I hate to admit it, but I just couldn't finish this one. I think my patience for this series and this writing style has run out. The plot has become so convoluted that I have no idea what's happening anymore, and I can no longer bear the overuse of ellipses for what I guess is supposed to be dramatic effect. Note to authors: when you use something multiple times a page for 500 pages times 4 books, it not only loses its effect, it becomes eye-roll annoying. Then add to that how every scene finishes with a dramatic pronouncement and that all the powerful, immortal characters speak in vulgarity-filled paragraphs like asshole frat boys. These books are taking themselves way too seriously.

This was the final book in a series I absolutely adore and it was no exception. It was a lot shorter than the other books in this series, but it still packed a punch.
I loved loved loved loved it.
I just really had a great time and cried and laughed and raged and everything in between. What. A. Ride. I will forever cherish this series and those characters and this world and I cannot wait to see whatever Ashley Shuttleworth comes up with next!!!

Thank you Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I am so excited that we finally get to be back with the gang after book 3’a cliffhanger ending! Arlo has given herself to Ruin in hopes that she will be able to destroy the 3 bone crowns. But with a task that will put her against 2 deities and Riadne, and Ruin eating away at her soul, will she be able to succeed? Will she lose herself in the process? Meanwhile Celadon, Vehan, Aurelian, Nausicaa, and the others are readying for war against a queen who becoming increasingly unstable but no less powerful. Can they succeed? Or will Riadne destroy them all? Will they be able to save Arlo or will they lose her? What a conclusion! So many spots of tension where it felt like I was just waiting for something terrible to happen! It’s fun seeing a darker apathetic side to Arlo! I love these characters so much and Ashley Shuttleworth provides that epic fantasy series that surrounds a bunch of queer characters that my fantasy loving heart has always needed! Exciting, thrilling, and will have you turning the pages to find out what happens! A Wild And Ruined Song is a thrilling conclusion to a fantastic series that I highly recommend to fantasy lovers!

I was honestly terrified how this series would end (totally possible for everyone to die) but Ashley Shuttleworth knocked it out of the park! Right from the dedication I know I was in for an emotional ride, but they did a great job balancing emotional depth with epic fight scenes and satisfying character arcs.

I won't reveal too much since it's such an epic finale, but there's a joke I want to share, as Ashley told me it ended up being cut from the final book because the editors didn't get it (booooo). Early in the book, Nausicaä is talking to Celadon and in her head calls in "Celadon Cornelius Fleur-Virdian Lysterne Wayland Herondale" and I BURST out laughing! Such a fun callback to a popular fantasy series that will have a lot of crossover fans. This genre of urban fantasy in YA is definitely built on the Shadowhunter books and this joke absolutely killed me.

There are a whole bunch of other lines I highlighted, but I don't want to share them before it releases. Maybe I'll come back to this in December and add some of my favorite points.

Again, I don't want to give any spoilers for this epic finale, but trust me when I say it is narratively satisfying without being too heartbreaking. Arlo and company have been through so much (seriously, so much murder), but they get a solid ending here. I also loved the flashbacks to a certain *other* Arlo interspersed in the book! Usually I don't tend to enjoy them, but these were insightful and interesting.

If you haven't started this series yet, it's the perfect time to devour them all! If you've read the earlier books, I can't wait for you to join me in the celebrating A Wild and Ruined Song!