’t have to work to figure out what a sentence means, and this kind of writing can end up feeling like a chore.
Here’s an example of a clearer version: The deep, energetic cellos and basses harmonized with the melody of the clear, eager violins.
“Soil and vegetation and night sky filled her nose as the hot pain of burns and scratches lanced up the forearms, wrists, hands, and cheeks that had been rubbed raw as she’d crashed to the earth.”
This sentence just keeps going, adding more and more information, and it’s hard to remember how the sentence originally began. There is a weird disconnect between the character and the action by saying “the forearms” instead of “her forearms.” The changing of verb aspects (from simple past to perfect past) within a single sentence can create confusion as to which events are happening when; we start with smelling soil, vegetation, and night sky (whatever that means) and then jump back to refer to something that already happened.
Here’s another version: As she crashed into the earth, she smelled soil, vegetation, and the night air. Her skin burned where it had been rubbed raw.
I’m sure that everything made perfect sense to Piper as she wrote it, but it’s the author’s and editor’s job to make sure that intended meaning comes across to readers. I wish, rather than tackling long and meandering sentences in an attempt to be showy, Piper would focus on concise writing. Right now, she is doing herself a disservice by potentially putting off readers who might otherwise enjoy the story. I also wish her publisher would give her more thorough and critical editors to help her hone her craft.
WORLDBUILDING
I haven’t gone over this in my previous reviews, but the on-the-nose naming conventions in this series bother me, which I acknowledge is mostly subjective. However, it also highlights another issue I have with Piper’s storytelling that I haven’t quite been able to put into words yet: she doesn’t consider implications.
For instance, in this book, there is a group of nobles from Sulgrave who have specific embroidered symbols on their clothes. All of these characters have a name related to their symbol, e.g. Ryu meaning ‘dragon’ has a dragon, Dhamir meaning ‘heart’ has hearts, Surya meaning ‘sun’ has a sun, etc. If all of these characters are supposed to be from the same country, then why do they have Japanese, Arabic, and Sanskrit names?
Similarly, the story explains that Amaris means ‘child of the moon’ or ‘gift from the goddess,’ Nox means ‘night,’ and Ayla means ‘oak tree’ and ‘light around the moon,’ among other examples. These are all the real-world meanings of these names, indirectly canonizing multiple languages that shouldn’t exist in this fictional world. Just because a name has a cool meaning in our world doesn’t mean it would have the same meaning in a fictional one. These over-literal names come across as heavy-handed and tacky to me, especially when the author explains their meaning in text. I would have preferred if Piper created her own names with her desired meanings. This would add depth to the world and avoid illogical connections to our world.
Another example of Piper’s carelessness with implications is her use of specific cultural or scientific ideas that shouldn’t exist in-universe without proper explanation (e.g. comte, centurions, volts, labradorite, various hormones, etc.). Most notably, she sprinkles in real-world folklore, mythology, and religion without clear purpose, explanation, or cohesion. Here’s just a sample of the terms that illogically exists in this book alone: banshee, seraphim, “turn water into wine,” “into the lion’s den,” “her olive branch was accepted,” golem, “fate would not cut her thread,” hounds of hell, “angel fallen from heaven,” and “every head we cut off will grow three in its place.” Based on this, I can only assume that the Bible and Ancient Greece somehow exist in this world.
Folklore is the specific beliefs of a certain people, so why and how does this fictional world have knowledge of so many unrelated real-life cultures? Instead of creating a rich world, this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink method of worldbuilding often leaves readers feeling confused due to lack of consistency. I think the editor probably thought that Piper knew what she was doing as a folklorist, but I would like to disagree. I think this series would have been much stronger if Piper had created her own original folklore for this world.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Okay, here we go. I’ll start this section with a short list of things I actually liked (with caveats of course).
1. I love when characters adopt a big, dangerous creature, so I liked Fjolla, but I do think she trusted Nox way too easily. I will say, Piper’s original creatures are some of the strongest elements of this series, and I wish she took the time to develop a wider range of them.
2. This book has more of an actual plot in which the characters actually have a clear goal. This is an improvement compared to the other books, especially Gloom. The plot still sometimes feels drawn out, though, and sections could be trimmed. For instance, I liked the concept of crossing the Frozen Straits and how the characters have to problem solve, but yikes, it took so long because we kept getting the same descriptions over and over.
3. Polyamory representation is always wonderful to see, but I would have liked a more in-depth and nuanced depiction. Maybe we get scenes of Nox, Amaris, Gadriel, and Malik all talking about their wants and boundaries for the relationship.
PLOT
Like I said, there is more of an actual plot in this book, but a lot of it is confusing or contrived. For instance, during a “pivotal moment,” Yazlyn just somehow immediately knows that Daifa, the “villain” in this book, can plant memories and is manipulating the Sulgrave church. It feels like Piper couldn’t think of a natural way to reveal this information, so the characters just magically know. This squanders potential tension and conflict.
These characters are so bad at communicating with each other and are constantly withholding valuable information, needlessly drawing out these books even further. Instead of properly explaining their reasoning during disagreements, a lot of the time the characters just scream “No, you’re wrong!” at each other for a couple pages. Why would Tanith not tell the others about the deadly, invisible creature on the Frozen Straits? Why doesn’t Yazlyn bring up her experience with perception-altering magic when she thinks Nox has had false memories planted? This comes across as the characters being complete idiots and makes it hard for me to like them.
The climax is the most contrived part of this whole book. The main characters don’t actually do anything. Instead, an incredibly overpowered character, who was introduced in the last 10% of the book and was found off-page by characters we also hadn’t met yet, defeats Daifa. This is not a satisfying climax whatsoever, because the characters we’ve been following for so long don’t actually accomplish or overcome something. They sit by while a deus ex machina takes care of their problems for them.
Not only is the climax unsatisfying, the incomplete resolution feels like a cheap setup for a sequel series. The characters don’t actually stop the “main villain” (the reader doesn’t know their identity), but at the end of the book, everyone is like, “Yay, we did it!” We skip some time in the epilogue where everyone lives happily ever after in Raascot. Except Malik. He’s alone in Farehold, but it’s okay because he’s king now. Get it, because Malik means ‘king...’ This ending felt like Piper ran out of time or ideas and just wrapped things up as quickly as possible
Piper also has a problem with getting rid of her villains too early and then has to pull a new one out of thin air. None of these villains ever feel properly set up with actual motivations. I know there’s a prequel series about the villains coming out, but I shouldn’t have to read the prequel books to understand the villains.
CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS
Your mileage may vary, but I don’t feel like any of these characters have a satisfying arc. Most of them don’t learn anything about themselves, change their ways, or grow as people, at least in a way that feels natural and earned. To me, Amaris is still just as reckless and selfish as she is in book one. Nox never fully addresses the awful or traumatic things that happened to her nor does she really confront the systems that caused that harm. Tanith doesn’t really unpack her religious trauma either. I would argue that characters like Gadriel, Malik, and Yazlyn don’t have an arc at all; they’re stagnant.
After thousands of pages with these characters, I’m still unsure about many of their motivations, personal wants (besides having sex), and even personalities. Many of these characters’ actions don’t feel like manifestations of their individual personalities and backgrounds but rather arbitrary choices on the part of the author to facilitate the plot. This might be a case of Piper having a more nuanced understanding of the characters than what comes across to the reader. I think a good exercise for her would be to write a scene without a character’s name and then see if someone else can figure out who it is based on the actions alone.
Another problem I have with the characterization is that Piper clearly wants you to like the main characters, even when they are often argumentative and rude, make poor decisions, jump to conclusions, cause problems for each other, get distracted easily from their goals, etc. I don’t want to be told what a character is supposed to be like based on the author’s opinion; I want to learn about them organically.
The relationships in this series have felt pretty forced to me. I understand it can be difficult to make relationships feel natural and properly paced when we only see curated interactions, but after four books, I’m still having trouble understanding why these specific characters like each other, aside from sexual attraction and forced proximity.
This review is long enough as it is (and I still have more to say), so here’s my quick thoughts on each of the relationships:
1. Nox and Amaris: I’ll never be able to root for these two due to its heavy-handed racist imagery and tropes and how much Nox suffered because of Amaris.
2. Nox and Malik: I get that Nox likes that Malik is kind after suffering for most of her life (no thanks in part to Amaris), but we mostly get the narration telling us that Malik is good rather than understanding this from his actions. I’m not sure why Malik specifically likes Nox besides her physical appearance.
3. Amaris and Gadriel: I genuinely don’t understand why these characters like each other besides sexual attraction. It’s fine for a relationship to be purely sexual, but these characters seem to constantly bicker. There’s a part where Gadriel realizes he doesn’t even know basic things about Amaris like her favorite color.
4. Tanith and Ash: These two spend very little on-page time together so their relationship feels very underdeveloped and forced. The narration assures the reader that they’re in love, but I don’t buy that Ash trusts Tanith (I guess she saved him in book 3 but that is not enough to compensate for her bigotry). Ash dies and it’s supposed to be devastating, but I didn’t care at all.
5. Yazlyn and Ryu: I have no clue why Yazlyn decides to stay in Sulgrave instead of going with her friends. I think she and Ryu interact maybe a total of two times in this book.
THEMATIC CONTENT
Here is another major area where the implications Piper creates ultimately weaken the story. The book often undermines and contradicts its own themes.
This book has tried to hammer home the idea that the world isn’t black and white and that people should be allowed to exist in grey areas. Except, the main characters constantly refer to the villains as objectively evil. This comes across as hypocritical; the protagonists are allowed to be morally grey but how dare anyone else do that. Similarly, this is supposed to be a book about various types of women coming into their own power, and yet we get lines like this about the villains: “Moirai was an evil, curse-bringing bitch” or “ the bitch Speaker opened her mouth.” Villainy is tied to femininity while characters we are supposed to like are removed from femininity by being called “bastards.” We shouldn’t be uplifting certain women by putting others down.
I really didn’t like that we learn that Sulgrave’s church’s fanaticism is due to magically-implanted memories. Instead of dismantling these harmful systems, helping the victims, and reforming the perpetrators, this conflict is solved by killing the person implanting memories. Piper wants to make criticisms against real world religious institutions that manipulate and oppress others in order to maintain control. But bigotry in our world isn’t magically created. Part of why religious fanaticism is so insidious is because people genuinely believe what they are doing is right. Making this an issue of magic, rather than institutionalized corruption, significantly weakens the commentary Piper is trying to make. She has changed a fundamental aspect of what she is trying to critique.
I’m also bothered that the corruption didn’t originally come from within the church; the church was just a way for the real “villain” to spread the idea of unity. I think it would be more meaningful if the corruption came directly from the beliefs of the church because that is more in line with what happens in the real world.
MISC
I’m not Jewish, so please prioritize reviews from Jewish readers over mine on this topic. Although not previously mentioned in other books, goblins appear in this book and are implied to be evil, related to demons, and work for a greater evil. Piper supposedly has sensitivity readers, but this would have been flagged by a Jewish sensitivity reader. There is also a golem in this book, which is referred to repeatedly as a monster, and is used for exactly one scene. I find it weird and uncomfortable that Piper directly took from another group’s folklore when there is no other Jewish cultural influence in these books.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While this book shows a little bit of improvement in terms of craft from the previous installments, I’m still disappointed in the quality. It should not have taken four books for just a smidgen of growth. There were good ideas here, but the execution was just so messy. Going forward, I’ll probably only read the first book in Piper’s other series just to see how she’s (hopefully) progressing because I do genuinely want to see her grow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2024
with not a bang but a wheeze this series has come to an end. full thoughts on the channel coming in the future.
November 27, 2022
Im so sad it's over. I shivered. I blushed. I cried. I laughed a lot. With the introduction of new characters, callbacks to minor references in earlier books, the continuance of steamy relationships, a ton of action, moments of hope and despair, this book wrapped up the series so beautifully. The themes of this series are consistent from book to book yet the plot still manages to shock and surprise you in book4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book & the entire series and I'm already planning my reread.
March 31, 2024
good fucking riddance
April 20, 2024
I wish I had left this as my first ever Did not finish book. I have soldiered my way through Stephen King's novel IT, Tolkien's Lord of the rings series and Fifty shades of Grey and believe me when I say I would rather gouge my eyeballs out then read another word of Piper CJ describe the desolate land of the frozen straits, the metallic shine of the stars or anything else for that matter. It takes her thirty pages to say what can be summed up in five. Never before in my life have I wanted to grab someone and shake them and scream "GET TO THE POINT" but this book has unlocked that milestone and I hope to never experience it again as reading, I feel, should be enjoyable and not vexing to your very core.
July 13, 2024
I cannot express to you how glad I am that this series is over. Like I said when I first read TNAIM, there was a lot of potential initially, but unfortunately, Piper continued to disappoint with every plot twist. Book 3 ends off with Nox & her pals killing Millicent, aka the Hand and the Hammer, who I totally almost just called Pollux. And Amaris and her pals are over killing Queen Moiroi. Who we still have no answers about, btw. I think it's kind of ridiculous that if you want to know what is up with that whole business, you have to buy a special edition of this book just to read a 100-page novella explaining it when it could've been explained in the actual book, but whatever.
