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Fallen Gods #6
Chaos Undone
What was a monster without monstrosities?
Whispers from across the sea warn that the Goddess of Chaos walks the elven lands once more, and Sora and Etolié find themselves victims of her wrath. However, Chaos' loyalties are as mercurial as her name, and only she holds the knowledge of how to break the cycle of destruction and stop the God of Order once and for all. But her current form is a mere shadow of her true power—and helping her means to place all the realms at her mercy.
Meanwhile Flowridia languishes as a prisoner in her own body, burdened by bargains and her own chronic pain. But Flowridia discovers she doesn't need the temptation of magic to embrace her inner darkness, and when a new destiny calls, to answer means to regain all she has lost . . . at the cost of her heart.
Pasts and futures collide, dead deities rise, and all that is earned is delivered in the sixth and final installment of FALLEN GODS.
Whispers from across the sea warn that the Goddess of Chaos walks the elven lands once more, and Sora and Etolié find themselves victims of her wrath. However, Chaos' loyalties are as mercurial as her name, and only she holds the knowledge of how to break the cycle of destruction and stop the God of Order once and for all. But her current form is a mere shadow of her true power—and helping her means to place all the realms at her mercy.
Meanwhile Flowridia languishes as a prisoner in her own body, burdened by bargains and her own chronic pain. But Flowridia discovers she doesn't need the temptation of magic to embrace her inner darkness, and when a new destiny calls, to answer means to regain all she has lost . . . at the cost of her heart.
Pasts and futures collide, dead deities rise, and all that is earned is delivered in the sixth and final installment of FALLEN GODS.
1065 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 2024
32 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
S.D. Simper
22 books877 followersSD Simper is a bestselling horror author, award-winner of fantasy romance, and understands that the true secret to writing great villains is living with cats. She and her wife share a home with four cats, a Great Dane, and innumerable bookshelves.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 10, 2024
The wait is over. This is it. The conclusion to Fallen Gods.
First and foremost, I will say that this series will forever hold a place in my heart. It’s the best epic fantasy / romantic fantasy series I’ve ever read.
TL;DR Epic finale to the series. If you liked Fallen Gods 1-5, you will immensely enjoy Fallen Gods 6 and be left speechless afterward.
I have many things to say about Flowridia, Ayla, Chaos, and their stories but to keep this spoiler-free, I will focus more on general things about the novel. This also helps me to stay under 1000 words … maybe … (Spoiler: She did not.)
Eve of Endless Night left a lot of questions open. What will happen to the world? Can Casvir, let alone Soliel, be stopped? Can Flowridia and Ayla ever overcome their grief? Will Murishani finally slip on a banana, fall down a staircase, and die a painful and lonely death? In over 1000 pages, Simper provided answers to those and many more questions that I had after the previous book. Some answers are painful, some answers are cheerful but most importantly, all are deep and meaningful. (Though sometimes they are also hilarious.)
I went into this book expecting closure to all the opened plot lines and to find out what will become of our favourite necromancer-vampire-couple, but instead, I got so much more. I got answers to questions I didn’t even ask myself and an unforgettable emotional and thrilling ride with lots of action and character growth. When asked to describe the book in one word, Simper answered: ‘Break’. This hits the nail on the head and you will find out why in due time after jumping into the book. I went from sad tears to happy tears, to angry tears, rinse and repeat. If anything, this is not a light read, which is in no way a bad thing considering the story so far.
Because of my personal preferences, I would have loved to see a longer epilogue, especially considering the length of the series and the final instalment. Though this is the only negative point that I can think of about this book and luckily the author does have a patreon page with bonus content for all of her books, so I’m looking forward to that.
There could also have been more romance/spicy scenes, but due to how the plot was built I fully understand that there couldn’t be more squeezed in than there already were.
What I really liked about this book in particular was how every character *mattered*. Not a single character felt flat or unnecessary to the plot. Simper meticulously created the world, the characters, and the story to feel alive and managed to suck the reader into another world. This is exactly why I read fantasy and explains why I will never forget about it.
However, she also managed to tell a tale about morals, love, and growth, which many readers can at least partly relate to and make connections to their own experiences and feelings.
Simper didn’t stop at three-dimensional characters and deep lore though, she even managed to create items and magic that are not only relevant to the current scene but also useful later on, while also having the stark contrast of having items and magic that have deep attached lore to them, just for them to be used nonchalantly by characters which the reader thought weren’t even relevant to them in the slightest. She always managed to make me think about what items, sentences or actions would be relevant later on without confusing me with too many things going on at the same time, which is impressive when thinking about how much story and lore there is overall.
Chaos Undone is long. It took me almost 3 days of reading to finish this monster of a book. There could be an entire spin-off series attached to some of the storylines in this book alone. I never felt like any plot was stretched out or meaningless though. Sure, there were points where one POV had less action or relevance than the other, but as it is a multi-POV story with several parallel storylines, it was almost relaxing to switch to a quiet scene.
I thought the writing and storytelling couldn’t improve after EoEN, but I was entirely wrong. The pacing was on point, the character interactions were dynamic, the plot wasn’t bloated, the world-building didn’t suffer from the built-up plot and the writing and sentence structures weren’t overly complicated while still following the dramatic and impactful style of writing witnessed in other works from Simper.
In the end, the question remains,
With that, I really loved this book, and this series and there is so much more to say about it, but I will not be able to stop once I start, so I will go back to gushing about Fallen Gods to other readers and friends.
Thank you, Ayla and Flowra, for letting me be a part of your journeys, you deserve a rest now.
Thank you, S.D. Simper, for writing this amazing piece of art and for all the work you put into this over the years. It impacted me in ways that I need to think about over many, many cups of coffee in the nights to come.
===
If you have any specific content warnings, then I’d recommend reaching out to the author, but my own opinion is that if you read book 5, then you mustn’t be afraid of book 6. I’d even say that while book 5 leans heavily on the horror element, book 6 leans almost entirely on the epic fantasy element sprinkled with some romance in between.
My favourite parts of Fallen Gods were book 1, book 4, and book 6. I rate 5 stars for book 6 and also 5 stars for the overall series.
I received an eARC from S.D. Simper in exchange for an honest review.
First and foremost, I will say that this series will forever hold a place in my heart. It’s the best epic fantasy / romantic fantasy series I’ve ever read.
TL;DR Epic finale to the series. If you liked Fallen Gods 1-5, you will immensely enjoy Fallen Gods 6 and be left speechless afterward.
I have many things to say about Flowridia, Ayla, Chaos, and their stories but to keep this spoiler-free, I will focus more on general things about the novel. This also helps me to stay under 1000 words … maybe … (Spoiler: She did not.)
Eve of Endless Night left a lot of questions open. What will happen to the world? Can Casvir, let alone Soliel, be stopped? Can Flowridia and Ayla ever overcome their grief? Will Murishani finally slip on a banana, fall down a staircase, and die a painful and lonely death? In over 1000 pages, Simper provided answers to those and many more questions that I had after the previous book. Some answers are painful, some answers are cheerful but most importantly, all are deep and meaningful. (Though sometimes they are also hilarious.)
‘And love was many things, but there was one beautiful, bittersweet thing love could never be — a cage.’
I went into this book expecting closure to all the opened plot lines and to find out what will become of our favourite necromancer-vampire-couple, but instead, I got so much more. I got answers to questions I didn’t even ask myself and an unforgettable emotional and thrilling ride with lots of action and character growth. When asked to describe the book in one word, Simper answered: ‘Break’. This hits the nail on the head and you will find out why in due time after jumping into the book. I went from sad tears to happy tears, to angry tears, rinse and repeat. If anything, this is not a light read, which is in no way a bad thing considering the story so far.
‘Hi, knock knock!’
Because of my personal preferences, I would have loved to see a longer epilogue, especially considering the length of the series and the final instalment. Though this is the only negative point that I can think of about this book and luckily the author does have a patreon page with bonus content for all of her books, so I’m looking forward to that.
There could also have been more romance/spicy scenes, but due to how the plot was built I fully understand that there couldn’t be more squeezed in than there already were.
What I really liked about this book in particular was how every character *mattered*. Not a single character felt flat or unnecessary to the plot. Simper meticulously created the world, the characters, and the story to feel alive and managed to suck the reader into another world. This is exactly why I read fantasy and explains why I will never forget about it.
However, she also managed to tell a tale about morals, love, and growth, which many readers can at least partly relate to and make connections to their own experiences and feelings.
‘Anger is a tool to wield, but rage must be leashed, if not caged.’
Simper didn’t stop at three-dimensional characters and deep lore though, she even managed to create items and magic that are not only relevant to the current scene but also useful later on, while also having the stark contrast of having items and magic that have deep attached lore to them, just for them to be used nonchalantly by characters which the reader thought weren’t even relevant to them in the slightest. She always managed to make me think about what items, sentences or actions would be relevant later on without confusing me with too many things going on at the same time, which is impressive when thinking about how much story and lore there is overall.
‘Damn yourself. Have no regrets.’
Chaos Undone is long. It took me almost 3 days of reading to finish this monster of a book. There could be an entire spin-off series attached to some of the storylines in this book alone. I never felt like any plot was stretched out or meaningless though. Sure, there were points where one POV had less action or relevance than the other, but as it is a multi-POV story with several parallel storylines, it was almost relaxing to switch to a quiet scene.
I thought the writing and storytelling couldn’t improve after EoEN, but I was entirely wrong. The pacing was on point, the character interactions were dynamic, the plot wasn’t bloated, the world-building didn’t suffer from the built-up plot and the writing and sentence structures weren’t overly complicated while still following the dramatic and impactful style of writing witnessed in other works from Simper.
In the end, the question remains,
‘What was a monster without monstrosities?’
With that, I really loved this book, and this series and there is so much more to say about it, but I will not be able to stop once I start, so I will go back to gushing about Fallen Gods to other readers and friends.
Thank you, Ayla and Flowra, for letting me be a part of your journeys, you deserve a rest now.
