A review by dgrachel
The Final Trial by Kelley Armstrong

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This series gets better as Rowan, the Royal Monster Hunter-elect, gains more experience. I thought the first book was okay, but by the middle of book two, I was so annoyed with and her friend, Dain, that I couldn’t even finish it. In this installment , Rowan has become a little less impulsive and the adventures become more high stakes for her and her companions. Armstrong does a good job of explaining concepts and words that may be new to her MG audience, but some of the lessons, particularly morality ones, are clumsy and heavy-handed. I struggled through the first half of this, because Dain is still an obnoxious, whiny brat and I wanted to push Rowan off her soapbox a time or two. However, the final part of the quest is exciting and entertaining, and I couldn’t help cheering on the whole group.