Reader's Review: "Rise of the Firebird" by Amy Kuivalainen

Synopsis from Amazon: 

Prepare for a breathtaking conclusion to Anya's story, filled with magic, intrigue, and a final epic battle between the worlds.

Anya's journey for revenge against Baba Yaga and Yanka leads her to search for a powerful artifact that will help her stop them once and for all. On the way, she will confront the dark goddess Louhi and join forces with two formidable magicians: the cursed magician Kullervo, and Eldon Blaise, the apprentice to the legendary Merlin.

As long-buried secrets of history and the heart come to light, Anya grapples with the darkness lurking within her own soul. Embracing her role as a symbol of hope for the Neutral rebel army, she must rise to the challenge and lead the charge under the banner of the firebird. In the ultimate showdown between three mighty armies, the fate of worlds hangs in the balance, and only Anya's courage and determination will be enough to tip the scales and shape the course of history forever.

>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Hoo, boy! What a ride!

Yanka is busy amassing power after the havoc she wrought in Cry of the Firebird, and Anya is done running and cowering. After recovering from everything that happened to her in a protected space among the Alfr, Anya learns that she must go to yet another unexplored realm beyond the real world and Skazki--the Underworld. Only there will she meet the last few allies and acquire the weapons she needs to stop Yanka once and for all.

Meanwhile, the sorceress' game against Baba Yaga shifts into its final moves...

Kuivalainen has really established herself as a literary force to be reckoned with. I can't tell where the old folklore ends and her own spin begins--it all feels very ancient and grounded in myth, giving rise to legends of its own! The magical sequences, the drawn-out emotions... Everything just pulls you along... I spent several nights thinking "just a chapter or two before bed" and then finally calling it quits when I realize that it's been three hours and I can hardly keep my eyes open! It's the deep, rich, awesome storytelling that keeps you in its grasp and doesn't let go. It's the unique, vivid characters that come to life in your mind and are walking and talking with their own mannerisms and interaction styles. It's the dramatic and surreal settings that become as much characters in their own rights as the people who inhabit them. Everything ties together and lifts up into a glorious symphony of words that feels positively spellbinding every time I open the cover!

When it ended, I was just about beside myself. The rush of the emotional rollercoaster, its highs and lows, just left me adrift. The story came to a close, and I knew I was going to miss everyone, both the "old" characters that I'd been familiar with since the beginning, and the "new" ones just introduced here in the final act of the trilogy--highly entertaining ones, and yet in such a short time, they were given their due moments to shine in the final battle, so I didn't feel like they got "gypped" in any way, for not even "existing" till the very end!

On the whole, Rise of the Firebird was a supremely satisfying close to a fantastic trilogy. I give it a *****5 STAR***** rating, and add to that the Upstream Writer Certified TOTALLY Recommended endorsement. It's been quite an experience growing and learning and changing with these characters, and I am absolutely ready to read more Kuivalainen and experience more of her awesome world-building, as it really does feel like there would be so much more to explore in the world she's crafted, beyond just Anya's story. And that's the best kind of world-building there is!

Further Reading: (Folklore/Fantasy/Fairy Tales/Supernatural War)

The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird
       -Ashes of the Firebird

The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair

The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey 
       -The Way 
       -The Truth 
       -The Lie 

The Untamed Series--Madeline Dyer
       -Untamed 
       -Fragmented

-A Spell in the Country--Morgan Smith 
-The Seventh Crow--Sherry D. Ramsey

Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland 
     -Dance Into The Wyrd 

The Shaudrey Universe Series--J. E. Mueller
       -Fire's Song

The Runespells Series--Sarah Buhrman
       -Too Wyrd

Tales of the Fallen--Katika Schneider
       -Devotion

The LouisiAngel Series--C. L. Coffey
        -Angel in Training 
        -Angel Eclipsed 
        -Angel Tormented 

Notna--J. D. Cunegan