Ratings
Content Warnings: Violence, Gore, Self-Harm, Language, Smut, Abuse
Introduction
This spectacular series about a silly romance has finally come to a dramatic end. The twists and turns, the romance, the prose, all of it was amazing (well for the most part).
Eclipse of the Crown is definitely weaker all around than the previous 2. Between the pacing and whiplash events, the book drug your around until the characters somehow ended up in the right spot.
Regardless, the ending was still heartbreaking and wonderful.
Pros
- A map!
- The ending!
- The oracle
- Meta references
Cons
- Chapters 11-15
- Pacing throughout
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot
The plot of the final book was a bit convoluted. There was so much back and forth between each plot point that I grew tired of repeatedly reading the same thing.
Besides this, I enjoyed the build-up and plot twists. I think all the plot lines were summed up nicely with creative solutions.
And honestly, that’s all I have to say about the plot. I couldn’t identify any loose ends or odd plot holes. Everything was covered and explained quite well. It was a pleasure to read and experience all of the hard work and turmoil from the previous 2 books end happily.
Characters
Amma
By the end of the book, Amma was confident with her eyes open to new ideas. She stopped seeing things so black and white and instead found the gray middle ground of it all, especially in what/who is good and evil.
Amma stopped caring about what others wanted for her and their expectations and followed her own wants and desires. She was much happier in the end too. And the fact she decided to go back to Damien, despite giving up the easy out of saving the realm was admirable. I would have done the same. What’s an existence without the one(s) you love?
But I can’t help but wonder how her parents took her decision to be with Damien and how they will rule said lands.
Damien
Damien did a complete 180. He did actually become good and started being more thoughtful and considerate. Him learning that he can in fact love was such a powerful thing. I loved it.
Side Characters
Xander
I’m glad Xander chose Amma and Damien. He’s still a little shit, but he’s decent enough. His plotting and general magical abilities are amazing. He’s quite impressive. I’d love to read more about him and his adventures. Just to see what he gets into.
Writing
There are 2 things I want to talk about when it comes to the writing of this book.
- Pacing
- Chapters 11-15
Pacing
The pacing of this book was a bit off compared to the previous 2. We lingered on certain sections for an odd amount of time while zooming through others. I’ll cover the former in the next point. So, let’s talk about the latter.
I want to use the example of Amma getting Damien back after he was abducted by Delphine. That lead up, planning, and fight should have lasted much longer than the hand full of pages it took. I was expecting a day or so delay or some type of delay really. I was also expecting for Damien to be in Delphine’s hands much longer than what was shown.
It would have been the perfect time to really show how Delphine treated Damien, to really build up the character before bringing her down, similarly to how Amma killed Cedric.
But ultimately, the book jumped from one thing to the next at an odd pace. And on top of that it was a lot of back and forth. Quite draining actually.
Chapters 11-15
Now, onto the part I hated about this book. Chapters 11-15. Initially, I thought it was cute that the little example the oracle used for Amma came true. It was a nice touch. But for A.K. Caggiano to then take the next 5 chapters to discuss the ins and outs of this “prophecy” was wasteful.
We, as readers, literally gained nothing from the experience. And neither did Amma or Damien. It takes a lot for me to skip through sections of a book, but I did during this. Those chapters could have been used to delve into Delphine’s abduction of Damien or even Yvlon. Neither of those portions got enough page time like they should have.
Because of these 2 things, I deducted a star. These portions significantly weakened the story, in my opinion.
However, the book was meta in certain places and I absolutely adored it! Especially when the oracle said Damien would find the question to his answer in the epilogue; and when A.K. threw out the book knew the pacing was off.
Final Thoughts
Although I wish some sections were stronger than others, I did enjoy this book. It’s honestly a new favorite of mine, coming in second behind Daughter of No Worlds. But I’m sad it’s over. This is a book I wish I could read again for the first time.
I highly, highly recommend this series and its silly little romance.
What did you think of the book? Did you like it or could you have done without it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Facebook Page | Goodreads TBR | Spicy Rating Scale | A.K. Caggiano’s Website
Red's Bookish Boones 