Rashika, The Book Owl

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

I read Starling over two years ago and while I was taken by the book it took me a long time to finally pick up the sequel, which I did when I saw the trilogy finale on Edelweiss. I was ready to dive back into the world Livingston had created but was afraid that it might not live up to everything I had remembered it to be and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed. When I picked upTranscendent though, I was ready, and I was not the least bit disappointed. This book lived up to the expectations one might have from a finale and there wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. 

I think the key to why this book made me so happy is that with finales there is always a good chance the author might decide to throw in some unnecessary romantic drama to make the stakes higher but Livingston didn’t go down that road. What made her book work was that with all this chaos unfolding, the main characters decided to stick together and see it through. There were no secrets, no nothings, they planned together and they TALKED. It’s beautiful seeing communication done so well.

Mason is a good female lead. I say good and not great because I am starting to realize that the two are not one and the same but Mason was a good female lead. I cheered for her and she’s just one of those female leads who isn’t impulsive and actually likes to think things through. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t make mistakes. Of course she does, she has her selfish moments too but all of them are realistic so you cannot help but relate to her dilemma. She didn’t ask for any of this but now she’s trying to handle it with the best of her ability.

Fenrys is good character as well. I think my favorite thing about him is that he is always willing to stick with Mason no matter what. He is a great shoulder to lean on and he is there for her when she needs him. He complements her perfectly which is why they make such a great couple. They are both brave and smart but neither of them are perfect and they work so well together!

You might have realized this by now but I'll mention it anway, they are great as couple. They work well together. In fact, while they’ve had some bumps in their relationship, none of it was ever the result of unnecessary drama. This is the kind of relationship you want to read about. End of story.

The fact remains that this series doesn’t have any mind blowing world building but the way the author adopts some of the mythological aspects and makes them her own are definitely worth mentioning. I particularly enjoyed her take on Loki! And I loved the way she mixed in other myths and gods too. So while the series focued particularly on Nordic mythology, there were some elements of other myths present which made not just this book, but the entire series, fun to read.

Considering that Ragnorak is just around the corner in this book, or actually, pretty much taking place, the stakes are high. It’s clear from the way this book is written. It’s very fast paced and keeps you on your toes but the author makes sure that while things are serious, there are always little moments that relieve the tension and just make the reading experience all the more better.

But getting back to the fact that this book is a finale, I personally enjoyed the final showdown. I thought it was well written. Everything has been building up to the moment and while I would have been happy had the moment laster longer, by no means was it rushed. The author did the series justice with her finale and I loved the way things were wrapped up. It wasn’t too neat but it wasn’t depressing either. Which is just the way I like it.

While this isn’t the most amazing or the most interesting series out there, I’d still suggest giving this one a shot just because of how fun it is. The pages fly by and the characters are all interesting to read about. I know I am definitely going to be missing them.  So if you're looking for a fun series to read that won't take too much of your time, how about picking this one up?