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amylittleford's review against another edition
4.0
I have been waiting so long to read this book and finally I have! It was really good! I didn't think I would like it as the main character was not shown in a good light in the other two books but I really loved it. She fell in love with Alan which made me happy and he deserves it! Omg I really nearly thought that they were going to kill off Alan! It would have ruined everything but of course Sarah is not silly and he came back towards the end! YAY! I always loved Nick and his sense of humour and it came out brilliantly in this book again. I can't believe there is no more... I am going to miss reading about all there lives. I would recommend this book to everyone who has read the first two books because it is just as brilliant.
Amy x
Amy x
hpstrangelove's review against another edition
4.0
This book is told from Sin's point of view; I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I did. I would have liked more of Jamie - I missed his humour - but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was sad to see it end.
zombi's review against another edition
5.0
I CRIED, I LAUGHED, I THOUGHT, "OH ALAN" A WHOLE LOT.
This book was hella good. I'm not a great reviewer, so just, you know. Read this.
This book was hella good. I'm not a great reviewer, so just, you know. Read this.
kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
It's no easy thing for the third book in a series to include just enough details from prior books to keep a reader up to speed while adding enough new to keep the pacing perky.
I last read Demon's Lexicon quite a long, long time ago. While I remembered vague plot and characters, I completely missed the second book in the series.
And yet, picking up Demon's Surrender didn't throw me at all. Through Sin, the darling of the Goblin Market; dancer, performer, fierce protector of her half-siblings, and wanna-be leader, we see past events afresh.
Sin thought she was going to step into the leadership of the Goblin Market just as easily as she turn's men's heads, or just as easily as she can manipulate the emotions of those around her because of her observant nature. But it's not that easy. The Ryves brothers, Alan and his Demon brother, Nick, are backing Mae, and the two girls will have to balance their love of their siblings with their desire to preserve the Goblin Market against the magicians who attack.
What I love, love, love about this book, and why it gets the 5 stars, are the wonderfully observant, snarky, self-sacrificing, long-tortured, but not overdone characters. Sin, so outwardly confident and poised, so inwardly dorky about her feelings for Alan. Their conversations, more or less the archetypical "I can't believe she likes me" one on his part, don't come off as stale or overdone at all. Nick, so arrogant and rude, hiding his tender feelings from everyone while working very hard to figure out what everyone wants from him. And Mae, fiercely protective of her magician brother, but willing to take on the world to prove she is her own person. Even down to minor sub-characters like Sebastian, who is convincingly portrayed as adoring of Mae's brother and just as ashamed and embarrassed that others know this.
You want angst? There's angst aplenty, and love among these characters. Alan is tortured by the magicians, but tries desperately not to let Nick know. Mae's brother undergoes serious self-mutilation to escape the magicians and a magic item Sin and Mae need. The love is romantic and brotherly, and sisterly, and for the magic of the Goblin Market.
And I'm willing to spend time with these characters no matter what they do or where they go or how many times they draw out their knives and swords to fight the magicians or each other (actually, especially each other, those brother to brother fight scenes are the best).
This Book's Snack Rating: Fresh from the vat fish and chips with the golden, not-too-heavy outer coating preserving the moist, flaky insides of the characters that melt in your mouth. You could eat the whole plate and still crave more salty goodness.
I last read Demon's Lexicon quite a long, long time ago. While I remembered vague plot and characters, I completely missed the second book in the series.
And yet, picking up Demon's Surrender didn't throw me at all. Through Sin, the darling of the Goblin Market; dancer, performer, fierce protector of her half-siblings, and wanna-be leader, we see past events afresh.
Sin thought she was going to step into the leadership of the Goblin Market just as easily as she turn's men's heads, or just as easily as she can manipulate the emotions of those around her because of her observant nature. But it's not that easy. The Ryves brothers, Alan and his Demon brother, Nick, are backing Mae, and the two girls will have to balance their love of their siblings with their desire to preserve the Goblin Market against the magicians who attack.
What I love, love, love about this book, and why it gets the 5 stars, are the wonderfully observant, snarky, self-sacrificing, long-tortured, but not overdone characters. Sin, so outwardly confident and poised, so inwardly dorky about her feelings for Alan. Their conversations, more or less the archetypical "I can't believe she likes me" one on his part, don't come off as stale or overdone at all. Nick, so arrogant and rude, hiding his tender feelings from everyone while working very hard to figure out what everyone wants from him. And Mae, fiercely protective of her magician brother, but willing to take on the world to prove she is her own person. Even down to minor sub-characters like Sebastian, who is convincingly portrayed as adoring of Mae's brother and just as ashamed and embarrassed that others know this.
You want angst? There's angst aplenty, and love among these characters. Alan is tortured by the magicians, but tries desperately not to let Nick know. Mae's brother undergoes serious self-mutilation to escape the magicians and a magic item Sin and Mae need. The love is romantic and brotherly, and sisterly, and for the magic of the Goblin Market.
