I fell in love with the first book in the series, the second one brought me much delight, and now the third one has absolutely stuck the landing on the trilogy. I admit, I worry in a series when the final book is lined up to be "the big fight," because we tend to lose a lot of the joy and interpersonal little moments that made the previous books so much fun. Lost Tales neatly avoids this by having the characters skip the "epic battle" altogether. No sweeping armies racing down hilltops to clash, or bloodied fields strewn with corpses. The deposed queen plays a much more subtle game, and it's once again up to Emily's ingenuity and research skills to save the day. The series that started out as academia remains academia to the very end, and it is extremely effective. There's even more lore to dig into, and you can feel the pressure as the clock ticks down to the unknown.

Sadly, we still do lose some of the fun Emily/Wendell moments, as the two of them are separated much more often over the course of this story. It's largely made up for by the ever-growing supporting cast, with the return of characters from the first two books, and the introduction of several more new faces who are all interesting enough to get their own series. Emily's world has grown, and she has friends and colleagues who love and respect her for who she is. It's a touching contrast from her isolated lifestyle in the first book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!