Thank you, S.D. Simper, for writing this amazing piece of art and for all the work you put into this over the years. It impacted me in ways that I need to think about over many, many cups of coffee in the nights to come.
===
If you have any specific content warnings, then I’d recommend reaching out to the author, but my own opinion is that if you read book 5, then you mustn’t be afraid of book 6. I’d even say that while book 5 leans heavily on the horror element, book 6 leans almost entirely on the epic fantasy element sprinkled with some romance in between.
My favourite parts of Fallen Gods were book 1, book 4, and book 6. I rate 5 stars for book 6 and also 5 stars for the overall series.
I received an eARC from S.D. Simper in exchange for an honest review.
March 9, 2025
5 Stars
THE FALLEN GODS SERIES BY SD SIMPER IS THE BEST HIGH FANTASY SERIES. PERIOD.
The storyline, the characters 🤯 it is rare for me to give 5 stars to ALL books in the series but it seems that’s what I did with The Fallen Gods and deservedly so.
I cannot begin to enumerate the ways why I love this series but I shall cite what it has to offer to give you a glimpse of what you’re missing (this is from book 1 to 6):
-Witches
-Very cute and snarky familiar
-Elves
-Angels
-Demons
-Necromancers
-Goddessessssssss
-Dragons
-Death, blood and gore ++++++
In addition, the author’s way of placing scenes, balancing it in each chapter for optimum emotional manipulation? Magnificent! Aaand, the author is not afraid to hurt the reader. They build you up, make you fall in love with a character and then pull the rug from under you. Whatever emotional investment you have for a character? Don’t. Just don’t. I had to take a 6 months break from the series right after reading book 5 because….emotional upheaval. 6 months! 6 months!!! There’s only one other series I took a break to recover and that’s Eliza Andrews’s The Chronicles of Dorsa. Ergo, good stories leave me unstable.
The Fallen Gods series especially Chaos Undone is not a safe read. It is emotionally and mentally exhausting. BUT so very very satisfying. This is not a simple good versus evil, good lot defeats the bad, cozy comfort read. No! It is the opposite of everything I mentioned. You will questions your morals, you will root for everyone and no one but by the goddesses in this series, you will enjoy yourself. I speak in absolutes because I am certain this series has topped out most of the high-fantasy books I have read.
THE FALLEN GODS SERIES BY SD SIMPER IS THE BEST HIGH FANTASY SERIES. PERIOD.
The storyline, the characters 🤯 it is rare for me to give 5 stars to ALL books in the series but it seems that’s what I did with The Fallen Gods and deservedly so.
I cannot begin to enumerate the ways why I love this series but I shall cite what it has to offer to give you a glimpse of what you’re missing (this is from book 1 to 6):
-Witches
-Very cute and snarky familiar
-Elves
-Angels
-Demons
-Necromancers
-Goddessessssssss
-Dragons
-Death, blood and gore ++++++
In addition, the author’s way of placing scenes, balancing it in each chapter for optimum emotional manipulation? Magnificent! Aaand, the author is not afraid to hurt the reader. They build you up, make you fall in love with a character and then pull the rug from under you. Whatever emotional investment you have for a character? Don’t. Just don’t. I had to take a 6 months break from the series right after reading book 5 because….emotional upheaval. 6 months! 6 months!!! There’s only one other series I took a break to recover and that’s Eliza Andrews’s The Chronicles of Dorsa. Ergo, good stories leave me unstable.
The Fallen Gods series especially Chaos Undone is not a safe read. It is emotionally and mentally exhausting. BUT so very very satisfying. This is not a simple good versus evil, good lot defeats the bad, cozy comfort read. No! It is the opposite of everything I mentioned. You will questions your morals, you will root for everyone and no one but by the goddesses in this series, you will enjoy yourself. I speak in absolutes because I am certain this series has topped out most of the high-fantasy books I have read.
June 29, 2025
An epic final installment in the Fallen Gods, but with still so much left to discover.
It gets dark, much like the previous installment - these are dark romances with problematic characters and events, so not for the faint of heart. Yet there's a realistic charm to them, that I relate to in my weird emo girl self-sabotaging ways.
You can appreciate why the villains became villains, why they chose to wield power in the only way they could, in the face of evil being done to them. How trauma can pervert the innocent and also how love can redeem.
SD is a marvellous writer, and has woven an epic saga reminiscent of Game Of Thrones. Throughout reading I could see in my mind's eye how this could indeed play out as a TV Series, or set of Films like LoTR or 'HP' who won't be named. lol.
There was a lot of switching between time periods to tell a full story that concludes in bittersweet ways. Yet with hope and expectation for the future for these characters we've come to know and love.
I highly recommend if you like deeper twisting sagas of morally grey and also straight up black! But with heart and intensity.
It gets dark, much like the previous installment - these are dark romances with problematic characters and events, so not for the faint of heart. Yet there's a realistic charm to them, that I relate to in my weird emo girl self-sabotaging ways.
You can appreciate why the villains became villains, why they chose to wield power in the only way they could, in the face of evil being done to them. How trauma can pervert the innocent and also how love can redeem.
SD is a marvellous writer, and has woven an epic saga reminiscent of Game Of Thrones. Throughout reading I could see in my mind's eye how this could indeed play out as a TV Series, or set of Films like LoTR or 'HP' who won't be named. lol.
There was a lot of switching between time periods to tell a full story that concludes in bittersweet ways. Yet with hope and expectation for the future for these characters we've come to know and love.
I highly recommend if you like deeper twisting sagas of morally grey and also straight up black! But with heart and intensity.
September 18, 2024
I received an advanced reading copy of this book in return for this honest review.
This book is a fitting end to the Fallen Gods series. Not just because it's generally good, but because it shares many of the same issues that the very first book in the series had. The largest being that it takes a really long time to get going and feel interesting. The first book struggles at the start with catching your attention, and I actually dropped it a few times before I started to fall in love with it. Once I was hooked, though, I really was hooked. I ended up thoroughly happy with the story, and I recall I gave it four stars, losing one mainly because some of it felt silly and the opening was really slow. The second, third, and fourth books were beyond perfect, very clever, and they solidified my expectations of this author. The fifth book was a terrible mess, I'm sorry to say; and therein lies the likely reason that this book struggles early on to get off the ground.
The fifth book didn't leave it on a very strong foundation. It had the monumental task of dealing with the aftermath of some pretty nasty events at the end of the previous one, which I felt weren't handled well at all, and it had to solve the narrative issues of the previous book, which can be summed up as content that didn't seem to advance the story very well, and really dragged for more than half the book. Book five was one of those books you skip through a lot in hopes of finding the point. This book had to overcome all that and tighten up the story. Because of that, I intend to compare this book to book five a lot, and contrast where it improves on issues and where it does not.
Book five didn't really make me feel very much until the end, which just made me feel uncomfortable. That's not good in a series that prides itself on pulling one's heart strings until they are ready to break with sadness or joy. When I started reading book six I was made really nervous by the opening handful of chapters. It felt like I was right back there in book five again waiting for something to really feel worth reading. It was all politics, and slow setup, and a lot of side characters I figured probably didn't need so much spotlight; but worst of all it didn't spend very much time on the main Flowridia-Ayla relationship. The fifth book ended with some serious relationship issues, and this book seemed like it didn't give a damn about them when it opened, which blew my mind.
To be fair, it does spend a couple chapters and a prologue dealing with the aftermath of book five for Flowridia and Ayla. After that, however, the book totally loses focus and jumps around to practically every other character you can imagine. It's like the author felt we needed global updates and situation reports on different locations when honestly I think the only thing a reader is likely to care about after the jarring end of book five is Flowridia and Ayla and everything to do with them. This is a major complaint of mine about this book in general. It doesn't seem to understand its own power characters, or main characters, if you will. It wants very badly to split its attention between multiple characters, many of whom just can't compete. It is tempting to theorize that the book may have been clumsily making a concerted effort to prepare content for future series in this universe at the expense of focusing on what matters most in this edition of the universe. That is my best explanation for this.
Flowridia and Ayla were the opening romance of this series. They're the stars. They're what hooked you into these books. They deserve most of the spotlight. Nevertheless, I got the feeling that the author was way more interested in what I would consider supporting characters. Believe it or not, I'd say a good half of this book is handed over to none other than Etolie and... Sora Makosa? Ever since her introduction Sora was one of the blandest characters I could imagine. I expected her to be a character that we'd have for a while, and then she'd fade out of focus. I expected her to be a side character. Book five solidified her as a central role in the story, which baffled me. Etolie is at least interesting, but she's just not on the level of Flowridia and Ayla, who are both extremely complex; something that Etolie is not.
The choice to spend so much time on these alternate characters, especially at the opening of this book, was really questionable in my opinion. Eventually, however, the book did get on track. It did return to Flowridia and Ayla, and once it did things started to come together. The more those two characters interacted with the world and each other, the more the story bloomed. By being drawn into their story again, I felt I was likewise drawn into these other characters, much like I was when I read the first book. That book, as a first book, needed to convince me to care about the story. This book needed to do the same because of the quality of the previous one. It succeeded. Somewhere around a third of the way in I became hooked. After that I was pretty much reading this on a tear right through to the end.
I can say that the conclusion is excellent, and the introspection and development of the characters is on par with the complexity and emotion that one would expect from this series. This is not a repeat of book five. It has major ups and downs, major surprises, so many moments that will make you cry in a good way, and so many moments that will make you smile from how adorable they are. It's not a mostly happy book, but it does have a happy ending, and the atmospheric sadness in the narrative is entirely appropriate to the series at this point, and echoes the bitter sweetness of the first four books. Anyone who has read even the first book will understand that this is not just a feelgood series. This is a series that has a sting in its victories, if you will. The events of the story hit hard, and the emotions are very real in their depth. It's a wonderful story if you want to question your own feelings about difficult subjects like what it means to be a good or bad person, or what makes a cycle of abuse continue or end. The book does not hold back on the tough subjects. I think readers of this series will love it for that.
