Rating: 
Summary: Too much or not enough
Review: I think "The Bitterbynde Trilogy" had the potential to be a great fantasy trilogy. While many of the plot points are cliched and predictable (to be expected considering the fairy tale conventions), the twists were real twists and the surprises were real surprises.Having said that, there are some major flaws in this last book. While there is a plot-related reason for Via's change of character, she is "on stage' for too long after the encounter and becomes so unpleasant that I wanted to throw her to some unseelie wight and have done with her attitude. Dart-Thornton never spends much time on this character after the climax of the book, so the character is never rehabiliated, and I am left feeling annoyed that I had to spend so much time reading about her. Prince Edward also has changes in behavior, which, although foreshadowed, still somehow don't ring true to me. I would have rather liked the original ending had Dart-Thornton either developed it less or developed it more. If it had simply ended with Edward's kiss, that could have been a beautiful, bitter, ironic ending and left it to the reader to decide what happened next. Instead, she chose to describe what happened afterward in only a few pages. At this point, Ashalind displays none of the insight, pluck, nerve, or intelligence that got her where she is. Even as a mute with no memory she had more personality. I cared very little about the "real" ending since I no longer cared about the shell of Ashalind. Finally, I have to confess to very mixed feelings about Imrhien/Rohain/Tahquil/Ashalind. Although I was interested in would what happen next to her, I didn't really care what the outcome would be. It seemed that she was just so perfect that she would overcome her trials through simple perfection. It's a good thing the book ended when it did, because if one more person fell in love with her, I was going to have to throw the book out the window. Overall, it's a good series that goes on too long. BTW, I bought this in paperback at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why Amazon isn't carrying it yet.
Rating:
Summary: The battle of neverend
Review: I was hugely disappointed by this book. After really quite enjoying the "Lady of the Sorrows" I wanted to read more and felt a true connection to the plot. I have to admit that I struggled with the "Ill made Mute " (the first book), but was glad I persevered as the second was much much better, though Ms Dart-Thornton still spends far too much time reeling off long lists of things which server only to pad out her already prolix style. The plot in the second book was actually very good, and the action reasonably paced. Coming from that straight into "The battle of Evernight" was like suddenly running into treacle after 300 meters of a 400 meter race. The characters wander around the country side with an aimlessness which did not do justice to their strength in earlier books. The major plot themes from the first two books don't really develop into any real denouement, but mostly peter out into nothing. I continued to read in the hope that the plot would eventually reappear, but instead there seemed to be a confusion in the mind of the author as to where to go next. The title implied an ending of some magnitude, but the actual battle refered to is barely mentioned, and is of no real moment, the action going off like a damp squib. Perhaps this is just a personal thing, but I dislike the overuse of song/poetry in books, it rarely serves to advance the plot, and usually is just an excuse for the author to pad a few pages with their poetic styling. Unfortunately , the Bitterbynde series is full of such devices, and this may have somewhat coloured my view. I also did not really like the (almost word for word) retelling of some famous fairy tales. It often seemed like the author was lost for an idea so stuck in a bit from some famous tale. Sometimes this worked quite effectivlely, particularly in the second book, but mostly it was just annoying.
The greatest disapointment was the ending. I am always concerned when I can feel that there are only a few pages left in a book and many threads have been left hanging - you can be sure that the author is going to have to cop out and leave the reader dissatisfied - but never have I come across such a limp and weak ending . All the wonderful ideas of the books are abandoned and we are left disappointed with the lamest of devices to tie up the book. It seems that many new writers are heralded with the "Tolkein " epithet, but if CDT is to ever gain that height she must do much much better. (and maybe borrow less from other ideas). If you want to read truly great writers of epic fantasy, then I strongly recommend Robin Hobb, whose work is nothing short of wonderful, and George R. R. Martin, who is going to cause me a nervous breakdown if he doesn't produce his next book soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Great story BUT.....