The first 100 pages involve Nox dream walking back and forth between everyone and explaining to them all what happened in the last book. Then she has dream sex with Malik. I hated it. Ash and Tanith also bone, it's also awful. I will say that Piper’s writing has improved a bit. Unfortunately, this was still a slog, especially towards the end, but it was far easier to get through than the last three books. After all the dream conversations and sex, they make the decision to travel to Sulgrave to try and forge peace with them or something despite the fact that Tanith was sent to their continent from Sulgrave to genocide anyone with human/faerie blood. I think it was kind of incredibly stupid to have that knowledge and then decide to make a journey across the Frozen Straits where many people are known to die with next to no supplies but more on that later.
Before they cross the Straits, they decide someone needs to be left behind to rule over Aubade(but not Ceres' kingdom?). So, who do they choose? Fucking Malik. Despite the fact that Malik is a reever and is meant to be like a witcher and play no part in the king's wars, etc. But it's fine because his girlfriend asked him to do it. So, if you're a Malik fan, I'm sorry to tell you that he gets shelved for 85% of this book. He's left behind while everyone else goes to Sulgrave and only shows up for a few dream convos with Nox. I skimmed the last three chapters, so I don't know if he even shows up then. But he definitely wasn't even there for the final battle...speaking of, there WAS NO FINAL BATTLE. Personally, I think it was dumb as hell to have Nox herself go to Sulgrave especially when she only just conquered these kingdoms and hasn't even had an official coronation or established her power in either place. Like she basically pulled a khaleesi and was like okay you're free from your evil leader now...but I'm going to peace out before I can do anything to help improve your lives. Good luck! This is my friend Malik, he has no idea how to run a kingdom either but don't worry guys, I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm gonna go cross a treacherous frozen landscape even though I'm the only heir to these thrones and hope that I survive!! stupid as fuck lmao.
There's a point where Tanith uses her demon-controlling ability to summon a bunch of harpies to spread the word of...something. And that's all they do. They never show up again. Also, the northern lights show up, which made me LOL because she keeps just cherry-picking things from other mythologies and tossing them into her fictional world. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are named that because they were named after the Greek god of the north wind, Borealis and the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora. Like, plz, Piper. This would be fine, but this is set in a world where there is literally only one religion, and that’s the All-Mother, so where are we getting these names from? There are mentions of old gods, but they’re never expounded upon. I would love it if she somehow told us a backstory where this used to be our world, but something happened to make it so there's only the religion of the All-Mother or something, idk. If Sulgrave managed to cut itself off from the rest of the continent why do they all have the same religion?? It doesn’t make sense.
I do like that some things from the older books are making a comeback, like the teleporting carriage the Madame had. (I still want to punch Amaris for being like, ‘Oh, this belonged to the lady who wanted to buy me,’ and then thinks nothing of Nox, as usual. Oh, it’s not like she had to go in your place and be forced into sex slavery or anything, aha) I was initially pumped that they were going to go back to the university(also big LOL there's only one university in the entire continent. apparently very few people get educated in this universe....which makes sense considering they're all so dumb) to get the greenstrike blood to help Tanith(another thing that is hardly explained or utilized) but that was the world's biggest disappointment just like the university plot was in book 2. Amaris went there, overreacted when Gad said they were just fight pals, broke into the room of prophecies from HP, and then magically healed Gadriel’s broken wings, and ran away. It was all just convenience for the plot. It seemed entirely useless. If they’d actually done something of note there, this plot would be so much more exciting, too. I was initially excited to see the potential drama of Amaris and Gadriel returning there, but we didn’t even get that. Instead, Yazlyn goes to negotiate with the university while Amaris and Gadriel make out in the forest. It felt like a complete letdown for some actual interesting tension. Then after this, the three of them have to travel across the frozen straits to meet up with the others in some mysteriously hidden boat. Amaris has to be carried by Gadriel and because he has a magic body-warming ability, they’re relatively comfortable while poor Yazlyn is just SUFFERING. I do understand why she’s so miserable and won’t stop complaining but Piper really has a talent for writing dialogue in the whiniest, most annoying way possible. All I wanted was for Yazlyn to stfu even though I completely get why she’s so angry.
Eventually, they make it to the boat. Gadriel tells Amaris that Nox getting sold into sex slavery is not her fault. I mean…I’m gonna be real, I disagree. While Amaris may not have used her compulsion on Nox to force her to wait, she did tell Nox to wait for her and gave her the expectation that she would come back for her only to abandon her at the first chance and not even think once about going back for her. Nox could’ve been waiting out there for just a few minutes longer before she was caught and sold to the brothel. So, it’s still Amaris’ fault. And it’s Amaris’ fault for being so self-centered that she never once thought about what might’ve happened to Nox or about getting back to her. If she did think that Nox had escaped, why wouldn’t she ever once think about where Nox was? What she was doing? If she was looking for Amaris? You can’t convince me Amaris doesn’t suck, Piper, I’m sorry.
So they travel for like two weeks on this frozen lake on a skiff on skates. It’s boring and it sucks, for them and for me. There’s a monster hunting them that only Amaris can see. The part when they dance under the northern lights was hilarious because it says they dance like the man who first discovered fire, so I imagine them all dancing like cavemen. Then their ship gets broken, and they use all their convenient powers to fix the boat(just realized that Malik was likely left behind because he has no powers), and the monster attacks. It’s called an aboriou but I literally kept reading ‘an abortion’. Amaris tells everyone to fly away so she can face the abortion and she’s all like ‘oh no I have no weapons’ apparently forgetting she has a shock wave scream. Gadriel almost drops Ash so he has to set him down and readjust his grip which draws the abortion’s attention and Amaris just keeps flailing her arms like an insignificant ant trying to get the abortion’s attention, apparently forgetting she has a shock wave scream Don’t worry though, she remembers it as soon as Yazlyn gets swatted out of the sky like a fly and Tanith almost gets eaten. She can apparently punch shock waves into the ground now? I don’t remember her learning that ability but okay. She beats up the monster, Tanith tames it with her demon controlling ability?(they literally said the abortion isn’t a demon it’s an animal, but okay) and then nox befriends it by giving it all of their food supply. So. Great ruling there nox.
