Within the Sanctuary of Wings

4.5 stars

The conclusion I'd been waiting for!
Now I can really appreciate all the events from the previous books leading up to this insane ending!

Lady Trent - The most practical and also the most deranged protagonist and I love her to bits!

“And so I leave it in your hands, gentle reader. Mind you carry it well.”

What a nice conclusion! I started this series several years ago, and it has only been recently that I've been making a push to clear all of these books I added years ago off my to-read list. I neglected this series for far too long, and I'm so very glad to finally be wrapping it up!

While I did like all of the books in this series quite a bit, I fully admit that Lady Trent has not been herself in the last two books. I was pleased to see a return to her roots, so to speak, in this book, which was equal parts new story and love letter to everything that came before. While normally I (internally) roll my eyes at final books that trot out the “let's reference every book that's come before, it'll be like a victory lap for the reader!” trope, I really thought it was well done here. Things are referenced from previous books that actually relate to things going on in this book, and it's written with care rather than shoving the references down your throat. It was a nice surprise.

I do know there's an additional book in this series that appears to be from a descendant's point of view, but to me, the heart of this series has always been Lady Trent. I like to think that I would be right there along beside her (or at least part of her society) if I lived in the same period.

Considering the main plot of this book this spent way too much time on unimportant matters and rushed through the actual meat of it. This volume in itself could be multiple books and it makes no sense within the fiction that this is a memoir that so much time would be just glazed over. All the buildup to the main “twist” (for the lack of a better word) was done very well across all books but then it's just....handwaved away. Disappointing in that regard but enjoyable nonetheless.
Still, good series would recommend.

Finishing this book was so bittersweet. Ever since I started the series, I could barely put the books down, but this book really tied everything up nicely and left me feeling completely satisfied. This book does such a good job of feeling almost real as you hear the story through the narrator many years down the road but is also so riveting and entertaining.