Siege of Rage and Ruin heads towards the logic conclusion to the trilogy. It was a good and solid conclusion, and yet something was still missing to be more. 

After having survived the ship Soliton, having control over it and having created a new home for those with powers and outcasts, Isoka returns home to grab her sister and leave her home city behind forever. However her younger sister Tori has created her own life and is full into a rebellion against the empire. Or rather, that one person that send Isoka away.  You can imagine the clash that sisters make one they find each other. 

And it was realistic. This is where it all lead back to for Isoka, even if that isn't what she really wanted for herself or Tori. A rebellion can't easily win from an empire when you keep losing people and that was shown. They were at down odds and only because they had people with certain powers were they able to get where they did at the end of it. I have no complaints in that area. 

However if I look at the trilogy as a whole it felt as if there was a certain epicness missing from this specific installment. In the first book there was Soliton and the world on board. In the second book there was the city on the island and finding out more about their powers. This book is a logical end but doesn't quite have the same feel as the other two books had because there has been such a build up of the different and magic, and that isn't in this book. I also expected Soliton to have a bigger role to play than it did in this book. 

I also have another bone to pick with Tori for the ending of this story but that is a spoiler so I'll just talk around it. But for someone so dead set on this rebellion, she easily turns her back on it. 

As a whole The Wells of Sorcery is an interesting young adult trilogy

This was such a wonderful conclusion to one of my favorite series! I cannot say much without giving away spoilers, but I highly suggest picking up this series as a whole. This final book has to be my favorite, by far. I just love the characters so much that I had a hard time seeing them on their final adventure! Thank you for allowing me to review an early copy!

If you'd like to see my coverage for Frolic, you can find the post linked here: https://frolic.media/perfect-pairings-books-and-sam-smith-songs/

This is such a great conclusion to the Wells of Sorcery trilogy. This is one of my favorite series and the final book did not disappoint. Just like the previous two books, Siege of Rage and Ruin is action=packed and almost unbearable suspenseful. Unlike the previous two, this book is almost entirely set in Kahnzoka, and Isoka and Tori are reunited again, although they still both have their own POV chapters. I liked seeing the sisters together, as well as seeing Tori grow as a person. I liked her in City of Stone and Silence, but she grew so much throughout the course of this book. These characters hold such a special place in my heart and the ending is absolutely perfect and satisfying.

As 2020 finishes up, one of the very few things I’m sad to see go is the Wells of Sorcery trilogy, a bright spot full of action, romance, and magic that took me out of this waking nightmare. A Siege of Rage and Ruin keeps to that trend set by the previous two books and provides a rollicking last ride for its heroines. I’m sad to see it go, but I’m glad for the way it ends: Tori and Isoka's stories wrap up nicely as they finally reunite in the smoldering war zone of their home city and try to make freedom out of the wreckage.

This year and so many reads have been so grim and miserable that it was a surprise to read a book that didn't inflict the worst possible options on its characters at every single opportunity. Yes, there's struggle, and yes, they face setbacks. But this is a heroic, triumphant story, not a gigantic downer. This year has really made me forget that books like this are possible, and I was happy to be reminded.

The biggest example of this was Tori, who never went full Dark Phoenix like I was dreading. Yes, she had some moral questions to work through, but she did so without turning into a monster and having to be talked back from some ultimate sin. It was nice to read a character who was struggling with her convictions and limits who kept a relatively level head. Who didn't have to go bad to know that being bad was...well, bad.

Of course, Tori is the calmer and more collected sister, the balance to Isoka's rough and ready aggression. After essentially two books apart it's nice to finally see their two extremes interact, not just contrast in alternating chapters. The volatility of their opposite personalities creates some solid drama, but nothing so extreme it can't be tempered by their loving devotion.

Seeing sisters struggle to redefine their relationship after time (and trauma) apart made for a great emotional heart of the book. Previously it was Isoka and Meroe whose romance created the emotional core, but they've been solid since book two—loving, mutually respectful, balanced, you name it. Wexler didn't throw a wrench in their relationship or make them act out of character just to generate drama, for which I have nothing but the tip of my hat. It's not just romance that can drive plotlines!

Well, romance did drive a minor plotline, but I'm glad to say it also wasn't forced to come to some grand conclusion. Tori and Garo were both interesting and had a lot in common, but they also had a lot that divided them. Seeing that work itself out to its natural conclusion, without any overwrought speeches, really added realism and complexity to the narrative.

Since the magic is Sanderson-y (think Mistborn) I was unconsciously expecting one of Sanderson's meticulous endings, with every last little detail folded precisely into place. Sanderson's books are origami; Wexler's, though, are paintings. They're balanced in their composition, but they're not gear-perfect, clock-precise.

I'm not criticizing either type of ending. Because of his precise outlining, Sanderson's implied thesis is that there is a plan, that the universe has synchronies and well-fitting pieces. Wexler doesn't subscribe to this idea quite as much. Tori, Isoka, and all the rest may have puzzles to solve and unexpected solutions to find, but their journey is through a messy, chaotic universe in which order is largely imposed, not uncovered. I like both, but I certainly know which feels more realistic this year.

The ending provides a deus ex machina (well, imperatoris ex machina) to wrap things up in a broadly satisfying way, even if a lot of the moving pieces hadn't been established before this book. The message was solid, and what ambiguity was left was not unsatisfying. I like the opportunity for more books in this setting, since I think it's a robust, compelling one—but I do agree that this is a natural end for this particular story. And it’s fitting that, though written in 2020, it officially comes to a close in 2021, hopefully helping to usher in greater peace and stability in our world along with Isoka and Tori’s.