DNF. I tried three separate times to read this, and each time it made me so sleepy that my eyes were burning. Actually stinging with the need to take a nap.

I don’t know what’s gone wrong. Is it me? Maybe? I loved the previous two books… although maybe it should have been a red flag that I really didn’t want to reread them before diving into this one (and I ALWAYS reread a series before a new installment, it’s part of the fun for me!)

Though I’m struggling to identify why this is a massive nope for me, I can point to two writerly choices that deeply displeased me. So let’s start there, I guess.

The book opens with whiplash: instead of characters we know, instead of the world we know, we are dropped into a terrible night in the lives of Hailwic and Zoshim, two teenagers…living in an industrialised science-fantasy world, where there is magic but also helicopters.

…what.

After reading the first fifth of the book, I’m pretty confident I know how these two are connected to the main story, but I can’t say I was enjoying their chapters. Zoshim possesses the magic of transformation, which is demonised in his setting, and Hailwic is frantic to help him escape the cops hunting him. It becomes clear very quickly than this is a totalitarian dystopia, which is not what I signed up for and which I have no interest in reading about.

The PoVs alternate: the first chapter is Hailwic’s, but then we do return to characters we know – and my heart sank. Because there has been a three year timeskip between the end of Cage of Dark Hours and the events of Teeth of Dawn.

I hate timeskips, and I hate them in direct proportion to their length. Not everyone does; I’m sure plenty of readers won’t mind at all, but to me it’s lazy and rushed and breaks the characters. (Because why haven’t they changed in three years? After everything they’ve gone through, why are Krona et al the same people they were at the end of Cage? It makes no sense!) (Except of course it does; readers wouldn’t like it if we opened the next book and found drastically different characters than the ones we left, so you have to keep them the same, even if it makes no sense.) It requires a lot of summarising of what we’ve missed, which grates like the info-dumping it basically is, and many rapid introductions to new people the cast has gathered around them, which makes everything feel cramped.

And somehow, the Valley is still at war. After three years. HOW? What are they even fighting about? I couldn’t tell you.

So those are the two main things: the timeskip, and Hailwic-and-Zoshim.

But also, even in just the first 20% of the book, everything is so damn convenient. With the exception of finding the lost gods, everything falls into the characters’ hands almost as soon as it’s mentioned – and don’t even get me started on the magic, which is overpowered and hand-wavey to a ridiculous degree, and wildly inconsistent in what it can and can’t do. One character can literally pluck knowledge from the air… but he can’t, whenever it makes the plot more interesting that he can’t. ???

I’d like to give this another go eventually (just in case the problem is me rather than the book) but right now I have no interest in where this is going, and the thought of continuing with it is exhausting.

This doesn't feel like it works as a standalone, so it isn't the right fit for our libraries. I did like the writing style, though I stopped after chapter 1 (2%).

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

Lostetter crafts a world that feels both vast and intimate, where the clash between ancient gods and oppressive forces unfolds with palpable tension. The character development is particularly striking; Krona and her companions navigate their fears and desires, making their journeys both relatable and inspiring. With a sharp narrative style that balances suspense with philosophical musings, this conclusion is not just a battle against external forces but an awakening of the self. It’s a compelling reminder that to reshape reality, one must first confront the very illusions that define it.

A stunning conclusion to the Five Penalties Series! These books definitely aren't for everyone - they're dense and lengthy, with tons of body horror - but Lostetter brings it home with an incredible final installment full of twists and revelations. There's a summary of the previous book and some of the worldbuilding basics at the beginning of The Teeth of Dawn, which is something I really wish more series would do. If you've ever wished for Sanderson-level worldbuilding with queernormativity and visceral horror without sexual violence, check these out!