An excellent final book of this outstanding trilogy. It ended as I had hoped and was very satisfying.

"The Eternal Ones" by Namina Forna concludes the Gilded fantasy series with a thrilling and empowering finale. Deka, a goddess-in-waiting, strives to save her kingdom from ancient goddesses, battling both external threats and internal doubts. The quest for her celestial essence intensifies, with the Gilded Ones posing a formidable challenge. Forna intricately weaves a narrative of self-discovery and sacrifice as Deka confronts the possibility of becoming akin to the very forces she opposes. The novel expertly explores the complexities of power, love, and the ultimate choice between the divine and the earthly. A riveting conclusion to a captivating series."

After the Gods separated to become male Idugu and the female Gilded Ones, Otera has been tearing itself apart to support the rivalling, power-hungry entities.

Deka is a goddess-in-waiting with the potential to save her people from the brutal ancient goddesses who terrorize her kingdom of Otera. But first she must find her celestial essence - and if the Gilded Ones find it before she does, they will drain her power and tear Otera apart.

I have always enjoyed the critique Forna incorporates into her novels.
How ‘burn down the patriarchy’ turned into burn down all systems that work to keep people down, to centre and hoard power, to encourage obedience and subservience.

There are always girls like that, girls who believe so desperately that they'll get the lives they've been promised if only they sacrifice everything that they are. That's how those who have power retain it: by promising they'll share some of that power if a chosen number obey whatever commands they have been given.

Also the romance never sped up as the end of the world looked. Forna made sure that there was no urgency for the romance to blossom into something huge that the characters aren’t ready for. It’s a lot more realistic - wanting to take time.

However, I did find this a let down after enjoying the prior two books.
I am conflicted… some parts were a strong three stars, others I wanted to give two stars.

So many parts of this felt too convenient. I know this is always a caveat with YA, yet I felt disappointed by how many times things went their way or fell into place. Discoveries, allies, power, knowledge…
I think too much needed to be accomplished and all of these new revelations were the only way to do so.

Not to mention, there just wasn’t enough time for character development.
Deka starts out extremely angry, lashing out at everyone in her hurt and there’s some heavy handling of appreciating everyone’s suffering. Yet, the characters seem to shift attitudes and accept changes extremely quickly and easily.
Considering the prior challenges and hesitant nature of all the characters previously, this felt forced and strange.

I am loving the new direction YA is taking - the casual inclusion of diversity, the tackling of tough topics that society seeks to hide, ignore, shield.

”Ye look like one of those broken potteries they piece back together with gold."
“I always thought those were beautiful."

If you enjoyed this, I would recommend the Children of Blood and Bone!

Thank you to Usbourne publishing for providing the arc in exchange for a review.

The Eternal Ones is a fast paced, satisfying ending to the Gilded Ones trilogy. Our protagonist, Deka, has the fate of the world resting on her shoulders. Either she fights to sacrifice herself and lose everyone she cares about, or the world as she knows it (and even beyond!) is destroyed. Deka and her friends are in constant peril, running from one disaster to the other, surviving by the skin of their teeth over and over. Fans of action packed, high stakes, adventurous fantasy will love this.

There is a huge cast of secondary characters, both ones we knew from the previous books and a few more. Despite how many there are, throughout the trilogy the author has made sure we get to know them and their distinct personalities. Because Deka is so loyal and cares so much for her found family, it's easy as a reader to care about them too.

Even if it's been a while since you read the last books, this is worth picking up. It had been 18 months for me since I read The Merciless ones, but thanks to a handy 'the story so far' recap at the beginning and clever reminders weaved through the story, it was easy to sink right back into this world.

Not realising that The Eternal ones is part of a series, I found that I didn't know much about the story or characters but It still didn't put me off. The author's writing is beautiful and descriptive detail of places and characters is spot on. I would recommend that you do read the other two books in the series but despite this I highly recommend it.
❤️ Thank you to netgalley and the author/publisher for my ARC ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Stunning conclusion!!!

I loved every adventure! It was the ending we all deserved.
Beautifully written, I devoured every word.