The Demon's Surrender

The Demon's Lexicon #3

by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Goblin Market has always been the center of Sin’s world. But now the Market is at war with the magicians, and Sin’s place is in danger. Thrown out of the Market she loves, Sin is thrown together with brothers Nick and Alan—whom she’s always despised.

Alan has been marked by a magician and is being tortured so that the magicians can get to Nick. As Sin watches Alan struggle to protect the demon brother he loves, she begins to see him in a new light—but she and Mae are locked in a fierce rivalry over who will inherit the leadership of the Goblin Market, and a decisive battle with the Aventurine Circle is looming. Mae’s brother, Jamie, is holed up with the magicians, his loyalties in question. And Nick—well, who knows what a demon might do to save his brother? How far will Nick go to save Alan—and what will it cost them all?

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Demons, Magic, Fiction

387 pages, Hardcover

First published June 9, 2011

About the author

Sarah Rees Brennan is Irish and currently lives in Dublin. She's been writing YA books for more than ten years, which is terrifying to contemplate! She hopes you (yes you!) find at least one of them to be the kind of book you remember.

Reviews

[Nandini · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sarah Rees Brennan's writing almost to a fault. I might be an anomaly among her fans because I never read any of her Harry Potter or other fan fiction - I just know her through her blog, which is awesome. Her short stories are absolutely fantastic, and the first book of the trilogy, The Demon's Lexicon, was nothing short of genius.

But then... The second book of the trilogy, The Demon's Covenant, was so-so and I still held out hope for a great finish since many awesome trilogies suffer from sagging middles.

But The Demon's Surrender simply does not deliver.

This is mainly due to one single giant mistake:

THE POV IS ABSOLUTELY THE WRONG ONE FOR THE STORY REES BRENNAN IS TRYING TO TELL.

When your POV character is reduced to hiding behind doors all the time evesdropping on other people's conversations and spying on other people's actions instead of doing her own stuff and focusing on her own story? Classic indicator of wrong POV choice.

This is why I was suspicious of the wisdom of a book written from Sin's perspective... and my suspicions turned out to be disappointingly right. These books are the story of the Ryves brothers primarily, and Mae and Jamie secondarily. Where did SIN come from?! She's a likeable character, sure, even an interesting character, but these books aren't about her. She's too far removed from the "core four", her life too separate from theirs, to be an effective POV choice in telling what is essentially THEIR story. There was simply no reason to pick her as our anchor point.

The POV character choice becomes the root cause of major problems with the book, such as -

* The plot is unforgiveably haphazard, to the extent that I have no idea what the "main" plot thread was supposed to be. Is it Sin's struggle to become the Goblin Market leader? Is it the hunt for the black pearl? Is it the Alan-Sin romance, on which the most page-time is spent?? Note how NONE of these main three plot threads have anything to do with Nick or Jamie at all, Mae's involvement is completely off-screen, and Alan's is purely romantic - i.e. completely unrelated to PLOT.

* There weren't any meaningful resolutions to the problems raised in the first two books. Nick finally expressing feelings for his brother falls flat and lacks emotional resonance, because it's all just being overheard by an unconnected party who is a stranger to Nick and doesn't recognise its significance. The whole Nick-Mae romance is shown through the cunning use of repeated evesdropping (UGH), so we miss out on emotional resonance (again, since Sin is a stranger to both people), completeness (since we can't have a random stranger following this new couple around too muhc), and even coherence (Nick apologising to Mae makes little sense when we don't know WHY or HOW he understood he was wrong).


But even apart from POV issues there was a lot of plain old clumsy writing.

* the issue of Goblin Market leadership was utterly undeveloped on the page. We see a lot of grandstanding about how each of the girls want the position, but we only hear second-hand off-screen mentions of exciting test tasks the girls were asked to do, and neither girl is ever seen first-hand doing anything concrete on the page to win the leadership. As a result, the resolution comes out of nowhere - we never see HOW or WHY the girls agreed to the solution, and it seems to have no connection to anything that happened in the book. What was the point??

* the plot thread involving the black pearl devolves into less than nothing. We see neither of the girls do anything at all to actually seek it out (the ONE questing expedition Sin goes on is sidetracked by a romance interlude with Alan), and later it simply goes missing. Turns out in the end that one of the good guys had it all along... but nobody uses it even though it could have saved lives, possibly even saved Alan from the demon possessing him! Why introduce such a (supposedly) powerful artefact in your book if you plan to do exactly nothing with it?

