Well what a stonking way to finish off this series. At the end of the last book, Lia has figured out that she is the real Ellowyn Demont, heir of Pry-ree. And this means that she needs to make the trip to Dochte Abbey to give the warning about the coming blight. But it looks like the fake Ellowyn Demont has been corrupted by the Hetaera, and will do anything she can to stop Lia from accomplishing her goals, and more importantly, from getting to Colvin.

We still have a little moping in this book from Lia about how she wants to be with Colvin, but she seems more determined to seal her own fate and go and grab what she wants. And even when it looks like it might be too late for her, she still doesn’t get downhearted, instead choosing to trust implicitly in the medium and the path that has been predetermined for her.

Lia’s journey from Muirwood to Dahomey is perilous and fraught with danger, but Lia fits well with her new found Maston status, and with the help of some unlikely companions, she’s able to deliver the warning that she needs to. But it doesn’t seem like even that is enough, as she still finds herself being led into a fire for not converting to the hetaera.

Of course, the book doesn’t end there. Lia is so powerful with the medium that she truly believes that the medium will protect her and lead her through to accomplish what has been pre-defined for her. And yes, there may be a little element of happily-ever-after right at the end. But I didn’t mind that, because Lia was kick ass and didn’t rely on a man to help her to save Muirwood.

I loved the characters in the book. They were so well developed through books one and two that some things left you completely floored. But because you feel like you know the characters so well, you feel such a connection to how the story will end, and it kept me flipping pages again and again until it was over.

One thing I will say about my experience with this book was that I found it much easier to read it than to listen to it. I don’t know if it was just because there was so much going on, or maybe I just wasn’t in the zone, but I found myself missing out on important nuances in the text when I was listening to it. Probably just me though!

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I do like the way that the story was left open at the end to give an opportunity for further books down the line. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for them!