Book Review: Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully
Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully (Ceruleans #5)
Author: Megan Tayte
Published by: Heaven Afire
Publication Date: 16 February 2016
Page Count: 313
Buy it on Amazon
Source: e-book provided by author
Audience: Young Adult - Paranormal
The final book in the Cerulean series answers every question I have had throughout reading all five books.
Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully opens up with Scarlett and Sienna sitting at their mother's bedside in the hospital. She is in a coma and the doctors have no answers. The sisters need to find their own answers; mainly, who did this to their mom and how can they make that person pay. Their search brings out secrets not only in their mum's life, but in their own as well. Scarlett and Sienna, after so much time apart, find themselves dropping old grudges and becoming closer than they've ever been in the past. It also brings Scarlett closer to her father, and his group of Ceruleans, the Vindicos. She finds that all she's learned about them isn't true, they're not the cruel murderers she's been lead to believe they are. If that isn't enough to create more chaos and questions in her life, a shocking secret from the past threatens to shatter everything, not just for Scarlett and Sienna, but for the entire Cerulean world.
This was the perfect ending to the Cerulean series. Megan Tayte answered every question from the very beginning, including who or what was causing Scarlett to have so many near fatal accidents in the very first book. She brought everything together, fitting every piece of the plot like a jigsaw puzzle.
You don't really meet any new characters in this final book, but you learn even more about the ones that have been prominent (or even that just flitted around the edges) throughout the series. You learn the limits of some, and secrets of others. I loved delving deeper into their lives, getting to know them even better. You can tell from the very beginning that Tayte had a firm grasp on her characters and where she wanted each one to be in the end. They were all so well written. I could see myself being friends with Scarlett, happy to go out with friends and have fun, but just as content to stay at home and movie binge. I also loved the decisions that Scarlett had to make. She is such a strong character, fierce when she needs to be, but has such a huge heart. She knew what she wanted out of her life and afterlife, and she wasn't afraid to go for it. I also loved getting to know Sienna more, and even their father; learning that their own decisions were never made out of any kind of hate towards loved ones or their new lives.
I love how there are different settings in the series. The first and second book are set in Twycombe and Hollythwaite. The third is on the island of Cerulea. The fourth book is mostly in Twycombe and Holllythwaite again, and the fifth book is a mix of all the places we've visited throughout the series, and added in London, where Gabriel and Sienna live. Every place has such a vivid description, it's so easy to imagine. The apartment Scarlett visits Gabriel in sounds beautiful, and I would still love to visit the island. It sounds so peaceful.
This series has been a roller coast of emotions from beginning to end. It's been about love and loss, rebirth and starting over; and it's about rethinking what you've always thought, changing your view. Evil isn't just purely evil, emotions and past experiences combine to create the final product. The series is also about forgiveness and letting go, sometimes there's nothing left to do but that. I love the smaller stories behind the bigger story. It's sad saying goodbye to Scarlett, her family and friends, and the world of Cerulea. I have truly enjoyed every bit of this story, but Megan Tayte will always have a fan in me and I look forward to reading her future tales.
Favorite Thing about this Book: I loved the emotion expressed throughout the series. You can tell the author truly cared about her story and characters.
First Sentence: I began the day in my usual way: telling my sister that no, she was not permitted to kill our mother.
Favorite Character: Scarlett
Least Favorite Character: There were no characters that I didn't like in this book.
DARKNESS HAS FALLEN, AND SHE ALONE WILL SEE THE LIGHT.
The Ceruleans: mere mortals infused with power over life and death. Five books; one question: If the might of the heavens were in your hands, would you be sinner or saint?
With her mother’s life hanging in the balance, Scarlett is devastated – and done with being in the dark. She wants answers, all of them.
But when was her pursuit of the truth ever straightforward?
Pulling a single thread impels a great unravelling. And each revelation will force Scarlett to rethink what she thought she knew about the Ceruleans, the Fallen, her family – herself.
All that came before was a mere prelude to this, the last journey. From London to Twycombe to Hollythwaite to Cerulea, Scarlett will be stalked by the ghosts of what has been, what may have been and what may come to pass. Until she reaches the place where it all began, and it all must end.
But in the final reckoning, none will survive unscathed. And some will not survive at all.
In this explosive conclusion to The Ceruleans series, all must be defined by their actions: sinner, saint… or something more beautiful entirely?
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