4.5 - 4.75 stars

I finished Froi of the Exiles with tears in my eyes and my heart a little broken. After the first few pages of Quintara of Charyn, I had to stop - it was just too intense. I couldn't deal with the swirl of emotions evoked by the characters and their (seemingly impending) demise.

I adore how well Marchetta develops her flawed characters and am a bit wrung out at Marchetta's deftness of wringing emotions from her readers.

The story is heart-wrenching, heart-felt and fantastically amazing; when I finished the trilogy, I literally sat for a few minutes in astonishment.

For me, this is truly an epic trilogy and it has quickly become one of my favourites.