Darken the Stars

Darken the Stars

Review #1

Bear Attraction audiobook Series Shifters Unbound

First and foremost, let me say that this series has some really gorgeous writing, and this book is no exception. Keep that in mind when I discuss the issues with the book (and series). I wouldn’t care so much about these issues if Ms. Bartol hadn’t totally gotten under my skin with her lovely prose and compelling characters. I’m giving the series overall 3.5 stars as a compromise because it’s either partway through something potentially truly amazing, or it’s a finished product that is unfortunately a bit disappointing (sorry–I wish I could say otherwise!).

***CAUTION: My review contains some spoilers, both of a general and specific nature…you should really not read this review if you haven’t read the book (and the preceding books). Also, this review is absurdly, comically long.***

Let’s begin with the end, shall we? Considered on its own and as part of the larger narrative, I have no problems with this book ending with Kricket escaping Ethar. Why? First, because Kricket is literally an 18-year-old kidnap victim. The series begins with her will, her choices, her autonomy and personhood being subjugated and violated. This context infects pretty much every single relationship she might have or decision she makes. She has to reestablish her own autonomy before she can move forward and become who she is meant to be. Second, as a character, she is flawed: she can be myopic, damaged, insecure, self-absorbed, overly fearful–even cowardly, and immature in a way that is entirely befitting an 18-year-old with her history. Despite her outward swagger, she really struggles with seeing her own worth. In fact, despite her billing as a “saer,” there were very few moments in the series when she approached a situation with a real awareness and confidence that she could handle it. She can also be (at times) sharply intelligent and intensely loyal, and in her best moments, she was strong, fierce and savage, determined, brave, and resolute. However, before she can truly become the heroine she is meant to be, she needed to live through this book, and she needs space and time to grow up. Despite the rocky road she’s traveled, and her moments of wisdom beyond her years, she is unmistakably written as a teenager, a precocious child sitting at the grown-ups’ table. She’s a fascinating, compelling, often frustrating, flawed character at 18–she’ll be a certifiable force of nature with some more years under her belt, if she learns the right lessons from her time on Ethar. She has so much potential. I am aching to see who she becomes. [As an aside, her character does seem somewhat…all over the place during the series–she begins as a brave, funny, somewhat compassionate character, then seems to lose her spine and spark (and sense of humor) for the most part once handed over to Rafe, and then just seems to become an empty shell once handed over to Kyon. I don’t know if this is a genuine flaw in the books or just a consequence of a complicated character in flux….]

Ms. Bartol is right that there can be no traditional romantic HEA for Kricket at this point. She is, frankly a mess, and there is a meaningful age difference between Kricket and her love interests, which created a paternalistic/patronizing, even infantalizing, dynamic at times; an undeniable power imbalance. Trey and Kyon are adults who seem to know and value themselves (though to be sure, their characters aren’t static and their development is a compelling and important part of the story), while Kricket isn’t yet there. Indeed, at the start of book 1, she asks her reflection “Who are you?” No romantic relationship will be right for Kricket if it’s not one of mutual respect between two fully realized people. It would be a tragedy for Kricket’s character to go from abused foster kid/runaway/kidnappee to child bride in a patriarchal society. In order for her to have “love on her own terms,” Kricket needs to work through her issues and figure out who she is, who she wants to be, and to truly own and value that person–to become strong enough that she doesn’t lose herself. Although she doesn’t see herself as broken, isn’t she the ultimate Lost Girl? She is profoundly, painfully insecure in a way totally fitting with her age and history; of course she’s “the hollow”–she’s got a black hole inside of her where her self-esteem should be. *All that being said, a lack of a romantic HEA doesn’t mean there can’t be any acceptable conclusion at all…if this book had done more with Kricket’s character growth so that she truly confronted and overcame some of her wounds and she had been more proactive, with more agency in this last installment, we could happily send her on her merry way back to Earth, single girl ready to liver her life and continue growing as a person, in whatever way. But that’s not what happened in this book, and hence the complaints from many reviewers….*

[I’m not going to go into the love interests further in-depth (though there is *much* to be said about them as individual characters and in relation to Kricket and her development), except to say that make no mistake–both relationships were unhealthy or troubling in their own ways. Let’s remember that she’s a wounded, psychologically and emotionally vulnerable young girl; entering into bad/unhealthy–even self-destructive–relationships is no surprise whatsoever. In the words of a wise Comantre solider: “Never commit to the young ones!” There’s so much more to be said on this, but let’s move on for now.]