Around the time that book five came out, I was seriously injured. The fact that a certain character in book five was also injured meant that in a way I was mirroring the journey of that character when I went from that book to this one. That character was in recovery at the same time that I was. Initially I was worried that the story wasn't going to deal with that experience adequately. It started off treating it in what felt like an unrealistic way. However, it eventually did begin to show the realities of living with an injury and chronic pain, and I felt that I could relate to that character once it began to really express these truths. I was quite happy with the story picking up that thread in a way that I could relate to realistically.
The last thing I want to talk about in regards to the narrative is my observation of the unusual choices that I think may have contributed to the changes I sensed in the last two books, which I think decreased my enjoyment of them. I have thought very hard on what happened with this series. Eventually I realized that this series morphed genres over time. It went from a mostly romance oriented story to a mostly epic fantasy oriented story. In the beginning it very much feels like a smaller scope centered on the main romance characters Flowridia and Ayla. Their histories of trauma and the qualities of their relationship as they relate to those histories really drive the focus of the first book. The following three books develop on that relationship and the growth of those two characters through strong character and relationship arcs. Unfortunately, by the fourth book we basically reach a kind of conclusion for that arc. Both characters feel like they hit a happily ever after and conclude their growth at the end of book four.
This creates a problem for the author from a narrative standpoint, because usually you would expect the overarching plot to also come to a conclusion once the romance and character arcs are concluded. This was not S. D. Simper's vision, however. She, for her own reasons, decided instead to carry on the plot arc of the larger world conflict beyond that point. This created a problem. How does one do that? It seems that the author decided to shake the story up by creating discord in the main relationship; and to fill in the rest of the character development space she heavily focused in on characters that before this point were not as central to the story. By bringing these characters to the forefront and by forcing the main relationship into discord she was able to carry the character arcs on through the final two books. I suspect that the reason book five drags so much is that it is not really its own story as much as it is a prologue to book six, and was mostly meant to build up these secondary characters into new main characters to carry the plot in book six. This, I think, is why book six recovers and ends up being pretty good. It isn't being held back like book five was. It is its own story.
Ultimately where book six succeeds is in drawing nearly endless tears during its last half. It is a book that makes you feel. It will make you cry. It will make you wonder about yourself and the people you've known. It will make you evaluate things you wouldn't have expected to think about. It will give you questions, and it will try to follow those questions with wisdom. It succeeds very well in this, which makes it a fitting inheritor of the Fallen Gods legacy. It follows in the footsteps of the best of the series. It has the heart of this series.
On the subject of Sora and Etolie, and the other side characters turned main characters, I'd say that the book does a very good job of making me feel like they are more interesting after it has taken time to work on them. In book five they were the majority of the story, to the detriment of the story. In this book I'd say we have a narrative focus that is something like 20% Etolie, 30% Sora. Luckily they are heavily worked on to make their circumstances feel more impactful and set up more intrigue around what will happen for them. Particularly Sora is spruced up well by the inclusion of a surprise romantic interest who recalls the seductive danger of first book Ayla, and certainly will have attention in future stories in this universe.
Now I need to address the character of the Goddess of Chaos, or Dira. She is fine. She's not incredible, but she's not a bore. The main issue with her is that she forces the story into a split narrative between future and past. In my opinion, this is where books go to die. When the story is constantly stopping the narrative development to pause in a different timeline it gets really annoying really fast. I personally can't stand this, but I don't think it is too bad in this book. It isn't the sort of situation where half the book is in the future and half is in the past. Because of that it eventually works out. As the book grows closer to its conclusion, the future segments of the story become shorter and shorter, which means they don't feel as annoying. Because of this Dira becomes stronger over time, because we begin to have her feel more current the deeper in we get. The counterpart to Dira is the God of Order, Soliel, who the story basically doesn't care about. If you were hoping this character would get a lot of attention, you're going to be disappointed. Luckily, I doubt you wanted that. I know I didn't.
Finally, there is an element in this book that I want to address carefully. I am not too often bothered by content in stories. Obviously I've alluded to having some issues with the end of the fifth book. However, I can tell you that there is very little in this story that I felt was uncomfortable or triggering. There was one thing, though. I do not want to say too much about myself, but it is necessary for me to explain that I am a detransitioner. That means that I at one point considered myself transgender, but later had to abandon that belief system when I realized that I had been harmed by it. There is one character in this story that is apparently transgender identifying. It is not a major element of the book, but it is in there. It's not dwelled on, but the inclusion of gender theory in the book is notable, since I believe that people who are members of my minority, i.e. detrans people, may be triggered by this. I did feel a little trauma triggering, but I was able to get past it, and this didn't really deeply affect my enjoyment of the story. I only worry that other people who have been medically abused through gender medicine or who have been traumatized by these beliefs, or their experiences as part of that community, may struggle more with this content than I did.
In conclusion, I have decided that I will give this book three stars. I gave book one four stars. I gave two through four five stars. I gave five two stars. This one is right there in the middle for me, which feels fitting. It was what I needed to wrap up the story. It gave me the closure that I wanted. It gave me the feelings that I expect from these books. It had something to say, and it said it. It also set up future books. It did have shortcomings. It did struggle at times. However, it ultimately raised the bar from the previous book, and it is a success. I reserve four and five star ratings for books that I would probably read again. This is not something I would read again. It was more of a book that I had to read to finish what I started, and it gave me what I needed. I give a book three stars when it does what it sets out to do and is mostly good. This book did, and it was. I would give a book two stars if it were technically written proficiently but wasn't very good narratively. This book does not fall down to that level, because it is not only well written, it is mostly constructed in a satisfying way.
I look forward to future books by this author. I have generally found her works in and out of this series to be of very high quality with excellent prose, and the bravery to explore themes, which other authors might not.
This book is a fitting end to the Fallen Gods series. Not just because it's generally good, but because it shares many of the same issues that the very first book in the series had. The largest being that it takes a really long time to get going and feel interesting. The first book struggles at the start with catching your attention, and I actually dropped it a few times before I started to fall in love with it. Once I was hooked, though, I really was hooked. I ended up thoroughly happy with the story, and I recall I gave it four stars, losing one mainly because some of it felt silly and the opening was really slow. The second, third, and fourth books were beyond perfect, very clever, and they solidified my expectations of this author. The fifth book was a terrible mess, I'm sorry to say; and therein lies the likely reason that this book struggles early on to get off the ground.
The fifth book didn't leave it on a very strong foundation. It had the monumental task of dealing with the aftermath of some pretty nasty events at the end of the previous one, which I felt weren't handled well at all, and it had to solve the narrative issues of the previous book, which can be summed up as content that didn't seem to advance the story very well, and really dragged for more than half the book. Book five was one of those books you skip through a lot in hopes of finding the point. This book had to overcome all that and tighten up the story. Because of that, I intend to compare this book to book five a lot, and contrast where it improves on issues and where it does not.
Book five didn't really make me feel very much until the end, which just made me feel uncomfortable. That's not good in a series that prides itself on pulling one's heart strings until they are ready to break with sadness or joy. When I started reading book six I was made really nervous by the opening handful of chapters. It felt like I was right back there in book five again waiting for something to really feel worth reading. It was all politics, and slow setup, and a lot of side characters I figured probably didn't need so much spotlight; but worst of all it didn't spend very much time on the main Flowridia-Ayla relationship. The fifth book ended with some serious relationship issues, and this book seemed like it didn't give a damn about them when it opened, which blew my mind.
To be fair, it does spend a couple chapters and a prologue dealing with the aftermath of book five for Flowridia and Ayla. After that, however, the book totally loses focus and jumps around to practically every other character you can imagine. It's like the author felt we needed global updates and situation reports on different locations when honestly I think the only thing a reader is likely to care about after the jarring end of book five is Flowridia and Ayla and everything to do with them. This is a major complaint of mine about this book in general. It doesn't seem to understand its own power characters, or main characters, if you will. It wants very badly to split its attention between multiple characters, many of whom just can't compete. It is tempting to theorize that the book may have been clumsily making a concerted effort to prepare content for future series in this universe at the expense of focusing on what matters most in this edition of the universe. That is my best explanation for this.
Flowridia and Ayla were the opening romance of this series. They're the stars. They're what hooked you into these books. They deserve most of the spotlight. Nevertheless, I got the feeling that the author was way more interested in what I would consider supporting characters. Believe it or not, I'd say a good half of this book is handed over to none other than Etolie and... Sora Makosa? Ever since her introduction Sora was one of the blandest characters I could imagine. I expected her to be a character that we'd have for a while, and then she'd fade out of focus. I expected her to be a side character. Book five solidified her as a central role in the story, which baffled me. Etolie is at least interesting, but she's just not on the level of Flowridia and Ayla, who are both extremely complex; something that Etolie is not.
The choice to spend so much time on these alternate characters, especially at the opening of this book, was really questionable in my opinion. Eventually, however, the book did get on track. It did return to Flowridia and Ayla, and once it did things started to come together. The more those two characters interacted with the world and each other, the more the story bloomed. By being drawn into their story again, I felt I was likewise drawn into these other characters, much like I was when I read the first book. That book, as a first book, needed to convince me to care about the story. This book needed to do the same because of the quality of the previous one. It succeeded. Somewhere around a third of the way in I became hooked. After that I was pretty much reading this on a tear right through to the end.
I can say that the conclusion is excellent, and the introspection and development of the characters is on par with the complexity and emotion that one would expect from this series. This is not a repeat of book five. It has major ups and downs, major surprises, so many moments that will make you cry in a good way, and so many moments that will make you smile from how adorable they are. It's not a mostly happy book, but it does have a happy ending, and the atmospheric sadness in the narrative is entirely appropriate to the series at this point, and echoes the bitter sweetness of the first four books. Anyone who has read even the first book will understand that this is not just a feelgood series. This is a series that has a sting in its victories, if you will. The events of the story hit hard, and the emotions are very real in their depth. It's a wonderful story if you want to question your own feelings about difficult subjects like what it means to be a good or bad person, or what makes a cycle of abuse continue or end. The book does not hold back on the tough subjects. I think readers of this series will love it for that.