* the issue of Goblin Market inclusiveness suffers from the opposite problem: a great resolution with NO setup. We were never told that the Goblin Market was too cliqueish and xenophobic before! We didn't know the Market had a problem with inclusiveness and political correctness. (Weren't we told the problem was that it was too mercenary and capitalistic?) But suddenly Mae is solving problems nobody even knew they had, and it was quite confusing.


I did like some things: notably the handling/resolution of the secondary demons, the fate of the magicians, and Jamie's story (which came off surprisingly well considering he was hardly ever on the page... for once, seeing an old character from a complete stranger's POV actually worked in the book's favor because Jamie undergoes quite a profound transformation in this book).

But all in all this was quite a disappointing read. I still heartily recommend the first book in this trilogy. It works well as a standalone and it is a truly well-written, tightly plotted, polished piece of work. It is on the strength and promise in The Demon's Lexicon that I'm honestly looking forward to Rees Brennan's next book, Whisper.

[Vi Vi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading some cookies - but especially the May cookie...it kind of bothers me. I'm not sure I like how Sin, the only woman of color in this book, is aligned with this kind of Western fantasy of tribal, primal, racialized dancing often associated with African and African diasporic populations. Especially when you consider that the tourist industry pretty much preys upon this, turning black female bodies into commodities to be consumed by foreigners attracted to their hypersexualized and racialized dancing, portrayed through their hypersexualized and racialized bodies (which in turn generates profit, inspires buying etc.). The fact that after Sin dances comes the line "Come and buy" just drives that point home. It's basically the black female body as an intersection between racial, sexual/gender politics and commerce/capital exchange in a way that ultimately objectifies it and turns it into both a tool for capital exchange and voyeuristic consumption. Anyone who's read Bell Hooks' Eating the Other should understand the unfortunate implications of this.

I really think that white writers should spend less time patting themselves on the back for writing POC main characters and more time interrogating their own subject positions as well as the construction of their characters (including the problematic constructs and fantasies they rely upon to code these characters). They might be surprised if they put a little more thought into it. As of now, the amount of praise Brennan's getting for writing a book with a black woman as the main character in spite of all of this actually makes me sick.

___

Read it. Huh. So Mae gets the Goblin Market and Nick. Huh. White Girl wins. Go diversity :D (yes I know Sin didn't want Nick, it's just funny. The Goblin Market thing angers me more. White girl with no training waltzes into ethnic cultural space and out does the locals and becomes their leader. It's like the Last Samurai all over again. .

This entire series was fucking stupid and I'm actually embarrassed I read it. The only highlights were when the author was masturbating over her wit, because it was hilarious to watch. I can't even bother myself to give a proper review this was just such a waste of time and the overwrought fangirls make it all the more annoying. And for the record I find it funny that SRB, who's all about Diversity apparently, used the Goblet Market to talk about inclusiveness and political correctness ONLY in so far as it let White Girls play too. Because if there's anything YA has taught us it that white girls are so oppressed and marginalized we need as many books as we can to teach us about the importance of welcoming them from the margins (so that they can eventually become our leaders). Wow, SRB that earns you a HUGE Fuck you. Sorry.

[Marie Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Note: I don't rate books I didn't at least like. So if you see a book rated, it means I liked it. :) )

Anyway, the entire Demon's Lexicon trilogy is made of gold. The brotherly bond between Nick and Alan, the relationship (*clutches heart*) between Sin and Alan, the complex tension between Mae and Sin....agh. Too scrumptious. Few people do relationships (of all kinds, romantic, familial, etc) like Sarah Rees Brennan. She will pull your heartstrings at her every whim. She is merciless, which the best writers are. She is a master of the craft.

Highly recommended.

[Rushthesea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first two books and went into this wanting to love it. That didn't happen, though Sarah Brennan's prose is as well-written as ever.

There is one thing about this story I really liked and haven't seen in much YA fiction. It was the way characters understood how people's perceptions of them affected how they acted and thought of themselves. It's been in the other two books, but in Sin's POV, it was more clear because she's such an observant girl, and I really liked that.

I had six main problems with the story.

1) First, the competition between Mae and Sin is not just a competition between two girls, it's a competition between a rich, white girl who has been to the Market four times and a poor, black girl who has worked her entire life for the position. I could have even forgiven that if it had been shown that they were evenly matched, but Mae does every task better, according to Merris, and we never see her fail or flounder. Sin is never given a chance to shine on her own home turf, and I think that's a missed opportunity.