DTS explores the darkest parts of Kricket; she is dealt some solid body blows from both Pan and Trey. She is abandoned (again) in a terrible situation–utterly forsaken, and then exploited as a means to an end. Bartol has structured the story so that our heroine must return to her original trauma–Kricket’s abandonment (and abuse) is echoed and repeated in DTS, and this (rather than the Excelsior assassination plot or anything else), is the heart of this book. It is only right and fitting that it puts a spotlight on her flaws, her darkest feelings born from that original abandonment. Hopefully, this dark time will cause her to grow in important ways. Unfortunately, so far as we’ve been told, we’ll never see how this turns out; Kricket’s story is not over, but as of right now, this is apparently the last book for us, and we are left with a series, and heroine, interrupted.

The Epilogue does not provide closure or resolution on Kricket as a character or the story in general. Although it was beautiful and hopeful in parts (after all, Kricket is taking the reins of her life back), it was also regressive and still childlike in other respects, and makes clear that although Kricket may have escaped from their direct control, she’s got a long way before she knows and accepts and values herself. And let’s just be real for a minute-if you have to spell out in an epilogue the lessons your heroine learned from her journey because it’s not clear to the reader otherwise, I would say that’s a good sign that the story hasn’t been fully told and there is more to be done.

And so we get to the crux of the problem (and again, remember my disclaimer at the top that I think this series has incredible potential and Bartol is unbelievably talented): it is wholly inappropriate to end the series with this book. DTS is very much focused on Kricket’s inner struggle and it was necessary for her to be on her own in this book, but the plot is thin as a result. This might be fine as a transitional book in a series, but not a concluding book. In DTS, we are given only the briefest, murkiest of glimpses into what was happening outside of Kricket’s immediate sphere, and what we learned didn’t seem to add up; we are deprived of sufficient information to understand why certain characters feel the way they do, or do the things they do (and what we do see of them doesn’t fit with what we “know” of them from the first two books). There is a whole war, along with intrigues, lies, and manipulations, going on, and we barely see any of it. Quite simply, we aren’t given the information to make sense of their actions. And, if you actually parse out the plot, it doesn’t fit together in places and in some places, just doesn’t make perfect sense. This–and the *many* ambiguous plot points–can be smoothed over and explained in future books (indeed, these issues may be purposeful points of tension/disconnect), but if this is the last book, it’s an issue.

On a fundamental level, Bartol has laid the foundations for some incredible narratives–poignant, beautifully layered, compelling, complex stories tied to the development of the characters. However, none of these narratives have been resolved; indeed, it seems pretty clear that there is quite a ways left to go. If this is the final book in the series, we are left with unfinished characters and so many unresolved questions, plot threads, breadcrumbs, and clear foreshadowing (including in the final pages of DTS), along with pieces that don’t really fit together. It would be disingenuous to pretend that, if the series ends now, the overall storyline isn’t a problem–it’s like looking at a half-woven tapestry. The big-picture narratives are all simply interrupted halfway through: the dark heart of the series–the Hollowell family–only starts to emerge at the end of book 2 and is left completely undone, the fate of Ethar is left hanging in the balance, and the full meaning/truth behind her mother’s “prophecies” is still shrouded in mystery. And tied into all of that is the fate of Kricket’s character, who we are parted from at a point of utter wretchedness; she may have gotten free to some extent (at least for now), but we still haven’t seen her truly take ownership of herself. Bartol has created a world and characters and narratives with so much potential–it’s hard to believe that the plan is to leave it undone to such a profound, complete degree.

I could go into specifically breaking down all the issues with the overarching narratives and I could give you an inventory of all the loose threads, unfinished characters, and uncashed foreshadows, but that would balloon this review to epic proportions. I’m going to try to hit just some highlights (seriously–if I started listing everything that is unresolved, we’d be here all day, and I assume you all have things to do).

