This was by far my favorite in the series, and I think a lot of it had to do with what Libba Bray was willing to have happen to her characters. The others have had their dark moments, but this was definitely the darkest of the lot. Makes sense, since it is the conclusion of a trilogy, and so there's got to be pretty big events to keep the story going.

It does take a while for the story to pick up, like in the others. Oh, and there's a veritable ton of Victorian society happenings that some readers might get a little tired of. Gemma also spends a lot of time debating about the decision of what to do with the magic, which might also bore a lot of readers. I actually really loved how much effort Bray put into fleshing out the Victorian culture for her readers, and didn't mind Gemma's brooding. Hey, if I were in her position, I'd totally be brooding, too!

So, while the first half of the book is good but not great, the second half completely makes up for it. This book is packed full of more action and intrigue than the first two, and some really excellent twists.

I just loved how she tied all the characters' individual stories up. Mrs. Nightwing and Mrs. McCleethy both get a lot more interesting in this one, and even Fowlson finally gets some believable characterization rather than coming off as a 1-dimensional jerk. And Pippa. I wasn't sure what would happen with her, but I have to say I loved it.

For the romantics, there are some really beautiful scenes between Gemma and Kartik. I was really glad she resolved things between the two and at least gave them some really great interactions. I can't say much more without spoiling it, though.

The ending was definitely not a perfect, happy conclusion, but it felt fitting for the series. Some readers are actually probably going to be quite disappointed by how some of it ties up, just with how gruesome it could get. Personally, I found the conclusion beautiful and touching, and it really made the series better as a whole than if she had done a cookie-cutter "look, it's a happy ending!" for us. The whole series is bittersweet, and I love it all the more for that very reason.