CATCHALL
Because I am incredibly lazy and the worst procrastinator in the history of everything, this review has taken months for me to actually write. On the bright side, this is my second review today! I'm working on it, I'm catching up…but anyway. Circle of Fire was fantastic finish to Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters series. I loved every intense and soft moment of it. I reread it often, especially my favorite parts.
THE HEROINE
AMALIA MILTHORPE
Lia is such a fantastic heroine. I adore her very much. She makes hard decisions and handles them very well. She also knows her priorities and chooses her battles. Lia knows the difference between things that are worth it and things that aren't. I love her for being strong in the face of difficult things. She isn't perfect, but she's realistic and human.
THE LOVE INTEREST
DIMITRI MARKOV
*swoon*
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Sorry. It's just that, oh, well, Dimitri is so hot. Ridiculously, insanely hot. He also has some of the sweetest and most romantic lines I've ever read. I love him for always being supportive but never condescending, strong but never pushy. He always seems to know just the thing to do. He's wonderful for Lia, too. Reading about Dimitri just makes my heart ridiculously happy. Dimitri is one of the most amazing male leads I've ever had the good fortune to read about. Everything about him is marvelous and, furthermore, scorchingly hot.
THE SISTER
ALICE MILTHORPE
Overall, we don't see as much of Alice as we do in previous books, and she is much less the focus of this book. What we do see of her, however, is shockingly revealing. We learn so much more about her, and why her heart is the way it is. We also learn she is indeed capable of love. Alice becomes a much deeper character in this book, becoming far more than just the villain.
THE OTHER SECONDARY CHARACTERS
There are so many other fantastic secondary characters, but none of them really exist enough in the book to say much more than a few lines about them, so to save everyone's time I won't mention them here. I will say only that all the secondary characters were fantastically developed and I loved each and every one of them. Each character offered something slightly different in a beautiful and marvelous way.
THE PLOT
The plot of Circle of Fire was full of intrigue and anticipation. Every moment felt like something new was being discovered. There was an exciting race for time involved, a shocking and untraditional betrayal, and heart-pounding romance.
The plot was exciting and had a lot of great substance to it. There were some things that were completely unexpected, and some things also that weren't. There was real surprise involved with some things, but I loved being surprised. It was a fantastic plot line, basically.
The plot was very thick and actually required me to do a lot of thinking. I couldn't just read simply through. There were real issues involved, and I really had to think about some things that were mentioned.
THE ROMANCE
LIA AND DIMITRI
I love, love, love Lia and Dimitri's romance so much. It is absolutely beautiful and smooth. It is also one of the sweetest romances I've ever seen. Dimitri is such a steady and wonderful guy, and he really is always there for her. He's definitely good for her, and it's easy to see that from the way they speak. Their romance is also explored much more in this novel than in Guardian of the Gate, and I loved that. Reading about their romance is enough to make any girl squeal with absolute delight. They're one of my favorite pairings, ever. Period.
SECONDARY ROMANCES
There are actually quite a number of secondary pairings, although some are more implied than explicitly stated. Still, I love this fact. Thinking about all the cute little couples puts a smile on my face. Sure, it's a little bit fairy-tale-like perfect, but hey, it's a book. If you take a closer look, the romances are also all different--sometimes by just a little, sometimes by a lot.
THE WRITING
Michelle has some of the most beautiful writing I have ever come across. It is gorgeous and flawless and absolutely lovely. Lia's voice is so desperate and real, and it really contributes to making her a much more genuine character. She speaks from her time period and sounds just the way I imagine her. The description is absolute beautiful and isn't overkill at all. It has also much improved from Prophecy of the Sisters, when it was already very, very good.
THE ENDING
This was the absolutely perfect ending to the trilogy. I smiled and I cried. I felt all at once both happy and sad. The ending wasn't annoyingly coincidentally perfect, and everything was exactly as it should have been. The focus at the end of the story is perfect, too. Lia finishes by first continuing to close the rest of the story for the reader, showing how everything will be afterward and how she will spend the rest of her life before ending with a few very deep, gorgeous, and contemplative thoughts.
WRAPUP
I adored this series, and will soon be reading the recently released A Temptation of Angels eagerly. Michelle Zink has herself a crazy fan who will probably follow her wherever she takes me. This tries as a whole was fantastic and could not have been better.
FINE.