Around the time that book five came out, I was seriously injured. The fact that a certain character in book five was also injured meant that in a way I was mirroring the journey of that character when I went from that book to this one. That character was in recovery at the same time that I was. Initially I was worried that the story wasn't going to deal with that experience adequately. It started off treating it in what felt like an unrealistic way. However, it eventually did begin to show the realities of living with an injury and chronic pain, and I felt that I could relate to that character once it began to really express these truths. I was quite happy with the story picking up that thread in a way that I could relate to realistically.
The last thing I want to talk about in regards to the narrative is my observation of the unusual choices that I think may have contributed to the changes I sensed in the last two books, which I think decreased my enjoyment of them. I have thought very hard on what happened with this series. Eventually I realized that this series morphed genres over time. It went from a mostly romance oriented story to a mostly epic fantasy oriented story. In the beginning it very much feels like a smaller scope centered on the main romance characters Flowridia and Ayla. Their histories of trauma and the qualities of their relationship as they relate to those histories really drive the focus of the first book. The following three books develop on that relationship and the growth of those two characters through strong character and relationship arcs. Unfortunately, by the fourth book we basically reach a kind of conclusion for that arc. Both characters feel like they hit a happily ever after and conclude their growth at the end of book four.
This creates a problem for the author from a narrative standpoint, because usually you would expect the overarching plot to also come to a conclusion once the romance and character arcs are concluded. This was not S. D. Simper's vision, however. She, for her own reasons, decided instead to carry on the plot arc of the larger world conflict beyond that point. This created a problem. How does one do that? It seems that the author decided to shake the story up by creating discord in the main relationship; and to fill in the rest of the character development space she heavily focused in on characters that before this point were not as central to the story. By bringing these characters to the forefront and by forcing the main relationship into discord she was able to carry the character arcs on through the final two books. I suspect that the reason book five drags so much is that it is not really its own story as much as it is a prologue to book six, and was mostly meant to build up these secondary characters into new main characters to carry the plot in book six. This, I think, is why book six recovers and ends up being pretty good. It isn't being held back like book five was. It is its own story.
Ultimately where book six succeeds is in drawing nearly endless tears during its last half. It is a book that makes you feel. It will make you cry. It will make you wonder about yourself and the people you've known. It will make you evaluate things you wouldn't have expected to think about. It will give you questions, and it will try to follow those questions with wisdom. It succeeds very well in this, which makes it a fitting inheritor of the Fallen Gods legacy. It follows in the footsteps of the best of the series. It has the heart of this series.
On the subject of Sora and Etolie, and the other side characters turned main characters, I'd say that the book does a very good job of making me feel like they are more interesting after it has taken time to work on them. In book five they were the majority of the story, to the detriment of the story. In this book I'd say we have a narrative focus that is something like 20% Etolie, 30% Sora. Luckily they are heavily worked on to make their circumstances feel more impactful and set up more intrigue around what will happen for them. Particularly Sora is spruced up well by the inclusion of a surprise romantic interest who recalls the seductive danger of first book Ayla, and certainly will have attention in future stories in this universe.
Now I need to address the character of the Goddess of Chaos, or Dira. She is fine. She's not incredible, but she's not a bore. The main issue with her is that she forces the story into a split narrative between future and past. In my opinion, this is where books go to die. When the story is constantly stopping the narrative development to pause in a different timeline it gets really annoying really fast. I personally can't stand this, but I don't think it is too bad in this book. It isn't the sort of situation where half the book is in the future and half is in the past. Because of that it eventually works out. As the book grows closer to its conclusion, the future segments of the story become shorter and shorter, which means they don't feel as annoying. Because of this Dira becomes stronger over time, because we begin to have her feel more current the deeper in we get. The counterpart to Dira is the God of Order, Soliel, who the story basically doesn't care about. If you were hoping this character would get a lot of attention, you're going to be disappointed. Luckily, I doubt you wanted that. I know I didn't.
Finally, there is an element in this book that I want to address carefully. I am not too often bothered by content in stories. Obviously I've alluded to having some issues with the end of the fifth book. However, I can tell you that there is very little in this story that I felt was uncomfortable or triggering. There was one thing, though. I do not want to say too much about myself, but it is necessary for me to explain that I am a detransitioner. That means that I at one point considered myself transgender, but later had to abandon that belief system when I realized that I had been harmed by it. There is one character in this story that is apparently transgender identifying. It is not a major element of the book, but it is in there. It's not dwelled on, but the inclusion of gender theory in the book is notable, since I believe that people who are members of my minority, i.e. detrans people, may be triggered by this. I did feel a little trauma triggering, but I was able to get past it, and this didn't really deeply affect my enjoyment of the story. I only worry that other people who have been medically abused through gender medicine or who have been traumatized by these beliefs, or their experiences as part of that community, may struggle more with this content than I did.
In conclusion, I have decided that I will give this book three stars. I gave book one four stars. I gave two through four five stars. I gave five two stars. This one is right there in the middle for me, which feels fitting. It was what I needed to wrap up the story. It gave me the closure that I wanted. It gave me the feelings that I expect from these books. It had something to say, and it said it. It also set up future books. It did have shortcomings. It did struggle at times. However, it ultimately raised the bar from the previous book, and it is a success. I reserve four and five star ratings for books that I would probably read again. This is not something I would read again. It was more of a book that I had to read to finish what I started, and it gave me what I needed. I give a book three stars when it does what it sets out to do and is mostly good. This book did, and it was. I would give a book two stars if it were technically written proficiently but wasn't very good narratively. This book does not fall down to that level, because it is not only well written, it is mostly constructed in a satisfying way.
I look forward to future books by this author. I have generally found her works in and out of this series to be of very high quality with excellent prose, and the bravery to explore themes, which other authors might not.
January 28, 2025
What a magnum opus for the final book of the series! Wow just wow. Going back and forth in two timelines...mystery around Chaos...Showing different facets of Alya and Chaos...difficulties in relationships vis-a-vis personal growth..conflicting personality traits of the same person...travelling to different worlds...and so much more, made this one and awesome and gigantic read. Thanks for the series, my dear author.
September 18, 2024
The final book of Fallen Gods series picks up right where we left off in Eve of Endless Night, with severely traumatized characters and a looming apocalypse pursued by an ancient deity.
If the stakes weren't already high enough with a titan of a god striving to end the universe, a power-driven dictator attempting to ultimately rule the world and the main characters trying to overcome horrific trauma while playing the necessary politics, the reader is introduced to some powerful new characters with their own agendas in this ticking time bomb. Alas, the characters have no time to breathe, and neither does the reader. The storyline artfully throws you from sheer confusion to desperation to hope and then back again, creating new suspense from what you already thought you knew about how things would pan out.
Like the previous books in the series, this one tells the story from different character perspectives. The diverse worldviews and goals of the narrator characters enrich the storyline, and although shifting from one storyline to another creates painful and sometimes irritating cliffhangers, it also makes the pacing and rhythm of the book very well balanced and engrossing as the final book wraps up such a huge plotline.
Completing an epic fantasy story is no easy task, but Simper skillfully ties up the loose ends yet keeping the tension high all the way to the very last chapters. There is a lot going on, but the bigger picture stays clear. That being said, I do wish the main couple from beginning of the series would've gotten a little more "screen time", as their arc in the previous book was probably the most painful one I have ever read. Though it suits the story well that the tribulations of small individuals, however harrowing, are overshadowed by the impending doomsday.
The one thing I would criticize is that the book could've easily been split into two. At times, in the beginning, the story rushed forward, which is understandable decision given the book's length, but there were many delicious subplots that could've been fleshed out a little more. However, most of the book was perfectly paced and focused, and without spoiling the ending, I felt very content with the finale of this series.
Simper's captivating style is a flawless fit for the high-fantasy setting, striking the perfect balance between the typical pitfalls of "too modern" and "archaic and pretentious" - a rare gem. Although her compelling writing skills are no surprise from the earlier books, it always delights me when a book succeeds in both plot and writing. Slightly different from the other books in the series, this one subtly plays with two parallel timelines. A technique I often find either confusing or alienating is done so brilliantly here, it only made me as a reader, want more. Simper also has a magical touch when it comes to morally gray and complex characters and the intricate psyche of a human(oid), both which are the very core of not only this series, but this book and the aftermath of Eve of Endless Night. And if I didn't already love Ayla enough, Chaos Undone deepens the complexity of her character to the point where it left me utterly heartbroken.
In summary, if you have enjoyed Fallen Gods so far, the series finale will not let you down. You are guaranteed exeptional sapphic fantasy prose and an emotional rollercoaster, with the incredible characters and extraordinary world-building and lore we are all familiar with. I’m both incredibly happy and devastated that this journey has come to an end - a perfectly bittersweet closure.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
If the stakes weren't already high enough with a titan of a god striving to end the universe, a power-driven dictator attempting to ultimately rule the world and the main characters trying to overcome horrific trauma while playing the necessary politics, the reader is introduced to some powerful new characters with their own agendas in this ticking time bomb. Alas, the characters have no time to breathe, and neither does the reader. The storyline artfully throws you from sheer confusion to desperation to hope and then back again, creating new suspense from what you already thought you knew about how things would pan out.
Like the previous books in the series, this one tells the story from different character perspectives. The diverse worldviews and goals of the narrator characters enrich the storyline, and although shifting from one storyline to another creates painful and sometimes irritating cliffhangers, it also makes the pacing and rhythm of the book very well balanced and engrossing as the final book wraps up such a huge plotline.
