holes in my brain

full review on my blog, holes In My brainYou know, sometimes there’s books that you just really, really struggle with reviewing. It has nothing to do with enjoyment, but maybe it’s just summer brain-mush that makes me unable to put my thoughts into words. Therefore, I’m going to just go with bullet-form because my brain is not working!Initially-I can't believe this series is ending!!!! *sniff* I loved the first two books.-Sin as a narrator? Uhm, I hope this works out. I was surprised by how much I loved Mae’s POV in book 2, so hopefully I’ll have the same reaction to Sin in this installment.Plot-It was really good, but at times, there was too much going on, too many sub-plots.-I liked the motivation behind getting the Pearl, but there wasn’t enough resolution.-The Aventurine Circle, magicians, demons… loved it.-Knives! Swords! Magic!-The rivalry between Mae and Sin for the Goblin Market = very well done.-The Romance (capital R)- oh this is just too good ;)Pacing-As an overall arc, I didn’t feel the pacing was... enough. I didn't get the desperation that I wanted, nor did I get the heart-working-overtime like I expected.-The action parts were done spectacularly, as were the transitions. It was never boring :)Characters (and relationships)-I wanted a lot more of Nick and Alan. And Mae. And especially Jamie. They were the characters that I fell in love with in the first two books and at times it felt like Sin was too… random to be narrating this crucial last book.-Sin is a fantastic character though, confident, fierce, vulnerable, and protective. She’s basically caught in a craphole the entire book, whether it’s hanging out with demons, saving the Market, saving her family.. it get’s crazy and through it all she’s level-headed and just awesome. A true SRB kick-ass heroine.-Mae and Sin had the most interesting relationship in the book, they’re rivals to become leader of the Goblin Market, yet they admire and support each other as friends. I though Brennan really managed to explore this complex relationship, and made me hate Mae yet love Mae. -Yes, there was a bit of Mae and Nick, but it’s something like this that made me slightly disappointed about Sin’s POV. I was so invested in Mae’s story after book 2, that the chances to further develop their relationship was hurt because Sin was mostly an outsider in regards to this.-ALAN. ALAN!!!! I can’t even. OMG. OMG. ALAN. Quoting Angie from Angieville “My love for this boy is utterly indecent.”-At the core of this book is family. I’ve said it again and again, it’s books about family that just hit me in the gut, and the sibling love in this book is what made me initially fall in love with it. When Nick said “I missed you” to Alan, I swear I cried, true story. The fact that these siblings would do anything, anything for each other just makes me love them so freaking much.-Mae and Jamie were great, but like I mentioned before, MOAR JAMIE PLZ.-Nick and Jamie had the best lines ever! The times Jamie was present and not uber-creepy, it was like the whole scene lighted up.Writing-YAY! It’s 3rd person, but I didn’t really mind. I really love Brennan’s writing style though, it has hilarious one-liners, it has fast paced action and lots of emotion. Awesomesauce.-I know it seems weird but this book is funny. The whole series is full of some top notch dialogue.-The writing allowed me to connect with the characters, which is more than I can ask for.In ConclusionJust a few issues but...TEABS. The End of an Awesome Book Syndrome, as said by Forever Young Adult.4/5 – because it wasn’t perfect for me, but I still liked it. I think I wanted different things than what I got; however, I was happy with the conclusion of this novel, the ending, and of course, the world of demons and magicians. The relationships between Sin and various characters were carried out beautifully, though I did wish I could have gotten more from the Ryves and Davies. I really wish I could have overly-gushed in this review but I can't :(The themes, romance, writing, characters.. I’m heartbroken that this series has come to an end and I have to say goodbye to these characters... that’s the sign of a fabulous series, and let me tell you, this series is fabulous.