Ok-let’s start with the prophecy. The scene between Pan and Trey was filled with circular logical and shoddy, post hoc rationalizations that seemed like the tail wagging the dog. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sense, and if this was intended to be the definitive ah-ha moment that answers some burning questions about the prophecy, it simply wasn’t compelling. Pan starts off by saying that the future is changeable and even supposedly says “the future is what you make it,” but then his entire explanation to Trey was filled with the mistakes of self-fulfilling prophecy. I’m not advocating that Kricket should be empress–just that it seemed perplexing that this man was so wedded to admittedly out-of-date, sketchy, contingent predictions. One of my favorite examples of his faulty reasoning is this: “Where’s Arissa?! I need to speak with her, find a way to change the future.” “Sorry, she’s dead. Guess we should just stick with my 15-year-old prophecy notes written on a cocktail napkin.” I mean, if only they knew someone else who could see and alter the future… And in one breath, he says she’ll be the end of Rafe, and in the next admits that if she’s empress, she may allow Rafe to survive, but still needs to be ended? And how did they expect Astrid to ascend to the throne without Kricket coming to Ethar to assassinate Excelsior (since apparently it was impossible for anyone else to do it)? And really, if, as Giffen says at the end of DTS, Pan said all along that Kricket would kill Excelsior, well…Pan always intended for her to come back to Ethar, right? (Indeed, although Kricket never explicitly conveys that she realizes it, the whole exchange for Astrid must have been an intentional scheme to get her into Kyon’s hands, in order to put her in position to assassinate Excelsior.) Importantly, although Pan admits that the future is changeable, seems to ignore the possibility that what he expects to happen has already been altered by unforeseen variables (e.g., Trey). His story doesn’t add up (and doesn’t jive with some hints from the Alameeda perspective, which Kricket doesn’t explore…because, frustratingly, she just accepts Pan’s version). Anyway, let’s just say that there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark…or New Amster. Wherever. It may be nefarious, or Pan may just be a misguided zealot. Tragically, despite the problems with Pan’s explanations, Kricket ends up essentially being used as a tool to bring his plans to fruition, nothing more. It’s completely bizarre that the series ends this way. (Again, I can understand a book midway through a series ending this way, but not the entire series.)

As for the fate of Ethar, can we all agree that an army of mentally unstable, genetically engineered super soldiers led by a teenager and a zealot bent on establishing some kind of imperial dictatorship sounds like a recipe for disaster? They’ve already shown a callous disregard for the lives of innocents, and, frankly, despite the positioning of Rafe as the more moral choice early on in the series, Rafe isn’t all that different from Alameeda (and neither is New Amster). We have no idea about the inner workings of New Amster and what this means for the future. Trey seems to think they’re swell, reasonable folks — Kricket will like them–the architects of her soul-crushing suffering–once she gets to know them! (This is nuts–what about any of their actions struck him as reasonable?) Although we are left with the assumption that Astrid will ascend to be Empress, and Rafe will be saved, and Alameeda will possibly be wiped out (which sounds pretty awful, given that most Alameedans seemed like very decent, friendly people), it seems incredibly unlikely that Kyon will just roll over (seems like he’s possibly a wolf set among the pigeons now); he was maybe already aware of Astrid–he did watch and take notes on Kricket’s interrogation video–and was possibly aware of the Tempest/New Amster (Falla and Nezra knew about Vance Giffen in book 2), and that’s leaving aside whatever it is he was able to glean from Kricket’s objects (that little spix saw a lot!). How will the Tempest react to learning that Kyon is “one of them,” which was revealed on live TV? What will be the consequences of all of Ethar viewing the assassination?

The Hollowell family is also shrouded in mystery. First, it’s unclear exactly what went down with Arissa and Pan and when and where it happened. The propaganda/indoctrination video found by Wayra and Jax in the Prologue is “almost as old as Kricket” (and pretty creepy). So, were they still on Ethar when Kricket was born? Were they still on Ethar when Astrid was born? If so, how can Astrid be “of two worlds”? Kricket has memories of them on Earth by age 5 (but she may have memories of being on Ethar as a child, as well–remember in the beginning of book 1, she dreamed of running barefoot through Etharian fields…was that a premonition or a memory?). And how was Pan establishing New Amster whilst living on Earth? It’s also baffling that the series ends without any kind of real confrontation or interaction between Kricket and Pan or Kricket and Astrid. Not to mention, Kricket apparently never sought out her existing family–her Rafian uncle or her Alameedan aunt. Kricket didn’t try to learn more about her mother while with Kyon. As far as we know, she didn’t even go to look at her portrait. (The great thing is that even if Arissa is really dead, Kricket can still possibly interact with her since, you know, they both astrally travel through time. I just blew your mind, right?) Kricket’s missing memories also seem potentially important–she was apparently scrubbed more than once by the Nepenthe (who, by the way, seems like a truly awful monster to run around stealing pieces of a person’s…er…person). Speaking of memories, why can she now recall Astrid, when those memories were largely erased?

