IT SHOULD BE GOOD, I know. I'm just not in the situation to read. I couldn't enjoy it even a tiny little bit.

This statement reflects a common sentiment that many people experience at times. We may know that a particular book or piece of literature is likely to be of high quality and offer great value. However, there are circumstances that can prevent us from fully engaging with it and deriving pleasure from the reading experience. It could be due to stress, distractions, a busy schedule, or simply being in the wrong frame of mind. When we are not in the right situation to read, it becomes difficult to immerse ourselves in the story, understand the nuances, and appreciate the beauty of the language. Even the tiniest glimmer of enjoyment seems out of reach. But it's important to remember that these moments are temporary, and there will be other times when we can return to the book and give it the attention it deserves.

This is the final installment of the series with Daine as the central character. I have a certain level of enjoyment for this series as it diverges from the "apprentice training" quartets that I read in a disorderly and consecutive manner. After reading 8 books in a row on the same theme, it felt a bit excessive.

Among the entire series, I liked this book the least. It occurred almost entirely in the Realm of the Gods, making it quite distinct from the others. There were numerous dreams and a war, neither of which I am overly fond of reading about.

SPOILER:

I already knew who Daine was married to as I mentioned earlier that I read later series before this one. However, in this book, the relationship between Daine and her master evolves into a physical one, and I must say I was extremely disturbed by it. This is simply due to the age difference and because I have read the three previous books almost back to back, so I can easily remember how the relationship began. It's creepy!

I truly believe that this relationship significantly contributed to my overall feeling of dislike towards this book.

Why, oh why, oh why is 30-year-old Numair messing around with his 16-year-old student whom he has basically been a surrogate dad to since she was 12? How on earth can an ethical and decent 30-year-old look at a 16-year-old and think, "Mmm, yes, sexual/romantic opportunity" instead of, "Awwwww, lil bb mage"? Tamora Pierce, what the actual heck? Why are you presenting this garbage as a model for teen girls instead of, as a friend pointed out, having a nice, normalizing conversation where Daine has a crush on Numair and he says, "I get it, but actually here's why that would be inappropriate; please go find a date or fool-around buddy your own age!" and then goes back to being a nice, not-creepy mentor figure? God, why?

It's truly baffling and concerning that such a storyline is being presented in this way. Teen girls deserve better role models and more appropriate examples of healthy relationships. This kind of behavior from a supposed mentor figure is not only inappropriate but also sets a bad precedent.

There should be a clear distinction between a mentoring relationship and a romantic or sexual one. Numair should be focusing on guiding and supporting Daine's growth and development, not taking advantage of her vulnerability or confusing her with inappropriate advances.

It's time for authors like Tamora Pierce to be more responsible and consider the impact their stories have on their young readers. We need more positive and healthy portrayals of relationships to help teens develop into well-adjusted and respectful adults.

A fierce war is currently raging between Tortall, the Carthak rebels, Scanran, and the Copper Isles. Diane and Numair have been entrusted with the crucial task of combating numerous immortals. On one particular occasion, they find themselves engaged in a battle against some terrifying beings known as The Skinner's. These immortals possess a deadly ability - they can kill anything they touch. As Diane and Numair are on the verge of being killed by these malevolent creatures, they are suddenly pulled through into the Divine Realms. There, Diane has the unexpected opportunity to meet her parents. However, despite this encounter, both Diane and Numair know that they must find a way back to the human realm in order to continue their fight against the rebels and protect their world from the chaos and destruction that the war has brought.

This was truly a great ending to the series.

I've had a rollercoaster of emotions with this story about Daine. At times, I was completely engaged, and at others, I was left feeling a bit confused.

I constantly had a strange feeling about her relationship with her mentor. It was a complex dynamic that had me worried about how it would ultimately play out.

However, all my concerns were put to rest as I really felt good about the way it was resolved.

I'm extremely happy with where this series wrapped up. It left me with a sense of satisfaction and anticipation for what's to come.

I'm excited for the next series in this world to see if the storylines continue to develop and if we'll get to see these beloved characters make a comeback, just like we did with the characters from Alanna's series.

I can't wait to see what adventures await in this magical world.

