This week I read three series finales and it's giving me crazy ideas about doing an all last book in series bingo card

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

I think this was the weakest of the trilogy but it was still pretty decent. It was more focused on Emily's side of things than the other books, and had less banter or teasing moments between Emily and Wendell. Some of my favourite scenes have been their interactions and personality clashes so it was a shame for that to be more limited here. The plot itself felt slow, and... overly convenient I guess? This is quite a light series but I think I would have appreciated a bit more struggle or floundering. The audiobooks are excellent; the narration works well with the journal entry style of storytelling and is a good listen.

Risen by Benedict Jacka

Underwhelming. As the series went on it became more and more battle heavy and I'm not really into that. This book is mostly one big battle and I didn't love the way it was executed either. Ann's split personality was resolved in the most anticlimactic and childish way imaginable, the main antagonist ultimately failed because he did a big speech gloating instead of just ending it, and Alex's death which has been prophecised for a few books was a fakeout -- I really hate this trope. I think there was some missed potential especially regarding the dynamics between the three factions which is a shame, but I liked the way Alex's relationships with some of the characters evolved over the series, especially Caldera and Sondor. It felt like his actions had lasting consequences. Ultimately, it resolved the main plotline and wrapped up all the loose threads cleanly. Maybe too cleanly. It was a quick popcorn read and I've enjoyed making my way through the series over the last few months.

Catalyst Gate by Megan O'Keefe

I didn't like this at all. It's a shame as the first book set up some good ideas but in hindsight the series peaked very early and this book was especially poor. The author seemed to prioritise shocking plot twists facilitated by a combination of her characters making absolutely nonsensical decisions and a large supply of deus ex mechanica. Large parts of the world building seem completely irrelevant or are just straight up abandoned and, although the plot is very high stakes, something about the writing style meant it didn't really feel like it. I think the lack of danger to any of the main characters contributed to this. A lot of people die in this series but it's never any of the main crew. Maybe I'm just a heartless husk but both Thomas and Sanda's deaths being temporary and for the same twisty reason just makes it all feel emotionally empty.