And I'm willing to spend time with these characters no matter what they do or where they go or how many times they draw out their knives and swords to fight the magicians or each other (actually, especially each other, those brother to brother fight scenes are the best).
This Book's Snack Rating: Fresh from the vat fish and chips with the golden, not-too-heavy outer coating preserving the moist, flaky insides of the characters that melt in your mouth. You could eat the whole plate and still crave more salty goodness.
emmascc's review against another edition
5.0
"Who knows, maybe I did" - its been two years and I still haven't recovered from this part, I never will
randomly_kait's review against another edition
5.0
I seriously cannot wait for this book to come out!
missprint_'s review against another edition
5.0
Just one year ago Cynthia Davies thought her place at the Goblin Market was assured. The darling of Market's leader, a talented dancer, Sin Davies is Market royalty in every possible way. Sin had thought that made her the obvious choice as the heir to the Goblin Market. Sin actually thought it made her the only choice.
Then Mae Crawford showed up and usurped Sin's rightful place, forcing Sin to fight desperately for her place as the Market's heir.
Good thing Sin is used to fighting for what she wants. Every day she struggles to keep her younger siblings Lydie and Toby safe. Lately she has also had to wrangle her feelings for the infuriating Alan Ryves. Once little more than a tall, irritatingly smart, thorn in her side Sin now owes Alan a debt that can never be repaid. And Sin doesn't like owing anything to anyone.
As time runs out for Sin to stake her claim to the Market, outside threats are also closing in. Mae's own brother has joined the magician's that want to kill them all and destroy the market. While the loyalties of Alan's brother remain perilously uncertain. Nick, Sin's favorite dance partner and a dangerous demon, might still have an allegiance to his brother Alan. Or he might destroy them all.
Victory will come at a cost for all of them. Will the price be more than Sin can pay in The Demon's Surrender (2011) by Sarah Rees Brennan.
The Demon's Surrender is the conclusion of Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon Trilogy. It is preceeded by The Demon's Lexicon and The Demon's Covenant--the first and second books respectively.
In the first book readers met Nick Ryves and learned the startling truth of his past. In book two readers learned more about Mae, her brother Jamie, and the dangers of dealing with magicians. Throughout both books Sin appeared as an attractive, athletic and integral part of the Goblin Market.
Readers did not learn much more about this often aloof heroine until this final book which is told from Sin's point of view. Lacking a frame of reference for Sin's personality--it was a little worrisome to know an entire book, not to mention the conclusion of the trilogy, would be told from her point of view.
Turns out there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
Reading about Sin in The Demon's Surrender was a revelation as Rees Brennan reveals more and more facets of Sin's personality. An athletic dancer, Sin plays many roles. Some things don't come easily to her and often she struggles with her responsibilities. She is multi-layered, tough and so much fun to follow throughout the story. As events unfold it is soon obvious that Sin really is the perfect character to wrap up this stunning trilogy.
While Mae and Jamie take a back seat in this installment (after featuring heavily in books one and two), Nick and Alan remain major characters. In fact, having a Sin book turned out to be the next best thing to an actual Alan book.
It's hard to review the conclusion of a trilogy without revealing too much or explaining too much of the first books. All you really need to know is Rees Brennan's writing remains taut and seamless as she works out twists, turns and lots of action.
The Demon's Surrender is a perfect conclusion to a beloved trilogy wrapping up events appropriately and giving the characters some kind of closure while showing that Rees Brennan still has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. I can't wait to see what she has in store for readers in her next series.
Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
Then Mae Crawford showed up and usurped Sin's rightful place, forcing Sin to fight desperately for her place as the Market's heir.
Good thing Sin is used to fighting for what she wants. Every day she struggles to keep her younger siblings Lydie and Toby safe. Lately she has also had to wrangle her feelings for the infuriating Alan Ryves. Once little more than a tall, irritatingly smart, thorn in her side Sin now owes Alan a debt that can never be repaid. And Sin doesn't like owing anything to anyone.
As time runs out for Sin to stake her claim to the Market, outside threats are also closing in. Mae's own brother has joined the magician's that want to kill them all and destroy the market. While the loyalties of Alan's brother remain perilously uncertain. Nick, Sin's favorite dance partner and a dangerous demon, might still have an allegiance to his brother Alan. Or he might destroy them all.
Victory will come at a cost for all of them. Will the price be more than Sin can pay in The Demon's Surrender (2011) by Sarah Rees Brennan.
The Demon's Surrender is the conclusion of Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon Trilogy. It is preceeded by The Demon's Lexicon and The Demon's Covenant--the first and second books respectively.
