2.5 star, 1.5 spice (spice not main couple)

As one of my most anticipated reads of the year, in a series I have really enjoyed this far, I have to say I am disappointed. This book really missed the mark

Series ratings:
Gild - 4.5
Glint - 4.75
Gleam - 5
Glow - 3.75
Gold - 2.5

This series really peaked at the end of book 3 and has felt like it has lost its footing since. There has been very inconsistent pacing and the plot has felt almost non existent.

Being that we are 5 books in I desperately wanted to read this whole book, as well as the final book. But frankly much of it was very hard to get into.
The extensive amount of world building coming out of Auren’s pov, meeting lots of new people and seeing new places didn’t help this imo.

There is poor balance between POVs. If we are given additional perspectives they should be adding value to the story. We spend too much time in some and not enough in others. A character we were made to hate in previous books is now supposed to be more important and be redeemed, but frantically it’s too little too late. The character has fallen flat and I just simply would have needed much more to happen for this character to be redeemed.

Slade was a badass at the beginning of this book, but then he falls into the same trap as Cas in TWOTQ, his entire existence and personality becomes her, he loses his depth and personality.

There was a couple we were teased with in Glow, I thought they were going to carry this book. Without spoilers all I can say is they did not. They played almost no role in the whole 650 pages.

Where we left off in Glow I was hoping we would get two books rather than one because I couldn’t see how she could fit what was left into one book. But instead we got a book full of filler, and additional things unsolved, left on a cliffhanger that makes no sense going into the final book of a 6 book series.


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ALL HUGE SPOILERS BELOW

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Things I liked:
- Slade exacting revenge on all those who have hurt Auren throughout her life
- Final scenes with Auren and Slades Dad

Things I’m not happy with:

- Rissa being unconscious the entire book, on her deathbed to only be saved by a random girl showing up with healing magic at the very end
- Slade and Auren are not reunited, or even close to being reunited
- Auren losing her memory at the very end
- Queen Malina - she changes her whole personality in a couple days after being the worst for 4 books. That character arc needed to start at least last book
- Slade found family dynamic is nonexistent