I must admit that I wasn't expecting much with Girls of Fate and Fury, since I wasn't very sold into the second book of this series (it has its own fair share of common YA writing pitfalls). But alas, I'm the cat that curiosity has k-ed and I decided to just give the finale a go.

Without giving away too many things, I enjoyed Girls of Fate and Fury more than I'd thought. First and foremost, I'm pleasantly surprised of the chapters written from Wren's perspective. I thought the inclusion of Wren chapters did help flesh out her character arc, what she's been through, and what she's willingly going to fight for. I also thought Wren's pespective helped flesh out the previously less developed parts of the worldbuilding.

I think this foils well with Lei's chapters. I'm still not completely sold into Lei as a main character, but thankfully Ngan gave me the next best thing: developing the worldbuilding loopholes / the unanswered questions about what goes on in the palace & people there that weren't properly explored in the disappointing sophomore effort. I think by fleshing out the life back in the palace, I've not only learnt about what the other Paper girls had been through.

While the plot build-up isn't optimal (the pacing has always been an issue in the series), I think the ending nevertheless closes the series nicely. To me, reading the ending has some sort of healing touch & some elements of found family that makes the ending feel hopeful.

So while not everything in the writing is excellent, Girls of Fate and Fury still managed to avoid the worst possible slump by straightening up the holes in the worldbuilding & putting more emphasis on the journey of healing.

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: abuse, self-harm, violence, blood mention, emotional blackmail, and death

(3.5 stars out of 5)