3.5 stars

I have a deep affection for this quartet, and my recent nostalgia-driven reread was an absolute delight. Book 4, however, still fails to be my favorite. The main reason for this is that while I was eager to be in Tortall during the war, I didn't really enjoy the meandering through the Divine Realms. Nevertheless, overall, it does a commendable job of tying up the loose ends.

I adored getting to see all the members of the Tortall gang, especially Numair and Daine. Those two are such endearing dorks. I must admit, though, that I do wish the age gap between them wasn't so significant. If Daine were a bit older and their relationship had evolved more into one of companions rather than a mentoring one at this stage, it wouldn't seem as odd. I think their relationship required more time to develop fully. Don't misunderstand me - I truly love these two, and they complement each other splendidly. However, the age aspect will always bother me to some degree.

Now, it's time to move on to Kel's books! :)

This was an odd ending to the series.

I was fully anticipating a final battle on Earth, yet instead, I was presented with a journey home from the land of the gods.

It was sort of frustrating, though not necessarily in a negative sense.

I am, however, glad to have been introduced to Daine's parents.

Spoilers follow.

It is extremely difficult for me to review this book without delving into Numair's and Daine's romance.

It was completely inappropriate.

I simply couldn't overlook the fact that he was her mentor and, for a significant portion of the series, almost a father figure to her.

Perhaps when I was 15, I might have been more accepting of it.

But as I am now, every time something occurred between them, I found myself constantly wanting to shout "ewww" and hurl the book across the room.

Also, one has to wonder how many times Daine must lose her clothes.

Can't the girl learn?

Daine, the 16-year-old wild mage, finds herself wandering around in heaven.

She engages in battles against Chaos, has conversations with some newly sentient blobs of super-elasto-blood, and spends time with the God of Platypuses.

Adding to the mix is a nauseating romance with her teacher.

To make matters worse, her clothes keep falling off, and she is threatened with rape by a mindless bull creature.

I really don't know what exactly is going on here.

It seems like a strange and chaotic situation.

But I suppose in this strange world, everyone has to find a way to make a living, even if it means facing these absurd and dangerous circumstances.

Maybe Daine will somehow manage to navigate through all this and come out stronger on the other side.

Only time will tell what adventures and challenges await her in this crazy heaven.

Well, we made it. The third book in this series is truly the best one.

It's truly astonishing how Tamora Pierce is able to leave out so much while penning extremely slow-paced books. One would assume that with the copious amount of time we spend with Daine meticulously dwelling on details, we would be privy to everything that's transpiring. However, there is an apparently longstanding epic war taking place, yet we are fixated on the daily events of Daine and Numair's plodding road trip through the Divine Realms.

To be fair, that aspect is still enjoyable. But in most respects, this book is similar to its predecessors. There is some fighting, a significant amount of shape-changing, a decent quantity of journeying, and a fair bit of sitting around. I have a fondness for the darkings, so they were indeed an improvement over the typical pocket animal companions.

Also, can I just mention that it's a rather bold move to have a just-turned-sixteen-year-old apprentice enter into a relationship with her thirty-year-old teacher? I like Numair and Daine, but seriously, who okayed that?

Of the many series written by Tamora Pierce, Immortals is my least favorite.

The writing seems disorganized, making it difficult for me to visualize the battle scenes. New characters are introduced haphazardly, which adds to the confusion. But most importantly, I feel little connection to Daine.

This realization came as a surprise. Usually, I'm drawn to headstrong female characters who have to forge their own paths in the world. I loved the Alanna series, adored the Keladry series, and couldn't get enough of the Trickster books. However, as I read through the final book in the quartet, I realized that Daine simply doesn't have the same impact on me.

This is largely because Daine is overpowered. Throughout the series, she repeatedly risks her life through foolish acts, only to be rescued by her parents each time. She is regularly bestowed with extraordinary gifts. During one battle, she miscalculates and starts to fall to her death, but fortunately, some birds happen to be nearby and catch her. Daine is both ridiculously lucky and essentially a demi-god. The stakes just aren't there. Alanna, Kel, and Aly had to work hard over the years to acquire their skills. In contrast, Daine often attempts the impossible, succeeds through luck and raw power, and then sleeps for three days straight.

I also struggled to connect with the supporting characters. With Alanna, there were unforgettable characters like George and Myles. With Keladry, there was Neal, Raoul, and Wyldon. By the end of the Trickster series, I was ready to swear allegiance to Dove as my queen. But in the Immortals series, there's really only Numair. While we do get glimpses of Alanna and Thayet, and Onua has a strong presence in the first book, the side characters are lacking, especially in this book. We get a bit of Daine's parents at the beginning, an ever-changing cast of supporting animals, and various immortal creatures. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. After all, with Keladry, I fell in love with Peachblossom. With Alanna, I found Faithful deeply amusing. And with Aly, I had no trouble getting invested in the story of the god Kyprioth. Each of these creatures has a unique and meaningful relationship with the protagonist that develops over time. The truce between Keladry and Peachblossom is initially fragile. Alanna is initially skeptical of Faithful. And Aly initially has every intention of double-crossing Kyprioth. But with Daine, she has an immediate and unconditional love for all creatures. While that's nice, it makes for a less engaging story.