Finally, perhaps most importantly, the series ends on an incredibly odd note for Kricket, as a character. For much of the series, things happen to Kricket, she doesn’t happen to things. We watch her go from plucky, independent survivor to suicidally depressed rag doll; with each trauma, she seems to become enervated and prone to passivity/helplessness. This trend most clearly emerges just after the showdown at the Rafe Palace, and perhaps becomes most acute following the destruction of the Ship of Skye. She is characterized by stretches of passive compliance or paralyzing, overwhelming fear punctuated only by brief flashes of spirit. (Over the course of the series, she spends a truly disturbing amount of time going limp and being carried around, both literally and figuratively.) Kricket doesn’t proactively *DO* much of anything, especially from the Ship of Skye onward, until her escape in the final pages of DTS; whatever action she does take tends to be completely reactive and/or done at someone else’s direction or behest, or because she is forced or manipulated (even when it’s the right thing to do). The series apparently ends with Kricket having merely been used by everyone as a means to an end…and she lets them. (And ugh, one of her big lines to Excelsior essentially validates Pan’s decision to subject her to a life of abuse–she is still not taking ownership of herself: you didn’t make me this way…Pan did! How about *you* deciding who you are, Kricket? And it still isn’t clear *what* about her upbringing was so necessary to prepare her for this–that upbringing may have taught her some lessons, but it also created flaws/vulnerabilities that very nearly weakened her to the point of complete dependence and bouts of cowardice and passivity, not to mention a callousness towards the people of Ethar.)

For much of DTS, she appears utterly spiritually defeated. She seems to start shaking this off toward the extreme end of DTS–we start to see her spirit returning during her return trip through the Forest of O and following the Hallafast scene, she *finally* seems to begin conquering her fear and being more assertive/self-reliant…but we get so little of this stronger, braver Kricket…it’s frankly a grossly insufficient payoff after the preceding 600 pages (give or take) during which we mainly had to endure Kricket largely being controlled or “owned” by others (sometimes by her own choosing), as well as by her own insecurities and fear. Even in the final pages of DTS, she describes herself “as desolate as a prayer in the wind” and feeling “unholy and unwanted” (and she’s still wearing a collar, for pity’s sake). More than ever, she views herself as thrown away garbage–a bad, unwanted, unworthy thing. Really, it is Phlix–a character we barely know–who carries her over the finish line and becomes Kricket’s North Star, reminding her in her darkest moments that freedom and self-determination are worth fighting for. It is important and right that Phlix occupies this role (Kricket is heartbroken for so many reasons), but again, Kricket at her most desolate is an odd note on which to conclude the entire series.

Additionally, although Kricket did take some trips to the future in this book, it seemed like her powers were controlling her, and not the other way around (and most of her intentional trips were focused on trying to spend time with Trey, rather than gather useful information). Despite indications in book 2 that she could or would begin to use her forecasting in different ways, there was no further development of her abilities in DTS. Nezra had a valid point when she called Kricket stupid for not using her abilities more effectively in book 2; this is continued in DTS, and, frankly, the excuse that Kyon was keeping her too busy to forecast at Sea of Stars was pretty weak…I mean, the girl is allowed to use the bathroom, right? And honestly, no matter what they were doing, he couldn’t really stop her from projecting (and previously, he had offered to help her develop her powers…seems self-destructive of her to not try to develop the primary tools at her disposal). The only plausible explanation for this is that Kricket has a deep-seated antipathy about being a genetic “monster” (her words), and has not yet come to accept or value herself or her powers. (And this type of cowardice and self-loathing repeatedly results in her suffering.)

