Ekollon's Reviews > Corambis

So, here we finally finish up what is surely the darkest series I have read in a really long time, a series so dark I'm actually really surprised I finished it. That doesn't by any means mean it was a bad series, it just means that it's dark enough that, looking back, I'm surprised I didn't say, "You know what, this personally isn't for me, I'm going to stop." It's a series full of violence and trauma, and that's not something I'm big on. Nevertheless, I finished it, and for the most part I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.

And I want this to be clear: I'm knocking a star off this book and rating it 3 stars instead of 4 stars because it absolutely does not feel like the end of the series, despite the fact that it was published 9 years ago and I think it's pretty clear that another book isn't coming out at this point. Felix and Mildmay's story does not feel wrapped up in any way shape or form. It's not like there is a huge, unbearable cliffhanger, but nothing feels property done, either. We aren't left on a satisfying note.

Other than that, it is a good book. It continues to not be a romance in any shape or form despite being categorized as a "Romance > M M Romance," and as with some of the previous books, there isn't even any romance in the book to make the label make sense. I'm not sure if GoodReads is causing weirdness with the categorization or what. But this book is 100% not a romance. If you want a romance, this book will profoundly disappoint you and make you unhappy. There's a lot that goes on, but it's not romance.

It's also a book, as I said, that is full of trauma. The book has on page, graphic rape, and one of the characters is put through what I would describe as psychological torture. It's not a gentle book, so be ready if you're planning to go in.

The world building is absolutely fascinating, and I love the way that different parts of the world have both different cultures and different levels of technology. That's just fun.