Review – Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements, Book 3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1335009210
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Dark Elements series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.
Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction.
Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…”
This is the third and final book in the Dark Elements series. This was a well done conclusion to this series. I didn’t like it quite as much as the second book, there just wasn’t as much action. Parts of the story also felt a bit long.
The Lilin has been released and Layla must figure out, not only how to stop the Lilin, but how to free her friend’s soul from Hell. The final battle between the Lilin and our world will take the strength of both the Wardens and the Demons working together to finally defeat and kill the Lilin
I felt like this was the poorest book of this series for pacing, it’s a long book and parts felt really long. I still enjoyed the characters and world here, but wished there had been more action and less angsting.
While I enjoyed the chemistry and scenes between Layla and Roth, there were just too many of them and it made the story feel a bit sluggish. This book really could have used some editing to make these scenes tighter and some of them probably should have been pulled.
Despite the above issues, I continue to enjoy the world of the Warden and Demons. I loved some of the backstory about the Wardens and Lilith. I enjoy the characters and the special powers they have. This was a fun series and made for a great light summer read.
Overall this was a solid YA series and a fun read. I thought this was one of the slower books in the series and wished there had been more heart-pounding action scenes like there were in the previous books. I did enjoy how everything wrapped up and overall thought this was a very good YA urban fantasy series.