Completing an epic fantasy story is no easy task, but Simper skillfully ties up the loose ends yet keeping the tension high all the way to the very last chapters. There is a lot going on, but the bigger picture stays clear. That being said, I do wish the main couple from beginning of the series would've gotten a little more "screen time", as their arc in the previous book was probably the most painful one I have ever read. Though it suits the story well that the tribulations of small individuals, however harrowing, are overshadowed by the impending doomsday.
The one thing I would criticize is that the book could've easily been split into two. At times, in the beginning, the story rushed forward, which is understandable decision given the book's length, but there were many delicious subplots that could've been fleshed out a little more. However, most of the book was perfectly paced and focused, and without spoiling the ending, I felt very content with the finale of this series.
Simper's captivating style is a flawless fit for the high-fantasy setting, striking the perfect balance between the typical pitfalls of "too modern" and "archaic and pretentious" - a rare gem. Although her compelling writing skills are no surprise from the earlier books, it always delights me when a book succeeds in both plot and writing. Slightly different from the other books in the series, this one subtly plays with two parallel timelines. A technique I often find either confusing or alienating is done so brilliantly here, it only made me as a reader, want more. Simper also has a magical touch when it comes to morally gray and complex characters and the intricate psyche of a human(oid), both which are the very core of not only this series, but this book and the aftermath of Eve of Endless Night. And if I didn't already love Ayla enough, Chaos Undone deepens the complexity of her character to the point where it left me utterly heartbroken.
In summary, if you have enjoyed Fallen Gods so far, the series finale will not let you down. You are guaranteed exeptional sapphic fantasy prose and an emotional rollercoaster, with the incredible characters and extraordinary world-building and lore we are all familiar with. I’m both incredibly happy and devastated that this journey has come to an end - a perfectly bittersweet closure.
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
October 24, 2024
“What was a monster without monstrosities?”
Spoilers for Fallen Gods, books 1-5. The conclusion to Flowridia’s journey, Chaos Undone, was nothing short of epic. Chaos Undone picks up where Eve of Endless Night left off. As of Eve of Endless Night, Flowridia and Ayla have faced a harrowing event. This event could lead to immense growth, or it could lead to even more horrors and depravity.
First of all, this story was the exact length necessary to wrap up all the plot points. This book is 290k words, yet every word is used with care to tell the tale. I have no idea how SD Simper pulled this off, but seriously, I’m in awe.
Additionally, there was a setup between two different periods of time. These can be hard to pull off. SD more than just pulled the time period switches off. In fact, she knocked it out of the park! The different time periods seamlessly complemented each other.
The main POVs were Flowridia, Etolié, Sora, and a fourth character who hasn’t yetmade an appearance. The POV switches were seamless, and I loved seeing the different and concurrent journeys said characters took. Flowridia in particular had a harrowing journey.
Flowridia has grown so much from the shy, meek, and naive protagonist of The Sting of Victory. She has made horrifying decisions. Yet, she has always been empathetic. Her recent chronic pain hasn’t helped her mental state, nor has her torture in the previous book. My feelings on Flowridia have vacillated, as I hated some of the choices she’d made. Yet, I still rooted for her to mature and become a better person Her journey has always been at the center of Fallen Gods. I found Flowridia’s latest journey and its conclusion to be most fitting and satisfying.
There were additional events set up for a future series. I for one enjoyed reading about these additional events, as they helped to expand the world SD Simper has set up. However, readers could easily choose to enjoy said events without planning on reading the sequel series. The tales of the orbs, Flowridia, and the Old Gods will reach their conclusion in this epic tale. Fans of the Fallen God series will not want to miss this!
I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions on the book are my own.
General content warnings: https://sdsimper.com/content-warnings/
Additional content warnings:
Spoilers for Fallen Gods, books 1-5. The conclusion to Flowridia’s journey, Chaos Undone, was nothing short of epic. Chaos Undone picks up where Eve of Endless Night left off. As of Eve of Endless Night, Flowridia and Ayla have faced a harrowing event. This event could lead to immense growth, or it could lead to even more horrors and depravity.
First of all, this story was the exact length necessary to wrap up all the plot points. This book is 290k words, yet every word is used with care to tell the tale. I have no idea how SD Simper pulled this off, but seriously, I’m in awe.
Additionally, there was a setup between two different periods of time. These can be hard to pull off. SD more than just pulled the time period switches off. In fact, she knocked it out of the park! The different time periods seamlessly complemented each other.
The main POVs were Flowridia, Etolié, Sora, and a fourth character who hasn’t yetmade an appearance. The POV switches were seamless, and I loved seeing the different and concurrent journeys said characters took. Flowridia in particular had a harrowing journey.
Flowridia has grown so much from the shy, meek, and naive protagonist of The Sting of Victory. She has made horrifying decisions. Yet, she has always been empathetic. Her recent chronic pain hasn’t helped her mental state, nor has her torture in the previous book. My feelings on Flowridia have vacillated, as I hated some of the choices she’d made. Yet, I still rooted for her to mature and become a better person Her journey has always been at the center of Fallen Gods. I found Flowridia’s latest journey and its conclusion to be most fitting and satisfying.
There were additional events set up for a future series. I for one enjoyed reading about these additional events, as they helped to expand the world SD Simper has set up. However, readers could easily choose to enjoy said events without planning on reading the sequel series. The tales of the orbs, Flowridia, and the Old Gods will reach their conclusion in this epic tale. Fans of the Fallen God series will not want to miss this!
I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions on the book are my own.
General content warnings: https://sdsimper.com/content-warnings/
Additional content warnings:
February 28, 2025
The Epic Fallen Gods Finale!! Simper’s talent knows no boundaries on how to conclude a series with a myriad of characters, plot lines, and POVs that all seem to flow together seamlessly.
Chaos Undone includes quite engrossing storytelling, action, and conflict that all somehow kept my interest through the entire 1,000+ page book. All the characters are multi-dimensional which makes the reader feel like they truly know them and understand each perspective, as if they were a person standing right in front of them. Every single emotion the characters felt I seemed to experience, which is one of my absolute favorite things about reading. And you best believe I felt every emotion you could possibly feel while finishing this book.
This was my first ever fantasy horror series, and it truly opened the door for me to the genre after experiencing such a complex world full of morally grey characters, magic, dragons, angels and demons, gods and goddesses, political unrest, war, and both unsettling and heartwarming sapphic monster romance.
Chaos Undone is also officially the longest book I’ve ever read (1,065 pages), and it somehow kept my interest the entire time without fail due to the multi-dimensional characters, suspenseful and action-packed conflict, plot twists and turns, and belly-aching humor (Etoliè should seriously do stand-up in an AU).
Though with another added POV and timeline, each one has a distinct inner monologue and flow of thinking, so I never worried about confusion or losing my place. You’ll always know which POV you’re reading from, even if you put the book down and come back to it later, and everything that occurs is complex but not confusing, which, I think, is a marvelous accomplishment as a writer (and a relief as reader).
Now on to my fangirl self… UGH did I love this series, and while I’m so sad it’s over, I couldn’t have been more satisfied and fulfilled with the ending. Simper might put us through some tough stuff, but we’ll always be rewarded at the end! The romance, suspense, complex relationships, timelines, politics, battles, and so many twists and turns were such a delight to watch unravel through the story! I’m gonna miss these characters, but I’m so excited for whatever Simper writes next.
(ARC Review: I was given a copy and am voluntarily leaving an honest review!)
Chaos Undone includes quite engrossing storytelling, action, and conflict that all somehow kept my interest through the entire 1,000+ page book. All the characters are multi-dimensional which makes the reader feel like they truly know them and understand each perspective, as if they were a person standing right in front of them. Every single emotion the characters felt I seemed to experience, which is one of my absolute favorite things about reading. And you best believe I felt every emotion you could possibly feel while finishing this book.
This was my first ever fantasy horror series, and it truly opened the door for me to the genre after experiencing such a complex world full of morally grey characters, magic, dragons, angels and demons, gods and goddesses, political unrest, war, and both unsettling and heartwarming sapphic monster romance.
Chaos Undone is also officially the longest book I’ve ever read (1,065 pages), and it somehow kept my interest the entire time without fail due to the multi-dimensional characters, suspenseful and action-packed conflict, plot twists and turns, and belly-aching humor (Etoliè should seriously do stand-up in an AU).
Though with another added POV and timeline, each one has a distinct inner monologue and flow of thinking, so I never worried about confusion or losing my place. You’ll always know which POV you’re reading from, even if you put the book down and come back to it later, and everything that occurs is complex but not confusing, which, I think, is a marvelous accomplishment as a writer (and a relief as reader).
Now on to my fangirl self… UGH did I love this series, and while I’m so sad it’s over, I couldn’t have been more satisfied and fulfilled with the ending. Simper might put us through some tough stuff, but we’ll always be rewarded at the end! The romance, suspense, complex relationships, timelines, politics, battles, and so many twists and turns were such a delight to watch unravel through the story! I’m gonna miss these characters, but I’m so excited for whatever Simper writes next.
(ARC Review: I was given a copy and am voluntarily leaving an honest review!)
November 26, 2024
I truly loved this series in the beginning. Ayla & Flowrida’s relationship had me HOOKED and I couldn’t wait for each book till Eve of endless night. I didn’t even want to rate that one because I was so conflicted on how I felt about it. I truly feel sorry for Flowrida, even if she deserves everything that happened to her because of the choices she’s made, BUT having the person you destroyed your life for turn against you was shocking.
Flowrida had every right to feel how she felt, and to have her apologize to Ayla when she (in my eyes ofcourse) did nothing wrong, had me wanting to stop reading. After everything Ayla has done, everyone now treated her with kitten gloves including Sora?! My favorite character was unrecognizable it deeply disappointed me. Such a deeply depressing end for Flowrida, after everything she’s done for Ayla, she was left alone anyway and made like she was the problem. I definitely still in my feels about it lol.
