3.5/5

For fans of: Found families, soft magic system, Gilded Age, heists, Italy, YA fantasy, Venice

Synopsis: The team is left for dead and Severin is in the hands of the Fallen House. His desperation to achieve godhood and save his family has reached a point of no return, while Enrique, Laila, Zophia, and Hypnos must grapple with the consequences of Severin’s desperate plan. Will his plan prove to be worth possibly losing his entire family if it means saving their lives? Will godhood be the answer he needs it to be?

Review: After the absolute fun and emotional rollercoaster of both The Gilded Wolves and The Silvered Serpents, The Bronze Beasts was underwhelming. The first half of the book, while understandable dark, just did not have the magic. I enjoyed the perspectives of all of the main characters and there were some really amazing character arcs, but it was not consistent and neither was the pace of the plot. I desperately struggled with the first half of the book, to the point of possibly not finishing. It was far too morose with very little movement. The second half picks up and becomes an exciting race to the end, but it took over 200 pages to get there. The writing and character arcs for Severin and Laila were amazing. I loved watching their relationship ebb and flow, the tension was absolute perfection. I wish the same level of detail was given to Enrique, Zophia, and Hypnos. Their stories were interesting and I love them, but I would have just liked more. The ending was great. It was unexpected, out of the box, tense, exciting, and overall satisfactory for the series. The book overall, however, is a letdown compared to the first two. It is definitely the weakest entry in the series.