They get to sulgrave and everyone is shocked when Tanith turns out to actually be a criminal. They get taken to some Diplomatic hall and talk to these people who are in charge of different territories and they all have special color-coded outfits. Nox and Amaris finally bone, and they have magic communicating flowers in their room that have no on or off button so the poor guy at the front desk probably has to sit there and listen to them boning.
I need to take a second to mention how uncomfortable the polycule in this story makes me. There’s Amaris who’s apparently in love with Nox, who is also getting head from Malik on the side who is also kind of Amaris’ brother. And then Amaris is in a weird uncomfy BDSM relationship with Gadriel who is also Nox’s cousin. Amaris is the immaculately conceived child of the goddess who was made based on a prayer from Daphne, Nox’s mom—and Nox’s dad, Ceres even says that Amaris is kind of like his daughter. So it’s like…one big weird incest square almost, and I don’t like it. I want poly rep but…not like this lmfao. This makes me uncomfy. Not to mention how Gad literally tells Amaris that he owns her and she belongs to Nox so Amaris is in this really toxic throuple where she’s being shared by two cousins who own her??? Not to mention the super bizarre obsession with Amaris losing her virginity.
The relationship between Yazlyn and Ryu came out of nowhere. They shared a sort of look that’s supposed to suggest they’re interested in one another and then suddenly like idk a hundred or so pages later we get a POV from Yazlyn where she’s talking about how into Ryu she is and how great their first date was but we missed all of that which I find a huge bummer. For a story that was advertised as a bisexual fantasy I was really expecting to get to read about some actual romantic relationship building between two women. There is honestly none in this series whatsoever. Yes, I know the two lead women are meant to be in love and the main couple of the books but they spent 3/4 books apart and in this one they barely talk. We got more from the relationship between Gadriel and Amaris than any other couple. I can’t relate or empathize to any of these relationships because I didn’t get to experience them blossom at all. It’s just suddenly slapped on the page like oh btw, they’re together and deeply in love now! Am I supposed to be happy for Yazlyn that she's staying behind with Ryu? How can I be when I don't understand why? I never saw any of the things that convinced her to stay.
Ash risks it all to save Tanith which is the dumbest subplot to me. You cannot make me believe that Ash and Tanith really love each other I’m sorry but you can’t. Ash goes to Tanith’s church to try to like cajole them into releasing Tanith and he’s like ‘she should be proud of me I went to her church for her!’ Like...her church that wants to genocide you but yeah! I will never buy that these two are genuinely in love. Trauma bonded? Okay, maybe. But Tanith literally has changed zero of her opinions about half-faeries, which her boyfriend Ash happens to be. Sorry, but no.
I don't know how it went from Ash asking the church if he could see Tanith to everyone getting arrested but somehow that happens, and everyone blames Ash. I really wish there would've been more time delving into the church and how it was a cult and shit but...it's not that at all. In fact, it's written in a way that basically makes no one culpable of their shitty racist thoughts. More on that soon...
Meanwhile while everyone is imprisoned by the genocidal church, Gad and Amaris go on a hike up to the winged part of Sulgrave to visit Gad’s parents. The winged fae are called seraphim and are described as dove-winged which confused the shit out of me because don’t Gad and Yazlyn have black feathered wings? Are seraphim specifically white winged? If Gad’s parents are seraphim then why does he have black wings? Also seraphim--another thing cherry picked from yet another religion. really using that folklore degree for good, piper. Anyway, they get to his parents house and they’re not home so Gad immediately is like oh we have a house to ourselves and I can smell that you’re no longer a virgin so let’s fuck(ew)! Amaris is like….I don’t really want to but since I know Gad doesn’t take no for an answer I’ll have to use my safe word but…I’m not gonna do that...instead I’m going to literally fight for my life and make this man best me in battle before we’re allowed to fuck. Then precedes some incredibly rapey quotes.
her gasps of protest and pressing hands were mere signs of encouragement to the predatory male.
For months, he’d stopped her advances. For months, she’d tried and failed to lure him into exactly this moment. The message was clear. This was not her choice; it was his.
Meanwhile, this man is literally beating her up and tying her up not accepting any protests unless they’re accompanied by the word snowbird. I know she was trying to do like some kind of mr and MRS SMITH sexy fight scene but the reason that scene worked is because they’re two people who were in love that were genuinely trying to murder one another. This reads as one person very convincingly trying to get away while the other refuses to let them. Oh and then also when they finally do bone THERE’S NO FOREPLAY. HE JUST GOES STRAIGHT FOR PENETRATION. But the orgasm was so good that her sonic scream shattered all the windows.
I won’t lie I kind of blacked out most of what happened after this because it was so boring. Somehow Amaris & Gadriel team up with Ryu and some other people from Sulgrave to go rescue everyone. I don’t remember how they got Tanith out but she somehow helps Amaris and Gadriel. Nox does exactly what Amaris did in book one when she called out Moiroi for casting an illusion and calls Daifa out in front of everyone for implanting memories which is why everyone was a racist. Daifa’s response is oh well you’re just a liar and a false queen. Now everyone is fighting. Somehow the abortion showed up to help out too. Nox literally kills Daifa in a fucking dream and that's it.
Oh, there's a part where they fight the church, one of them telekinetically throws a lot of swords and shit at Tanith and Ash dives in front of the swords to save her but somehow not a single one pierced Tanith(that's not how that would work at all but okay piper, whatever you say). So I'm just imagining the tips of all these swords just embedded in him hahaha. Anyway, Ash dies sacrificing himself for the nazi girlfriend who wanted to genocide him and then gets turned into a fucking GOLD COIN and is never mentioned again. my god.
The main bad guy is never killed because apparently this is mean to lead into the Villains prequel but...This book feels like it’s the start of a new series, but it’s supposed to be the finale of this series yet it’s got an open-ending to lead into the prequel series of the villains. Which again, if it’s a prequel series it takes place before this series so why did this series need an open-ending unless of course, there’s going to be sequel series to this which if there is I am going to shoot myself. I’m begging you Piper, let Amaris die. She sucks.
So this book is weird to me because we defeated the big bad in the last book and now there’s a new big bad in this book who never gets defeated so…I’m confused. Like how would this series be finished then. I feel like she’s going to magically be like HAHA SIKE ITS NOT OVER THERES FOUR MORE BOOKS COMING OUT.
Oh, I do want to mention to any of you who’ve been purchasing the character art of Malik that that shit is traced. Look up the Entertainment Weekly cover of Charlie Hunnam when he was promoting King Arthur. The wrinkles on his shirt, the sword hilt, the placement of his fingers, the wounds on his arms. All of that is traced with a disproportionate head of like Liam Hemsworth slapped on top. Do with that information what you will. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And that's all I have to say. Goodbye.
