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The Nightshade God is the prefect ending for a trilogy that has become an absolute favorite. Hannah Whitten writes with such deep beauty, creating characters and worlds that feel both familiar and like a glimpse of some long-forgotten past. Maybe all of this could have happened, lost to time and space and thought… A cycle of the universe.

As it is, in this final installment we find Lore banished to the Burned Isles. Apollius has taken control, but Bastian is still there. Clawing back from the depths, trying to hold fast. Gabe is separated from both of his loves, seeking some way to save them both. We also get Alie’s POV, another piece on the board, one that is much needed as a counterpoint to our much-loved disaster trio. A trio at the core that is trying to find a way back so that they can finally love one another and live. And also save the world they know for the people they care about.

What I have loved about all of these books, but especially The Nightshade God, is the balance of seeking to shape power, to use it for good instead of evil. But also the idea that power can corrupt, especially without humanity. And that even in hands that want to do good, to make things better, power can erode control. And as much as they hurt, the parts that remind us that “the righting of the world cannot happen just once. it must happen over and over again” were some of my favorites. We do have to work to be good and just and right, to make things better for ourselves and the world as a whole. And it is not a singular event. It is a long process of remembering and continuing and building. Of finding beginnings in endings.

And at the end, after everything, what I can say is that Lore’s name holds so much truth in it. For what is lore? It is knowledge, passed down, from one person to the next.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley and Orbit Books. All opinions are my own. The book comes out on July 15th. These books would be good for fans of Hannah Kaner and Rachel Gillig.