Review: I would have given this book 5 stars if it hadn't been for the ending. All three books were really a fantastic read, and the detail in them was amazing. I found myself ingrossed in every page and could barely bring myself to put the book down to sleep or eat etc. So, you can imagine that I was really let down when the happy ending (I think we can all agree the 2nd ending is the true one) was briefly described in half a page of the epilogue. After visiting CDT's website, I discovered that the American version has an authors note that clarifies the ending a bit better (so I'm going to buy it) which I read. It still isn't the same as reading a story. It's like listening to a friend describe what they think would have happened rather than an author taking you through every step. Apart from that, do go and buy The Battle of Evernight. It really was an awesome story and worth taking the time to read. Just when you get to the end, make sure you surround yourself with unbreakable objects so you don't damage anything when you start throwing them accross the room. :)
Rating: 
Summary: lost in the darkness
Review: I'll have to say the first book in the series was the best written of the three. It was what kept me interested in the story, and the reason I finished the trilogy. The second was an enjoyable diversion, though not as well-written. I wasn't completely satisfied, but decided to read the final book because the first had been so good. This final book in the series wanders aimlessly around, a thick molasses of prose dragging on. Finally, it completely loses itself with the ending. Even an epilogue fails at an attempt to recover the loss. I would recommend that you do not read this trilogy unless you've already started. It starts with a rush only to falter to an agonizingly slow pace, and then finally it completely disappoints you with a wreck of an ending.
Rating:
Summary: Almost brilliant
Review: I've just finished reading this trilogy, and after an initial temptation to throw the final book across the room in protest at its ending, I'm inclined to rate CDT very highly as a fantasy author. The story progressed from a deceptively simple opening to something complex, interesting, and involving. The created world is an intriguing mix of the familiar with the original, and her descriptions are beautiful, although at times overlong and to the detriment of the plot. Overall, I'd rate her far above the majority of fantasy writers, and have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone - but I'd have some qualifications... Her characterisation is mostly excellent, but I tend to agree with other reviewers critical of the female trio in this concluding novel. Yes, they do appear passive and reactive (especially the main character Tahquil), rather than proactive. But my feeling is that Tahquil's main fault is her repeated stupidity: she makes a lot of choices that determine the action in the novel, but how many times can one person make the same mistake? Yet there are some lovely moments between Tahquil and Thorn; their relationship is a delight to read, and again this sets CDT way above other fantasy writers whose trashy accounts of love affairs are patterned after Harlequin historicals. Thank God for a writer who apparently has respect for such quaint notions of fidelity, integrity, and self-denial. Compassion for enemies? Abstinence before marriage? Honouring promises to friends? Moral integrity is one of the book's strengths and attractions, and to be prized all the more because it is a rare quality in this genre. The biggest problem is the ending, no question: it is unsatisfying. In the tradition of most fantasies, after the big battle finale the writer doesn't seem quite certain what to do. I had confidence that CDT could pull this trilogy into a great conclusion, but the way it ended was infuriating, as if she had suddenly tired of the whole project and decided to wrap it up in a couple of lines. After 3 volumes of exquisitely written prose carefully delineating every development, it was a big shock and I can only hope her next trilogy rewards its readers with more than Cliffs notes masquerading as an ending. The stage had been set here for tragedy by the gloomy prophecies, so I was resigned to a depressing conclusion (why do fantasy writers think it's particularly clever to leave readers as unhappy as their characters? A happy ending doesn't have to be simple or something to be scorned), but to call what happens here a conclusion is a bit excessive. It's hard to even say what happened, it speeds by so quickly. Or that might have been me flicking pages forward in annoyance because of Tahquil's determination to repeat mistakes (I was left incredulous by her antics at the Gate, it was so unconvincing). Was CDT trying to manipulate her characters into a preconceived ending? - it's too easy to let the story follow its natural course when you can throw in a few more twists and tragedies? Was she trying to satisfy her readers who revel in tragic stories, while at the same time leaving room for those readers who like to exit books happy? You can interpret the Epilogue either way, but on balance I think it's fairly obvious which of the ending's interpretations is the right one (so I'm calmer, and the book retains its undamaged condition). Let an ending be an ending, not something clouded by ambiguity and brevity. There's a reason Tolkien's so enduringly popular: he understood the importance of the 'eucatastrophic' tale, in which just when everything seems beyond redemption, something happens and hope replaces despair. I think CDT's Epilogue is aimed at that, but it's not as convincing as I for one would have liked. Despite the ending, I'm going with four stars. I haven't loved a new fantasy novel so much in a while, and I look forward to her next trilogy - apparently it's the same world, but new characters, so here's hoping for another exquisite creation.
Rating:
Summary: Wait, it will get better!