EDIT: Also, what the fuck is the actual relationship between Gadriel and Nox? This book says they were cousins and that Gad's dad was Ceres' brother, which would make him Cere's nephew. The last three books and the novellas say that Gadriel and Ceres were cousins. So which is it??
The first 100 pages involve Nox dream walking back and forth between everyone and explaining to them all what happened in the last book. Then she has dream sex with Malik. I hated it. Ash and Tanith also bone, it's also awful. I will say that Piper’s writing has improved a bit. Unfortunately, this was still a slog, especially towards the end, but it was far easier to get through than the last three books. After all the dream conversations and sex, they make the decision to travel to Sulgrave to try and forge peace with them or something despite the fact that Tanith was sent to their continent from Sulgrave to genocide anyone with human/faerie blood. I think it was kind of incredibly stupid to have that knowledge and then decide to make a journey across the Frozen Straits where many people are known to die with next to no supplies but more on that later.
Before they cross the Straits, they decide someone needs to be left behind to rule over Aubade(but not Ceres' kingdom?). So, who do they choose? Fucking Malik. Despite the fact that Malik is a reever and is meant to be like a witcher and play no part in the king's wars, etc. But it's fine because his girlfriend asked him to do it. So, if you're a Malik fan, I'm sorry to tell you that he gets shelved for 85% of this book. He's left behind while everyone else goes to Sulgrave and only shows up for a few dream convos with Nox. I skimmed the last three chapters, so I don't know if he even shows up then. But he definitely wasn't even there for the final battle...speaking of, there WAS NO FINAL BATTLE. Personally, I think it was dumb as hell to have Nox herself go to Sulgrave especially when she only just conquered these kingdoms and hasn't even had an official coronation or established her power in either place. Like she basically pulled a khaleesi and was like okay you're free from your evil leader now...but I'm going to peace out before I can do anything to help improve your lives. Good luck! This is my friend Malik, he has no idea how to run a kingdom either but don't worry guys, I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm gonna go cross a treacherous frozen landscape even though I'm the only heir to these thrones and hope that I survive!! stupid as fuck lmao.
There's a point where Tanith uses her demon-controlling ability to summon a bunch of harpies to spread the word of...something. And that's all they do. They never show up again. Also, the northern lights show up, which made me LOL because she keeps just cherry-picking things from other mythologies and tossing them into her fictional world. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are named that because they were named after the Greek god of the north wind, Borealis and the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora. Like, plz, Piper. This would be fine, but this is set in a world where there is literally only one religion, and that’s the All-Mother, so where are we getting these names from? There are mentions of old gods, but they’re never expounded upon. I would love it if she somehow told us a backstory where this used to be our world, but something happened to make it so there's only the religion of the All-Mother or something, idk. If Sulgrave managed to cut itself off from the rest of the continent why do they all have the same religion?? It doesn’t make sense.
I do like that some things from the older books are making a comeback, like the teleporting carriage the Madame had. (I still want to punch Amaris for being like, ‘Oh, this belonged to the lady who wanted to buy me,’ and then thinks nothing of Nox, as usual. Oh, it’s not like she had to go in your place and be forced into sex slavery or anything, aha) I was initially pumped that they were going to go back to the university(also big LOL there's only one university in the entire continent. apparently very few people get educated in this universe....which makes sense considering they're all so dumb) to get the greenstrike blood to help Tanith(another thing that is hardly explained or utilized) but that was the world's biggest disappointment just like the university plot was in book 2. Amaris went there, overreacted when Gad said they were just fight pals, broke into the room of prophecies from HP, and then magically healed Gadriel’s broken wings, and ran away. It was all just convenience for the plot. It seemed entirely useless. If they’d actually done something of note there, this plot would be so much more exciting, too. I was initially excited to see the potential drama of Amaris and Gadriel returning there, but we didn’t even get that. Instead, Yazlyn goes to negotiate with the university while Amaris and Gadriel make out in the forest. It felt like a complete letdown for some actual interesting tension. Then after this, the three of them have to travel across the frozen straits to meet up with the others in some mysteriously hidden boat. Amaris has to be carried by Gadriel and because he has a magic body-warming ability, they’re relatively comfortable while poor Yazlyn is just SUFFERING. I do understand why she’s so miserable and won’t stop complaining but Piper really has a talent for writing dialogue in the whiniest, most annoying way possible. All I wanted was for Yazlyn to stfu even though I completely get why she’s so angry.
Eventually, they make it to the boat. Gadriel tells Amaris that Nox getting sold into sex slavery is not her fault. I mean…I’m gonna be real, I disagree. While Amaris may not have used her compulsion on Nox to force her to wait, she did tell Nox to wait for her and gave her the expectation that she would come back for her only to abandon her at the first chance and not even think once about going back for her. Nox could’ve been waiting out there for just a few minutes longer before she was caught and sold to the brothel. So, it’s still Amaris’ fault. And it’s Amaris’ fault for being so self-centered that she never once thought about what might’ve happened to Nox or about getting back to her. If she did think that Nox had escaped, why wouldn’t she ever once think about where Nox was? What she was doing? If she was looking for Amaris? You can’t convince me Amaris doesn’t suck, Piper, I’m sorry.
So they travel for like two weeks on this frozen lake on a skiff on skates. It’s boring and it sucks, for them and for me. There’s a monster hunting them that only Amaris can see. The part when they dance under the northern lights was hilarious because it says they dance like the man who first discovered fire, so I imagine them all dancing like cavemen. Then their ship gets broken, and they use all their convenient powers to fix the boat(just realized that Malik was likely left behind because he has no powers), and the monster attacks. It’s called an aboriou but I literally kept reading ‘an abortion’. Amaris tells everyone to fly away so she can face the abortion and she’s all like ‘oh no I have no weapons’ apparently forgetting she has a shock wave scream. Gadriel almost drops Ash so he has to set him down and readjust his grip which draws the abortion’s attention and Amaris just keeps flailing her arms like an insignificant ant trying to get the abortion’s attention, apparently forgetting she has a shock wave scream Don’t worry though, she remembers it as soon as Yazlyn gets swatted out of the sky like a fly and Tanith almost gets eaten. She can apparently punch shock waves into the ground now? I don’t remember her learning that ability but okay. She beats up the monster, Tanith tames it with her demon controlling ability?(they literally said the abortion isn’t a demon it’s an animal, but okay) and then nox befriends it by giving it all of their food supply. So. Great ruling there nox.
