Legacy of Light by Sarah Raughley is the third book in the young adult fantasy Effigies trilogy. Each book of the series builds upon the last with the story picking up shortly after it had left off so this would definitely be a series you would want to begin from the beginning.

Having said that, I received advanced copies of book 1 and 2, and while I am so grateful that I was able to receive and advanced copy of this book as well, by the time it came out I was no longer interested in the series. I've tried picking up this book many times but could just not get into it... and after a while I forgot what happened in book 1 and 2. I'm not saying they bad or anything, but I would recommend reading them all back to back to back, because taking a break might cause you to put the series down just like I did.

Overall a great series, but nothing out of this world amazing. Clearly easy to forget after a couple years.

Wow, this was such a fantastic book! This world of the Effigies has been consuming since the beginning, and while I'm sad to say goodbye, it's a heck of an ending! I enjoyed reading it so, so much! So much happens in this book!

This is the book where we finally find out how the Effigies come about. There were so many parts that they needed to learn, about the stones, and Saul, and how the Phantoms were created. It's so interesting and pretty mind blowing!

There's also so many emotional conflicts to deal with. Like the fact that her sister is alive and Saul's the one that made it happen. That Belle pretty much killed her. And since she's basically on her own for a good portion of the book, leaves plenty of time to think things over, as well as those confrontations!

That final battle, it just kept coming and coming! After all the different pieces that had to come together, collecting information about what the bad guys had done and were planning to do, dealing with the phantoms and then the final end? Yeah, it was so action packed and so easy to read!

Loved this book so much, and I can't wait to see what Sarah Raughley writes next!

This trilogy is SO good and I love that the author is also Canadian. I love how each new book builds on the last but still does its own thing. I also really enjoy the characters in this one.

I didnt really connect with the main character. Maia had good morals, but I would have liked to see her take charge more often. Her role in the story almost felt secondary. The other girls in the group were the ones doing most of the fighting. The group dynamic wasnt as strong as it could have been. I wanted them to feel more like a team. I loved Lake and her supportive relationship with Maia. Chae Rin was a little rough around the edges with her rude comments, but I still liked her. Unlike Belle with her selfish attitude and complete disregard for the other girls.

I felt like Saul and Blackwell made a pretty good antagonists. Getting to see their backstory really helped me understand where his motivations were coming from. I liked getting to know how the effigies and phantoms came to be. Theres also some entertaining messy family drama that comes into play. Some things in the story didnt add up. For one Maia was still being attacked by phantoms while in possession of the protection stone necklace. Despite a couple of other minor things not adding up, I did enjoy the plot with all the secrets, blackmail and conspiracies.

I absolutely loved the world and the overall concept of having a group of girls with elemental magic fighting these huge shadow monsters. The girls powers and the phantoms were pretty awesome. I also liked the mix of fantasy and scifi elements. The writing on the other hand didnt flow as well as it could have. It made it harder to get into the story and even harder to stay immersed despite the awesome action going on. I would have liked more tension leading up to to those battle scenes. They just didnt feel as high stakes as they should have been so it ended up dragging. That pacing needed a bit of work.

I understand that these girls are bound to be flawed after the way they have been beaten down by society, but I think the whole girl power message could have been stronger had some of the girls relationship not been as strained. I did appreciate it not having any romance and focusing more on the girls personal journey. I liked how the ending showed how far they've all come since first meeting each other. I also appreciated the ethnic diversity among the girls. With the Sailor Moon meets Pacific Rim vibes this could have been so much more than it was.

Its a thrilling race to the end in Sarah Raughley's final book of her Effigies trilogy. The girls no longer know who they can trust with the sect divided in two, and Saul's army is on the rise. They must figure out who they can depend on to fight back as the only hope to save humanity. Its time to scry, to go back to the beginning in hopes of figuring out how to bring an end to the phantoms. Will they find the answers in time? Or will their past come back to haunt them? Highly recommended!

In Legacy of Light, Sarah Raughley has crafted a fittingly epic end to her Effigies trilogy. Maia, Chae Rin and Lake are on the run, being hunted as terrorists, and Maia's former idol Belle has gone rogue. Maia's twin June, who died in a fire years ago, is somehow back and wreaking havoc in Maia's name. And Saul is still obsessed with finding Maia so he can use her to get in touch with the consciousness of the original Fire Effigy.

I will highly recommend re-reading the first two books first before going into this one. It's been a year since I read book two, and I spent a lot of the first half of the book feeling thoroughly confused by all the references to characters and situations that I could no longer remember. Raughley drops us right into the middle of the action, and never lets up on the pace, which makes for a heart-racing quick pace of a thrill ride, but also assumes readers understand what's happening. 

I love that this book delves deep into the mythology and origins of the Effigies. We finally learn how they got their powers and why the powers are passed on from one generation of girls to another throughout centuries. We also finally understand what the phantoms are, and why they are so closely linked to the Effigies and the mythos surrounding their powers. That part of the book was really strong, and I love the intricacies of the world Raughley has created. 

I also love the last few chapters of the book, as Maia comes to terms with the uncomfortable reality of her destiny, and things that happened earlier on in the series (e.g. why the death at the end of book 2 had to happen, why the deaths in Maia's family had to happen) come full circle. Raughley is fantastic at creating memorable endings, and this book is no exception. Tough decisions had to be made and all victories require sacrifice. Raughley pulls back just enough to keep this book from a fully tragic ending, but she does take us through a gamut of emotions along the way, and continues to emphasize her theme on the emotional toll of heroism.

I wish the book had been shorter and possibly tighter. While the ending was strong and a lot of the building action had a purpose, the book often felt like the third movie in The Hobbit trilogy -- battle after battle after endless battle such that it felt repetitive and draggy after a while. The final third or so of the book was so strong and compelling that I wish a lot of the rising action had been condensed more. 

Still, overall, Legacy of Light -- and the Effigies trilogy as a whole -- has the feel of an incredibly kickass graphic novel or blockbuster movie trilogy. Raughley has created an intricate world of magic and the emotionally charged consequences of such power in the world, and I think it will translate wonderfully into a visual medium.

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Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This review is scheduled to be posted on my blog November 5, 2018 at 8 am ET.