I read and enjoyed the first two books in this series (with some caveats) so I was interested to see how Wagers was going to finish out her first trilogy. Unfortunately this just didn't land for me. It was just not well written (and it really pains me to say that). Not only are people laughing and grinning their way through all the dialogue on almost every page (I mean, people "bare their teeth" four times in the first 60 pages), but it reads like sitting in on a planning session of an RPG. The characters sit around talking about what they know, don't know, and plan to do...and don't really do anything until the very end of the book. With a cast of dozens of interchangeable characters rotating in and out of scenes and just talking and talking I think I could have skipped to page 300 and not missed much.

On the bright side there were some memorable moments, good scenes, and one character death that really bummed me out. The end was fairly action packed and fun, but it comes so late in the game that by then I had mostly checked out. I still like many of the side characters, and the world building, but this book didn't highlight either particularly well - most of the book took place on ships and focused on political strategizing instead of character growth. This book will likely hold more appeal to those who are invested in politics and military sci-fi. I really enjoyed the second book in this series, but I think this will likely be my last Wagers book despite how much I enjoy her as a human being.

So far this month I have read 5 books.

Some of them are easy to put into a square and some are difficult:

Last Namsara falls somewhat into Doomsday; it involves stories so I think A Grimm Tale would be pretty apt but it is about Dragons so Cryptozology is the best slot.

A Dangerous Place is set in Gibraltar which I'm pretty sure counts as a Small Town, it could also have been Genre Suspense, just about Fear the Deep (she arrives on a Liner from India) and most of this series qualifies as Cosy, the first few pages are quite Gothic, Maisies mental health is not the best here and that's most of the terror in the tale... but Terror in a Small Town is the best fit.

Beyond the Empire is more space opera than anything else, the only thing I have that it fits into is New Release 

Murder in Thrall falls into Genre Suspense, Supernatural a little, Modern Noir and Gothic; I'm going to use Genre: Suspense here.

The Reapers has elements of Genre Suspense, Modern Noir and Supernatural; you could also argue Southern Gothic and Terror in a Small Town (where the final battle takes place and most of the gore) I think I'll go with Modern Noir here.

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong.

I actually finished this book 2 days ago, but I've been unable to even think about putting my thoughts down until now.  And even now, I know I'm not going to do it justice. 

I loved the book and the loved the series!  I just clicked with the characters.  Or they clicked with me... whatever.  *LOL*  I'm pretty sure there might be people out there who think Hail, the gunrunner empress, is too perfect, but you know what?  She's like my superhero.  Yes, she's one of the best gunrunners in the galaxy and you don't get to be that without being pretty damned good at all facets leading, fighting, learning, listening, plotting... well, you get my drift.  So Hail Bristol is basically my Batman.  :)   And you know what else?  She's not an uberly-gifted teenager, she's almost 40 years old.  Life has battered her around some. Her knowledge and abilities, while some of it is ingrained, a lot of it has also been learned and tried in a cauldron of fire.  Anyway... yes, she is my hero. 

The action in this last book of the trilogy is pretty much nonstop and the surprises keep on coming as Hail, Emmory, Zin and the gang fight to regain the Indranan throne.  People die.  And sometimes they die in a most awful manner, but such is the way of war.  Even as I was cursing the author, weeping, I knew it was something that had to happen. 

There are some quite times thought.  Scenes where Hail tries to come to terms with the loyalties and expectations of her people, of her found family and even of herself.  Scenes also, where she shares intimate moments with those closest to her, and we get to see the affection and love between them.  It's like... so... I've been watching the Olympic figure skating like a good Canadian, and cheering on Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as they won their gold medal, all the while listening to all the speculation about their relationship and are they a couple or not.  So... I watch Tess and Scott and I see Hail and her Ekam, her head bodyguard, Emmory.  It's a deep connection, it's love, it's true kindred spiritness.  They're not a couple - that's Emmory and Zin, thank you very much (and how I wish we could have some stories about their adventures as Trackers.) - but they are very much together, if that makes any kind of sense. 

Okay, so, yes, I loved this trilogy so so much.  It was so much fun, so much action, so much of all kinds of things I love in my books.  There's another trilogy coming in the fall and I'm really looking forward to more adventures with Hail, Em, Zin and the gang.  But don't let that deter you, this trilogy can stand alone, honest.  :) 

Oh, I loved it.  So much that I went and joined the KB's Patreon.  

(And thank you Renzii!)

Princess Hailimi Bristol is the spare, she decides to run away and have an interesting life while also investigating her father's death. She becomes a gunrunner and changes her appearance. The story opens with her losing a battle and being taken by the Indranan trackers back to her homeland and the news that her family are mostly dead and her mother is dying. She's the last heir from her family.  Now she has to survive the random attempts to kill her and find out what's going on and try to accept that she's going to be in charge in a matriarchial society where there's revolution in the air, and another empire who have plans.

I really enjoyed it and passed it on to my husband for him to enjoy too.

Thanks to a very special and sweet person, I was able to continue right into Book 2 of this wonderful series. 

It was TERRIFIC!!!

And me, the reader who never binge-reads for various reasons, is binge-reading her way right into Book 3.  (Again, thanks to that lovely person.)

Need I say more?