They get to sulgrave and everyone is shocked when Tanith turns out to actually be a criminal. They get taken to some Diplomatic hall and talk to these people who are in charge of different territories and they all have special color-coded outfits. Nox and Amaris finally bone, and they have magic communicating flowers in their room that have no on or off button so the poor guy at the front desk probably has to sit there and listen to them boning.
I need to take a second to mention how uncomfortable the polycule in this story makes me. There’s Amaris who’s apparently in love with Nox, who is also getting head from Malik on the side who is also kind of Amaris’ brother. And then Amaris is in a weird uncomfy BDSM relationship with Gadriel who is also Nox’s cousin. Amaris is the immaculately conceived child of the goddess who was made based on a prayer from Daphne, Nox’s mom—and Nox’s dad, Ceres even says that Amaris is kind of like his daughter. So it’s like…one big weird incest square almost, and I don’t like it. I want poly rep but…not like this lmfao. This makes me uncomfy. Not to mention how Gad literally tells Amaris that he owns her and she belongs to Nox so Amaris is in this really toxic throuple where she’s being shared by two cousins who own her??? Not to mention the super bizarre obsession with Amaris losing her virginity.
The relationship between Yazlyn and Ryu came out of nowhere. They shared a sort of look that’s supposed to suggest they’re interested in one another and then suddenly like idk a hundred or so pages later we get a POV from Yazlyn where she’s talking about how into Ryu she is and how great their first date was but we missed all of that which I find a huge bummer. For a story that was advertised as a bisexual fantasy I was really expecting to get to read about some actual romantic relationship building between two women. There is honestly none in this series whatsoever. Yes, I know the two lead women are meant to be in love and the main couple of the books but they spent 3/4 books apart and in this one they barely talk. We got more from the relationship between Gadriel and Amaris than any other couple. I can’t relate or empathize to any of these relationships because I didn’t get to experience them blossom at all. It’s just suddenly slapped on the page like oh btw, they’re together and deeply in love now! Am I supposed to be happy for Yazlyn that she's staying behind with Ryu? How can I be when I don't understand why? I never saw any of the things that convinced her to stay.
Ash risks it all to save Tanith which is the dumbest subplot to me. You cannot make me believe that Ash and Tanith really love each other I’m sorry but you can’t. Ash goes to Tanith’s church to try to like cajole them into releasing Tanith and he’s like ‘she should be proud of me I went to her church for her!’ Like...her church that wants to genocide you but yeah! I will never buy that these two are genuinely in love. Trauma bonded? Okay, maybe. But Tanith literally has changed zero of her opinions about half-faeries, which her boyfriend Ash happens to be. Sorry, but no.
I don't know how it went from Ash asking the church if he could see Tanith to everyone getting arrested but somehow that happens, and everyone blames Ash. I really wish there would've been more time delving into the church and how it was a cult and shit but...it's not that at all. In fact, it's written in a way that basically makes no one culpable of their shitty racist thoughts. More on that soon...
Meanwhile while everyone is imprisoned by the genocidal church, Gad and Amaris go on a hike up to the winged part of Sulgrave to visit Gad’s parents. The winged fae are called seraphim and are described as dove-winged which confused the shit out of me because don’t Gad and Yazlyn have black feathered wings? Are seraphim specifically white winged? If Gad’s parents are seraphim then why does he have black wings? Also seraphim--another thing cherry picked from yet another religion. really using that folklore degree for good, piper. Anyway, they get to his parents house and they’re not home so Gad immediately is like oh we have a house to ourselves and I can smell that you’re no longer a virgin so let’s fuck(ew)! Amaris is like….I don’t really want to but since I know Gad doesn’t take no for an answer I’ll have to use my safe word but…I’m not gonna do that...instead I’m going to literally fight for my life and make this man best me in battle before we’re allowed to fuck. Then precedes some incredibly rapey quotes.
her gasps of protest and pressing hands were mere signs of encouragement to the predatory male.
For months, he’d stopped her advances. For months, she’d tried and failed to lure him into exactly this moment. The message was clear. This was not her choice; it was his.
Meanwhile, this man is literally beating her up and tying her up not accepting any protests unless they’re accompanied by the word snowbird. I know she was trying to do like some kind of mr and MRS SMITH sexy fight scene but the reason that scene worked is because they’re two people who were in love that were genuinely trying to murder one another. This reads as one person very convincingly trying to get away while the other refuses to let them. Oh and then also when they finally do bone THERE’S NO FOREPLAY. HE JUST GOES STRAIGHT FOR PENETRATION. But the orgasm was so good that her sonic scream shattered all the windows.
I won’t lie I kind of blacked out most of what happened after this because it was so boring. Somehow Amaris & Gadriel team up with Ryu and some other people from Sulgrave to go rescue everyone. I don’t remember how they got Tanith out but she somehow helps Amaris and Gadriel. Nox does exactly what Amaris did in book one when she called out Moiroi for casting an illusion and calls Daifa out in front of everyone for implanting memories which is why everyone was a racist. Daifa’s response is oh well you’re just a liar and a false queen. Now everyone is fighting. Somehow the abortion showed up to help out too. Nox literally kills Daifa in a fucking dream and that's it.
Oh, there's a part where they fight the church, one of them telekinetically throws a lot of swords and shit at Tanith and Ash dives in front of the swords to save her but somehow not a single one pierced Tanith(that's not how that would work at all but okay piper, whatever you say). So I'm just imagining the tips of all these swords just embedded in him hahaha. Anyway, Ash dies sacrificing himself for the nazi girlfriend who wanted to genocide him and then gets turned into a fucking GOLD COIN and is never mentioned again. my god.
The main bad guy is never killed because apparently this is mean to lead into the Villains prequel but...This book feels like it’s the start of a new series, but it’s supposed to be the finale of this series yet it’s got an open-ending to lead into the prequel series of the villains. Which again, if it’s a prequel series it takes place before this series so why did this series need an open-ending unless of course, there’s going to be sequel series to this which if there is I am going to shoot myself. I’m begging you Piper, let Amaris die. She sucks.
So this book is weird to me because we defeated the big bad in the last book and now there’s a new big bad in this book who never gets defeated so…I’m confused. Like how would this series be finished then. I feel like she’s going to magically be like HAHA SIKE ITS NOT OVER THERES FOUR MORE BOOKS COMING OUT.
