Hail achieves a victory, but suffers a hard loss in the aftermath. We’re all buckling up for book 3, which of course we’re about to leap straight into – but first, let’s discuss the finale of After The Crown.

Major spoilers below!

 

Hail’s old and new lives have well and truly collided, and her criminal acquaintances seem to be working well alongside her BodyGuard, staff and troops. Were there any stand out moments of criminal-imperial cooperation for you in these final chapters?

I think I was mostly surprised, in a good way, to see Emmory accepting Hail’s old allies – though to be fair, given the circumstances he didn’t have much of a choice, heh! I’m also enjoying seeing Johar just decide to go along for the ride; rather than having a political stake or even a personal investment, beyond being fond of Hail, she’s just in it for the experience. It’s refreshing, given all the manipulating and maneuvering that’s going on with everyone else.

Another assassination attempt! A ruse to get into the shipyard! A narrow escape! It’s been non-stop action all the way to the end – thoughts and feelings on where we’ve been and where we’ve ended up?

Well, the stakes are certainly getting higher now! I feel like these books are settling much more comfortably into themselves, in terms of what they’ve given us and where the story’s going – this faster pace and heavier action are a natural progression and it’s what you expect from a story like this, at this particular point – but what I really appreciate is how easily I’ve become invested in it. All the action in the world can’t save a story if you don’t care about the people caught up in it, after all, and that’s one thing the author’s done right in my book. It’s all coming together, but as I said last time – I want more, and I want it bigger and better!

Let’s talk about Fasé again, now we know a little more. How do you feel about Hail stepping in during the Farian’s crisis?

I held off on talking about Fasé last time, because I knew that this scene was coming and I wanted to talk about it afterward. I think Hail did the only thing she could have done, though whether or not she did the right thing will always depend on your own point of view. I think it was the right thing, and at the end of the day it worked because Fasé let her do it. It was an immense relief that she wasn’t so far gone that she’d have been willing to take someone else down with her. I’d have been much more upset if her faith turned out to be the thing that caused harm to anyone else, but given what we know about Farian beliefs that wouldn’t have made any sense, really.

We finally, oh so briefly, come face to face with the nefarious Wilson. Care to take a guess about what his problem was and is with the “Bristol bitches”?

I’m going to step lightly around this one, because I’ve read the final book at this point and I know exactly what his problem with the Bristols was, so all I’ll say – for now – is that while it did surprise me … it also didn’t. Not even a little.

And of course, any other reactions or musings you’d like to share…

One: pour one out for Matriarch Desai. Two: bear in mind her final words, because I’m a tease and I just had to leave it there. And on that note…

 

Before I go, here’s a round-up of weekly posts so far!

Week 1: Dear Geek Place | Ariana at The Book Nook | Mayri at BookForager | Starr K at Pages & Procrastination | imyril at There’s Always Room For One More | Annemieke at A Dance With Books

Week 2: Dear Geek Place | Ariana at The Book Nook | Mayri at BookForager | Starr K at Pages & Procrastination | imyril at There’s Always Room For One More | Annemieke at A Dance With Books

Week 3: Dear Geek Place | Ariana at The Book Nook | Mayri at BookForager | Starr K at Pages & Procrastination | imyril at There’s Always Room For One More | Annemieke at A Dance With Books

Week 4: Dear Geek Place | Ariana at The Book Nook | Mayri at BookForager | Starr K at Pages & Procrastination | imyril at There’s Always Room For One More | Annemieke at A Dance With Books