Kricket’s been so battered by everyone (physically and emotionally), subjected to manipulations (from all sides), psychological warfare, beatings, outright torture, and coercion, that her better qualities–including her capacity for compassion–are struggling embers at this point. This is Kricket at her lowest and darkest–as she says after coming back through the portal, she could just lay there with a dead heart. Additionally, her attitude toward Astrid seems incongruously callous and angry (which *is* out of character), but maybe Kricket knows something we don’t. Or maybe Kricket’s just behaving like a deeply wounded child (and frankly, this attitude carries over into the passive-aggressive Epilogue). So, the series apparently ends with Kricket in a very low place–and really, not having been an active, much less proactive, agent in much of anything. Even her involvement in Excelsior’s death was mainly that of extremely passive (even incapacitated) observer and as Pan’s instrument; from what we can tell, Kyon did most of the work. It is a **huge** problem to end a series at what is essentially the heroine’s nadir and inflection point. We are left with a character who appears even worse off at the end of her journey than when she started it, and we are left wondering “what was the point of any of this?” The return journey to Earth might be a metaphorical rebirth for her; it’s hard to believe that we were never meant to see who she becomes, and how she gets there. I mean, to put it simply, has she answered the seminal question of the series, set forth in book 1 — “who are you?” The answer is a clear “no.”

So…the main narratives have now been established–we can now clearly see the conflicts and mysteries, with Kricket’s character in the balance. But that’s just it…it feels like we’ve only now just set up the narrative, rather than concluded it. In truth, perhaps the only real flaw in this series is that it was just simply not written as or suited to be a trilogy–there is just too much here. Bartol hit the mother lode with this world and characters, and although DTS absolutely has a role to play in the overall series, it certainly cannot stand as a concluding book. Bartol has set up a truly epic story here, and it would be a profound waste and shame if she didn’t see it through, if she didn’t address the real story: the story of Kricket’s becoming; the fate of Ethar; the truth behind the Hollowell family and Arissa’s prophecies; and how Kricket’s indomitable spirit is a powerful variable that can disrupt the future in unexpected, beautiful ways.

Despite the above, this series has been one of the more memorable that I’ve read. Ms. Bartol excels at heartbreaking prose; she also manages to gracefully dance the fine line where she creates a world, but doesn’t get mired in unnecessary details. Indeed, the premature end of this series is so distressing for readers because the characters and relationships feel so real to us–imperfect, luminous, deep. This book was sad and painful and dark, and the writing is just so lovely and real…in places, it was almost too much to bear. Even with the plot issues and unfinished narratives and characters (which are only problems if this is the final book in the series), this book (and series) has stuck with me, which is pretty high praise.

Sincere thanks to Ms. Bartol for her efforts. This series has the potential to be something really special.

P.S. If this series continues (and it really, really should), I do hope that Giffen does not become a third love interest. It would dilute the power of the current story and would be unnecessary, unrealistic, and detrimental to Kricket’s character development. This is partially because seeking to fill up the void in her soul by hopping from one dude to the next seems counter to a key theme/message of the series (self-empowerment, independence, self-determination, self-respect, etc.). Also, he’s a classic abuser (more so than Kyon) and basically pimped her out in DTS–no, seriously, he legitimately prostituted her. (And let’s be clear–“he’s going to make me sleep with him” = rape; it doesn’t matter how we semantically dance around it…) So yeah, good ol’ Giff sent her off to be raped.

If there is a book 4, I can see it maybe being Kricket, Phlix, and Giffen-centric (and maybe Wayra, too, since he was notably absent from the Forest of O scene). That would put Kricket with a cast of representatives from the three major factions in the story. And this begins the rally portion of puke and rally–this is Kricket’s time to become the best at what she does, to become a time-traveling polar vortex. Hopefully, they’ll go to college. Maybe we’ll have a bit of a time skip. Maybe in the future she’ll have an opportunity to use the weapons she was given during her stay on Ethar (we have to assume that someday she will use them effectively to help herself or others, yes?). Unless Kricket spends a lot of time forecasting about the future of Ethar, it might make sense to mix in chapters from at least one other character’s POV, so we keep the Ethar story moving on an intersect trajectory with Kricket. I think it’s also totally possible to keep it just Kricket POV, but DTS was so intensely focused on Kricket’s internal struggle that we need a way to pan out a bit. Also, the secondary characters are so amazing–it would be awesome to see more of their stories as well. I think I could read whole novellas from Jax’s or Phlix’s POVs, among others.

