Lara 21/03/2022
WARNING - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.
This has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and I have to say it, even though I was not disappointed, I expected more from this book.
I know many people are saying this was Jennifer's downfall, that she just ruined one of the best fantasy series, but honestly, nothing in it was particularly surprising.
Let's start from the beginning, where we have our two mc separated and one of them being held captive.
From the very first page, my heart was in my throat. I was elated that we got chapters in Castel?s pov, but it hurt at the same time. The pain and suffering we watched him go through gutted me to the core. I could feel what Poppy felt, I wanted more than retribution, I wanted to watch those who hurt him burn a slow and painful death. It was also extremely clear that she would do ANYTHING to save him, so don't tell me that there was a weakening of their relationship because that' s bullshit, poppycas is very much alive.
Now about the most polemic part: the throuple. Let me start by saying that I was really fucking glad that poppy had someone taking care of her while Casteel was away (he also found comfort in that!!) and even with the development of kieran and poppy's relationship, with them becoming closer, saying that she was cheating on Cas is pushing it.
I also don't understand all this commotion about the Joining, Jennifer has been promising this threesome for three books now, you've definitely been warned. That said, my only complaint was the lack of description, the scene itself was very rushed, as if even with the act happening she wanted to leave some gaps, and that bothered me a little.
About the rest, I wished she had explored more of the other secondary characters (Emil, Netta, Delano, etc), it felt like they were left aside to make room for Kieran. On the other hand, I enjoyed Poppy's development, she recognized how much she has changed and how much she is yet to change and how this power, although scary, makes her stronger. So many questions were answered in this book and the additional information surrounding Sera, Nyktos, Malec and Kolis have made me really excited for the sequel of A Shadow in the Ember.
Yes, I did feel it was overly long (like all the other books in the series), but I liked it, it didn't exceed my expectations, but it?s definitely worth reading.