In the first book readers met Nick Ryves and learned the startling truth of his past. In book two readers learned more about Mae, her brother Jamie, and the dangers of dealing with magicians. Throughout both books Sin appeared as an attractive, athletic and integral part of the Goblin Market.
Readers did not learn much more about this often aloof heroine until this final book which is told from Sin's point of view. Lacking a frame of reference for Sin's personality--it was a little worrisome to know an entire book, not to mention the conclusion of the trilogy, would be told from her point of view.
Turns out there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
Reading about Sin in The Demon's Surrender was a revelation as Rees Brennan reveals more and more facets of Sin's personality. An athletic dancer, Sin plays many roles. Some things don't come easily to her and often she struggles with her responsibilities. She is multi-layered, tough and so much fun to follow throughout the story. As events unfold it is soon obvious that Sin really is the perfect character to wrap up this stunning trilogy.
While Mae and Jamie take a back seat in this installment (after featuring heavily in books one and two), Nick and Alan remain major characters. In fact, having a Sin book turned out to be the next best thing to an actual Alan book.
It's hard to review the conclusion of a trilogy without revealing too much or explaining too much of the first books. All you really need to know is Rees Brennan's writing remains taut and seamless as she works out twists, turns and lots of action.
The Demon's Surrender is a perfect conclusion to a beloved trilogy wrapping up events appropriately and giving the characters some kind of closure while showing that Rees Brennan still has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. I can't wait to see what she has in store for readers in her next series.
Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
sonaderon's review against another edition
3.0
I love this series!
I love these characters!
I... do not love this book.
I don't HATE this book, it is far from a bad book, but after the 1st 2...
Sin isn't terribly close to the main 4 characters from the other books,
so I kept feeling like all the most awesome things were happening "off-screen."
Also... sort of spoilery review part so maybe don't read (I'll try to be vague).
Everything really should have been wrapped up in the first 1/2 of the book.
The entire second 1/2 seems to be there to make you doubt what you probably
accurately guessed was going on.
And because every character is apparently now very masochistic.
I love these characters!
I... do not love this book.
I don't HATE this book, it is far from a bad book, but after the 1st 2...
Sin isn't terribly close to the main 4 characters from the other books,
so I kept feeling like all the most awesome things were happening "off-screen."
Also... sort of spoilery review part so maybe don't read (I'll try to be vague).
Everything really should have been wrapped up in the first 1/2 of the book.
The entire second 1/2 seems to be there to make you doubt what you probably
accurately guessed was going on.
And because every character is apparently now very masochistic.
theloveofinches's review against another edition
5.0
I felt surprisingly relaxed while reading this in spite of the tone being wholly and unapologetically tense. a good tense. a tense that makes you wonder who the author will kill off while also knowing everything's gonna be okay. the ending was too fast, but also took way too long. I have a lot of emotions.
bookcraft's review against another edition
2.0
The least engaging of the trilogy.
The overarching plot didn't make a lot of sense to me:
The problem is that none of those questions can be answered, because the book wasn't from the point of view of any of the people actively involved in the overarching plot. It felt kind of like Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, with the protagonist wandering around and eavesdropping, taking the stage only once the actual movers and shakers of the story had stepped into the wings. Unlike with Stoppard's masterpiece, though, it doesn't really work here, because the reader isn't already familiar enough with the plot to fill in the blanks on their own.
Also—though with the caveat that it may be partially or entirely my failure to remember the relevant details—Brennan seems to have a problem painting a picture of her secondary characters. I don't remember anything in the first two books that indicated to me that Sin was Black, nor did I realize Matthias was supposed to be Asian until that fact was exposition-dumped into the very last chapter of this book, though we met him and Mae had several interactions with him in the second book.
The overarching plot didn't make a lot of sense to me:
Spoiler
I get lying about how a demon mark works on a magician (and I assumed that was what they were doing from the beginning, so the ending was no surprise to me), but what were they waiting for? What was the plan? Did Mae have a plan in the beginning, or did she and Jamie just set up the initial lie and then wait for an opening? If the latter, were they actively working toward making an opening to use, or just letting people die until some fortuitous circumstance occurred?The problem is that none of those questions can be answered, because the book wasn't from the point of view of any of the people actively involved in the overarching plot. It felt kind of like Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, with the protagonist wandering around and eavesdropping, taking the stage only once the actual movers and shakers of the story had stepped into the wings. Unlike with Stoppard's masterpiece, though, it doesn't really work here, because the reader isn't already familiar enough with the plot to fill in the blanks on their own.
Also—though with the caveat that it may be partially or entirely my failure to remember the relevant details—Brennan seems to have a problem painting a picture of her secondary characters. I don't remember anything in the first two books that indicated to me that Sin was Black, nor did I realize Matthias was supposed to be Asian until that fact was exposition-dumped into the very last chapter of this book, though we met him and Mae had several interactions with him in the second book.