4.5 stars. It would've been 4 stars, but those last few chapters gutted me (in a good way). I really liked the overall plotline, but there were some things that didn't completely settle with me.

When I opened the book, I really wasn't sure what to expect (in terms of plot), because the ending of Hidden Huntress created utter chaos (wonderfully). As mentioned before, as much as I loved the book in general, there were some bits that bored me a little. Although those bits weren't too bad, and the slight boredom only lasted for short periods of time. Starting from the end of Hidden Huntress, Cecile has finally defeated Anushka. But in doing so, she released the trolls from their curse, along with the fey courts. While organizing the panicked humans, Tristan and Cecile still must defeat enemies who want to take complete power.

So I start reading, and Cecile and Tristan interact with all sorts of people (using the term very loosely). Strategies and politics are discussed. Admittedly, the politics discussions were the parts that bored me. Those people interactions were the interesting parts, and they occurred so frequently that I was able to tolerate the politics pretty well.

This isn't as much of a complaint as it is an observation, but some moments that I thought would've been significant and earth-shattering were somehow...anti-climatic? I'm not sure that's the right word. For example, the interaction between Cecile, Tristan, and Thibault happened so fast, and what happened to Thibault at the very end was so unexpected that it seemed unbelievable. The disbelief also applied to the eventual fates of Roland and Angouleme. I guess it did effectively add to the shock and suspense, though...which is why this isn't really a complaint.

The story was very twisty and clever, and some things happened that I never could've predicted, which is a good factor. But the ending tops it all off...before the very last chapter, during the third-to-last and second-to-last chapters, I was completely shocked. I had been dreading this possibility of this tiny suspicion in the back of my head after a certain event before this, but I didn't ever seriously believe it would happen. Because it seemed like all was happy and well...but I suppose that was the calm of the storm. Those few chapters before the last chapter nearly horrified me, and I was thinking to myself: There had better be a good reason for this. Otherwise, that's a star or two deducted for this unreasonable thing happening. But, lo and behold, the last chapter changed the horror to a bittersweetness; the absurdness to a brilliant logic, and rather than deducting stars, I added one just for the amazing ending.

If you've already read Stolen Songbird and Hidden Huntress, then I strongly encourage you to finish the trilogy with Warrior Witch! Its ingenious plot and action make it to be very entertaining besides the politics, but if you're someone who is interested in discussions of politics and strategies, then all the more reason to read it!

Oh, and if you haven't read the previous books in the series yet, then I am seriously questioning your decision to expose yourself to all these major spoilers. ( )

I was really losing interest from about 40-90% and was about to mark it a 2-2.5. I liked the ending though, so that bumps it up up to 3. ( )

I am still an emotional mess. More so than earlier. ( )

3.5/5 stars. I didn't like this as much as I liked the preceding books. Still, these books are well-written, and I very much enjoy the political scheming and shifting alliances. A good series; I'll read more by this author. ( )

Took a while for me to finish this, mostly for lack of interest. For some reason, I wasn't as impressed with this book as I seemed to have been the first two. Most of the book was the battle, which dragged on and on and on and on and ... I just wanted it over. There were so many times where the heroes (or villains) were almost killed/captured, but then something happened to cause them to evade it. This was often caused by one side underestimating the other (surely you will stop underestimating each other by now!) or some form of Deux ex Machina - looking at you, dragon.

Then, the ending - after the battle - dragged on and on and ... well, you get it. I somewhat understand the reason, it must have been hard to not tie up their lives, but surely it could have been done in a more succinct manner? Also, (I don't want to spoil) but I felt like one tyrannical rule was traded in for another and no one seemed bothered?

I think it's worth the read to finish the trilogy, but I've lost the excited feel that I felt with the first book. ( )