Words can't even express how excited I was to get my hands on an early copy of Multen Dusk! So I'll just let Thor do it.
Actually, I've enlisted Thor and co. to help me with this review to better express all the many feels this book has inspired.
Molten Dusk pretty much picked up where Arctic Dawn left off, with Helen, Skoll and their goons trying to devour Solina and bring on the second Ragnarok.
I did appreciate just how much Solina and Thorin had grown in this addition to the series. Solina was definitely on a smarter path this time around. She was more hesitant to jump straight into each new dangerous situation. Solina was never one to sit back and let her friends fight the good fight without her, but she did learn to trust in them more and know when to listen to her head and let others take the lead when it made sense. But when the time did come for her to storm in she did so with flare!
Solina went through a lot in this book too. But I think the most devastating was the faceoff with Val. I knew it was inevitable, but man it still stung. I'm honestly glad that Solina seemed to feel that too. Val weasled his way in your heart throughout this series, and it wasn't an easy feat to cast him out.
And then there was Thorin.
Thorin was still the protective, mighty bit of yumminess that we've come to know and love. But I feel like we also got to see a much more vulnerable side to him this time that we haven't really seen much of before. I especially liked hearing more about his past in Asgard, even if it was incredibly heartbreaking.
It was nice to see him opening up to Solina and putting himself out there. And the chemistry between the two was off the charts!
Besides the smoking hot smoochy stuff there was that whole stopping the end of the world as we know it thing they were smack dab in the middle of.
Being that Solina and Thorin were more inclined to trust people (with a heavy dose of weariness, of course), that did put them in the position to possibly be betrayed by those closer to them. And there were many likely candidates for this. It was nearly impossible to foresee exactly who was truly on their side or just laying in wait to make their move against them.
Let us not forget to mention the incredibly awkward/adorable situation where Solina's parents finally came into the fold and were introduced/bombarded with the fact that she and her brother were not exactly human, Norse Myths are real, and all their lives are in danger. Oh, and mom & dad...have you met Thorin the God of Thunder?
I quite enjoyed Thorin whipping out his Hammer for them! And no pervs, that isn't an euphemism for something lewd.
We finally come to the EPIC final showdown at the end. I honestly LOVED the way it all played out. There were quite a few things that I didn't see coming that I wouldn't dream of spoiling for any of you. I will say I was honestly more surprised by those who stepped up and chose to act for what's right than the deceivers this time around. Which was a refreshing change of pace after the (cannot be topped) betrayal in the last book.
I thought things wrapped up nicely in general. It was sad to say goodbye to this story and these characters, and while I would have loved to get a little better of a glimpse past all this chaos and bloodshed, I was pleased to get the little sneak peek.
If you haven't started The Norse Chronicles yet, I highly recommend doing so! It is a perfect blend of Norse Mythology and modern atmosphere, and the series is now complete for you to gobble 'em all up at once!
*Thank you gif maker extraordinaires for the wealth of Thor related gifs on the interwebs that made this post possible*
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review.
**A special thanks to author Karissa Laurel for creating this awesome series, and so kindly sharing early copies and always shouting out your appreciation to your biggest fans (including little ole me!). I can't wait to see what you come up with next!**