The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

Book Jacket

The Goblin Market, where lives are won and lost and magic is bought and sold, has always been the center of Sin's world.  Now the war between the magicians and the Market is escalating, and her position as future leader is threatened by a rival.  Sin knows Mae can never really take control of the Market: Mae is a tourist, and her brother, Jamie, is not only a powerful magician, but also the Aventurine Circle's newest and deadliest weapon.  But as the Market gains strange new allies, support for Mae is growing, and Sin's only chance to lead is to accomplish an impossible task.

Among the most dangerous of the Market's allies are the enigmatic Ryves brothers.  Nick was once more than Sin's friend, but she cannot forget his demonic nature.  Alan has always been Sin's enemy, and she now owes him a debt she cannot repay.  Even as the unlikely allies discover common ground and new feelings arise among them, Sin realizes the brothers pose a greater danger than she dreamed.  Alan is marked--and being tortured--by the magicians, and Nick may be working for them.

When Sin's family secrets are revealed and betrayal comes from someone they trusted, a terrible sacrifice has to be made if anyone is going to survive the final battle.

The demon's surrender could destroy them all.

Review

And thus concludes the fantastic trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan.  It ends exactly the way a series (or any book, for that matter) ought to end:  events are wrapped up, but the victory is vulnerable and anything could happen in the coming weeks, months, or years.  There's a real feel of reality to this series' conclusion, and I love it!

Another thing I love?  Sin.  I was extremely skeptical about having the third book narrated by someone who was only a minor character in the first two books.  But she won me over in no time at all.  She is fantastic!  She can fight, dance, manipulate, and care for her siblings.  It is a lot easier for her to integrate into the action of the story because of her fighting skills.  I felt her presence at certain events was a lot more plausible than Mae's forced participation in The Demon's Covenant.  However, both Mae and Sin have serious problems with eavesdropping, hahahaha.  Thank goodness, because the conversations Sin sneaks a listen to are juicy and wonderful.

Awhile ago I made some shipping predictions for Demon's Surrender.  I won't say whether I was right or not, but I will say that two of the three pairings made me absolutely giddy with joy.  The third rubs me the wrong way, but whatever.  I want my characters to be happy, so I'll feign some excitement.  But the other two?  PURE AWESOME.

I cannot continue without mentioning my two favorite characters.  Jamie was sadly absent for much of this book.  When he does appear, he is sadly lacking in witty quips (most of the time), but he more than makes up for that in being Mysterious and Awesome.  My other favorite character is Alan, and I was super pleased to see him a whole lot in this book!  He continues to be the most broken, manipulative, loving character I've ever read.  He breaks my heart and makes me swoon all at the same time. 

Although the story of Nick, Alan, Mae, Jamie, and Sin is over, I'm crazy excited to see what Sarah Rees Brennan has up her writing sleeve next.

Five out of five fever fruits.

Release Date:  June 2011
Reading Level:  Grade 7+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  YPL BRE


Don't believe me?  Check out these reviews of The Demon's Surrender:

The Book Smugglers
Mundie Moms