Book Review: The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

11/30/2017

SYNPOSIS

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.

Synopsis from Indigo.ca

PERSONAL REVIEW

I made the mistake of reading some of the reviews of this book before I read it, something I should know better than to do because, quite honestly, everyone has different opinions about everything they read. Your age, expectations, interests -- everything affects the way we read and I think this came across very clearly in some of the reviews I read.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to read it for myself, but I'm glad I didn't let the reviews stop me. Although there were some problems with this novel, I like the way that it concluded the series. Pearson really trapped herself with some of the storylines, and I wasn't totally shocked by some of the decisions she had to make for some of the characters. So let's dive in.

What I Liked:

Excellent Character Development: We get to see Lia continue to find and grow in her voice and power. This is no small feat since we are told time and again how women in this series (heck, in today's society) shouldn't worry about politics, war, or anything else that's traditionally a "man's roll". She doesn't back down just because it makes things difficult for Rafe, and I think that's really important here. Lia is doing what she can to help TWO kingdoms, if not three, and she doesn't back down just because she's fallen in love.

It’s also great to see Lia and Rafe as a couple and actually being themselves. The reality of their situations (rulers of very different countries) really pushes them to figure out who they are as individuals and who they are as a couple. Lia has no regrets in becoming the Queen of Venda and I love that she does this knowing that she’s giving up Rafe; the security of her people is more important than her love life. (Spoiler: they do end up together, but it doesn’t dilute the message of Lia as an empowered woman!)

Sex {gasp!} That Isn’t Corny or Awkward to Read: Lia and Rafe sleep together and I really loved how Pearson wrote this in. It wasn’t awkward or scary or something that either one of them regretted. They are both taking control of a situation that will soon be out of their control. I think the most important thing here is that Lia initiates both of the times they have sex; she is not a passive damsel waiting for the guy to make the first move. She controls her own narrative and it’s wonderful to read.

Some Annoyances:

So Much Happens Behind the Scenes!: We seemed to get more pages telling us about people conversing instead of the actual conversations. This was pretty odd for Pearson, since I didn't notice this to be an issue in previous novels. But it seemed like a lot of this book was us learning about things after the fact, in asides, or a random character recapping events to a different character to catch us up. This could just be my impression though, so you should definitely judge it for yourself.

Awkward Wrap-Up of Some Loose Ends: While the battle itself was well done, the whole “Lia ends the battle by yelling for everyone to stop” thing just seemed way to unbelievable. And the whole Kaden-and-Pauline relationship? That felt like it came out of nowhere! I’m happy that Kaden got a happy ending, but it seemed too forced to me.

Overall, I liked this book and I loved the series as a whole. It wasn’t the strongest in the trilogy, but it ended everything nicely. And we just got news that there’s going to be a companion series too it!!! So that’s something we can all look forward too for 2018.

FINAL RATING: 4/5