An excellent conclusion to an engaging and inventive fantasy trilogy! Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very strong ending to what was a fabulous fantasy series. I think I enjoyed it the least of the 3 books, but the difference between them is very minimal as they were all very well done. The ending in particular was spectacular, and exactly what I'd wanted for the trilogy. It really feels like the author put that extra effort to make the ending exactly right, and I absolutely think they nailed it.

I really enjoy the characters in this series and the addition of the new POV to go along with our other 3. It's fun to see a new perspective on an already well established character dynamic and it was a nice touch. The character development was great and felt like everyone got really fleshed out and properly explored. It was great to see the flaws and humanity in each of them, it added a lot to the story as a whole.

Overall this is a really unique and compelling series, one that I loved reading and will definitely be telling my friends to check out.

Book three of this heighst based trilogy. While it may appeal to fans of mistborn and lies of Locke Lamora, I couldnt get into this series as much as Wards fantastic debut trilogy. If youre looking for positives, this one did end with a good fast paced finale, still, I would recommend his other series much more than this one.

Here wraps up the Soulfire Saga. The author Matthew Ward's creativity is on full display here, with a well-designed world and associated lore. I was looking forward to this book, having read the author's Legacy trilogy a few years ago, as well as the preceding two books of this series. Upon reading it, I can also give a final spoiler-free evaluation of the ending too.

Of the three books in the Soulfire Saga, I found this to (narrowly) be the weakest, with the order being 2, 1, and 3, in that order. I'll start with my negatives, but then move into my positives:

First negative, there was a new character, Mirzai, giving four POV characters in addition to the previous three of Katija Arvish, Tanith Floranz, and Ihsan Damant. I understand the purpose of him relating to the storylines regarding Kat and especially Tanith, but I wasn't overly intrigued by the time spent away from the previous characters, with the first portion of his story regarding a new group of characters. Mirzai was a fine character, but I wish he would've been a non-POV character who was viewed from the perspectives of Kat and Tanith. Here it was just more time spent away from the main cast of characters.

Second negative, the pacing was imperfect, but still improved from where the series started. That was my main gripe with the first book, and while it isn't ideal, it is better.

Third negative (sort of relates to the first), lack of presence of Kat for much of the first half of the book- instead, it was mostly between Damant, Tanith, and Mirzai.

Now onto the positives. I have plenty of good to say about this. The ending landed, big time. I was initially worried because of some of the nitpicks I had mostly at the beginning, but the last couple chapters were to perfection. The payoff was pretty big, and the ending was satisfying (and the Epilogue had some teary-eyed parts, I'll admit that).

First positive, I finally came to understand Kat, particularly her devotion over the flawed Azra/Yennika, despite the latter now merged with the dark god Tzal (now known as the Eternal Queen). I see that it is because Kat is flawed too, she just cannot love anyone else. Azra isn't a complete monster either, there is humanity to her. I think she feels that same way about Kat, even though she manipulates and lies to her face, she has love for her- and Kat is aware of this, which explains her behaviors. I liked the ending arc involving Kat, and I also liked the ending regarding Azra. It suits both of them, and it works.

Second positive, the magic system and lore continues its intrigue. I enjoyed the setup of this all, dating back to the first book, and this continues very much so here in this finale too.

Third positive, the perspectives mostly involving Kat and Damant were interesting. Kat, now the face of the rebellion, with her mentor (and pain in the ass) Bashar Vallant missing, and the rebellion needing a new leader. Her balancing of her friends, her passion for Azra, her search for Vallant, her evacuation of citizens from the Eternal Queen's wrath, her management of her illness, etc. Kat is pulled in many directions, but she keeps it together, and doesn't give up on herself. Damant's perspective, I liked even better, with him under the influence of the glamour (mind control) of the Eternal Queen. The introduction of the Eternal Queen's new court, with a mixture of old and new faces cozying up to the Big Bad, was certainly interesting, as was seeing Damant's navigation of this.

Fourth positive, would regard Damant himself. The best character of the series. Probably Ward's best overall character in both series. Damant stays true to himself and aspires to do better, taking one day at a time to do his best for the world. Selfless, too, always putting those he cares about before himself, and always helping those in needing. Always standing up for what is right. Even when he starts out mind controlled, under the glamour of the Eternal Queen, he applies these values, just this time with the loyalty of the wrong person. His ending is my favorite, out of any of these characters.

The first 80% I'd give a 3/5, but the last 20% ended it just about perfectly (5/5 for that part). S0 I think that I will give this 3.5/5 stars as a whole. Overall a fine conclusion to a carefully designed series. I will miss Ihsan Damant- Ward has truly crafted one of my favorite characters in recent memory. Praise to him!