Does anybody else have a frenemy book series, or is it just me?

This series has been an up-and-down ride for me. I adored book one. I thought it was fun, Emeric and Vanja's relationship was great, I loved Vanja's godmothers and Ragne, and Vanja's myriad and complex issues were handled with STANDOUT deft ability by the author. Every emotional rollercoaster Vanja went on, I was on as well seated right beside her. Excellent all around.

Book two, however, was a deeply frustrating experience. The reasons were twofold: 1) the SUFFOCATING emphasis placed on Vanja and Emeric's awkward, vacillating dance around having sex for the first time, and 2) the ending. As I've always said, I don't find Vanja's self-destructive tendencies or abandonment issues or intimacy struggles unrealistic at all. But I did find them deeply, profoundly annoying to have to experience in Painted Devils.

All that said, I was hoping against hope that book three would catch us in free-fall and rocket us once again to the lofty heights of enjoyment found in Little Thieves.

And it did! Mostly!

I generally liked this book a lot. I would have given it 4+ stars if it weren't for the last 25%. There's more than a year time gap between Painted Devils and Holy Terrors, so if you're inclined I do recommend reading the in-between stories Margaret Owen posted on AO3, The Fallow Year. There is a lot of background in those stories for what happens in book 3, and several characters introduced there that will show up a lot here.

The good:

Now. What didn't work as well.

First, a minor note: the team was WILDLY ineffective at solving the murder mystery. They almost solved it by default because there was no one but the team and the murderer left alive! The end of the book then almost makes it seem like this was a helpfully convenient way to butcher all of the country's nobility so as to leave space for reform. Which, okay? I guess And Then There Were None assassinations might be preferable to widespread political violence? But they were trying to stop the murders the entire book, mostly completely failed, and then at the end the narrative was like oh well! Maybe it's a good thing after all! Overall this just feels kind of weird.

Second, a major note: we were rocking and rolling throughout 75% of the book. Relationships were changing! Characters were growing! Mysteries were being solved! Resolution was nearly within our grasp! Then, at the point where I felt ready to wrap it all up, I noticed that there was still a fourth of the book left. This is never good.

What, after all, was there to explore that could possibly take THAT much more time?

Well, the answer to that question was apparently fever dreams. A massive time-construct of fever dreams controlled by the secret big bad who had been there in the background the entire time! This whole section was a miss for me. I was confused. Baffled. Frustrated. Annoyed. Over it.

I lost my grip on what, up until that point, had been a tightly-woven thread of harmonized plot and theme. The climax where Vanja extends compassion to herself and finds unity with all her different possible futures should have been hugely emotional and resonant, but it fell flat.

I liked the ending in general, with Vanja's new mission and Emeric's choice. I think it's a good compromise for them, honoring both of their natures. I really wanted to enjoy this! But the hallucinogenic final boss battle scenario took the wind out of the book's sails. The long-awaited resolution that should have had me jumping up and down and screaming just seemed like a footnote to the weird and ineffective hard left turn taken by the story in the final quarter of the book.

This and The Fallow Year still redeemed a LOT of what frustrated me about Painted Devils. I still think this series is something special in many ways, and I've had a lot of fun across three books! I'm glad I read this, and I did enjoy it. I just wish the ending could have been a little bit tighter, and not left me feeling at sea