❝I cry out and fall to my knees,
THE BEAUTY OF DARKNESS – MARY E PEARSON
unable to go on,
weeping for the dead,
weeping for the cruelties,
and a whisper calls to me from far away,
You are strong,
Stronger than your pain,
Stronger than your grief,
Stronger than them.
And I force myself to my feet again.❞
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Publisher: Square Fish
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 679
Dates Read: June 8-9, 2019
Format: Paperback
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
📖 “Lia has survived Venda—but so has a great evil bent on the destruction of Morrighan. And only Lia can stop it.
With war on the horizon, Lia has no choice but to assume her role as First Daughter, as soldier—as leader. While she struggles to reach Morrighan and warn them, she finds herself at cross-purposes with Rafe and suspicious of Kaden, who has hunted her down.
In this heart-stopping conclusion to the Remnant Chronicles trilogy that started with The Kiss of Deception and The Heart of Betrayal, traitors must be rooted out, sacrifices must be made, and impossible odds must be overcome as the future of every kingdom hangs in the balance.” 📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
4.5 STARS
WOW.
This series is going down as one of my favorite series of all time, and i can’t believe that it is OVER! Pearson’s writing is phenomenal, and the world she built truly sucks you in. This last book of the series was 680 pages, but it didn’t feel like it at all. Before I knew it, I was halfway through.
Going into The Beauty of Darkness, my expectations were through the roof. I had so many plans in my mind of how I wanted things to play out in the end. I was a bit skeptical though because I saw a lot of low star reviews. Fortunately enough, I was fairly satisfied with the way The Remnant Chronicles came to an end. It wasn’t what I wanted exactly but it was good enough for me.
Reading this book will also FRUSTRATE YOU. Oh boy will it! IT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW YOUR BOOK ACROSS THE ROOM.
The Characters
Lia’s character development was amazing in this book. She has grown so much. She is fierce, relentless, and straight up badass. She is one of my favorite female MC’s i’ve ever read. She went full on WARRIOR PRINCESS on their enemies and suddenly all was right in the world. Lia has came a long way from how she was since the very beginning of The Kiss of Deception and I couldn’t be more proud.
As for Rafe, I felt like we did see a bit of his ugly side. I did feel at one point that he kept holding Lia back, much to my dismay since Lia and Rafe are my OTP in this series. But we also get to see him for the great ruler that he was and the love he truly has for Lia. His character does take a downturn in certain areas but he makes up for it and more in other ways.
Kaden wasn’t as much of a presence in this book which was kind of disappointing. Although I don’t ship him with Lia, I still loved their friendship and teamwork. I also felt that he got what I felt was a very rushed conclusion to his story, and it left me wanting more. Rather than one of the three main characters in this story, he felt like more of a background character which was a bit sad since he adds so much depth to the series.
The characters are what frustrated me the most in this book. I honestly didn’t know who to be pissed at more: Lia for being stubborn. Rafe for holding Lia back. Everyone for being close-minded. Or what. I don’t even know. At one point, it felt like they were all acting out of character and it made me want to rip my hair out. Thankfully, everyone got a hold on themselves and we were able to get back to the story and all was right in the world again.
The Plot
I felt the plot was perfect for this ending. The battle scene overall wasn’t too much of a letdown. I expected sword-fighting and I got it. However, I thought the biggest anticlimactic ending was the “defeat” of the Komizar. The build-up set us up for such an epic ending but it felt too rushed and too easy. It was a little disappointing actually. But i know i can’t complain too much. Lives were sacrificed. Battles were lost. Wars were won. Endings were happy. That’s all I could really wish for. I just think Mary Pearson could’ve dragged this story out slightly more just so a lot of things wouldn’t have felt so rushed or could have been explained in more detail.
While there were a few moments that I wish were bigger or more detailed. I was still overall left satisfied and completely captivated by the story and the world.
The Romance *Spoiler Warning*
Lia and Rafe were always my OTP in this series from the beginning. So I was happy that Lia and Rafe finally got their happy ending after so many trials and obstacles that got in their way. I know that a lot of people think of their relationship as boring or convienient but I can’t help but love them anyways. To me, I think falling in love with the Assassin or the person you’re not supposed to fall in love with is played out and a bit boring and predictable. I knew from the very beginning that Lia truly loved Rafe and would ultimately choose him in the end but I also appreciated the bond that Lia had with Kaden. In the end though, their HEA was only a brief tease in the last few pages. I was pretty disappointed and really wanted more since they did go through so much, but I’m just happy that my couple ended up together for once.
As for Kaden and Pauline’s relationship, I was all for it! I was actually hoping that Kaden would end up with Pauline or Gwyneth. But sadly, I felt like their relationship was a bit rushed for the sake of giving Kaden a love interest that wasn’t Lia. Pauline despised Kaden and then after a few chapters, we’re all of a sudden expected to buy into the potential relationship. I shipped it but I just thought it was underdeveloped. We really could’ve gotten a lot out of their relationship with more detail and pages.
OVERALL
The Beauty of Darkness was an outstanding conclusion. As a huge fan, I obviously wanted more or bigger details in certain aspects, and I felt that she could have stretched this into 4 books but cut out some details and shortened it to 3.
But I truly do adored the book and the whole series. Pearson has a beautiful writing style that captures you and pulls you in. This series will forever hold a place in my heart. These characters will always stay with me and I know I’ll always look for a piece of them in every book I read and every character I read about. Thank you Mary Pearson for such an amazing series! I can’t wait to read Dance of Thieves series as i know it takes place in the same universe.
Alicia Reads It 