Review: The Immortal Heights

Title: The Immortal Heights
Author: Sherry Thomas
Genre: Fantasy, young adult

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.
However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort…
Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?
With The Immortal Heights, Sherry Thomas brings the acclaimed Elemental Trilogy to its breathtaking conclusion.

This series started out as a fun diversion from all the other tense and dark books I had been reading at the time. I figured a book involving a girl pretending to be a boy at an all-boys boarding school would be pretty funny. Added bonus that this girl is a mage and that the are wyverns and magic carpets in this series.

What started out as just a fun series ended up being so much more intense and exciting and emotional than I was prepared for! This series does a great job of ratcheting up the stakes with every book, and making you grow to love all the characters even more. There are no annoying love triangles here, and every type of relationship, be it friendships, family bonds, or romantic relationships, is treated with respect and care. Sometimes relationships get tangled and ugly, but people always remain true to themselves and to their feelings for each other, which I loved. It's just so nice to read a book where friends have each others' backs and people are willing to sacrifice so much for people they care about.

There are so many characters that I love in this book! Iolanthe and Titus continue to be badass and awesome, especially together! I love that they know and respect each other's strengths, and I especially love how Titus never feels like he needs to prove his manliness every time Iolanthe does something awesome. It's just so refreshing since most books involve men who constantly need to show their girlfriends how strong and awesome they are. Titus is such a sweetheart :) Kashkari has become even cooler than ever, and that one character who I don't want to name is surprisingly and heartbreakingly awesome as well. Brownie points for including an Asian-best-friend who isn't completely stereotyped!

One of the other things I really liked about this series was how it dealt with prophecies. It was interesting to see how Titus tried to make his mother's prophecies come true and Kashkari tried to foil them, and how that turned out for each of them. It's very interesting to see how each character feels about fate and taking action for themselves.

The prologue nearly killed me.

The epilogue nearly killed me too.

Go read this series if you haven't already! It's a lot of fun and the characters are some of my favorites :)