The Black Key - Amy Ewing

So this is the last in the series for the Lone City Trilogy, although I am hoping for one last novella as this book made me quite curious about the back story of one character.

I found this much slower to start than the last two books in the series. As this book started at the White Rose, planning the revolution, I was worried that this was going to be how most of the book was going to go, and I felt myself starting to wander off, but when Violet decides to be back to the city to try and get to her sister, things suddenly started to happen again, and we start to see more conflict, and therefore more action.

Violet disguises herself to return to the House of the Lake to try and find and rescue her sister, meaning we see more of Garnet, who has fast been becoming my favourite character, although this also meant that we saw less of Raven, who I did miss.

As Violet goes back to the city she comes back into contact with characters we've seen before, Garnet, the Duchess of the Lake, Cora and more. I won't lie, I was also glad that it kept Ash and Violet apart for a lot of the book, as I have little to know interest in their relationship.

This is the first time that Violet really realises what revolution is, she sees first hand the death and devastation caused by the uprising, and it's also the first time that she has to take responsibility for her actions, both good and bad. As she is back in the city we get to see some interaction with Lucien, and it's the first time I've really warmed towards him as a character, because of the life he's lived he's made himself rather cold, but we start to see a little more of him than we have in the past.

This felt like the book where the series grew up, the characters grew up and started taking responsibility for what is going on around them, and we don't have to watch so much lovesick mooning. The little glimpses of Hazel that we see through out this book show a scared child who doesn't really know what's happening, and that's what forces Violet to do more, her fear for her sister.

The Duchess of the Lake plays quite a key role in this book, as you'd expect, and it's her that I'd love to see a novella for. The back story that we start to get for her is quite tantalising, and goes a long way towards explaining how she has become the way she is. I'd love to see a novella that actually showed it happening though.

I have very mixed feeling about the last chapter of the book, which, without giving much away, is some of our main characters looking at what they've achieved. I sort of understand why Ewing has written this chapter, but I don't personally feel that it really added anything other to the book.

Over all though I did really enjoy this and felt that this was a strong finish to the trilogy, tying up all the end, but leaving a couple of interesting options for telling back story, both recent and more distant history.