2) Second, despite this being from Sin's POV, it wasn't really her journey. She's not the one who rallies the Market, she's not the one who comes up with the plan to save Alan, she's not the one who gets the pearl. I assumed one of two things would happen in this novel: 1) Sin would become the next leader of the Market or 2) Sin would realize that the Market wasn't as important to her as she believed. With the introduction of the father, I thought they were taking path 2 for a while and was okay with that. In the end, though, Sin reaffirms that the Market is her life and she loses the competition to be leader without there being any kind of realization or lesson from in. Instead, in the last 50 pages, Sin just stops caring about the leadership because she has Alan's love now. I found it very unfulfilling.

3) Third, I was disappointed by the Disney love ending, where everyone gets paired off. I especially was thrown by Jamie and Seb, whose previous interactions have been entirely one-sided, romantically speaking. Seb made Jamie's life hell for years. I saw the evolution of Jamie understanding Seb's motivations leading to forgiveness and even the beginnings of an awkward friendship, but nothing on Jamie's end has ever been more than distantly friendly. It seemed as if because they were gay, the narrative just assumed they would be attracted to each other as soon as both of them were "good guys."

4) The ending of this trilogy was very much 'have your cake and eat it too.' Brennan wanted this story to be dark, and at the same time, she wanted an ending where everybody held hands and worked together towards a brighter tomorrow. These things are not compatible. Mae's idea to let magicians into the Market is treated like this revolutionary brilliant idea. It's not. It's a horrible idea. Magic in this world is not like race or religion or gender. It's like drugs. Really, really bad drugs. It's one of the fundamental tenets of the story that magic makes the user crazy.

Letting magicians into the Market is like letting a crack addict have access to your family while you're sleeping. A really dangerous addict who believes if he shoots you, chocolate coins will come out, and he really wants some chocolate. There is a reason the Market was created to oppose magicians.

Oh, right now they have Nick to provide them with their daily fix, but what if something happens to Jamie or Nick and upsets this delicate balance? None of the magicians in the book are willing to forgo drawing power from demons. They're just fine with not killing people as long as the power keeps flowing through other means.

5) This ties into the fourth point, but all the murders the magicians have committed are hand-waved away at the end with the explanation that they're all someone's child or sibling, so they deserve a second chance. As if that platitude means they should never be held accountable for their actions. Serial killers and pedophiles have families too. That doesn't mean they shouldn't go to jail for their crimes. There's a reason why former members of the Ba'ath Party cannot take part in politics in present day Iraq. I do not like the idea that magicians can just be welcomed into the Market forgiven for those people they killed, just because the reader never knew them.

6) This final contention ties into the third and fourth points. In order to have the happy Disney ending where Mae and Nick can get together without any worry of coercion, Mae has to get the pearl. But the pearl could have been put to much better use: saving Alan. Rather than giving Anzu a magician and then promising to feed more magicians to it forever (Oh, they say they'll only throw "bad" magicians to the wolves, but what happens if every magician follows Jamie's rules? Anzu will still need fresh bodies.) which is immoral and far more dangerous than anything magicians have done in the books, they could have just tricked/forced Anzu to put on the necklace and then Alan could have taken control. Problem solved. Except then Mae and Nick would have to work out their relationship without a magic fix-it.

There are other plot holes I could nitpick, but that's not really the point. The point is that narratively and thematically, I felt this was a let down. Still, if you've read the previous two books, I would recommend finishing the series as it is still enjoyably written.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twill be awesome. I don't think twill is a word. But tis okay.

AFTER READING....

Twas extremely awesome. The story and characters will forever have a place in my heart <3

[K. F. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really engrossed in this series from book one, but unfortunately while I adored the narrator of The Demon's Surrender I have to seriously not recommend this title.

The ultimate reason why I wouldn't recommend this book is because it is a colonialist novel that doesn't engage in and critique the subject. As was left off in Covenant, Sin and Mae are competing for leadership of the Goblin Market. Sin, a character of color from a low socio-economic class, has been a part of the Goblin Market all her life. She is "native," if you will, to this life, and rightfully desires to take over from her paternal figure. Mae, a rich white girl, has been to the Goblin Market a handful of times, and yet inexplicably wants complete control over the Goblin Market. This wouldn't be as bad if the entire novel wasn't oriented around agreeing that Mae should be leader--through Sin's own voice.