Our poor innocent Daine. How could such a tragedy befall her? She fell in love with a man about 40 years old when she's only 16.

Am I the only one that finds this wrong in the slightest? It seems rather inappropriate and concerning.

I've noticed a common theme in Pierce's works for a while. The female characters start off as strong and independent (which is great, you go girls!). Then, when visiting a faraway land, they find a possible love interest around their age. But they leave him because a long-distance relationship just doesn't work.

And then, in the last book, she discovers that she loves the person she has been working alongside for so long and settles down with him. This whole pattern really repulses me. It feels forced and doesn't seem to follow a natural progression of relationships.

I just can't help but think that there are better ways to develop the characters and their love interests without relying on these tired and somewhat unappealing tropes.

This final volume in the series is oddly disjointed.

Ozorne is still presented as a villain, yet the chaos goddess emerges as the real big bad, and we haven't truly heard much about her before. It is indeed the most adult book in the quartet, but in the process, some of the fun that was present in the other three volumes is lost.

Daine and Numair are as endearing as I recall them being. The Stormwing racism plot is still rather dumb, but at least it doesn't consume too much space, and Rikash's death has an impact.

Generally speaking, this book is really strange in terms of what it focuses on and what it doesn't (did we really require a whole chapter that was just a battle scene?). I also wish that Daine's choice to live in the mortal realms had been more clearly her own rather than her mom making the decision for her.

However, damn. That cave scene. It earns the book an extra star all on its own.

I still have a deep affection for this particular story.

Despite the fact that the romance within it appears a bit odd considering Numair is twice Daine's age.

This age difference might initially seem like an obstacle, but as the story unfolds, one can see the connection that develops between them.

It's not just a simple matter of physical attraction, but rather a meeting of minds and souls.

Daine, with her unique abilities and feisty personality, finds something in Numair that she can't quite put into words.

And Numair, for his part, is drawn to Daine's innocence and strength.

Together, they navigate the challenges and adventures that come their way, growing closer with each passing day.

While the age difference may raise eyebrows, it ultimately adds an interesting layer to their relationship.

It makes one wonder if love truly knows no bounds and if two people from different generations can find happiness together.

Just a warning.

THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Good now that that is out of the way, I can finally say what I have been wanting to say. I truly adored the other books in this series. I gave them a remarkable 13/15 star rating. The main characters were engaging, the magic system was utterly fascinating, and even the conflict managed to hold my interest firmly.

However, I am convinced that this particular book was the result of an editor imposing a romance requirement onto the author. This book was simply horrible. I could only bring myself to skim through it, and what I read left me absolutely disgusted.

I'm going to emphasize this for those in the back: TEACHER/STUDENT relationships are not okay. After reading those romance-laden parts, I promptly set down the book, stewed for a while, and then read the acknowledgements. Pierce claims that the age gap didn't bother her because Numair was young emotionally, and Daine was older emotionally. Ha. Ha Ha. Ha Ha Ha. It's still deeply disturbing and a complete lack of trust. Daine was a mere 16 years old, while Numair was 30. That's just wrong. To put it into perspective, I am a few years older than Daine was in this book, and I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of dating someone who is thirty. Just because a book is set in a fantasy world does not excuse its problematic elements. I am thoroughly disgusted with this book and will not finish it nor read anything else by the author. I simply cannot support those issues.

I love this stupid book! From a technical standpoint, the other three might be "better," but this one is just a long sequence of Daine being overpowered and extremely horny. The entire plot is essentially "Daine and Numair have a bad day 600 times in a row and then they kiss a lot about it," and that wins every time.

I mean, who among us hasn't had a traumatic experience on a bridge and then comforted ourselves by nuzzling the exposed patch of chest hair on our hot teacher's lanky body? Just kidding, I'm asexual as hell, but I love and respect Daine's commitment to the feral horny teen aesthetic.

Plus, you have to respect the plot device of "the gods send their rebellious daughter to her room for 1000 years." There are a bunch of libertarian dragons, a platypus is one of the main characters, and at some point, Daine shits a flying monkey to death. So, the chaos energy of this book is off the charts.

Yes, it would be amazing if Tammy could stop mentioning that Daine is 16 and Numair is 30 every ten seconds, but whatever. You can't have everything!

