Review--The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

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 solider--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, 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.

Mary E. Pearson's The Beauty of Darkness was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I can happily say that it does not disappoint! It has everything I loved about the series from the beginning! Romance, action, betrayals, deceptions, action, and a good dose of humor here and there! The Beauty of Darkness was an emotional and gut wrenching read that held me riveted from the very first page to the very last page!

We pick up pretty much where we left off and it's no surprise to say that Lia survived her serious injuries though it did take time. So much happens in this one, it's hard to give even the briefest of summaries, without spoilers of course and without rehashing the entire story, but needless to say Lia has a big and epic journey on her hands, if the 679 pages didn't already clue you in!

Lia and Rafe are together again and as they head back to Dalbreck, Lia's gift chimes in that all is not well back in her home of Morrighan and she feels the need to return, despite being labeled a traitor and criminal to her kingdom. This causes a lot of arguments with her and Rafe and my heart ached for them, because I could see both their points reasonably, but it seemed neither one could truly do the same. Kaden joins the party as well and that itself brought up new predicaments. Who can we truly trust in this situation? Trouble is brewing and an enemy is rising. Lia will need all the help she can get.

Fair warning, the pacing to this one isn't quite as action packed and fast paced as one might like. It's a little slower, but trust me when I say it's still phenomenal all the way through! Each moment will pack an emotional punch of some kind. There were so many powerful gut wrenching moments in this one that I couldn't read fast enough! Too bad life had to get in my way! As it was, I still ate up the pages of this one in three days, not fill days mind you, but there was a good dose of reading in these busy days! I was lost to the world of Mary's Remnant Chronicles and returning to reality at each stopping point was always a bitter disappointment! I had to know what was going to happen here!

I started making my own predictions regarding a few things. And I was happy to see that I was right about the important ones! Yay! But of dear god, it took forever for me to be able to breathe properly! The tension of those final reveals was so intense...I was scared for a time, my heart beating rapidly, tears starting in the back of my eyes thinking it might not go the way it NEEDED to...but I stubbornly kept thinking it HAS to end the way I think it should! And really by a certain point of any book, you can nearly tell if the ending will be happy or not. There's only ever been a few series that ended with ripping my heart out of my chest and really at this point I can only think of one that will always haunt me. Where does this one fall? Well...I won't say just because!

The romance in this one was once again swoony and heart-melting! I love Lia and Rafe's relationship. I love how they challenge one another and yet, still hold the other in their time of need. That even despite arguments that would force them apart, they still know what's in their hearts is true. But there are many forces working against them, and their fate remains unclear.

This is perhaps one of the shortest reviews I've written for a book that I loved and enjoyed so thoroughly, but I really don't want to get into too many details and ruin any surprises for you all! Simplicity at its best. But basically, if you were at all a fan of this series from book 1, you'll be reading this one eventually and you'll discover all the magic and incredibleness of this finale for yourself in your own time! Just be sure you not to wait too long because The Beauty of Darkness is an incredibly epic read that must be devoured at once!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars