The Ballad of Aramei Review

J.A. Redmerski you have become one of my favorite authors in a matter of months.   Seriously, I downloaded The Mayfair Moon because it was free and after I finished it- I. needed. more.   I have pretty much accepted the fact that whenever you put out a book, I will be buying it and reading it and loving it.  Your books are that awesome and so are you.  The Ballad of Aramei is the final book in The Darkwoods Trilogy, and it was awesome.  It was sooooo good.  Really, I can't say over and over again how sated I am that the trilogy ended to my satisfaction.  It was seriously so crazy at parts I was definitely gaping through a lot of the book.  I mean hello, there was some insane shizz going down.

Adria has definitely turned into a badass.  I mean she has always been a strong person, but she is literally now super strong.  Her interaction with Rachel at a certain part of the book had me going, "Awww hells yeah Adria, you take that lint licker down!"  Adria is AWESOME in this book.   For reals, she even verbally takes on Trajan, which is as close to suicide as you can get.  I'm still having a love affair with Isaac.  He is wonderful and dreamy, and smoldering.  Oh, and let's not forget about Nathan.  I adore him, he is sarcastic, charming, and selfless.  I am beyond glad he was a major part of this book.  Finally, I must talk about it because it is in the title, Aramei.  The incorporation of her story alongside of Adria's was insane.  I got goosebumps at parts of their interactions, and of course there was so much gasping at parts too.  This book literally was adrenaline pumping-down hill part of the roller coaster of this trilogy.  

The plot is so complex in BoA.  Things that have been manifesting since book one are finally revealing themselves, and whoa, a certain characters origins threw me for a loop, and simultaneously depressed me.  Plus the ending of the book probably gave me heart palpitations.  There was SO much going down it was making my head spin.   I don't want to give anything away so please excuse the ridiculous over glossing on the plot, but if I were to go into it, I would be giving away major spoilers.  You'll thank me when you  read the book!

We also get to learn more about Harry and the Praeverian world.  This stuff was creepy and cool to learn about.  Plus we got to see into Harry's head a little bit at the end which was really neat.

The ending.  I won't say too much about this.  Only that I was personally satisfied.  It didn't end necessarily the way I thought it would, but it was a very apt and fitting ending.  Plus, you get a look into a bunch of different characters minds which was really cool.  

So overall: I LOVED IT. Seriously.  If I could give it 10 stars I would.  It was an insane ride, but this series is honestly one that I will go back and read again and again.  It's soooo good.  I can't wait for whatever else Jessica has coming out.  I bought this the day it came out and I feel as though this trend will be continuing for a long time!

Oh Yeah! Count:  5/5 Plus 5 invisible ones!!!
     

Blurb: Everything about Adria Dawson’s life has changed in unimaginable ways: the shattering betrayal of her mother, the fight for her life and sanity…the loss of her humanity. But now Adria must face the ultimate challenge and risk not only her life, but the lives of everyone she loves at the wrathful hands of Isaac Mayfair’s father.

Determined to help unravel a mysterious message deeply rooted in an unhinged mind, Adria becomes obsessed with traveling into Aramei’s turbulent past to see the truth of how the relationships and betrayals between the Mayfair and Vargas bloodlines were formed.

Meanwhile, Adria and the Mayfairs are doing everything they can to smoke out and trap the Praverian traitor. A trip to Providence uncovers not only an old family line who are enemies of the Praverians, but also raises questions about the Praverian’s true agenda.

But the traitor will be caught. People will die. And Adria’s destiny to be the cause of a war will come to pass. But what could a kind and simple girl like Adria Dawson ever do that could be considered an act of war? The landscape of the werewolf world will be forever changed in the climactic conclusion to The Darkwoods Trilogy