Also, the hands-down best exchange in the entire Tortall universe is the part where Daine falls off a cliff, almost gets eaten by spider-people, Numair magics his way to her and blows them up because he's mad. They make out a ton over the dead spider-people bodies, and then later Daine is like: "Why do you have a portrait of me and a lock of my hair in a locket?" And Numair is like: "What are you, a cop? Mind your business!" And then they make out some more, and then she's like: "Anyway, I'm down to clown," and he's like: "!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT UR MAIDENLY PURITY," and she's like: "My fucking what now?" Anyway, this book is high art, and I'm so happy it exists.

NO! Why does this five-star series have to end in this way!?

Okay, so writing this review literary HURTS! The Immortals series was all set to become a new favourite of mine. It combined political intrigue with a unique magic system and contained an immediately lovable set of characters and almost more animals than it does pages. But this concluding chapter negates everything the preceding instalments set out to do and left me feeling uncomfortable and confused.

The book began with the central series character, Daine, traversing into the realm of the gods. I was all set for a series of magical adventures but none of these were forthcoming for at least the first half of the book. What filled the pages instead were the characters repeatedly discussing their discontent over their present surroundings and not much else. I was still engaged, however, as I had spent three whole books growing to love these characters, and this did not cause me to judge the book too harshly. What was delivered when the action was eventually forthcoming, however, most certainly did.

**The main cause for my discontent is a minor spoiler. It does ruin a small part of the series ending, but not the overall story line.** As action and intrigue continued to grow so did feelings between Daine and her mentor, Numair. I had previously adored this duo and their platonic relationship but this new element completely ruined that dynamic. Numair is almost double Daine's age. I am very much a believer in age being nothing but a number but not when one of the pairing is (I believe) below the legal age of consent. This is a fantasy land which has no such laws, but they do exist where they are being read, however. Also, Numair is placed as a source of authority in Daine's life. He is her mentor and her guide and, in my opinion, completely betrayed her trust in allowing their mutual feelings to expand as they did. I felt increasingly uncomfortable about reading of their burgeoning love for each other when three whole books had set him up as nothing but a paternal figure. I also wondered at the potential implications this could have for a similarly-aged reader to Daine attempting to recreate a relationship with an older individual in her own life.

I found myself unable to see past this and it soured the entire book for me. I will still continue to adore and to reread the preceding three books in this series but, in my mind, I will forget that this one ever exists.

WTF? Tamora Pierce, what on earth were you thinking when you wrote this one?! I truly believe this is the least favorite book that Pierce has ever penned, and it brings up several concerns.

The most blatant issue that I (and many others here) have is the entire Numair and Daine relationship. At times, it was downright uncomfortable to read. He is almost twice her age, and yet they engage in a very physical and sensuous relationship. Moreover, it is presented as a romantic star-crossed relationship rather than a vastly inappropriate abuse of trust. If this had been dealt with differently, perhaps I wouldn't be so creeped out by it, but it seems to recognize that the age gap is inappropriate even in a fantasy setting. Numair himself actually lists the reasons why it's wrong and then promptly ignores them! It's not like Game of Thrones, where young relationships are presented as socially acceptable yet still damaging to those involved. Here, it's presented as a romantic happy ending, and in a book targeted at a middle school audience. WTF?!

In addition to that particularly cringe-worthy revelation, the rest of the book has a terrible pace. So much time is spent in the immortal realms, and it can be quite dull. She spends an inordinate amount of time chatting with new gods about relatively unimportant things while there's apparently a war going on. The said war is wrapped up in a rushed ending that feels hasty and incomplete.

Another problem I have is Daine's relationship with her parents. It's never really explained how they met and fell in love, and Daine is expected to simply embrace her father despite never knowing anything about him before. Also, as I've griped about before, Daine's self-righteous condemnation of her father for hunting creatures that can be reborn is just obnoxious when she still doesn't adopt a vegetarian lifestyle and spends plenty of time eating animals that can't be reborn.

Honestly, I'm relieved that this quartet is over. I loathed Daine as a character, and I found this series inferior to the initial Alanna series. I might have disliked Alanna initially, but at least she wasn't as whiny as Daine and had a spirit that I could admire.