Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 5/5
Awesomeness Factor: 5/5
Review In A Nutshell: In The Afterlight was the perfect conclusion to an epic series.

“Black is the color of memory.
It is our color.
The only one they’ll use to tell our story.”

– Premise –

In The Afterlight takes place right after the ending of Never Fade, with the characters working out how to go on with their goals despite that major setback and the heartbreaking ending of the previous book.

– Setting-

The setting in this series continues to be amazing. In this book, we finally get a lot of answers (about the rest of the world, IAAN, and so many things). These answers all are definitely satisfying and make sense but also manage to be surprising.

– Writing –

Alexandra Bracken’s writing style also is just as amazing as before. Her prose is absolutely beautiful while continuing to have those moments of levity and humor.

“It’s not a burden if people are willing to carry it.”

– Plot –

The plot in In The Afterlight is probably the least action packed. While I couldn’t put it down, I could see some people losing interest in the first half of the book. That section tends to focus more on character development and relationships, planning, and setting up for the second half. I still found it enjoyable, but it does slow the pace.

– Characters –

It is so strange looking back on the first book after seeing the characters in this conclusion. They’ve grown and changed so much! Ruby definitely has undergone the most drastic transformation, but it feels organic and real. Sometimes her character did annoy me in this book (there was a definite lack of communication between her and certain characters that left me so frustrated), but overall she’s a fascinating protagonist. Cole really wormed his way into my heart over the course of this book. And Zu, Vida, Chubs, and Liam were all as amazing as always. Liam is still a sweetheart and needs to be protected (mostly from himself, let’s be honest).

– Conclusion –

This series was just so fantastic, and it couldn’t have had a better conclusion. I am so glad I was able to read this and I can’t wait to see what Alexandra Bracken does with The Darkest Legacy!

“They’d never fade, even in the afterlight of all of this”

Pros– The characters are still perfection, the writing is gorgeous, the setting just keeps getting even more amazing!
Cons– Slower start than the others
Overall- 5/5 stars.
In The Afterlight is fantastic. The journeys of these beloved characters comes to a beautiful end with this amazing novel.

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