A review of this book that I agree with completely and would suggest everyone reads eloquently states; "The whole thing is incredibly colonialist, and indeed functions as a miniature of the colonial narrative: Mae, the rich, white foreigner comes in and revolutionizes a native's land with "superior" organization and technology. But it's all for the better, and the "native" (in this case, Sin) admits that, and eventually comes to support the usurper."

Because she does. At the end of the novel Sin agrees to let Mae take over the Market* with the condition that, in seven years, the leadership will go to a vote. Great, right? Except it's not; Sin's future chance at becoming leader of the Goblin Market is very much conditional on Mae's performance as leader, of which we have no reason to believe Mae will do anything other than spectacularly as every leadership decision she has made in Surrender (and, to an extent, Covenant) has been textually realized as the correct course of action. Besides that, it is still ultimately unfair and unequal--Mae is given the leadership of the Market, whereas Sin will have to be voted in.

I also found problems with the general absence of the canon LGBT characters and how the hot and steamy make-outs were reserved to the heterosexual pairs, but when the kiss between two gay characters happens it is small, chaste, and quickly over. Throughout the series I had been hoping the two would end up together, but if I, who had been rooting from it from book two, couldn't even believe the way those two characters overcame their respective issues to come together then you have a problem.

Ultimately I also had problems with the characterization and character arcs of several of the characters, and I found the way in which all the good guys were paired up happily at the end both saccharine and unrealistic, but those are more personal issues that others might not share. The above concerns, especially the colonialism one, are things I think are textually present and ought to be appropriately engaged and criticized.


*nevermind that literally everything else about the Market has changed including the main reason the Market was ever formed (to oppose the Magicians and not feed people to the demons) but having dual leadership is too radical a change but okay

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, first of all, if I had been able to give this 2.5 stars, I would have. It's a decent read, but I had some major issues with it. *SPOILERS ALERT*

- I never cared who was going to lead the Goblin Market, so that whole plotline seemed like a distraction for me throughout.

- I'm not sure I like the book being in Sin's POV. On one hand, Sarah Rees Brennan demonstrates her great ability to create characters, because I like Sin a LOT more at the end than I did going into the book. Yet, even with that consideration, there were so many times when it was felt she was too far distant from the action or didn't truly know the other characters well enough to describe the action in the best way for readers.

- Jamie's transformation. Sigh. I just flat-out didn't believe this one - that he would 1) be comfortable with knives, 2) betray Nick (even in a small way, when he really didn't mean it), 3)be as tough as he seemed in this one. I missed his scared and witty repartee, and it's completely gone in this book!

- Too much ideological angling. Sarah Rees Brennan did an awesome job in the first two books of this series of conveying characters with "alternative lifestyles," but sadly it felt forced in this one. I didn't like that she hinted Sin's race could be an issue for relationships, because I never felt it was to begin with, so I didn't like explicitly being told that. I also usually love what Sarah does with Jamie's relationships, but I just didn't get Seb in this one. It felt like the only reason he was in the plot was to fulfill Jamie's "happy ending." Also, the random reference to Matthias' two moms at the end felt totally staged - it wasn't really supported by the story.

- The solution to saving Alan? Put demons into "bad" magicians!? What happens when there are no more bad magicians and the demons still want bodies? I couldn't believe that was the best solution!

- Alan and Sin. They grew on me, I have to admit, but I still don't really like them as a couple. Maybe it's just that I didn't have enough time to see how Sin could really KNOW and UNDERSTAND Alan. Nick and Mae get three books to come together, and Alan and Sin are just kinda thrown together at the last minute. I guess I just wanted more here before I embrace them as a couple. :)

- WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE GO SAVE ALAN!!! I saved the worst for last. It drove me nuts that all the other characters scurry around worrying about stupid, mundane stuff like who's going to rule the Goblin Market and whether or not Seb really likes Jamie when Alan is POSSESSED!!! It took so many pages for them to help him! This was clearly the high point of the series, the big test of Nick's "feelings" that we'd all been waiting for, and it simply felt glossed over to me. In a different POV, I think this story arc and the brothers' emotions could have been heightened to levels of sheer awesomeness.

Not a bad book, but not quite what I was hoping for to wrap up the series.