I'd like to explore the relationship between Daine and Numair a little further. For most of the series, they have a student-teacher dynamic. It's clear that they care about each other and would go to great lengths to protect or avenge the other. However, I don't sense a romantic spark. Throughout books 1-3, their love feels very platonic. Daine meets Numair after losing her entire family, and he becomes like a family to her. He ruffles her hair and tweaks her nose when she's being silly. Daine often overexerts herself, and Numair scolds her. She gets frustrated, and he counsels patience. They have a classic mentor-mentee or even father-daughter relationship. Admittedly, over the course of three years spent in close proximity, something could potentially develop. But Tamora doesn't really lay the groundwork for it. With Keladry, there are many precious moments between her and Neal that build anticipation. In fact, with all of Tamora's books, I'm usually on board with the romance plot. It doesn't take much to win me over. I'll even embrace a romance between the protagonist and a literal crow. But with Daine and Numair, I felt almost nothing.

Overall, I'd rate the Immortals series a 2.5. There are some great ideas in these books, but they aren't executed in the way I've come to expect from Tamora Pierce. As always, it's exciting to explore the world of Tortall and learn more about the increasingly complex histories of its neighboring countries. I appreciated how Tamora added depth to the role of Stormwings and how there is never a single source of villains. For a YA fic novel, Tamora does a good job of showing that good and evil can be found in all places. Finally, as always, Tamora's love of animals is evident. I know she has a virtual menagerie in her own home. It's clear that she enjoys delving into the inner lives of nonhuman creatures, and in that respect, Daine is a perfect vessel.

Gah! This series had to end on such a bad note.

I had precisely the same problem with this book as I did with Wolf Speaker. There was an excessive amount of interactions with Daine's animals and the gods, while there was not enough human interaction.

Furthermore, it was bogged down by the weakest part of Book 1, which was the war. Tamora Pierce indeed has many strengths in her writing. However, writing battle scenes and war scenes are definitely not among them.

I find these war-related parts slow-paced, overly burdened, and I easily get confused and lost in the action. And it's not the kind of lost that is enjoyable.

I am extremely disappointed in the conclusion of this series. It just didn't live up to my expectations, especially considering the promising start.

The lack of engaging human relationships and the poorly executed war scenes really detracted from the overall reading experience.

I had hoped for a more satisfying and well-rounded ending, but unfortunately, that's not what I got.

This was an extremely enjoyable conclusion to Daine's story!

It was truly a great deal of fun to spend such a significant amount of time in the Realm of the Gods. The descriptions and the overall atmosphere of that realm added a wonderful layer of magic and mystery to the narrative.

Moreover, I really liked the portrayal of the dragons in this part. They were magnificent and had their own unique personalities.

I'm glad that Pierce had a line about Numair being way too old for Daine. It added a bit of a realistic touch to the story. However, from an adult perspective, the relationship between Daine and Numair is still a little ehhhhh. It's not that it's bad, but it just feels a bit off.

But then again, teenage me didn't give a flying fig about such things. Back then, I was completely invested in their romance and thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Overall, this was a great ending to Daine's adventure, and I'll definitely be looking back on this series with fond memories.

This was the first of Pierce's work that I've stopped reading near the end and just skipped through the rest. It was truly abysmal.

Honestly, throughout most of it, I was thinking in my head "blah, blah, blah" because that's precisely what it felt like! It was filled with pointless plot lines that seemed to lead nowhere and was a complete waste of a potentially great heroine.

Don't even get me started on the random romance that was suddenly thrust upon us. (Spoiler alert) I mean, a make-out session right after dealing with giant spider gods? Seriously? It was just gross.

And then to find out that Daine had already kissed others and "dated" behind the scenes. Great, just what I needed to know! Thanks a lot, Pierce!

Ugh, I was so eagerly anticipating a new and exciting grand adventure finale, but it just fell so short. I think I'm going to take a break from Pierce's work for a while and come back to her series at a later time. Meh.

I hope that when I do return, her writing will have improved and she'll deliver the kind of story that I was hoping for this time around.

In Wolf-Speaker, the plot unfortunately took a backseat to Daine's newfound power of voicing into animals.

This meant that the overall story arc was somewhat overshadowed by this particular aspect.

Similarly, in Realms of the Gods, the plot once again took a backseat, this time to the setting.

Daine and Numair essentially pranced around the Divine Realms, cut off from everybody and everything.

Both of these books suffer as a result of their isolation from the greater plot of the series.

As for the relationship between Daine and Numair, I come down on the side of "too sudden" and "for that matter, was it necessary?"

The story seems to introduce this relationship without much build-up or clear purpose.

There are also seemingly needless passages meant to give texture and detail, but without a central story to give that texture and detail to.

Particularly frustrating in this regard was the dragon section.

So little of this book felt connected to the quartet at large, and when the only thing driving the plot forward is "We need to leave soon", there just isn't a whole lot of interest.

Overall, this book is not my favorite in the series.