P.P.S. I have to point out one thing that seems like a mistake–in the Hallafast scene, Kricket was coolered, and yet she makes statements as if she’s soothsaying. I’ve tried to envision a way in which this error was intentional, but haven’t figured it out so far. I mean, that scene had other issues–Trey and Wayra seemed out of character, with Trey pretty composed and calm about asking the love of his life to die, and he was outright callous/cruel in places. Because of the nature of DTS, this scene takes us by surprise–we have *no* idea what’s been going on with the Cavars, so the scene reads off. Moreover, plot-wise, it’s a seemingly pointless scene–Kricket had already agreed to give them a plan to kill Excelsior only hours before. And, out of nowhere, she immediately proposes escaping without killing Excelsior, leaving the Etharians to Excelsior’s tender mercies; this is at odds with her general view of the Excelsior issue, common sense, and explicitly telling Kyon (with no coercion from anyone) hours earlier that they needed to kill Excelsior. (We won’t get into the fact that, although Trey unquestionably did “do her wrong” (and was just generally utterly disappointing all around in DTS), Kricket isn’t exactly being awesome herself–she had a choice to go back to Earth in book 1, but she was a young girl in the clutches of feeling loved for the first time, and, despite Trey telling her he wouldn’t be able to protect her, chose to stay. Now she lays the blame on his shoulders, instead of taking responsibility and ownership of herself…it’s not a great moment for Kricket–and it is in stark contrast to statements she made earlier in book 1–and it occurs very close to the end of the book; we are left wondering–what did Kricket really learn here? Did she really understand how she got to this dark place?) Another thing about the coolering–was Kyon coolered or not? He didn’t seem ill like Kricket; is the coolering like a general blast or targeted on a specific person? Regardless, there’s something off there–he could have un-coolered Kricket in the Hallafast (according to his later statement re zapping himself after sending her home). There are numerous similar types of things–for example, Astrid senses Kricket the first time she visits New Amster, but not when she’s there when Trey awakens? Or does Astrid know Kricket is there and refuses to acknowledge her because she has her own agenda? What was the point of the slipshield tracker that Kyon put on her–did he notice “Hey, she left the Hallafast, whoops, now she’s going back to the Hallafast?” There are *so* many of these things.

Review #3

Audiobook Bear Attraction by Cris Dukehart

I have such mixed feelings about this book, I both loved and hated it; I wish I never read the series and it is one of my favorite books of this genre all at the same time. Why the confused feelings? This is not a book with a happy ending. In fact, Kiricket is one of the most mistreated main characters I have ever come across. I was so drawn into the story and felt so much for Kricket, but I was sobbing by the end. It’s been a few weeks, and I am still upset by this story. I think the author wanted it to be a hopeful ending, but I don’t think it makes it. So… if you really loved Kricket, brace yourselves because this is going to be a really bumpy ride with a bad end. If you don’t like a sad ending, pass on this series…. unless we get a continuation of the story. And about that continuation, this book left me with so many questions and so many holes… it was really frustrating! I want to know more details – how does the story really end? What happens to everyone? What were the future options Kricket’s mom foresaw?

Review #4

Audio Bear Attraction narrated by Cris Dukehart

I was so so disappointed with this final instalment to the Kricket series. I found the first two books amazing, they had me hooked from the get go and I was excited to see where this book would lead…unfortunately it led nowhere. I found myself disliking Kricket more and more as the book progressed and it made me wish I’d never picked up the first book and started this series at all, which is crushing since I had so much hope for the story. It had the potential to be great but unfortunately I was let down with where the author decided to take it. There were so many questions left unanswered and characters that were previously integral suddenly had no place in the book and it was hard to wrap my mind around. Overall I was extremely let down with how this series ended and as much as I enjoyed the first two books I do regret reading this series because I feel like there was such a build up with the previous books just for this one to fall flat.

Review #5

Free audio Bear Attraction – in the audio player below

I really enjoyed the series until I reached the last book. The focus of the plot changed and a lot of what we believed in the earlier books was turned on its head. There were quite a few elements that were unconvincing – the character of Astrid, or lack of, the behaviour of her father, the volte face of Kyon’s character, but that apart it still made a good read. My main problem was the ending. I can see the logic behind it but found it deeply unsatisfying emotionally. Without spoiling things too much I felt that after all she had been through Kricket deserved a better ending. The were many loose ends and no real resolution to her relationships with many of the other characters.

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