Write Me A World

[Morgan F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll tell you one reason why this book got 4 stars: Alan. I know y'all like Nick and his rippedness, but Alan is by far the better brother. For instance, he has a soul (even though he doesn't always act like it), he's good-looking and red-headed, and his smart and dangerous. Half the chiz that goes down in this trilogy is because Alan double-crossed someone or made a secret deal. He is just so bad-ass.

So I definitely liked this book being in Sin's perspective, because not only was she an interesting character, I gots to see lots of Alan. It was also interesting to see the core group and their complicated dynamic from an outsiders perspective. Although I understand the gripes that Sin was removed from the plot and the action because it didn't fully concern her, I enjoyed her own personal plot as well as the story more integral to the group. I wouldn't as fully enjoy a book in Alan's perspective, because then how could I be surprised every other chapter when he did something I didn't expect?

I'm not a humongous fan of this trilogy, however. It took me a very long time to catch onto the magic system, and there is still a lot of questions I have. The humor, although hilarious, sometimes distracts from the action. It'll be all serious and revelation-y, and then here comes Jamie with his faithful quirky quip. Sometimes I appreciated that, sometimes I didn't.

Overall, this trilogy is a solid one, one I recommend trying out. It's refreshing, if anything, and it doesn't pussyfoot around. It's honestly surprising and suspenseful and unique, with a cast of character you will grow attached too. And it has Alan. He's my backup fictional husband, after Peeta

[Keertana · Rating 3 out of 5]

*If you haven't picked up SRB's Demon's Lexicon Trilogy, you probably won't understand too much of this review. In my opinion, the spoilers are minimal and not likely to affect your reading experience, but if you prefer not to know anything about the rest of the trilogy before picking up this series, I suggest you skip this review.*

I hate to say it, but The Demon's Surrender is my least favorite of all Sarah Rees Brennan's work. Brennan first blew me away with The Demon's Lexicon, a novel with such complex relationships and so much depth that it made its way to my favorites shelf instantly. The Demon's Covenant, the sequel, was just as good, deep, and rich in complexity which I loved. While the love triangle did lower my rating for that one, it left me more than a little excited for this installment. However, when I heard the narrator would be Sin, I didn't bother to pick it up - until now, of course, after reading the brilliance that was Unspoken and being reminded of just how much I love SRB.

The Demon's Surrender contains SRB's signature wit, dialogue, and tight plot lines. I love the direction she takes the story of this trilogy and it's one of my favorite trilogies simply because this ending was so satisfying in terms of plot. Not only that, but her characters are ones that stay with you for a looong time, proving to be unique and each carry their own special voice. Yet, what proved to be a massive disappointment in this installment was none other than Sin's narration.

Sin has never been my favorite character. Ever. Thus, I have to applaud Brennan for making me appreciate, understand, and even like her with this book. Yet, Sin represents too much of what I hate in protagonists. I love that she's a feminine character who uses her body, but with the just the right boundaries that she never appears as a slut. I love that she cares for her family so much and would sacrifice her life for them. I love that she is so fiercely strong. What I don't love, however, is that I was expecting more from her narration than I received. I was expecting Sin's love for the Market to seep through these pages, making the Market take on a life-form of its own that it had never done with Nick and Mae's narration. Instead, the Market isn't a huge part of this novel and instead, romance unfortunately is.

Sin's gradual romance with Alan is, in my opinion at least, rather sudden. I understood it and all the reasons behind it, but I never felt it. Sin and Alan making out for pages on end? Yup, I couldn't care less. Why couldn't Nick and Mae make put for pages on end? Furthermore, what bothered me about their love story was that Sin was constantly angsting over it for the first half of this novel. It was literally just so much angst when she had so many other things to think about too! If that wasn't enough, Sin actually has to resort to hiding in the shadows for us to hear any of Nick and Mae's conversations! I am a huge Nick and Mae shipper - you can throw any realistic justification of those two you want at me, but my romantic heart still keeps beating for them. To have their moments marred by the presence of Sin lurking in the corner was just...irritating! I didn't enjoy it. I also felt as if a lot of important conversations occurred between Nick and Mae during the second-half of the novel and the fact that we weren't able to hear them grated on me. Sin's narration simply didn't work with this book and it took away some of that essential depth I always feel with Brennan's work. I honestly think that if this was written from the perspective of one of the other characters, it could have been so much stronger.