Flowrida had every right to feel how she felt, and to have her apologize to Ayla when she (in my eyes ofcourse) did nothing wrong, had me wanting to stop reading. After everything Ayla has done, everyone now treated her with kitten gloves including Sora?! My favorite character was unrecognizable it deeply disappointed me. Such a deeply depressing end for Flowrida, after everything she’s done for Ayla, she was left alone anyway and made like she was the problem. I definitely still in my feels about it lol.
April 25, 2025
CRYING. SCREAMING. THROWING UP. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE READY FOR A SEQUEL TO A SERIES. OMG.
September 21, 2024
This book was provided as an ARC by SD herself, through her Patreon.
A year and eighteen days ago, I first discovered SD Simper's work through Carmilla and Laura. A perhaps overly-personal review can say all it needs to for my thoughts on that book. But I knew I'd have to read her Fallen Gods series, and so here we are.
It's, I feel, disingenuous to talk about this sixth and final book without reflecting over the other five, plus many short stories featured on SD's Patreon. The interweaving narratives of these darkly romantic characters spun out over eight years and a million words.
For as common as epic fantasy series are these days, spilling their stories across immense word counts, few strike the emotional chord of SD's work. Fallen Gods is a deeply emotional, personal series, delving deep into its characters inner darknesses, their insecurities, all the negativity people bear in their lives. It does not shy away from portraying monstrosity, humanizing it while indulging in it, knowing that people are not perfect, that even gods, demons, and everything in between are mutifaceted, duplicitous, *complex*.
It all culminates in Chaos Undone. The mere fact of its existence, that SD has finally finished her flagship series is, itself, a triumph. There's no other word for it, and I applaud her on that basis alone.
However, it just so happens that Chaos Undone is really just a fantastic book in and of itself.
From the opening pages, we're given the stakes: the end of the world has passed into a darker future, hope fleeting, replaced by overwhelming grief. We progress along two tracks throughout the book, learning more about this tragic fate as well as the characters' attempts to stop it in the present. The future looms across every page, teasing us with visions of grief, anxiety, small snatches of joy. SD has always loved instilling her work with dread, compelling you to keep reading, to see if these beloved characters make it out alive.
That is SD's other strength: she's never satisfied with the status quo. Every facet of this setting is malleable, characters are never static for long. They're challenged, twisted, corrupted and redeemed in equal turns. For as much as this is the story of the Convergence Orbs, this is a story about Flowridia and Ayla, Etoliè and Khastra, and all the rest. No one makes it out unscathed.
Some developments I'd anticipated (fewer than I expected, honestly), others I could never have imagined. Yet nothing is without foreshadowing, nothing comes entirely out the blue. For as long as this book is, all of it feels necessary. Every character, plot point, every description has been sharpened to a knife's edge, methodically moving through the plot with all the necessary introspection and musing we'd expect from SD's work. And, as ever, Flowridia cries, because she always fucking cries.
She cries *a lot* in this book, even for her.
Though Flowridia and Ayla have been the central characters of Fallen Gods, they take a step back here. If Chaos Undone is about anything, it's about Dira. She's the central character of the flash-forwards, casting a long shadow over the series as a whole. Though she only features in this book, she's established and humanized as well as all the rest. She's compelling, multifaceted, desperate and conniving both. She carries the book, and not once did I feel her story detracted from the established themes of the series as a whole.
If Fallen Gods is about anything, it's about monstrosity. What is a monster, and what causes them to exist? Who are they, separated from myth and legend, hearsay and slander? Do they deserve the compassion and humanity we give freely to those most like us? Do they deserve love? A chance at redemption?
Chaos Undone reiterates all these questions in all their iterations, before firmly answering them. Moralistic, perhaps, yet not quite in the ways we expect. To acknowledge monstrosity means to view it with as dispassionate a lens as we can, and Chaos Undone, as all of SD's work, does not shy away from the grim reality of its victims and perpetrators. All the better to showcase the act of healing, growing, stark light casting away darkness.
If Fallen Gods is about anything, it's about healing. It rarely takes the form we expect, nor does it progress along the ways we perhaps want it to. What we wanted at the beginning is rarely what we get, but looking back, is what was necessary for us. Nothing lasts forever, but not all is necessarily lost, either. In the end, we may end up much better than we started, but we're never the same.
I cannot wait for more of this setting, and SD's work in general. She's an immensely talented writer, and her work is, in my mind, truly special.
A year and eighteen days ago, I first discovered SD Simper's work through Carmilla and Laura. A perhaps overly-personal review can say all it needs to for my thoughts on that book. But I knew I'd have to read her Fallen Gods series, and so here we are.
It's, I feel, disingenuous to talk about this sixth and final book without reflecting over the other five, plus many short stories featured on SD's Patreon. The interweaving narratives of these darkly romantic characters spun out over eight years and a million words.
For as common as epic fantasy series are these days, spilling their stories across immense word counts, few strike the emotional chord of SD's work. Fallen Gods is a deeply emotional, personal series, delving deep into its characters inner darknesses, their insecurities, all the negativity people bear in their lives. It does not shy away from portraying monstrosity, humanizing it while indulging in it, knowing that people are not perfect, that even gods, demons, and everything in between are mutifaceted, duplicitous, *complex*.
It all culminates in Chaos Undone. The mere fact of its existence, that SD has finally finished her flagship series is, itself, a triumph. There's no other word for it, and I applaud her on that basis alone.
However, it just so happens that Chaos Undone is really just a fantastic book in and of itself.
From the opening pages, we're given the stakes: the end of the world has passed into a darker future, hope fleeting, replaced by overwhelming grief. We progress along two tracks throughout the book, learning more about this tragic fate as well as the characters' attempts to stop it in the present. The future looms across every page, teasing us with visions of grief, anxiety, small snatches of joy. SD has always loved instilling her work with dread, compelling you to keep reading, to see if these beloved characters make it out alive.
That is SD's other strength: she's never satisfied with the status quo. Every facet of this setting is malleable, characters are never static for long. They're challenged, twisted, corrupted and redeemed in equal turns. For as much as this is the story of the Convergence Orbs, this is a story about Flowridia and Ayla, Etoliè and Khastra, and all the rest. No one makes it out unscathed.
Some developments I'd anticipated (fewer than I expected, honestly), others I could never have imagined. Yet nothing is without foreshadowing, nothing comes entirely out the blue. For as long as this book is, all of it feels necessary. Every character, plot point, every description has been sharpened to a knife's edge, methodically moving through the plot with all the necessary introspection and musing we'd expect from SD's work. And, as ever, Flowridia cries, because she always fucking cries.
She cries *a lot* in this book, even for her.
Though Flowridia and Ayla have been the central characters of Fallen Gods, they take a step back here. If Chaos Undone is about anything, it's about Dira. She's the central character of the flash-forwards, casting a long shadow over the series as a whole. Though she only features in this book, she's established and humanized as well as all the rest. She's compelling, multifaceted, desperate and conniving both. She carries the book, and not once did I feel her story detracted from the established themes of the series as a whole.
If Fallen Gods is about anything, it's about monstrosity. What is a monster, and what causes them to exist? Who are they, separated from myth and legend, hearsay and slander? Do they deserve the compassion and humanity we give freely to those most like us? Do they deserve love? A chance at redemption?
Chaos Undone reiterates all these questions in all their iterations, before firmly answering them. Moralistic, perhaps, yet not quite in the ways we expect. To acknowledge monstrosity means to view it with as dispassionate a lens as we can, and Chaos Undone, as all of SD's work, does not shy away from the grim reality of its victims and perpetrators. All the better to showcase the act of healing, growing, stark light casting away darkness.
If Fallen Gods is about anything, it's about healing. It rarely takes the form we expect, nor does it progress along the ways we perhaps want it to. What we wanted at the beginning is rarely what we get, but looking back, is what was necessary for us. Nothing lasts forever, but not all is necessarily lost, either. In the end, we may end up much better than we started, but we're never the same.
I cannot wait for more of this setting, and SD's work in general. She's an immensely talented writer, and her work is, in my mind, truly special.
November 18, 2024
The final book to this epic series was nothing short of perfect. When I started the series, it took me around four days to finish books 1-3 because of how great the story telling was and it left me in such suspense, I had to know what happened next. This final book took me two months to finish, not because it wasn't as good as it predecessors, but because of the heavy emotions it evoked.
We start exactly where we left off in book five, with the opening of a destiny proclaimed in book four, Flowridia's death. Not to spoil it, but the way SD Simper connected every plot line, side quest, and character growth to this perfect conclusion, was beautiful. As always, her writing was exquisite and the way she makes the characters jump out of the pages and make you feel what they feel, is a sentiment I have yet to find in the 500+ books I've read.
I loved the growth each of them had, their acceptance of who they were, but also the strength to try and change the patterns passed on to them to cut the cycle of generational trauma. When I say I cried my way through the climax and ending of the book, I am being quite literal. I trusted Simper would know how to finish off this perfect series, but damn, she went above and beyond.
I am afraid Fallen Gods has ruined me, for I know there will probably never be another series of books that will leave the impression these books did. Every character had a conclusion worthy of their journey and decisions. I will be reading this book again in a couple of weeks because the first round had me anxious and I will most likely enjoy it even more now that I know how our heroes' (and villains') story concluded. A perfect ending to a perfect series.
I received an advanced reader copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
We start exactly where we left off in book five, with the opening of a destiny proclaimed in book four, Flowridia's death. Not to spoil it, but the way SD Simper connected every plot line, side quest, and character growth to this perfect conclusion, was beautiful. As always, her writing was exquisite and the way she makes the characters jump out of the pages and make you feel what they feel, is a sentiment I have yet to find in the 500+ books I've read.
I loved the growth each of them had, their acceptance of who they were, but also the strength to try and change the patterns passed on to them to cut the cycle of generational trauma. When I say I cried my way through the climax and ending of the book, I am being quite literal. I trusted Simper would know how to finish off this perfect series, but damn, she went above and beyond.
