The Blood Traitor

I wanted to give the book 4 stars cuz I loved it a lot. But Kiva lost her powers at the end so... yeah. -1

I loved Jaren and Kiva they are the reason I kept reading this series and couldn't put it down. They are also the reason I finished this series in like 3 days?

It was really good and I enjoyed it a lot!

• - Wauw :).

• - Ik moet wel zeggen dat ik de ‘drama’ met Jaren te lang vond duren en dat niet meer interessant vond na een tijdje hahah.

• - Mijn theorie over Cresta klopte!

• - Caldon is m’n favoriet.

• - Ik had eigenlijk verwacht dat er wel iemand dood zou gaan, maar dit was uiteindelijk toch niet zo.

• - DIE RINGEN VERZAMELT VOOR NIKS?????

• - Deze serie heeft heel veel Avatar-vibes: je hoort mij niet klagen 🤣. Zuleeka geeft ook echt Azula vibes.

• 
  

"We can look at the darkness and let it consume us, or we can recognize that it’s only temporary, trusting that once it passes, the light will return."

4.25 ⭐'s

What a great ending to a really solid, enjoyable series. Everything was tied up beautifully in this book and really did the whole series justice and in the end, I think this was the strongest book out of all three and definitely my favourite. I really loved that this book delved into themes such as forgiveness, having accountability and owning up to your mistakes and working to prove yourself to the people who love you when you've made those mistakes. There were times in this book where I wanted to throttle Kiva and times that I completely understood where she was coming from too, and I think that depth of understanding with her character helped me to connect with her better than I have in previous books.

"Kiva had made mistakes. Terrible, awful, life-ruining mistakes. But for better or worse, she’d always done what she thought was right. Her magic didn’t define who she was, nor did it have the power to decide her fate."

I think the tension between Jaren and Kiva in this book was really great too, the longing slow burn of them warming back up to each other was really well done in this book. Kiva got on my nerves a few times with the decisions that she made, she really was extremely stubborn, to her own detriment at times. But in the end it all worked out for the best and when they finally got the chance to tell each other how they really felt it so heart warming and adorable. I also loved the found family aspect in this book, this theme was a major one throughout the series, even when Kiva found her actual family again her new friends were always there for her much more like a family would be and I think that was lovely to watch unfold.
SPOILER
The addition of Cresta to this family was an unexpected one but I am glad that Kiva and her were able to become friends after everything they had both been through, especially considering how alike the two were in the end. I am shocked at myself for not catching onto who Cresta was though, it was woven into the story very well and I honestly don't think I would've ever guessed! (hide spoiler
END SPOILER
I also really like how this book handled tougher topics again as in the previous books, touching on drug addiction and also on grief and loss.

"My family were never rebels before Zalindov — that all happened after I was sent there. I didn’t choose that life. And when I was finally free to make that choice, I still didn’t choose it."

Overall, I really thoroughly enjoyed this series and I am so glad I read them. They didn't quite touch me as deeply as I wished they would've, I was rooting for them to win but even when one of the characters was presumed dead I didn't feel too upset by this. I think some of that depth was missing from the character connections unfortunately. I also found parts overly repetitive, a lot of Kiva's thoughts repeated the same ideas multiple times which got on my nerves after a bit but I think these concerns I have with this series are my own problem and not a fault with the book at all. I loved that this book raised the stakes again like in the first book, I got a bit bored in the second one where it delved more into politicking but this one had a quest with challenges and that was a really fun journey. I definitely recommend this series to those who liked Shadow and Bone, as I feel this series is very similar to it.

I loved this book. I loved the quest, I loved the characters (my favourite being Caldon, I almost cried when I thought he had died) and the hint-dropping that I missed in book two came back 😭! I loved that we got to know Cresta. The only thing that didn't make sense to me was that Kiva said she hadn't healed Jaren with her magic since that one night in the castle, even though she had also used her magic when Cresta had stabbed him. But we will overlook that, since it could be possible Kiva had just forgotten or she did not make that time count since she shot her magic at him and did not directly touch him.

I can’t wait for another book of this amazing author. The whole triology was just so well thought out. Stuff that happened in this book were only possible and plausible because of the events that had happened and things that were mentioned in the previous books.

Overal an amazing triology. I gave the previous two books four and a half stars, but this book deserves five. The first book did not receive five since I did not really like the Wattpad writing style and the second book did not receive five since I missed the hint-dropping and a direct mission. This book did NOT have the Wattpad writing style and DID have the hint-dropping and a mission (that being the quest and defeating Zuleeka and Navok). All the stuff I liked about the other two, in one book. Who doesn’t like that?

Thank you Saskia for making me read this series. The characters are some of my favourites.

The way Lynette is able to subvert the readers expectations time and time again, and constantly find new plot twists that aren’t easily predictable, is truly beautiful to read. I love her writing style, and can’t wait for her future projects ☺️

Another series finished!

I liked this one more thanThe Gilded Cage but a bit less than The Prison Healer.

I loved the newer side characters, the twists and turns, and the final battle, but there were some things that irked me, hence the four stars.

Everyone had a right to be angry with/hurt by Kiva's actions. Kiva had every right to feel horrible and guilty. However. Jaren. I loved him the first two books, but he made me angry here. He's rightfully upset (she did have a hand in providing Zuleeka the info needed to strip him of his magic) with Kiva and her lies. But, when Kiva goes to talk with him about it, to give her side of the story, he says some harsh things. Which would have been fair--That's not my issue. When Kiva is forced to relapse on angeldust and confesses her feelings, Kiva does attempt to rectify the situation again by telling Jaren not to pity her and that she will respect his wishes. Then, Jaren tells her HE WAS LYING. And he's upset that she kept avoiding him. While following his wishes. The audacity. I was so mad. Kiva is many things, but a mind reader is not one of them. I would've bought his explanation if he said that he was just trying to protect himself after everything more than just saying he outright lied. He gaslights her for trying to make things right and do what he wants from her. Kiva deserved better than that.

Now then, onto other important things.

I don't know how much I buy Caldon and Cresta. And no, that's not because Caldon is on my list of book boyfriends and I'm jealous. Not at all. Okay, maybe a teeny, tiny bit. But they both seem too headstrong to be anything more than a flirtationship to me. Granted, it's not really more than that in the book, but it does seem to be heading that direction.

Ash and Tor I actually found pretty cute. It had the makings of an enemies to lovers, forced proximity sort of thing, minus the staunch enemies part. They seemed to really get along quickly, and Tor and Cresta never really have to answer for leading a rebel army and breaking out of Zalindov, respectively.

I am also so so tired of female heroines losing their powers. Can we destroy this trope? Please?

Tipp is a sweet baby angel who can do no wrong. I love him.

Minus a few major frustrations, this was a really good conclusion. I'm going to go stare into a void now.