Spirit's End
Ratings6
Average rating4
15
Ratings6
Average rating4
Eli Monpress is clever, he's determined, and he's in way over his head. First rule of thievery: don't be a hero. When Eli broke the rules and saved the Council Kingdoms, he thought he knew the price, but resuming his place as the Shepherdess's favorite isn't as simple as bowing his head. Now that she has her darling back, Benehime is setting in motion a plan that could destroy everything she was created to protect, and even Eli's charm might not be enough to stop her. But Eli Monpress always has a plan, and with disaster rapidly approaching, he's pulling in every favor he can think of to make it work, including the grudging help of the Spirit Court's new Rector, Miranda Lyonette. But with the world in panic, the demon stirring, and the Lord of Storms back on the hunt, it's going to take more than luck and charm to pull Eli through this time. He's going to have to break a few more rules and work with some old enemies if he's going to survive.
Series
5 primary books6 released booksThe Legend of Eli Monpress is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2010 with contributions by Rachel Aaron.
Reviews with the most likes.
While I was able to read the previous 4 books fairly quickly I found myself struggling with this one. One of the main things I liked about this series was the arrogance that often presented itself in a rather amusing way with the character the series is named after. While the plot was often simple, I'd enjoy the banter between the trio as they got up to all kinds of mischief.
In the latter book that started to take a backseat to a more serious storyline and in the last novel here that lightness is all but non-existent. That would be fine if the plot was strong enough to maintain my interest and it was for awhile, but there is one glaring plot hole that presents itself midway into the novel that stuck out like a sore thumb. It completely invalidates the motive for what's happening at that current time and as such the rest of the book itself since everything hinges on that plot line. It killed any motivation I had to continue, but continue I did.
And continued right on along with a character I absolutely hate in Miranda. I dislike characters whose morality is black and white. Who reek of self-righteousness and when met with anything that challenges their worldview they double down on it rather than question anything. This simplistic and troublesome moral outlook can be used for great character development, but here? There are no real consequences and the behavior is rewarded. While I find it infuriating it is admittedly a matter of taste, but these two factors combine did drop the book down from something I enjoyed to something that was ‘meh'.
In the end it was a decent series with the last book being the weakest of the 5 imo.
To end a successful series is a decision not easily taken. Once you have crossed that line, it still is not easy to deliver a finale that matches up to what's gone by. So Spirit's End is a notch below the previous book but still a pretty good effort for a finale. Purely, because I felt a lot of the explanation was left to the last 50 pages resulting in the disjointed ending. But once cannot rate this book standalone. It brings to an end to an amazing series which delivered grit, determination and the power of human willpower, the power of freedom and a world without prejudice. We met some extremely memorable character and there were some goosebump moments too. But over and above that there were plenty of points where I found myself laughing out loudly much to the consternation of the fellow travelers and this only happens when the world around you is lost and you are living in the writer's world. Job well done Rachel. Cheers!
