Unfortunately this was my least favorite book in the series so far and that genuinely hurts my heart to say because I LOVE the Beasts of Briar world. 😭 This one just felt very… filler-book energy to me. There was a lot of repetitive conflict, dramatic declarations of love every other chapter, and moments that should have hit emotionally ended up getting overshadowed by the next catastrophe five seconds later. You know the vibe.
And listen… the moment we have ALL been waiting for finally happened — Kel and Rose becoming mates — and instead of letting us sit in that payoff, we immediately spiral into Cas losing himself to the Below and Rose getting ripped away to go after him. LET ME ENJOY ONE THING, ELIZABETH HELEN. 😩
That being said, there were still some really cool moments. The fighting scenes continue to be creative as hell in this series. The star scene? Incredible. The tunnels? Stressful in the best way. The action never misses.
Character-wise, everyone feels like they’re standing on the edge of becoming something bigger before the final showdown:
* Day is trying to figure out who he even is after being reincarnated.
* Cas and Kel finally professing their love before everything went sideways had me emotional.
* Farron is leaning HARD into the green flame and honestly feels the most disconnected he’s ever been unless he’s busy power struggling or staring longingly at Day.
* Ez remains the steadfast hero of the group, finally reconciles with his brother, AND takes Spring back like the king he is.
* George is actively trying to heal the Rose.
* Birdie being set free made me weirdly emotional.
Overall, this definitely felt like a setup book for the finale more than a fully satisfying installment on its own. But the final book being an all-out fight against the Underworld? Yeah… I will absolutely be seated for that immediately.