I am afraid Fallen Gods has ruined me, for I know there will probably never be another series of books that will leave the impression these books did. Every character had a conclusion worthy of their journey and decisions. I will be reading this book again in a couple of weeks because the first round had me anxious and I will most likely enjoy it even more now that I know how our heroes' (and villains') story concluded. A perfect ending to a perfect series.
I received an advanced reader copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 1, 2024
I had some pretty high expectations going into this book but I thought, “this is the finale to a massive series, surely SD Simper can’t wrap EVERYTHING up, she’ll probably just focus on the main plot.”
But by golly, she did it. Everyone gets their stories wrapped up. Every. Single. Character. We got characters I even forgot about getting their stories wrapped up! Every character had motivations that actually make sense! Every character ended up in a fitting place! There’s a hook for a sequel, why wouldn’t there be, but I don’t feel pressured to read it. The main cast is put through their paces and where they end up at the end of this massive saga feels wholly earned. Reading other books after this feels like eating raw bread dough when you just had a 7 course meal. It really feels like everyone got some time in the spotlight and shined.
Flowridia and Ayla were my favorite characters throughout this whole series and truly, their arcs, both together and separate were just, chef’s kiss. Perfect. Could not have developed better. Could not have ended better. Actually flawless. I’m truly amazed.
THIS is how you end a series. I had extremely high expectations going into this book and they were actually, impossibly met.
I could rant for hours about this series. If you like fantasy or sapphic fiction AT ALL and can handle the darker themes/trigger warnings (it is a very dark series), this is an unforgettable read.
I received a free advance reader copy and am leaving an honest review.
But by golly, she did it. Everyone gets their stories wrapped up. Every. Single. Character. We got characters I even forgot about getting their stories wrapped up! Every character had motivations that actually make sense! Every character ended up in a fitting place! There’s a hook for a sequel, why wouldn’t there be, but I don’t feel pressured to read it. The main cast is put through their paces and where they end up at the end of this massive saga feels wholly earned. Reading other books after this feels like eating raw bread dough when you just had a 7 course meal. It really feels like everyone got some time in the spotlight and shined.
Flowridia and Ayla were my favorite characters throughout this whole series and truly, their arcs, both together and separate were just, chef’s kiss. Perfect. Could not have developed better. Could not have ended better. Actually flawless. I’m truly amazed.
THIS is how you end a series. I had extremely high expectations going into this book and they were actually, impossibly met.
I could rant for hours about this series. If you like fantasy or sapphic fiction AT ALL and can handle the darker themes/trigger warnings (it is a very dark series), this is an unforgettable read.
I received a free advance reader copy and am leaving an honest review.
October 24, 2024
I've been eagerly waiting for this book since Eve of Endless Night was released, and wow, Simper did not disappoint!
I was curious how Simper would wrap up everyone's character arcs, the orb plotline, and all the loose ends from previous books, but she managed to do it masterfully. The pacing of the story is also impressive; despite being ~300,000 words long, the book is engrossing from the first page until the last.
My only criticism is that I wish more time was spent on Flowridia and Ayla. Eve of Endless Night ends fairly abruptly after some very traumatic events, and Chaos Undone picks up immediately after. Book six is tasked with dealing with five book's worth of relationship issues in addition to the aforementioned traumatic events at the end of Eve of Endless Night. While the moments that are dedicated to them are beautiful and poignant, I simply wish there were more of them.
I also wish the epilogue had been a little longer; it gives readers a small glimpse into the future but leaves them wanting more.
Overall, Chaos Undone is an epic conclusion to the series, and fans of the previous books won't be disappointed.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I was curious how Simper would wrap up everyone's character arcs, the orb plotline, and all the loose ends from previous books, but she managed to do it masterfully. The pacing of the story is also impressive; despite being ~300,000 words long, the book is engrossing from the first page until the last.
My only criticism is that I wish more time was spent on Flowridia and Ayla. Eve of Endless Night ends fairly abruptly after some very traumatic events, and Chaos Undone picks up immediately after. Book six is tasked with dealing with five book's worth of relationship issues in addition to the aforementioned traumatic events at the end of Eve of Endless Night. While the moments that are dedicated to them are beautiful and poignant, I simply wish there were more of them.
I also wish the epilogue had been a little longer; it gives readers a small glimpse into the future but leaves them wanting more.
Overall, Chaos Undone is an epic conclusion to the series, and fans of the previous books won't be disappointed.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
November 8, 2024
Bittersweet Perfection
In preparation for the final book I went back and re-read the series. Fallen Gods as a series is a masterclass in how to weave character arcs and plot lines across multiple books. It is everything you could possibly want from a fantasy series.
SD is truly remarkable for her ability to create morally grey characters who could be considered villains but rise above their villainy. Also showing that they are not their worst deeds. She gives us moments of peace and humility and hope, it’s beautiful. The way she deals with trauma and cycles really resonates and as a survivor I love the messages of hope and healing. I love to see the characters grow and overcome. It’s wonderful.
If Ayla Darkleaf was a real person I’d be wrapping her in the biggest mom hug, baking her all the cookies, and telling her a thousand times a day she’s worthy of love and good things. She is not a monster, she was groomed and manipulated into committing terrible atrocities. I misunderstood her on my first time through the series so it was wonderful to see her for who she actually is. The poor woman never had a chance, but throughout the series we get to see her grow. After what happens at the end of book 5 I didn’t know what her arc would look like in book 6. SD handles it beautifully; I’ll withhold anything that could be a spoiler and just say I’m wicked grateful she gets the ending she deserves.
I can’t recommend this series or this book enough. I laughed, I ugly cried, I shouted at the characters as if they could hear me. Do yourself a favor and read this.
In preparation for the final book I went back and re-read the series. Fallen Gods as a series is a masterclass in how to weave character arcs and plot lines across multiple books. It is everything you could possibly want from a fantasy series.
SD is truly remarkable for her ability to create morally grey characters who could be considered villains but rise above their villainy. Also showing that they are not their worst deeds. She gives us moments of peace and humility and hope, it’s beautiful. The way she deals with trauma and cycles really resonates and as a survivor I love the messages of hope and healing. I love to see the characters grow and overcome. It’s wonderful.
If Ayla Darkleaf was a real person I’d be wrapping her in the biggest mom hug, baking her all the cookies, and telling her a thousand times a day she’s worthy of love and good things. She is not a monster, she was groomed and manipulated into committing terrible atrocities. I misunderstood her on my first time through the series so it was wonderful to see her for who she actually is. The poor woman never had a chance, but throughout the series we get to see her grow. After what happens at the end of book 5 I didn’t know what her arc would look like in book 6. SD handles it beautifully; I’ll withhold anything that could be a spoiler and just say I’m wicked grateful she gets the ending she deserves.
I can’t recommend this series or this book enough. I laughed, I ugly cried, I shouted at the characters as if they could hear me. Do yourself a favor and read this.
October 16, 2024
I've received early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If you read and like previous books in the series, I strongly recommend reading the grand finale. If you somehow got here without reading the previous ones - I encourage you to check if they are your style. This series is very much worth it and isn't something you should pick up in the middle.
Now to the book itself.
I read it in 48 hours and that says something for a book that at least on my device was 800 pages long.
It's a great finale to the series and it's a great book by itself. It wraps pretty much all the plots from previous parts and resolves them. And how. Even in epilogue I was questioning things and wondering how the plot closest to my heart will end only to get answer at the very last page. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to spoil things for potential readers.
The author as usual did her magic. In first 200 pages she had me care and worry for characters I initially thought I'm not invested in. We got tragedy and humour mixed on the same page in a way that felt natural. Love and dedication to beloved one aplenty. Very creative and pragmatic use of magic mechanisms sneakily introduced somewhere in the series.
To sum it up - it's a very well-made ending to a story I fell in love with. I strongly recommend it.
Also, last quarter of the book is one big, wild ride. Don't start it if you have anything else planned for the day.
If you read and like previous books in the series, I strongly recommend reading the grand finale. If you somehow got here without reading the previous ones - I encourage you to check if they are your style. This series is very much worth it and isn't something you should pick up in the middle.
Now to the book itself.
I read it in 48 hours and that says something for a book that at least on my device was 800 pages long.
It's a great finale to the series and it's a great book by itself. It wraps pretty much all the plots from previous parts and resolves them. And how. Even in epilogue I was questioning things and wondering how the plot closest to my heart will end only to get answer at the very last page. I wish I could say more, but I don't want to spoil things for potential readers.
The author as usual did her magic. In first 200 pages she had me care and worry for characters I initially thought I'm not invested in. We got tragedy and humour mixed on the same page in a way that felt natural. Love and dedication to beloved one aplenty. Very creative and pragmatic use of magic mechanisms sneakily introduced somewhere in the series.
To sum it up - it's a very well-made ending to a story I fell in love with. I strongly recommend it.
Also, last quarter of the book is one big, wild ride. Don't start it if you have anything else planned for the day.
October 25, 2024
Where the HeckBalls to begin???
I received an advanced copy of this book and have impatiently been waiting for this day so that I can finally let you all know that SD Simper is simply UNHINGED in the best way. As I put it to her, this book is a diabolical emotional rollercoaster for which I was unprepared and may never recover from. And, oh boy did I love every second of it!
SD's world-building and character development are among the best I have ever read. Which only serves to further label this final book in the series as bittersweet in my eyes. Bitter because this is the end. It's over. But what a perfect ending it is.
Many authors seem to forget things set in motion throughout their stories, and readers are left wondering, "What about that thing?" but not SD. She managed to address every single thing. Only one area is left for the reader's interpretation (kinda). Still, if you are familiar with this author, you are aware of her propensity for making everyone happy. Sure, she may rip your heart and soul out through your nose along the way, but she gets you there eventually!
If there were more than 5 stars to award, I would give them all.
My only warning would be to go into this with the understanding that you are following two different timelines simultaneously, which involve mostly all the same characters. It was a little difficult for my ADHD brain to settle into, but once I did, it flowed seamlessly and was easy to follow.
