Triumph of Chaos, from Jen McConnel (Red Magic #3)

Hi, there! Welcome to the Triumph of Chaos Blog Tour, brought to you by Chapter by Chapter! This is the third and last book on the Red Magic trilogy, from Jen McConnel, and I was kindly sent a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review on my tour stop. Thanks again to Chapter by Chapter for the chance and the moment is here!

triumph of chaos.JPG — from my Instagram 😀

The Story

(Goodreads Blurb)

After the disaster in Europe, Darlena’s starting to get desperate. She knows the only way to defeat Hecate and the other crazy Red Gods is by banding together with other Witches, but is it any wonder she has a hard time trusting them?

With Izzy’s support, Darlena begins making fragile strides toward repairing the mess she made, but she just can’t catch a break. As chaos runs rampant around her, Darlena begins to think that things would be better if she’d never become a Red Witch in the first place. But there’s no way to change the past…is there?

The final book in the Red Magic series brings Darlena face to face with impossible odds, and a terrifying choice.

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

I’ve flight through this book. I decided that I’d forever hate Darlena when still reading the second book of the series, Gods of Chaos, but my feelings for her reached a new level on this book. Honestly, it could have been a hundred pages shorter if we just cut out the pages where she tries to put the blame of her actions on others, whines or simply dives into self-loathing. I think that those moments are more than allowed to exist on every book, as they are normal for every human being, but seriously. This girl is a mess. Lucky her that lived on a very constructed world with wonderful magic notions and a delightful mixing of Gods from the whole world! Also, lucky her that I adored Izzie since Gods of Chaos. McConnel’s managed to build a wonderful trilogy despite her protagonist and for that, I bow to her. I couldn’t stop reading Triumph of Chaos until I reached the end and, even with so many loose ends, I think this is a satisfying end. Three stars 🙂

The narrative style followed the other two book’s one: first person styled from Lena’s point of view only. This trilogy illustrated loudly why I don’t usually like this type of narrator. In the moment I couldn’t go back on my hatred feelings for Lena, most of the enjoyment for the wonderful world that McConnel created for Red Magic was lost for me. I couldn’t have a break from her and her whining, her selfishness, her denseness, her soul. This may have been a five stars book, but oh well.

The plot was one of the strongest points of the book, as it was full of surprises and twists. I simply couldn’t tell how the book would end, much less if it was going to end well – you now see why I couldn’t release the book, haha! In a way, many things didn’t go well or on the way I wanted, so that’s why the book lost another star.

The characters again were a source of problem for me. I liked so few characters over this series that I got really upset to see so many of my favorite ones gone. Due to spoilers, I won’t comment further on the matter, but I was so sad to see them gone 😦 Also, I didn’t really like the love triangles that McConnel set up for Lena, but that’s a personal thing for me, as I couldn’t see why anyone would fall for Lena. Looks aren’t everything, after all.

Anyway, there was two characters that I loved really much on the series and that survive all the chaos [haha]: Persephone and her dearest husband, Hades. I loved them so much!! My favorite Gods and characters, along with this boy named Marcus (aka the reason why I gave Gods of Chaos two stars; I couldn’t get over what happened with him).

Overall, this series had a satisfying end and McConnel did create a magic world in which I’d love to live. I may have not been trilled for Darlena, but I highly recommend this series if you like witches, magic, Mythology and a plot full of twists and turnings 😀

Thank you for reading my review! Bellow, you can find the links to grab your copy of Triumph of Chaos and to add it to your Goodreads shelf!

Where to find Triumph of Chaos

Also, you can learn a bit about Jen McConnel, the author of Red Magic series, bellow 🙂

A Michigander by birth, Jen McConnel now makes her home in the beautiful state of North Carolina. She writes NA, including the recently released Adventures Abroad series (Bloomsbury Spark), the award winning YA novel Beautiful Curse (Swoon Romance), and various other works. When she isn’t writing, she can be found on her yoga mat or wandering off on another adventure. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time. Visit http://www.JenMcConnel.com to learn more!

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