Book: Goldfinch by Raven Kennedy
Reviewed by plotdrunk
Rating: 3.5/5
This is 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for me. Especially coming off of book 5, which was basically travel and Auren/Slade's separation for an entire book, I was really hoping for a strong finish to the series. Instead, this book felt a bit scattered, with a lot happening and not all plots getting the resolution they deserved.
There were definitely moments I enjoyed. Queen Malina's arc was a standout, and I loved seeing the kingdoms all finally come together to defeat the fae after books of infighting. I loved the side character relationships that we got, and thought Emonie in particular was really well written. She was interesting and had her own clear voice and motivations, and brought a fresh perspective to the story. Slade’s grief after Auren (briefly) died was also incredibly touching and one of the strongest emotional moments in the book to me.
However, on that note, I really, really dislike when authors kill off a main character for the drama only to bring them back magically a few chapters later. It lowers the stakes, cheapens the death and grief of those around them, and in this case didn't even really make sense. Auren was suddenly saved or reborn as something like a star or a goddess? We don't know because it all happened in one chapter and then was never mentioned or explained again. Similarly, Slade's dragon being killed by his father was such a brutal, impactful moment, so when the shadow dragon pops up in the last chapter, it erases all of that pain and suffering. It felt like we were getting the drama and emotional impact of these moments without fully committing to the consequences. The author clearly wanted a happily ever after, but it basically erased all of the sacrifices the characters made throughout the whole book (and series).
After all of that, we didn't even get resolution for some of the storylines, which might be my biggest lingering issue. After six books, I expected more payoff. That's a lot of time to be able to weave the stories together and give everyone resolution, but a lot of the threads felt rushed, glossed over, or left open entirely. Ryatt's arc is the most frustrating example - after spending so much time in his POV and watching him achieve what he's been working toward for decades, he manages to defeat the fae but then ultimately gets stuck in Annwyn (a place he hates), never to return to Orea (a place he loves). Like??? What an unsatisfying end to his arc! We also never find out what happens in Orea after they finish the last battle. Did Kaila take over? Who's in charge of the other kingdoms? Guess we'll never know!
Overall, the first few books were really strong, but I felt like it lost momentum toward the back half of the series. There were things I liked and moments that worked, but I definitely did not get the satisfying conclusion I was hoping for.