Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Goodreads
451 pages, YA Paranormal (Magic)
The Castor Chronicles #4
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?

Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.

Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan's return, vowing to do whatever it takes -- even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect.

Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.(

My 2 cents

It took me awhile to get up the courage to read the final installment in this series. I loved the first two books, but was a little disappointed in the third, "Beautiful Chaos," so I was a little nervous that I wouldn't like the final book.

I shouldn't have worried. I loved the final installment! It was completely different from the rest of the series, but I was totally engaged with the story, the characters, and one of the most beautiful endings I've read in a series!

This time, Lena and Ethan are separated on different planes of existence. Ethan is trying to find his way back to the living--he's dead, but not really--he hasn't moved on yet, a lot like his mom. He is now with her, which makes him happy, but he knows he has to get back to Lena. The first third of the book is in his POV, as he struggles to let Lena know he's still around...and he needs her help. He needs "The Book of Moons" to barter his way back to the living.

The middle part of the book is then from Lena's POV as she tries to get him the book. The adventure really takes off here, with all the Casters joining forces. I loved this part of the book, because it was awesome to see Lena's family from her eyes. 

The last part of the book we are back to Ethan as he tries to complete his final tests, and these are not easy as he is going against strong Casters to win. I was happy we got to finish the story with his POV, because I just love Ethan. 

The ending, like I said, is beautiful. Its a very bittersweet ending, and not your typical HEA, but I loved how it tied everything up in a way that makes sense. The last page of the book is an actual "The End" type of page, which gave me goosebumps. I was sad to see this series end, but happy with the journey!