3.5/5 (5,64/10)
Okay… As always, a warning: there will be SPOILERS for this book as well as the previous ones.
Let's see… What? I'm really sorry, but I'm not liking where the series is going with Shikanoko and Hina. Mu and Ima are interesting, yes, which is why I gave it a 3,5, but for me, this one is much weaker than the previous two. The passage of time is more pronounced than in the others: years go by as if nothing has happened. And while it's true that the series has always been about "tell, don't show" since the first pages of book 1, it's much more noticeable in this third book. Furthermore, the characters seem much more distant. We see far fewer emotions than in the previous books, with Mu being the only one showing us any feelings at all. Even Shikanoko's grief over losing the woman he loved isn't shown, and it's quickly forgotten when Hina is mentioned and how beautiful, intelligent, and kind she is… I don't like it. I don't like it AT ALL. I honestly DISLIKE Hina. Akihime should have been with Shikanoko til the end. Period.
It's obvious that Shikanoko and Hina are going to end up together, and it's one of the most awful endings I've ever seen in literature. There's nothing to indicate any feelings between them, just the author forcing a romance when she already had Shikanoko and Akihime, who had room to develop a love story, and who even have a child together. And, by the way, Shikanoko, who didn't know he has a son, doesn't even flinch when they tell him in this book he has a son. What the hell? Horrible, absolutely horrible.
If I'm giving it a 3,5 and a 5,64 (when books 1 and 2 have a 7), it's because of Mu and Ima. I really enjoyed Mu's chapters, showing how these creatures become complex, "human" (relatively speaking). I think Ima, as a character, has a lot of potential, which the author will most likely not develop. What a shame… But yes, after the author's huge blunder of killing Akihime instead of making her Shikanoko's love interest until the end (and opting for that empty, bland, and forced relationship that Shikanoko and Hina will have), Mu and Ima save the third book. The rest is awful. Honestly, I don't want to read the fourth book because the ending will be terrible, in the sense of being poorly done. But they're short books, and I want to finish the series, since I only have one left… Besides, I just want to know what happens to Mu and Ima. I don't care about the rest.
Now, will I read the author's other novel: "Across the Nightingale Floor"? Yes. The Asian setting and the mythical environment are very good. Plus, I just learned that, it seems, this serie is a prequel for her other story, and people say the other story is much well done. About this story, book 1 and 2 were actually good. The problem was killing Akihime in book 2 and change her for Hina in the most dull love story I've ever read in a book. This third book is very meh, disappointing and frustrating. Book 4? I don't have hope.