Nevertheless, there is no denying that this is a fabulous trilogy and, despite my disappointments with the narrative style, I loved the ending of this series. SRB is a fantastic author - that much is evident from this series - and I can only hope her next trilogy will end off on a slightly more satisfying note.

Reader's Note: I sincerely hope this review doesn't discourage you from picking up this trilogy! It's one of my favorite series ever and the first two books are simply mind blowing! I cannot recommend them enough and I'm convinced other readers will love this installment unlike I have.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does this book need any introduction? Really? You've read my blathering about how adamantly I love this series and how much I was looking forward to this--the final book in the trilogy--and how difficult it is for me to accurately convey my love for one Alan Ryves. It had to be in my top three most anticipated novels of the year, and I was pestering my local bookstores shamelessly for weeks before it was due to come out. Two books in, and I already feel as though Sarah Rees Brennan is one of those authors I can trust with my literary heart and expectations. She delivers, and that's all there is to it. So I can honestly say I had no qualms whatsoever going into THE DEMON'S SURRENDER. Not a one. I feared for loss of life and limb (and love) on several fronts, but I had no worries that the story would not be absolutely awesome or that the characters would not get exactly the ending they deserved. And how many times can you say that going into the final book in a beloved series? That's right. Not that many. If you haven't had the chance to pick up The Demon's Lexicon yet, I really urge you to give it a go. Because this? This is just fantastic storytelling.

Warning: There will undoubtedly be a few unavoidable spoilers in this here review, so if you have not read the previous two books, proceed at your peril. Okay? Okay.

In this third and final volume, all the chickens are coming home to roost. With the state of the union being what it was at the end of The Demon's Covenant, the Ryves brothers, the Market folk, the Crawford siblings, and the Aventurine Circle have all come to London for what will undoubtedly be the final showdown between the magicians, the demons, and the not-so-mere mortals. In the case of Sin Davies, the stakes have been raised immeasurably as Merris Cromwell--the outgoing leader of the Goblin Market--has set a brutal contest for the role of her successor. Sin must reluctantly face her sometime friend, now rival Mae to keep the life she's always assumed would be hers. Meanwhile, she has to take care of her two little siblings, maintain her low profile at school, and struggle to make heads or tails of the infuriating Alan Ryves. Because it quickly becomes clear that Alan and his little brother are at the very heart of the conflict between the power-hungry magicians and the demons they strive to master. And the normally savvy Sin must use every wile in her considerable arsenal to parse out the real loyalties lurking behind the carefully crafted facades surrounding her.

I'm absolutely gutted that it's over. I may even be in a bit of denial over it, replaying the odd scene in my head while driving down the street, chuckling to myself at Alan's sheer audacity and Nick's dry-as-sandpaper humor. How many times exactly is it possible for one book to break your heart? More than I thought, it turns out. More than I thought. My eyes filled with tears numerous times while reading THE DEMON'S SURRENDER, surprising even me with the strength of my affection for these kids. Sin's point of view gives the reader fresh insight into the twisted, painful, always always loyal relationship between Alan & Nick, which has ever been the strongest and best part of this remarkably entertaining trilogy. It was like Sophie's choice for me trying to pick one single passage to quote. But, again, I hate to spoil your own experience reading them for the first time, so I--somewhat painfully--settled on a favorite scene early on. The first one to make me laugh out loud, actually, and a perfect example of what I'm talking about:

"Time for our dance?" Nick asked.

"Yes," said Sin. "And I wondered if Alan might like to sing for us."

Alan stared. Sin widened her eyes at him, schooling her face into a picture of innocent inquiry.

"Are the dancers going to play nice?"

"If you are," Sin said. "Maybe."

She didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't for things to be easy, after years of being at daggers drawn, as if all she'd needed to do was reach out once.

She reached out and Alan took her hand. She was startled by how that felt: Alan's hand strong and gun-calloused, but holding hers rather carefully, as if he was worried he might hurt her.

It was ridiculous to be startled. She knew Alan was usually gentle. She'd been watching him play with children for years. And she'd seen Alan kill whoever got in his way, whenever he had to.

She'd just never really thought about the contrast of how he presented himself and who he actually was. Not until he'd stepped between two armies and taken her brother and a magician's mark.

Sin looked away as he levered himself up from the log--surely he didn't want her to see him struggling--but she didn't let go of his hand when he was up. She led Alan to where the dancers were talking, Nick stalking in their footsteps like a jungle cat on bodyguard detail.

