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4.5
Kelley Armstrong is an author who only continues to amaze me and that she does this with every single novel should have stopped being surprising years ago, but it's a time I am happy to be wrong! Empire of Night picks up where we left off in Sea of Shadows, and naturally, my memory was pretty fuzzy on some of those finer details towards the end, but there was enough of a recap that I was able to know what I needed to know!Moria and Ashyn are still devastated after the events of last time, their village is practically gone, their father is dead and both are feeling hurt by their previous love connections. Gavril made a grave error in betraying Moria, for she is not one to forget that smite and Ashyn is left confused by Ronan's latest actions. After a passionate kiss that left Ashyn start to feel things she didn't know possible, Ronan brushes her off and practically wants nothing to do with her.The sisters are still determined to rescue the kidnapped children from Alvar, Gavril's father no less. They set out on a journey to seek out a potential clue or lead with an entire entourage, only for things to go inexplicably disastrous. There was betrayal after betrayal and its result left Moria kidnapped by the enemy. She soon finds herself the unwitting prisoner of Alvar who "gifts" her to Gavril. And if you know Moria well at all, you know she won't take this sentence quietly.All the while, Ashyn, Ronan, Tyrus, and a new character you'll meet learn shocking news that totally changes everything for them. And there's a lot of turmoil mixed in, but it's not long before Tyrus is leading a rescue plan for Moria.This definitely reads like a middle book, for I felt like our heroines and heroes didn't really make much ground on getting closer to a resolution. I guess it's a matter of drawing the story out in the bigger picture. It was still an incredibly thrilling and heart-racing kind of read and there were moments my heart felt ready to burst from my chest with all the feels! Kelley really knows how to affect her readers through these characters. I do not believe I've ever read a piece by Kelley that I didn't absolutely love!I had prior warning that the ending to this one would be shocking! That it would be devastating and horror driven as there is a full year until the next book's release. And while it wasn't a happy-go-lucky kind of ending, a peaceful moment, the calm before the storm...it also wasn't necessarily the scream and pull your hair out and shouting your agony to the heavens. At least I didn't think so. There's still a matter of needing to know a few fates of our characters and we did leave Moria in a dangerous predicament, but not the life-threatening kind. I feel confident in knowing for now that the unknown fates of two of our characters will be fine for the meantime. Because Moria's fate is going to leave her busy for a time. There's still a few other ponderous questions that came from this ending, but I think I will spend the year just eager awaiting in anticipation instead of tears and screaming--like I'm still doing for other series, and for one there's nothing but tears knowing a resolution will not be happening.Kelley Armstrong is a master at her job! Her talents at writing numerous worlds where I go on thrilling adventures, see budding romance and endure quite a few other scary moments is perhaps one of the greatest of trips I could take! My imagination has been wild over the years with all my reading and Kelley's books continue to delight and amaze me! Empire of Night was yet another shining addition to her repertoire and I will definitely be eagerly awaiting for the finale!Overall Rating 5/5 stars