I received an advanced copy of this book and have impatiently been waiting for this day so that I can finally let you all know that SD Simper is simply UNHINGED in the best way. As I put it to her, this book is a diabolical emotional rollercoaster for which I was unprepared and may never recover from. And, oh boy did I love every second of it!
SD's world-building and character development are among the best I have ever read. Which only serves to further label this final book in the series as bittersweet in my eyes. Bitter because this is the end. It's over. But what a perfect ending it is.
Many authors seem to forget things set in motion throughout their stories, and readers are left wondering, "What about that thing?" but not SD. She managed to address every single thing. Only one area is left for the reader's interpretation (kinda). Still, if you are familiar with this author, you are aware of her propensity for making everyone happy. Sure, she may rip your heart and soul out through your nose along the way, but she gets you there eventually!
If there were more than 5 stars to award, I would give them all.
My only warning would be to go into this with the understanding that you are following two different timelines simultaneously, which involve mostly all the same characters. It was a little difficult for my ADHD brain to settle into, but once I did, it flowed seamlessly and was easy to follow.
October 27, 2024
i have so many toughts and so many emotions but all i can say properly is that this book was worth the wait. this was the perfect ending to this series. i was shocked, i cried, i was desperate and anxious worrying about the ending while also completely immersed in the insane storylines that were presented, but above all else, i was not disappointed. every single question the previews books brought up were answered, every arc was perfectly closed, and everything just made sense in the end. i truly loved how it all ended because it felt like a beginning, it felt like it ended in a place where things can start without ancient burdens and with so much light.
this series is definitely my favorite of all time, and ayla is definitely of my favorite characters in the entire world, the way her arc ended was just so beautiful and i love her so so much. i also love my little lesbian gardener witch necromancer flowra, i love her dearly, and sweet dira, and my beloved demitri, and etoilé, khastra, sora, ilune, so many of these characters have a special place in my heart, i'm really thankful i got know them and their story. thank you sd simper for writing such a beautiful work <3
“Damn yourself. Have no regrets.”
this series is definitely my favorite of all time, and ayla is definitely of my favorite characters in the entire world, the way her arc ended was just so beautiful and i love her so so much. i also love my little lesbian gardener witch necromancer flowra, i love her dearly, and sweet dira, and my beloved demitri, and etoilé, khastra, sora, ilune, so many of these characters have a special place in my heart, i'm really thankful i got know them and their story. thank you sd simper for writing such a beautiful work <3
“Damn yourself. Have no regrets.”
January 11, 2026
I almost can't believe that this series that I discovered more than five years ago is finished. This series has truly been a rollercoaster ride; it's made me laugh, cry, gasp in shock, horror and awe and cheer for the heroes/villains. And this last book was a worthy ending to such an incredible series. Finally, all the questions were answered and mostly everyone got the ending they deserved. My only small complaint is that Flowra was a very passive character in this book, almost until it ended. I understand why, but it was a little disappointing. All the other characters, though, had very dynamic and important roles and I really enjoyed reading everyone's pov. The battles were epic, the plot was gripping and some new and very intriguing characters were introduced. So, despite being a beast of a book I wasn't bored for a single minute while reading it.
And though the ending was satisfying I am really happy that there'll be a sequel series because I'm not ready to say goodbye to this wonderful world and these marvellous characters.
And though the ending was satisfying I am really happy that there'll be a sequel series because I'm not ready to say goodbye to this wonderful world and these marvellous characters.
September 22, 2024
The epic final book in The Fallen Gods series was well worth the wait. Everything I had hoped for and so much more, I consider this to be Simper’s unquestionable masterpiece. Multiple timelines wove together seamlessly, and there were so many brilliant twists and turns. A few I saw coming, but many caught me completely off guard. A few absolutely blew my mind.
This put me through the wringer emotionally, destroying me in the best possible way. I laughed. I cried. I gasped. I panicked. I did a fair amount of cursing. I cheered.
Chaos Undone stuck the ending in a way very few series pull off, providing an immensely satisfying conclusion. A fitting send-off for the eclectic found family of some of the most fascinating shades of gray characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, I think Fallen Gods just became my new all-time favorite adult fantasy series.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
This put me through the wringer emotionally, destroying me in the best possible way. I laughed. I cried. I gasped. I panicked. I did a fair amount of cursing. I cheered.
Chaos Undone stuck the ending in a way very few series pull off, providing an immensely satisfying conclusion. A fitting send-off for the eclectic found family of some of the most fascinating shades of gray characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, I think Fallen Gods just became my new all-time favorite adult fantasy series.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
October 11, 2024
The perfect end to my favorite series. While I’m so sad that it has ended, I hope to have as much love for potential future books with shared characters.
Book 5 ended in such a profound way I was really curious how Simper would navigate the fallout. I appreciate that she doesn’t rush it. Characters are allowed time, as would happen in life. If you’ve made it to book 6, you know how important it is to set the stage for what wonders (or horrors) are to come. With so many characters I also wondered if it was possible to wrap up all loose ends in a cohesive way; it was. Expect the unexpected, as you never know WHAT may happen.
I absolutely love this series, and this book. It’s well worth the read.
“I received an early release copy in exchange for an honest review”
Book 5 ended in such a profound way I was really curious how Simper would navigate the fallout. I appreciate that she doesn’t rush it. Characters are allowed time, as would happen in life. If you’ve made it to book 6, you know how important it is to set the stage for what wonders (or horrors) are to come. With so many characters I also wondered if it was possible to wrap up all loose ends in a cohesive way; it was. Expect the unexpected, as you never know WHAT may happen.
I absolutely love this series, and this book. It’s well worth the read.
“I received an early release copy in exchange for an honest review”
October 25, 2024
I hesitate to call this a "perfect" ending to the series because that seems like an impossible goal to achieve, but this book comes as close as possible to that goal in my mind.
Simper was able to take the numerous storylines that have been built up over the last 5 books and blend them into a finale that is a satisfying ending that can rival any fantasy series on the market today. However in true Simper fashion she is able to do it while continuing to subvert your expectations along the way.
If you have enjoyed the Fallen Gods series up until this point I can confidently say that this is the ending to the series that you will enjoy.
This book is S.D. Simper at her best, plain and simple.
Simper was able to take the numerous storylines that have been built up over the last 5 books and blend them into a finale that is a satisfying ending that can rival any fantasy series on the market today. However in true Simper fashion she is able to do it while continuing to subvert your expectations along the way.
If you have enjoyed the Fallen Gods series up until this point I can confidently say that this is the ending to the series that you will enjoy.
This book is S.D. Simper at her best, plain and simple.
April 12, 2025
I can't decide whether I hate Ms Simper or love her for what she put me through. This series is dark, it's twisted, it's oh so gory and gruesome, but boy howdy did she take me on an adventure. It took me six months (I believe) to actually start - and then finish in 2 days - this final book in the series because I didn't want it to be over, but I couldn't have prepared myself for what was to come once I opened the cover.
Not only was I sobbing the entire time knowing this was the end story for Flowers and Ayla, but the absolute devastation I was put through from the novel itself? Simper better be prepared to receive not only my therapy bills for the next two months but also the hospital bill for the fluids I needed once I was through; talk about dehydration.
SD Simper remains my favorite author, though I really should choose someone who doesn't break my heart repeatedly for the fun of it. What an incredible story.
Not only was I sobbing the entire time knowing this was the end story for Flowers and Ayla, but the absolute devastation I was put through from the novel itself? Simper better be prepared to receive not only my therapy bills for the next two months but also the hospital bill for the fluids I needed once I was through; talk about dehydration.
SD Simper remains my favorite author, though I really should choose someone who doesn't break my heart repeatedly for the fun of it. What an incredible story.
October 29, 2024
This was an epic ending to the series!
If you liked books 1-5 you will love this and be deeply satisfied. I didn't see most of the twists coming, and the suspense was strong while reading. Every single character got the ending they deserved, and I was left feeling emotional in the end. This is a lengthy book but I finished it in 3 days, and didn't want the epilogue to end (wish it was longer).
Super recommended.
If you liked books 1-5 you will love this and be deeply satisfied. I didn't see most of the twists coming, and the suspense was strong while reading. Every single character got the ending they deserved, and I was left feeling emotional in the end. This is a lengthy book but I finished it in 3 days, and didn't want the epilogue to end (wish it was longer).
Super recommended.
October 27, 2024
Where to start? My favorite series. One of my fav book in this series. Almost ends perfectly. You won't realize the book is 1065 page long. A series I can read again in the future. And most important I so wish someone to make movies/series based on these books.
November 4, 2024
I have no idea how I feel right now. My emotions were, and are, pretty much everywhere and I’m so glad this won’t be the last we see of this world.
My heart is still pounding. What a ride this series has been.
My heart is still pounding. What a ride this series has been.
November 30, 2024
This entire series took me on such an emotional rollercoaster. This last book pulled it all together, had me in tears, had me laughing, and had me losing sleep to keep reading and find out what happens.
January 7, 2025
A fantastic finale
The perfect ending to this series that Ive followed since the first. It was suitably epic as the closing chapter of this saga and every plotline and payoff was given the opportunity to breathe without compromising on anything. What a series
The perfect ending to this series that Ive followed since the first. It was suitably epic as the closing chapter of this saga and every plotline and payoff was given the opportunity to breathe without compromising on anything. What a series
April 20, 2025
loved it, just sad that it was over! simper changed up the way this book was written a little bit that was a little difficult to follow at first but it all wraps up perfectly towards the end and it all makes sense why. I can't wait for more!
May 15, 2025
Beautiful
Filled with passion, darkness, forgiveness and love. In passion we find the will to live. In darkness we seek light. In forgiveness we find our truest self. In love we find healing. And in our journey we can find a happy ever after.
Filled with passion, darkness, forgiveness and love. In passion we find the will to live. In darkness we seek light. In forgiveness we find our truest self. In love we find healing. And in our journey we can find a happy ever after.
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