“I’ll tell you what you did. You finally broke free and you conquered.”

Jesus this series. I swear I can’t take it! I gotta admit up front that this was my least favorite of the series… but it was still pretty dang great. I enjoyed this one because not only did we get more Slade POV but we got a couple new ones as well. The romance between Auren and Slade is still on fire! Like it just gets better and I cannot tell you guys how perfect I think Slade is for her.

This one was a tough read. It was a lot of processing trauma. And to be fair after the first three books Auren has a lot… like an absolute lot to work through. What I adored about Slade is he gives her the room to work through it, even when he’s struggling with things as well. So team Slade for life here. I think this book devastated me emotionally because Auren is growing so much and that means she’s has to confront a lot of stuff.

On a happier note, we get some super cool POVs and I have a new romance I’m hardcore supporting that springs up in this one! Malina is still getting into trouble and my god the last like five chapters of this book… the things I went through… I am still processing my feelings to be honest. I had a lot. Like a lot a lot. I cannot wait to read Gold… I need to know what comes next. ( )

“But the eyes of liars are tricky things. They can show you what you want to see without ever reflecting the truth.”

Main points in the book:

-Two-thirds of the book is time Goldfinch trains and tries to learn how to control her magic. It is low on action but you will have insight to her emotional stress and character development.

-The secret behind the hidden town that King Ravenger added to his territory when he made a deal with King Midas (before his death).

-Understand RIP a lot more in this book through chapters told in his POV and shared information about his backstory.
More information about The Cold Queen than any reader is interested in… I understand the importance of her character and journey to the overall story arc, but I’d love to learn less about her. The reader is told everything she is doing when it would be a bigger shock if some of the information was withheld and revealed later during a tense situation. The Cold Queen shows you she is selfish. Any empathy you had for this character will dissolve after this book, and you will start to sigh every time you read her name and the beginning of a chapter because you are tired of submerging yourself into her POV.

-Learn about the Second Kingdom, a place where Goldfinch spent some of her childhood and she has now returned.
Goldfinch is summoned for a trial to pay for her crimes against society. Rumors of the Goldfinch having the ability to steal magic from others makes her a threat to everyone. As this plot thread develops it becomes one of the most interesting aspects of the book.

-If you are into romance, I’d say this book has more physical romance than the others in the series so far. So while the book is slow on some action, it is not the action in this category.

-Fall in love with Rissa and Osrik. This unexpected pairs relationship goes through many phases and lands perfect.
Kalia creates more chaos by trying to change the narrative of King Midas death to suit her needs and gain more power and control. She wants the love and support of the people and works to convince them Goldfinch is a traitor and threat to everyone. United royal trial anyone?

“You’re not the villain in my story.” “I am,” he says without remorse, his sharp jaw tight with tension. “But I’ll be the villain for you. Not to you.”

Glow is not as strong as its fellow books in this series. While there is some plot and character development, the first three fourths of the book’s pacing was too slow. The book isn’t bad by any means, I just think editing it a bit more and cutting around 10-15% would tighten it up. Kennedy had my heart at the end of this book. I was on edge and felt like I was drowning with Goldfinch. I was begging anyone to come to her aid; I wanted to jump into the pages. The ending is solid and I am looking forward to reading the next book of the series. ( )

This has to be my favorite book in the series so far! And that ending!! So much character development and the way the trauma was handled was so perfect, this is one of my all time favorite series I can’t wait to read more. ( )