Review: If you need to escape for a while from the daily horrors reported in the news today and from reading serious reality-based literature, this Trilogy and this last book is for you! It is well written, allegorical, based on familiar mythology but in a very different context and with entirely new, surprizing twists and turns. It provides a grand finale to the wonderous new world created by Cecilia Dart-Thornton where good triumphs in the end, but only after creatively overcoming great danger and evil. The characters are truely magical, imaginative and the adventures clever and amazing. Love blooms in delightful ways. This book is,or I should say will be, every bit as good as the first two in the Trilogy. HOWEVER, you must wait. I rated it down one notch because, in the hard cover version (that is all that is available now) the ending is abrupt and so negative it actually ruined the entire Trilogy for me. It was not until I corresponded with Cecelia Dart-Thornton through her website (www.dartthornton.com) that I learned of the new ending she has written for the paperback edition that is soon coming out. If you must read it now go ahead. I understand the urgent need to read it once you have read the first two books, but then buy the paperback, when it comes out, for a satifying ending! With the new ending, which I now know of, I give the Battle of Evernight 5+++.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat better than the 1st two
Review: If you read the first two books in the trilogy, go ahead and finish. If you haven't, don't start. As stated numerous times in the listed reviews, the ending left a lot to be desired. The plot twist upon her return did not follow the thread of the story up to that point and it then just abruptly ended. CDT's prose is oustanding but her placement of the details is often times suspect, interrupting an action part of the novel with drawn-out, detailed descriptions that leave you wanting to skip the prose to find out the outcome of the action. At times, the action sequence ends and your tossed into a different sequence where you are unsure of the outcome of the previous events. I found myself skipping back to see some sort of resolution, but none existed. The first book drove me crazy in this aspect, the third still exhibits this characteristic, but not as bad. I'm just a person that can't stop reading a trilogy once started. But this one almost changed me in that regard.
Rating:
Summary: A slippery slide from excellence to tripe
Review: If, like me, you like to finish a trilogy that you start, be warned. My enjoyment of the Ill-made Mute was tarnished by the Lady of Sorrows, but I held out hope for a winner with the Battle of Evernight. How wrong I was. If you can be satisfied with just the first - leave it at that.
The Battle of Evernight is linear, frustrating, and the integral weaving of 'faerie knowledge' from the first book becomes a trite (and sometimes smug) add-on. The characters are passive instead of proactive and as a reader I felt as though I was being taken on a guided tour of cliched scenes instead of the journey of peril and marvel that started the trilogy. CDT's talent is undeniable (from the Ill-made Mute), but instead of exulting with it at the climax of the trilogy I felt betrayed and unsatisfied. So much potential was wasted. I was so ready to add CDT to the list of authors I would buy on sight. Now I'll avoid her books unless the magic of the Ill-made Mute is regained and KEPT!
Rating:
Summary: In a word - HORRIBLE!
Review: It took me quite a while to get interested in the 1st book of the series, but once I did I enjoyed it and the 2nd book quite a lot. However, in reading this, the 3rd book, it appears that the author decided not to carry through any part of the main character's personality. She's bland and lacks any qualities to make the reader care whether she finds happiness or not. I kept hoping the book would "pick up" as the 1st one did, but unfortunately that never happens. As others have mentioned, the ending it poorly done and personally made me wish that I hadn't wasted the time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Literature! (and a spoiler)
Review: Over the year's I have evolved a standard for distinguishing between "literature" and "pulp"--would I ever want to read it again? or it is to be passed along for someone else's airplane ride/car trip/beach vacation? I'm delighted to say that the Bitterbynde books create a universe I want to revisit...partly to catch some of what I missed while galloping through the first time in order to find out what happens next. Others have elaborated on the plot, influences, generic comparatives --especially the series' Tolkieneque world-building, but it is the transformative combination of externally familiar elements with an internally sustained (and unique) mythological framework that gives the book such rewarding density and texture. Having said that, I do refrain from the final star here because I too wanted an ending that did justice to the rest of what came before. By the end of the trilogy a setback at the brink of fulfillment is no surprise, but retreating from our heroine at 100 mph, rendering her again faceless and indistinguishable, instead of feeling like satisfying quasi-cinematic parallelism, feels instead like mere authorial expediency. Nonetheless, re-reading the final pages a few times, and filling in the blanks with some of the rich after-imagery that spills over the edges of the previous volumes, does finally afford some semblance of readerly fulfillment. Ultimately, after all, my criticism boils down to wishing the book were a bit longer. And after all, not wanting it to end so soon is also a measure of the author's remarkable success.
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