This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous seven books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Sophie Foster wants answers. But after a lifetime of lies, sometimes the truth is the most dangerous discovery. Even the smallest secret comes with terrifying new responsibilities.
And Sophie’s not the only one with blank spots in her past, or mysteries surrounding her family. She and her friends are part of something much bigger than they imagined—and their roles have already been chosen for them.
Every clue drags them deeper into the conspiracy. Every memory forces them to question everything—especially one another. And the harder they fight, the more the lines blur between friend and enemy.
Coming off the ending of the last book, I was eager to jump straight into this one. Not only might we finally get the answers to some deep-seated questions we've been pondering from the very beginning, but we might get to advance the romance! So without further ado...
Okay, so readers who weren't really digging the romance angle of the series have probably jumped ship by now, but if you haven't, this is where things really ramp up. I didn't want to discuss the Fitzphie get-together before, since it was fairly late in the book and I didn't want to spoil it, but here it's pretty important. Not only is it the impetus for Sophie's matchmaking woes, which sets her on the course of uncovering more Black Swan secrets, but it's also a pretty big motivator to other things in this story.
To break it down, Fitz has finally come out and told Sophie that he wants to be with her. Specifically, that he wants to be matched with her, which is basically the government's permission to marry and procreate. We've heard the reasonings behind matchmaking, with the elves' long lifespans making genetics somewhat tricky to remember, but we've also heard its downfalls due to its prioritizing "good" talents be matched together and reputations being tarnished for anyone who chooses to go outside the matchmaking recommendations.
But Sophie's problem doesn't lie with having dangerous or no talents, but rather that she doesn't know her genealogy because her biological parents are still a closely-guarded secret. And honestly, both Fitz and Sophie are pretty dense for not remembering that, especially as it seems like everyone else they tell are nonplussed by it. Like, they might wince or act sympathetic to her, but no one seems surprised when she tells them. And, yeah, I may not have known that the genetics were gonna be the main deciding factor for matchmaking, but considering that genetics are mentioned every single time it's mentioned/explained in the series, you'd think that Sophie might have caught on.
Fitz has no excuse. And I know, I haven't been big on the Fitzphie train ever since its inception in Book 1, nor have I been silent about it in my reviews either, but... Suffice it to say that I'm still not a fan of that boy. But overall, I think the relationships were handled realistically and respectfully, all things considered.
Moving on, I feel a bit bad for not mentioning this in the last review, since I didn't want to spoil things there, but can I just say how much I love Sophie's new bodyguards? Seriously, Bo and Tarina are both great additions to the dynamic that Sophie has going with her protectors. Even if they might have other motives going on behind the scenes, as we learned about the troll in the last book, it's clear how much they have grown to value Sophie as a companion, and even maybe a friend? And now with Tarina still dealing with the fallout from the last adventure, and this new adventure dealing with their home turf, we get to see more of the dwarf, Nubiti. I'd like to get a bit more description of the species, since that seems to have been left behind with the previous introductions, but their personalities and quirks provide more than enough distinction otherwise.
I was also happy(?) to see that Sophie's PTSD wasn't fully gone from the previous book. Granted, she mostly goes without major panic attacks, but she still has some episodes where Flori, the gnome, has to sing her darkness-calming song. While I still would have preferred a non-magical, relatable treatment plan, I still appreciated that the condition wasn't as suddenly cured as the last book made it seem. But aside from a couple early panic attacks, we didn't really see much in the way of it affecting her mental abilities or day-to-day life, which I still would have liked(?) to have seen. I swear, it's not that I want Sophie to suffer, but I still feel like it's important to best represent the condition truthfully if you're choosing to include it in the first place, and I just don't feel like enough was explored in coping techniques, adjusting behaviors, or unexpected triggers.
Then again, the pacing in this book was pretty break-neck, so I suppose there's still ample time to be dealing with trauma in the future. I feel like the events of this book take all of a couple weeks, maybe a month at the most, which is by far the shortest amount of time so far, and in one of the longest books of the series. Most of the events center around gathering info (mostly concerning Sophie's past and Keefe's missing memories) and planning for the next big fight with the Neverseen (figuring out location, coordinating allies, planning to deal with/rescue Tam), so there are a lot of moving parts all happening simultaneously. In other words, a lot happens in this book, and there is not a lot of down time to deal with it.
If I had to pick a central theme of this book, aside from the title, it would be Responsibility. Sophie has always shouldered a lot of responsibility as the Moonlark, but after having her abilities and prowess on public display, even the Council has decided that it's time to make her backing official with a new leadership position. So now it's a new kind of struggle to juggle personal responsibilities with official ones, not only from the Black Swan, but the Council. And when new secrets come to light, she's left with a weight like none she's ever known. I enjoyed this aspect of the story—I thought Sophie's struggle against personal wants and the needs of the many was portrayed well, and that she came out of everything believably shaken but strengthened, too.
As for that ending, let's just say I'm super glad I have the next book/novella handy because that just wasn't fair. Not having read the next entry yet, and with the 9th book pending until next year, I don't know if I can recommend diving into this one before then. Then again, who's to say that Book 9 won't be worse as the penultimate book of the series? I guess there's just no good way to go about it: if you don't like cliffhangers, I hope you haven't started this series yet!
Overall, this was equal parts frustrating and rewarding. I enjoyed the cast expansion while also being disappointed that some characters fell by the wayside; the more compact timeline allowed for better pacing, yet it was still packed-to-bursting with so many plot elements that it was easy to lose focus; and the portrayals of the romance and trauma both had ups and downs, but as they're largely unresolved I feel I still have to delay judgement. Since this series is largely an overarching epic, it's hard to pin down some of the depictions as good, bad, or otherwise when they're ultimately incomplete. About all I am sure of is that this book was one helluva ride from start to finish, and I can't wait to jump into the next one.
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