And that’s why I’m disappointed, not just because that didn’t happen, but because the story basically tells you that no matter what the Hesperians would always be superior. Yes, they are more technologically advanced and appear to be stronger and wiser, but you’d think with the Phoenix and Dragon together in a united front they could defeat Hesperian occupation but I guess not. I assumed that though the book would spend most of the time with the South rising up and defeating the North, which was a really strong highlight of the book, that it would get to a certain point where Rin and Nezha realized that rather than fighting each other they should turn their fight onto the Hesperians instead, which is their true enemy. But then the Hesperians showed up and made things more complicated. This whole time in the series, we’ve talked about the division not just between the 12 provinces in Nikan but the clear lines drawn between North and South, and once the Mugenese were taken care of the war shifted into that of a civil war. Not because of what happened to Rin and Kitay, or even Nezha for that matter, but what the future looks like for Nikan and the Hesperians. Honestly, the conclusion was probably the most disappointing part. There are going to be spoilers so maybe don’t read this if you haven’t gotten this far in the series yet. I get what was meant to be said and done, but in regards to impact it was more like a flitter than a punch. Is that my YA brain showing? I’m not sure, but I felt a bit disappointed in the way the story ended.

You know? I just thought that I knew where or how the final conclusion should’ve finished off and gotten to the point where a purpose was achieved, but it didn’t. I knew coming into this that it was going to be hard to get through, and it was most likely going to end on a low note, but I still feel like I expected more.

Click here to check out my incredibly eloquent and thought provoking Goodreads review. No, you’re not crazy by thinking you missed my review of the second book, The Dragon Republic I simply did not post it on this site.

The burning god series