Showdown between Mortals and the Immortals

Daine and Numair have been竭尽全力, fighting against the forces of the now Immortal, Ozorne. In a battle at the cusp of death, they are spirited away to the Realms of the Gods by Daine's mother, Sarra, and her father, both of whom are gods. But Daine can think of only one thing: fighting in the battle in Tortall and saving her friends. Numair and Daine must then journey to the Land of the Dragons to return to Tortall and hopefully save their people.

The journey is complete! I must admit, I do find myself a little sad at the conclusion to this series. It has been a fun ride, even with the hiccups I've seen.

In the last entry of The Immortals Quartet, there are numerous changes and developments. One of the most significant is the relationship between Daine and Numair. Even from the beginning of Wild Magic, we could sorta sense a spark between these two. Now, this spark officially blossoms into love. The strange thing is, I thought it was rather off-putting. I really hate to say that - I've adored many romances between two people of widely different ages, like the Erlking/Dana from Glimmerglass and Jane Eyre/Mr. Rochester. *EMBARRASSING ADMISSION TIME* Heck, I've even written some fanfic about teacher/student romantic pairings!*END* But for some reason, perhaps because Daine is so young (13) when she first meets Numair, maybe because Numair has been Daine's teacher for so long, or maybe because Daine is only 16 in this book while Numair is in his early 30's, I just was completely put off when they revealed their love for each other.

However, that being said, the romance was actually well-done (I know, it sounds hypocritical - I know I don't make sense!). Numair and Daine never fell into insta-love. Their affections grew over the years, through KNOWING and caring for the other person. Also, Daine never once backed down from doing something dangerous because of her love for Numair. She continued to battle, even knowing that either she or Numair could die. And the romance never halts the story and completely derails it into the "Googly Eyes" territory. With all the cheesy romantic stories in young adult novels today, this was very refreshing.

Another major development is that we get to see the Realms of the Gods and learn more about Daine's mother. It was nice to see how the gods lived, what happened to Daine's mom, and to have a mini-journey before the final battle (though, I was wondering for a moment there if Pierce would be able to pull it off - she almost didn't leave herself enough time for a good Final Battle!). I also really liked the Showdown between Daine and Ozorne. It was intense and kept me listening until the very end. I also thought it was well-thought-out and, for the most part (considering I listened to this on audiobook), I could envision how the scene unfolded.

As with all these books, I found some things that I didn't like (besides, of course, the relationship). I thought an excessive amount of time was spent on Daine and Numair's return to Tortall. I missed a lot of the characters from earlier books - Onua, who barely gets a line, Alanna, the King and Queen, and more. Daine is bordering on the Mary Sue line; she has become almost omnipotent at this point (thankfully, she doesn't end up getting both options the gods give her at the very end), not to mention that with her bias towards Stormwings gone, she virtually has no flaws or weaknesses. However, I will also say that she is one of the most tolerable Mary Sue's I've ever read. Through this series, I've also discovered that I am not a big animal person, so a lot of the book was rather uninteresting to me (for those who do like animals, this is your book!). I can only take so much of talking, cute animals.

But there was also a lot of stuff that I did like. We get new creatures, the Darkings, which I imagined to be so cute and adorable and oh so special! (Sounds like I contradicted myself again!) Daine doesn't rush into marrying a guy at 16 and decides to wait it out - and he respects her decision and never forces her to be someone she is not. We get a journey and a final battle. And our villain, Ozorne, maintains his evil scariness without resorting to being a cliché.

This has been a really enjoyable series to read. Tamora Pierce has written some really engaging fantasy that has managed to avoid most of the pitfalls I've seen a lot of other young adult novels succumb to - Mary Sues (depending on your perspective, Daine could be one or not), insta-love, romance overshadowing the story, a lack of background research, and no clear sense of the surroundings. A good series for adults, but I definitely think that teenage girls should check this out, as they will probably enjoy it even more.

2017 Review:

This series has been a real mixed bag for me. On one hand, there are certain aspects that really吸引 my attention and keep me engaged. However, on the other hand, there are also elements that leave me feeling disappointed and unfulfilled.

After much consideration, I have decided that I will no longer include this series in my reread rotation. It's not that it's a bad series per se, but it just doesn't resonate with me on the same level as some of my other favorites.

Perhaps in the future, I may give it another chance and see if my perspective has changed. But for now, I'm ready to move on and explore other literary works that can offer me a more satisfying reading experience.

3.5 stars

This was a fitting conclusion for this series that I thoroughly relished. However, it didn't receive a higher rating due to the extensive discussions regarding the politics of the realm of the Gods.

No matter what the context might be, whenever they delve into all the intricate details and ins and outs of politics, I tend to get lost.

That being said, I truly have a fondness for the characters in this series. In particular, Numair is a character that I really like.

I also took great pleasure in observing Daine's journey of learning about her parents and how that story ultimately concludes.

Moreover, I am in awe of the author's imagination when it comes to all the diverse creatures. The darklings, in particular, were really fascinating.

This series would be an ideal candidate for a full-cast production. After completing this series, I have a strong desire to read the other series within this universe. In fact, I will probably go back to the very beginning of this universe with Alanna.