Kingdom of Ash

A worthy finale to the series - and at almost 1000 pages, quite a deep dive. I am glad this wasn't split into books, and it combines the various stories and strands that the 5th and 6th books lay out; these both felt like they were setting up the final installment, and it turns out this is the case. That said: EDITING. We do not need to know every thought and feeling for every character... this could have been 20-30% shorter, easily.

Plot wise, some nice surprises in here as well, though a lot of the stories have been building towards a certain outcome for a while, so it was lovely to see those come to conclusion. Mostly happy endings, and overall good feelings once you're done. 

<spoiler>One thing I found a tad annoying is that the last 50 pages are basically just wrapping up stories, goodbyes, etc... not surprising, but that felt a bit long. But again, editing. And fair enough that a multiple-books series needs a little space to tie a bow on all of it</spoiler>

What really annoyed me re pacing and plot... <spoiler> is the fact that there are multiple deus ex machina moments. Whether it is the little folk suddenly showing up to show them through a secret path, or a new host showing up as backup just in time. The most annoying is towards the end of the final battle when suddenly the Terrasen fae show up: who are they, who are the wolf people, why, who set those portal signs, who discussed this and when - they are just suddenly there, with SJM signature "she had done x before, surprise!" explanation. I found that tedious because it happens so much that you really expect something wildly unlikely to happen to turn any bad situation. Dorian defeating Maeve is another example. So, like... editing.</spoiler>

Final thing I will say: I might read some spin-offs... maybe Aedion and Lysandra? So many options for shifter fun times.