Emily S

I can't even begin to put a coherent thought together right now.

ETA:

Okay, I'm slightly more calm now, and can at least string a sentence or two together. This is another one of those books that destroyed me without regrets. This time though, it put me back together, even if the pieces don't fit quite the same way they used to. I laughed, I cried, I ugly-cried, I sat stunned into silence. My emotions ran all over the place and my feels are pretty much battered beyond all recognition right now.

With that, this is definitely one of the best books I've ever read, in one of the strongest series I've ever read. Each book got better than the last, which I find to be rare. Usually there's a second book slump, but not in this case. Not even close in this series. It's perfection, all the way through.

I'm SO glad that I bought the Barnes & Noble special edition, because I got the Darkling prequel. After the ending of Ruin and Rising, I felt like I GOT him. I've been a Darkling's Darling from the beginning, and though my faith in him wavered through the middle, by the end, I was back with him. I started to understand why he was the way he was - how lonely he was and how much he wanted things to be right. His version of right just got terribly warped along the way. It's a tragic story, and I'm SO glad that his end was treated the way it was, even if I didn't want him to end (I'll make up a fanfic ending for him...including me, of course). I LOVED how Bardugo handled this part. The prequel made him so much easier to understand as well, and much more sympathetic. You can easily see how and why he became what he did. Oh, I LOVED it.

I wish there were more stars to award, because I would. I'd give it all the stars possible and recommend it to anyone looking for a fabulous series to start.