Rise of the Firebird

Rise of the Firebird (Firebird Faire Tale series #3)- Amy Kuivalainen

BHC Press

Release Date: March 21, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Traveling from the battlefields of Skazki to the Underworld of Tuonela, Anya and her companions encounter the vicious dark goddess Louhi and gain two magicians, the mad hero Kullervo and Eldon Blaise--apprentice of Merlin himself.

As devastating secrets of history and the heart are revealed, Anya must fight the darkness within herself and rise up to be a symbol for the Neutral rebel army that rallies under the banner of the firebird. Ready to restore the balance at any price, the final battle of the three armies will shape the worlds forever in this exciting finale of the Firebird Faerie Tales series.

________________________________________________________________________

The end of the Firebird series has definitely left me with a book hangover that will be staying with me for awhile. Like the first two in the series, (Cry of the Firebird, Ashes of the Firebird) Kuivalainen's amazing world-building abilities are on full display here as she takes Anya and crew through multiple worlds in true faerie tale quest fashion. They meet new allies, annoy new powers, and search for the powerful weapon that will help them defeat Baba Yaga and Yanka once and for all. 

Over and over we're reminded that power can be seductive and it is easy to slide to darkness. That seems to have been what happened with Yanka and Baba Yaga and while everyone keeps saying Anya looks like Yanka, and she certainly has some moments of anger, nobody worries about her becoming dark as much as I expected. Maybe because she worries about it, maybe they figure the Firebird won't let it happen? I was surprised it didn't come up more, especially since as the book goes on the idea of revenge comes up more. 

There was a lot going on in this book, almost too much for one book. Kuivalainen drags us all through the emotional wringer, even before the final battle. I was so attached to all the characters that even figuring a major final battle wasn't going to go well, losing some at the end made me cry. There were more loose ends left hanging in this book than I expected, very unusual for Amy Kuivalainen, which makes me wonder if there will be a spin-off with one or two characters in her next series to answer some of the questions she left us with at the end. And I have to admit I wasn't comfortable with the 'raising of the spring' ritual- felt like a trigger warning beforehand wouldn't have been out of place there. But maybe that's just me?

Overall Rise of the Firebird continues the beautiful blend of urban fantasy and Russian/Finnish mythology the series is know for. I do definitively recommend reading the first two books before reading this one, since this picks up right where books 2 left off.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review