*Spoiler free, but spoilers for Furyborn and Kingsbane*
Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. Separated from Audric and Ludivine, she embraces the role of Blood Queen and her place by Corien’s side, determined to become the monster the world believes her to be. In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter. But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.
I somehow managed to trade for a physical ARC of Lightbringer. Yeah, I can’t really believe it either. This has been a trilogy that’s set my heart on fire, set everything about me on fire really. I was so looking foreword to the conclusion, to seeing what would happen after the ending of Kingsbane that left me open mouthed with shock, to see where everybody would end up. I was scared what what this book bring, but I knew I wanted to know it nonetheless. Trigger warnings: grief, depression, torture, blood, gore
I don’t think I’ve ever been so utterly destroyed by a book. I feel the emotions churning in my stomach, that’s how much this book made me feel. It’s the kind of book that seems beyond words. How can I find the words to describe a book that feels like it ripped me up? How do I describe the conclusion to a trilogy I absolutely adored? I want to it justice because it was just so amazing.
Really, everything about this book is painful. I’ll probably say that multiple more times, simply because it’s true and it truly was that painful. But, I can’t be in awe at the kind of pain the Legrand wrought. The emotional pain of each of the characters, the physical trails the go through, the things they have to sacrifice and the things they have to endure. All of it is painful, and Legrand knows how to write painful. She knows how to rip readers hearts out, that’s for sure.
There was a portion of this book that I wasn’t sure about. I wasn’t sure where the story was headed or where the plot was going to go. It felt like things were contained after the expansiveness of the last two books. But, the way this plot unfolded, and the way events progressed was genius. It felt like a sheet of expansive whiteness that opened up to glittering gold.
Speaking of the plot, the way it unfolded was incredible. I could see how we got where we were and I can see why the book where it went. It was just as expansive and incredible as the previous two books. There were still angels and gates and magic and godbeasts and swords and battle and interweaving of so many threads. It truly felt like the accumulation of three books and everything they were trying to do.
It’s kind of hard to talk about the characters considering what they went through. It breaks my heart to see where they started and where they ended up. I love them all so, so much. Seriously, my love for them is huge.
I would liked to see more from some of them, but I get why they played the part they did. I still loved them a whole lot haha.
In this book, I loved the description of grief and depression and hard feelings. It wasn’t just hard feelings that were ignored because it was a fantasy book and there was so much more going on, but those feelings were looked at and they tried to handle them.
Oh gosh, the ending. I don’t know how I feel about it. It hurts, but I also feel like it kind of fits. Wrapping up this kind of trilogy, the kind of books the encapsulate so much, and they was it was done just seems like it was the best way to end it. Yes, I would have liked to see more from some of the characters. But, I can’t help but feel like everything settled where it was supposed to. It was supposed to have the painful impact that it did. Gosh, the characters and their pain and their conversations that ripped them apart and just wow. It’s amazing how much this ending made me feel. It amazing how much this book made me feel.
I want to talk about so many things, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. This review is a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be, but I think that’s alright. I love Eliana and Arielle and Audric and Simon and Remy and Navi and every single character. I love the world with its angels and every expansive inch. I love the plot and all its interweaving threads. I love how it played out. This book brought a lot of pain, but I’m still incredibly glad I read it. I truly love this series and this book so, so much.
Lightbringer comes out October 13, 2020! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!
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