Oh, I do want to mention to any of you who’ve been purchasing the character art of Malik that that shit is traced. Look up the Entertainment Weekly cover of Charlie Hunnam when he was promoting King Arthur. The wrinkles on his shirt, the sword hilt, the placement of his fingers, the wounds on his arms. All of that is traced with a disproportionate head of like Liam Hemsworth slapped on top. Do with that information what you will. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And that's all I have to say. Goodbye.
EDIT: Also, what the fuck is the actual relationship between Gadriel and Nox? This book says they were cousins and that Gad's dad was Ceres' brother, which would make him Cere's nephew. The last three books and the novellas say that Gadriel and Ceres were cousins. So which is it??
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2022
“Life’s great mystery might be learning how to wake up every day and find all of the wonderful ways that joy hid itself in the sweet, buttery bites of pastries, in the cuddles from animals, in the smiles from friends and in the nights spent with lovers.” From heart-racing wars to heart stopping romance, The Dawn and it’s Light culminates in a beautiful resolution. Piper CJ has a magical ability to create characters that are authentic and fallible to the point where you can feel their friendships and heartbreaks deep in your chest. Nox and Amaris may be the centrepiece for this journey but TNAIM series embodies the unexplainable bonding of found family. I adore the writers ability to combine the thrill of battle and entanglement alongside the gentle and wholesome natures. As always the literary techniques and use of aesthetics are all consuming, the world is built so intricately that not a single moment or feature is missed. Hidden in plain sight, Piper has embedded similarities to political discourse, religious anarchy, loyalty, betrayal, class, and tradition; allowing us a step further between our world and Gyrradin so that we might truly experience the wonder that has been written for us. I am so grateful for this sensational escape and to have been gifted with this gorgeous universe and all of its creatures.
March 8, 2024
1.5/5
The first 200 pages were mostly filler... we really didn't need over 100 pages of them whining about the cold. And the rest of the book was spent with a small bit of action that had low stakes; sex; and magical solutions that required an incredible amount of suspension of disbelief. I loved the first two books, but this was a disappointing finish.
The first 200 pages were mostly filler... we really didn't need over 100 pages of them whining about the cold. And the rest of the book was spent with a small bit of action that had low stakes; sex; and magical solutions that required an incredible amount of suspension of disbelief. I loved the first two books, but this was a disappointing finish.
January 25, 2024
I consider myself unbelievably lucky to have had the opportunity to beta read The Dawn and its Light. Although I know I will reread this series time and time again, I feel genuine sadness to have reached the end. (Even with the opening of the Villain prequels answering questions and giving hope for more Gyrradin content to come).
In spite of my sadness Piper provided everything I needed in this book with a beautiful and complete resolution to the series. There was action, and love, and heartbreak, and unbridled joy, and of course SPICE. The spice was immaculately written, Pipers ability to use language to demonstrate the different dynamics in the characters relationships is unmatched. It is a 4 book slow burn in terms of relationships and spice, and the pay off for each relationship was more than I could have ever hoped for. This book is also paced incredibly well! There was always a little room to breathe after intense scenes, and Piper did the equivalent of giving the reader a warm hug when it was needed most. I will never run out of good things to say; if I could only read one series for the rest of my life it would be this one.
In spite of my sadness Piper provided everything I needed in this book with a beautiful and complete resolution to the series. There was action, and love, and heartbreak, and unbridled joy, and of course SPICE. The spice was immaculately written, Pipers ability to use language to demonstrate the different dynamics in the characters relationships is unmatched. It is a 4 book slow burn in terms of relationships and spice, and the pay off for each relationship was more than I could have ever hoped for. This book is also paced incredibly well! There was always a little room to breathe after intense scenes, and Piper did the equivalent of giving the reader a warm hug when it was needed most. I will never run out of good things to say; if I could only read one series for the rest of my life it would be this one.
April 17, 2023
The Dawn & its Light is the most stunning, thrilling, heart breaking, tear streaking, beautiful finale to this absolutely wonderful series.
I tore through this book in a day, because I knew I couldn't fall asleep without knowing what happens. Every single hardship, battle fought, and loss was worth it for the pay out of this novel.
Piper has such an incredible way of making you feel like this story was meant for you. Reading this felt cathartic in ways most books aren't able to. I'm so grateful to Piper for sharing this with us, and can't wait to see what she does next.
I tore through this book in a day, because I knew I couldn't fall asleep without knowing what happens. Every single hardship, battle fought, and loss was worth it for the pay out of this novel.
Piper has such an incredible way of making you feel like this story was meant for you. Reading this felt cathartic in ways most books aren't able to. I'm so grateful to Piper for sharing this with us, and can't wait to see what she does next.
April 20, 2024
I wanted to drink bleach to stop the pain of reading this book.
March 22, 2024
I love the LGBTQ+ representation within this book and series. It is wonderful to have a book where polyamory is explored and accepted.
However, I felt this book was not as good as the previous ones. I found myself questioning a lot of parts in the book. I often found myself having to reread paragraphs to try and understand what just happened. There were chapters in the book that were unnecessary and felt forced.
All in all, I’m glad the series is over, but I am bummed that this was how it ended.
However, I felt this book was not as good as the previous ones. I found myself questioning a lot of parts in the book. I often found myself having to reread paragraphs to try and understand what just happened. There were chapters in the book that were unnecessary and felt forced.
All in all, I’m glad the series is over, but I am bummed that this was how it ended.
August 31, 2023
I had trouble putting this book down! The action sequences left me breathless, the spicy scenes in the book were a fantastic payoff after the tension created in the series previous, and moments of humor are artfully woven into the narrative. Overall this book wraps up the story and puts a nice little bow on it for the reader... even if it does rip their heart on it and stomp in the process. I absolutely recommend it, but warn that sensitive readers should keep tissues and comfort items on hand. You will need them!
PS. Bloom, if you're seeing this, please please please give us the Villains Prequels! <3
PS. Bloom, if you're seeing this, please please please give us the Villains Prequels! <3
March 13, 2024
Loved the book till the last 50 pages or so …… the whole cadence changed and it felt like a rushed ending :(
February 11, 2025
Was echt een leuke serie! Vindt het altijd best lastig om een fantasy serie te vinden waarbij de hoofdpersoon niet hetero is, aangezien als er al een gay personage in zit deze vaak niet meer dan een sidecharacter is. Deze serie leverde niet alleen dit maar ook veel meer. Magische vloeken, monsters en monsterjagers, fae met onverwachte krachten, en angstaanjagende gevechten. Hoewel ik nog wel een beetje salty ben dat een van mijn favo karakters het laatste gevecht niet heeft overleefd. Moest het boek toen echt even neerleggen ondanks dat ik dichtbij het einde was. De serie volgde 2 meiden die hun groep van vrienden uitbereiden door de boeken heen en ik raakte echt geïnvesteerd in de levens van iedereen binnen de groep. De schrijver zet alle karakters heel menselijk neer onder het begrip van niemand is perfect en dat maakt de boeken net wat specialer en interessanter voor mij.
