The grand final book in the Waterfire Saga has the merls facing up to their biggest challenges yet-Overthrowing Vallerio and his accomplices and destroying Abbedon and Orfeo.

It’s a thrilling book with some surprise conclusions that I hadn’t seen coming and filled with action that kept me at the edge of my seat. But there are some missteps. Let’s start with what worked.

Serafina has completed her character development and I admire how much she has changed from sheltered principessa to rebel leader who is willing to make hard decisions to get her kingdom back. However, the weight of those decisions are starting to get to her. Even though she has killed and seen her fellow resistance members get killed, it is nothing compared to the amount of loss that will ensue when she officially declares war on her triatorous uncle.

There will be no way to minimize the losses but it is worth it even though it takes her awhile to see that the choice to go to war is not entirely on her shoulders. It’s a grim option but the alternative is the slaughter Orfeo and Vallerio will bring and the people will want a chance to rise up against those who hurt their communities and families. They’re willing to lay down their lives for the ones they love because love conquers all.

It sounds like a cliche mantra but Donnelly manages to make it sound powerful the more it refrains because in all the loss and darkness the protagonists face, love gives them hope to go on.

Astrid is the second strongest character arc. Last book, she had thought she completed her life epphany that her self-worth should only come from herself but when she tries to bluff Orfeo by pretending to be his ally, she soon gets drawn in by his charisma.

I like the idea of Astrid backsliding into her flaws as Orfeo connects with her slight desire for power. But unfortunately in the not-so-surprise twist, Donnelly tries to create a fake-out that Astrid is betraying the group. It falls flat because we’ve seen her good character behind the brash exterior, we know she’s not actually going to do it. Because of the attempted fake-out, we lose Astrid’s POV halfway through and leaves her story incomplete, not seeing her victory from her POV.
This is also the problem with Ava and Neela. Even though Ava is the last one to get her talisman and loses it to Traho in the process, we only get one chapter from her POV. One!

We have to see her crisis of faith and recovery from Serafina’s lens which feels a lot less impactful. Even most of Ava’s journey is told from the POV of new character, Manon LeVaue the swamp queen who is a very cool but just. . . I wish it was from Ava.

Neela, once again, got no chapters. Honestly, she wasn’t much help in the final battle or anywhere else besides being a designer of the rebel unifoems. I get that her role is supposed to be the optimistic one, a literal light for the group but Serafina fit that role much better.

Honestly, I know they need six mermaids to represent the six seas and all maids because of sisterhood, but Mahadi felt like a much more important representative for the Mitali Ocean Kingdom. He was much more useful to the group, playing the dangerous game of staying on Vallerio and Lucia’s good sides as they use him as their own pawn in their love and war games. Seriously, Lucia gets unhinged in this and it’s crazy awesome. Like if she can’t have him, no one can.

This same issue is present with Ling and Becca who get like one to two chapters each to resolve their arcs. Well, Becca’s arc about her ill-fated romance with Marco and inability to accept help. That felt like it was brushed aside as other more plot-driven events took centerstage and then wrapped up neatly in the epilogue. Ling’s arc felt pretty completed in the last book so I don’t mind but it just feels like there was a lost opportunity for Donnelly to juggle all their voices with equal weight. Serafina is the only one who truly feels like she completed a character arc while the others are halfway there.

The final epilogue was also anticlimatic with a “Where are they now” sequence that gives insight to where they all end up. However, after the heavy losses and executions Serafina had to oversee that it’s hard to believe the kingdoms are so peaceful a year later. She’s also going to school at the same as ruling which I suppose Donnelly put in to emphasize a “stay in shcool, kids” but all I could think about was how unrealistic it was with the royal duties Serafina would have to take up now.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the novel, i was engaged while I read it but in hindsight, the missed opportunities and lack of equal POV among the merls make it anticlimatic.

3 seashells.