The elixir trilogy has been a ride. Not a very good one. I finished the series out of obligation. Let's start with character development.
Character development was the one thing done right. The characters were believable and had no sudden changes, besides one. However, I hated sage, especially in this book. His abusive tendencies and the main characters willingness to accept it was disturbing. The selfishness and stupidity of these characters were beyond frustrating. The only character that flipped on a dime was Ben, the trusty sidekick and villain of the book. He was so back and forth that I feel like Duff should have given him split personality disorder to excuse his instability. I hated what she did to that character.
Now the writing style. Her writing flowed poetically with just the right amount of similes, alliteration and script. She didn't overuse any words, and it didn't appear as if she struggled with creative substitutes. I didn't find many spelling errors either.
The last paragraph is dedicated to my need to vent about the ending. Forgive me if I get unprofessional, but the uncreative end to this story infuriated me. There will be spoilers. In books, I find it's becoming more and more common for the main character to achieve his of her desires despite the other characters misfortunes. Gone are the days of Harry potter endings when it's a believable and satisfying end. I cannot forgive the outcome for the best friend Rayna. I cannot forgive that the main character used her best friends boyfriends body as a shell for her own boyfriend. I refuse to believe that Rayna could just accept seeing her boyfriends body constantly in the arms of her best friend. The ending of "hush hush will be ruined in this next sentence as comparison, so if you plan to read that, stop reading now.

The hush hush series ended with the main characters best friends boyfriend dying to save the main characters happiness. The main character achieved some bull sh*t reason to get her boyfriend back. It skipped 3 years ahead and the best friend was happy seeing someone else, and were supposed to just accept the sacrifice of the best friend for the main characters happiness. The trusty sidekick disappears with a bullsh*t reason with the main character "having pure intentions" with the outcome for the sidekick that was used and discarded.

Sound familiar? So were just supposed to be happy for the main character because the best friend is over the injustice in an unbelievable amount of time. I don't believe Cleas love for Sage was any more important than Raynas love for Nico. I don't think that Sage having multiple lives with Clea is fair, since Rayna and Nico only got one month together. Cleas and Sages love was at the sacrifice and unhappiness of many people, including themselves. Sage gave up their bond for another woman which was unaddressed. The main character just decided to forgive his disloyalty to not waste anymore time with him. How many people were sacrificed in the 5 lives it took for Sage and Clea to find happiness? Rayna and Nicos love was pure. Nobody was hurt. His intentions were pure. Raynas intentions were pure. They had a much better love story in one month than Sage and Clea had in 5 lifetimes.
The ending was not a happy one. The curse for an entire community of people was not lifted. A curse these people didn't deserve. Again, Clea and Sage get 5 lifetimes together, whereas these people get less than 30 years of life. The trusty sidekick Ben, found no resolution, no help and was discarded after being used in every way possible for the main character. I could not think of a worst ending for this book. All I know is that after sacrificing so many lives for their own happiness, the main characters should have learned a lesson. Those sacrificed should have found resolution. Those reading should have had an ending.
( )

True is the third and last installment of the Elixir Trilogy. It takes place immediately after the events of Devoted: Nico is about to mortally wound Sage with the dagger and Ben tackles him causing Nico to fall on his dagger and mortally wound himself. Nico and Sage both die but Sage's soul goes into Nico's body.

So happily ever after for Clea, right? Not quite.

Clea has to break the news to her best friend Rayna that her love of her life is dead AND that Clea's soulmate now occupies his body. SPOILER ALERT: It's doesn't go well. Also, Sage is not adjusting well to his body. He is acting erratically and becoming prone to violent outburst especially toward Clea.

Turns out, it may be a symptom of Soul Rejection, akin to organ rejection. Nico's body wasn't adequately prepared for Sage's soul so the two souls are fighting it out. Either one will be dominant or they will both destroy each other if a cure isn't found.

I felt like True wasn't a real part of this Elixir Trilogy. It was the 1 hour TV movie of a sitcom to wrap everything up and I kind of felt cheated. It wasn't incomplete. It felt inorganic. There were no high stakes during True unlike in Devoted. There was action but it was quickly diminished. I never felt like the characters were truly in danger because when they were I didn't believe it.

However, I do admire that Duff changed the formula as True is told from both Clea's and Rayna's point of views. They had two distinct voices: Clea was more rational, Rayna more chaotic. I really hope this is the end of the series. ( )

True is the third and last installment of the Elixir Trilogy. It takes place immediately after the events of Devoted: Nico is about to mortally wound Sage with the dagger and Ben tackles him causing Nico to fall on his dagger and mortally wound himself. Nico and Sage both die but Sage's soul goes into Nico's body.

So happily ever after for Clea, right? Not quite.

Clea has to break the news to her best friend Rayna that her love of her life is dead AND that Clea's soulmate now occupies his body. SPOILER ALERT: It's doesn't go well. Also, Sage is not adjusting well to his body. He is acting erratically and becoming prone to violent outburst especially toward Clea.

Turns out, it may be a symptom of Soul Rejection, akin to organ rejection. Nico's body wasn't adequately prepared for Sage's soul so the two souls are fighting it out. Either one will be dominant or they will both destroy each other if a cure isn't found.

I felt like True wasn't a real part of this Elixir Trilogy. It was the 1 hour TV movie of a sitcom to wrap everything up and I kind of felt cheated. It wasn't incomplete. It felt inorganic. There were no high stakes during True unlike in Devoted. There was action but it was quickly diminished. I never felt like the characters were truly in danger because when they were I didn't believe it.

However, I do admire that Duff changed the formula as True is told from both Clea's and Rayna's point of views. They had two distinct voices: Clea was more rational, Rayna more chaotic. I really hope this is the end of the series. ( )

True is the third and last installment of the Elixir Trilogy. It takes place immediately after the events of Devoted: Nico is about to mortally wound Sage with the dagger and Ben tackles him causing Nico to fall on his dagger and mortally wound himself. Nico and Sage both die but Sage's soul goes into Nico's body.

So happily ever after for Clea, right? Not quite.

Clea has to break the news to her best friend Rayna that her love of her life is dead AND that Clea's soulmate now occupies his body. SPOILER ALERT: It's doesn't go well. Also, Sage is not adjusting well to his body. He is acting erratically and becoming prone to violent outburst especially toward Clea.

Turns out, it may be a symptom of Soul Rejection, akin to organ rejection. Nico's body wasn't adequately prepared for Sage's soul so the two souls are fighting it out. Either one will be dominant or they will both destroy each other if a cure isn't found.

I felt like True wasn't a real part of this Elixir Trilogy. It was the 1 hour TV movie of a sitcom to wrap everything up and I kind of felt cheated. It wasn't incomplete. It felt inorganic. There were no high stakes during True unlike in Devoted. There was action but it was quickly diminished. I never felt like the characters were truly in danger because when they were I didn't believe it.

However, I do admire that Duff changed the formula as True is told from both Clea's and Rayna's point of views. They had two distinct voices: Clea was more rational, Rayna more chaotic. I really hope this is the end of the series. ( )

Though I loved the others, this book was a let down. The tone, wallowing and watered down, was off-putting. And the love interested seemed a violent and fatuous jock. The plot only grew interesting in the last few chapters, but not so much as to redeem the book. ( )