April 13, 2024
this last book in the series was my favorite. the relationships turned out EXACTLY how i was hoping they would (see my review on the third book for proof). i didn't expect myself to cry during this series, but the death of a sweet too-good-for-this-world character will always leave me in shambles. he FINALLY had love. and tanith was just escaping the brainwashing of her religion, using ash's love and patience as her calming presence. they deserved better.
the ending of this book makes me think that a spin-off series following tanith is very likely. and yes i will be reading it if so :)
the ending of this book makes me think that a spin-off series following tanith is very likely. and yes i will be reading it if so :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2024
This series really went above and beyond. Very similar to SJM’s style in the best way. Sad that it’s over 😭😭😭 just wow.
March 16, 2024
Best book of the four
I really enjoyed this read. The only part I didn't enjoy was the forced romance between Nox and Amaris. I really didn't feel like there was enough chemistry for a romantic relationship between the two of them. It felt more like a sisterly relationship. There was chemistry between all of the other pairings. There was more chemistry between Yaz and Nox than her and Amaris. Just my two cents. I just felt like it was a forced trope to fulfill a need for poly relationships in literature. Other than the forced romance, this storyline was the most engaging of the four in my opinion. I really enjoyed exploring the new land of Sulgrave. I really enjoyed the conflict and the resolution.
I really enjoyed this read. The only part I didn't enjoy was the forced romance between Nox and Amaris. I really didn't feel like there was enough chemistry for a romantic relationship between the two of them. It felt more like a sisterly relationship. There was chemistry between all of the other pairings. There was more chemistry between Yaz and Nox than her and Amaris. Just my two cents. I just felt like it was a forced trope to fulfill a need for poly relationships in literature. Other than the forced romance, this storyline was the most engaging of the four in my opinion. I really enjoyed exploring the new land of Sulgrave. I really enjoyed the conflict and the resolution.
October 23, 2024
You’re telling me the conclusion to the “cult redemption romance” is that the mixed race lover dies and turns into a coin. A PIECE OF CURRENCY. so that the ethic cleanser lover gets to live on redeemed????????? girl
And YES, I did actually read the book. I post negative reviews from this account because of the way the author and her friends interact with reviewers—I’m too private a person for all that. If I ever review a book by another author who acts this way, I will surely post that here as well.
And YES, I did actually read the book. I post negative reviews from this account because of the way the author and her friends interact with reviewers—I’m too private a person for all that. If I ever review a book by another author who acts this way, I will surely post that here as well.
January 1, 2024
I'm genuinely shocked at the bad reviews for this series. It's one of my favorite series ever. I'm definitely not a writer by any means, so I can't speak to the grammar, redundancy, and those things other people pointed out, but I loved the story line, loved the characters, and overall thought this was a very fulfilling series. I can't wait for the next book.
April 15, 2024
maybe 4.5 bc books 2 and 3 were better because they weren’t SOUL CRUSHING - i’m so sad this series is over and idk what to do with my brain space anymore because it’s been consumed by these characters and this work for so long
to-never-read
January 18, 2023See The Night & Its Moon review for more information regarding why this is on my to never read shelf.
August 3, 2024
gadriel spinoff when
August 17, 2025
Honestly, whatever. I'm so happy this is over. Most uncomfortable sex scenes ever written.
March 23, 2024
The Dawn and it’s Light by Piper CJ ☀️❤️
This was an amazing finale to the The Night and its Moon series. The characters, the world, the plots, the politics, everything was just perfect! And very well written. Piper is an amazing author and is popping out books like there’s no tomorrow! She’s expected to have 3 book releases this year!
“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙄’𝙢 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮?”
This book made me cry twice which is quite hard to do!😂 I’m actually so sad this is the last book with these amazing characters and the beautiful setting. Also the spice in this book 🔥🔥🔥🔥 like HOLYYY MOLYYYY 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ all the slow burn has finally played off! The new creatures and characters in this book also bring so much to the story!
“𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡. 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙤𝙧-𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣.
This book holds so many secret and beautiful meanings and I can only say Piper knows what she’s doing
“𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣”
I can’t write too much about this book due to it being a final in a series but I do want you all to go and read this and make it a top priority on your TBR.
This was an amazing finale to the The Night and its Moon series. The characters, the world, the plots, the politics, everything was just perfect! And very well written. Piper is an amazing author and is popping out books like there’s no tomorrow! She’s expected to have 3 book releases this year!
“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙄’𝙢 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮?”
This book made me cry twice which is quite hard to do!😂 I’m actually so sad this is the last book with these amazing characters and the beautiful setting. Also the spice in this book 🔥🔥🔥🔥 like HOLYYY MOLYYYY 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ all the slow burn has finally played off! The new creatures and characters in this book also bring so much to the story!
“𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡. 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙤𝙧-𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣.
This book holds so many secret and beautiful meanings and I can only say Piper knows what she’s doing
“𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣”
I can’t write too much about this book due to it being a final in a series but I do want you all to go and read this and make it a top priority on your TBR.
March 14, 2024
Loved having strong leading Female Characters with the male characters adding to the story, but not being the savior of the story
March 6, 2024
Absolutely gutted in the best way possible. I thought by chapter 5 I had gotten everything I wanted out of the book, I didn’t know it was only going to get better! I’m so satisfied by the ending, though I’m still a little heartbroken, but isn’t that how the best things leave us?
April 2, 2024
I am a Piper CJ super fan. And I don’t want her books’ ratings to fall, particularly since this is her debut novel series. But my honest rating would probably be a 3/5. I think this series needed 1-2 more books to really flesh out the politics and lore that she set up. I found myself scratching my head at the ease with which certain messages were relayed and accepted, and saw a few moments of foreshadowing that culminated into nothing. I was disappointed, because storylines that had been developing for the whole series ended up falling flat in this novel. This is not a criticism of Piper personally. Again, I am a huge fan of her work and will continue to buy her books. But I’m hopeful that with feedback she receives from this series, she’ll be able to improve her subsequent work! Overall, I’d rate the whole TMAIM saga a 4/5. An excellent first foray into novel writing with some room for improvement! Thank you Piper for introducing us all to the world of Nox and Amaris. It was a lovely ride.
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