#deathcaster

Evan brings up Destin at least once a chapter and is just constantly like, "I wish Destin were here. Destin would laugh at my jokes. Destin would know how to sail my pride and joy boat that I named after him without ever telling him. Destin so cool. I wonder if I can get away with writing more love letters to Destin.

And that was not only traumatic to Ash, it was traumatic as hell for me too. I didn't give af about jenna and her childhood crush. I WAS MOURNING! And then I continued to mourn for the rest of Flamecaster-- which made the entire reading experience terrible.

Then by Dreamcaster, I was still mourning. Han--but in a different way bc Lyss' grief felt more respectful to Han in some ways-- and CAT BC SHE APPARENTLY DIED TOO??? And I was also disturbed by the Raimon 'hints' (I believe it's mostly Lyss' own paranoia about her mom moving on, but still DISTURBING)

By Stormcaster the grief about Han was settling down, but then I got angry bc it finally hit me that Raisa and Han (THE WHOLE REASON THAT I READ ALL FOUR BOOKS BC OF) would never get a happy ending together. History repeats itself, just like with hanalea and alger, which is terrible since Raisa stuck it to her family at the end of Crimson Crown about how she was LEARNING FROM THE PAST! and there were more references to raisa moving on and spending the rest of her life with someone else and that made angry too, bc she's a half of my otp! idc if he died, idc if it's healthy and realistic to move on, THEY HAD JUST GOTTEN MARRIED!

And finally, by the time Lyss and Ash finally reunited with Han, and it was confirmed that Raisa and Han were meeting up in the amulet and would continue to do so, DEATHCASTER WAS OVER! oh, and don't get me started on magret, bc by that point i was too emotionally numb to grieve over her.

Destin and Evan: after so many years apart, we're finally together again and settling down in a cabin away from it all.

Jenna and Ash: After thinking we've lost each other so many times, we're finally together and we live with our adopted dragon children in the mountains!

Hal and Lyss: We have accepted our burdens of becoming King/Queen and work hard to maintain peace, and eventually when things are looking better in the Realms, we will get married. Not for power, but for love!

Me:

When I first saw the cover and read the synopsis for Flamecaster, I was SO excited. The Seven Realms, even after ten years, is still one of my favorite series. To be gifted with a whole sequel series - to get even just a little more story about these characters I’ve grown to love, to get to meet their kids and get to explore the Realms more - I was elated!

Within the last year or two, I made the decision to not read a series before the last book was released. Flamecaster came out before I made that choice (and may have been one of the books to push me to it), so the first time I read it, I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to be seen. Three chapters in, and hit me right in the feels: major character death. I took a few days before diving back into the book, but once I did, I enjoyed it, and it made me look forward to the rest of the series.

Fast forward to 2020 (*makes sign of the cross*). I’m finally ready to read the whole series together. I reread TSR to re-familiarize myself with the story, loved it just as much as the first time around. When I was ready to pick up Flamecaster again, I was prepared to have my heart broken again. I was ready to git ‘er done!

So, Flamecaster, right? GOOD first book. A wizard healer who’s also an assassin? Oxymoronic, but I’m here for it. A rebellious young woman who likes to blow shit up, has a mysterious magemark on the back of her neck that gives her some cool powers, AND is fighting for her home against a tyrannical king? Tell me more! Bloodsucking, wizard-hunting priests? Gross, but intriguing. DRAGONS?!?! Honestly, could take them or leave them, but cool integration into the canon.

But as I got into the next books in the series, especially the last one, there were a lot of moments where I felt like I was just reading to get through the story, not really soaking anything in, not really enjoying the content. For example, Evan, the protagonist of Stormcaster, basically lives on a boat. Obviously, from his POV, gonna be a lot of boat stuff, but it felt kind of excessive at points. Like so much stuff about masts and riggings and sails and mizzens. I got lost a few times. Additionally, the overarching plotline revolves around a twenty-five-year long war, so there’s a lot of talk about battle strategies and tactics and stuff my brain just kinda glossed over.

Mostly though, I felt like there was a lot of exposition or build up that lead to one of the quickest resolutions I’ve ever encountered. This seemingly all-powerful antagonist introduced in book one is gone in a matter of seconds in the penultimate chapter of the last book and that’s it. No epic battle. No one fighting for their lives. Just here one second, gone the next. Arguably, could be comical but was more disappointing.

The Shattered Realms is beautifully written. Vivid imagery. Great example of world building. A variety of well-crafted characters. I’m always down for smart, strong, badass women, and Alyssa Gray is someone I should aspire to be. Again: dragons, named Splash and Slayer and Goat who were loyal and funny and taunting of 'puny humans'. There was espionage and deceit, wartime love and unlikely newfound friendships, family reunions and the loss of loved ones in more ways than one.