"Alan's going to sing," she announced.

"Cool," said Chiara, who knew a cue when she heard one.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am," Matthias told Alan.

Alan slid his fingers easily out from between Sin's, watch glinting in the firelight under the frayed edge of his shirt cuff. He hesitated briefly and then curled his fingers around one of the belt loops on his jeans, as if he felt he should do something with his hand.

"Didn't you try to throw me to the magicians last time we met?" he asked Matthias.

"Sure," Matthias replied, flashing his skull-like grin. "But I didn't mean anything personal by it."

"That's all right then," Alan said, sounding truly amused. He smiled by degrees, like a stage curtain being opened by someone who knew how to do it, making you wait just long enough.

Most of the dancers thawed enough to smile back, and Sin was startled to realize that she had been wrong all this time when she'd assumed Alan was winning over all the old guard of the Market just by being an enormous nerd. He had charm.

He'd just never bothered to use it on Sin.

"We have the exact right guitar for you," Matthias said, trying to usher Alan away to the other pied pipers. "Don't ask me how I know. I always know. I've been watching your hands."

"I feel very reassured," said Alan. "Also a little violated. There is that."

Ah, Alan. You and the crafty way you wield all that understated charm. It was perfectly delicious watching Sin's opinion of Alan, Nick, Mae, and Jamie evolve over the course of their adventures together. Looking at each of them from her "outsider" perspective was enlightening, even as it was difficult to see some of their greater flaws brought out into the harsh light of day. Which brings me to Jamie. Because if we're talking most flawed, Jamie gives even my beloved Alan a run for his money. I missed Jamie. He didn't get quite as much page time as I would have liked, though I understand why. And, given that the scenes he was in were almost unutterably painful, I probably couldn't have handled too many more. Which, of course, only enriched the overall experience. But, wow. Cue the heartbreak I referred to earlier. But the lack of Jamie is balanced to a certain degree by the presence of Sin. Sin who is so incredibly strong and unwavering that she brought a fierce smile to my face over and over again. Because she never apologized for being strong, for not needing saving, for not being ashamed to make the first move, for baldly declaring her feelings on a subject, or for refusing to alter her loyalties because it would make things easier. Yeah. My love for Sin is as unapologetic as she is. And these beloved characters of mine? They all of them needed Sin, whether they realized it or not. She brought some non-psychotic humanity to the group, and she managed to flap the unflappable Alan. For which she earns my undying affection. Two such talented liars should definitely know each other. Be partners in crime, even. It was funny and moving and wickedly enjoyable watching them size each other up, surprise each other, toy with each other, and eventually come to terms with each other. Truth? THE DEMON'S SURRENDER was everything I hoped it would be--filled to bursting with magic, wit, danger, love, and awesome weaponry--a spectacular ending to one of my very favorite series.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent close to the trilogy, if a bit underwhelming. I agree w/ the reviewers who think that Sin as main POV didn't quite work... I like the idea of choosing an until-now-minor character to relate the story, but I don't think Sin's voice ever felt quite as authentic as Mae's or Nick's. In a way, she's supposed to be a cross between them, the toughness and the vulnerability, so I definitely see why she would seem appealing for Brennan to tell the story through, but to me, the toughness creates a distance that makes it difficult to truly connect with her. Also, the story Brennan has told so far is so driven by the relationship between Nick and Mae, it didn't really work to put that in the backseat, especially given how up-in-the-air the whole dynamic still is, and given that it's the final installment of the series (and having to setup the scenes that we did get between them became more and more ludicrous, with Sin hiding in a corner & eavesdropping for very lengthy & ostensibly private exchanges between Nick and Mae). I realize the author wanted to preserve an air of mystery with both Alan and Jamie, but either would have made much better POVs to close the trilogy with.... Also, as much as I've loved this series, I've always been the most bored by all the Goblin Market stuff, never got swept up by any of the mystique (that was my main reservation when I learned that Sin would be the POV - I thought, "Oh no, it's going to be ALL Goblin Market") and this book did not sway me.

In the end, despite all the flaws (which are mostly because Brennan tries to challenge herself as a writer, something I could never hold against any author), I really appreciate this series, which has such complex emotions/characters and never tries to dumb things down for its YA audience. I would definitely buy Brennan's next book without even reading the summary, because she's my favorite type of writer, one shows how much she cares about her characters through the nuanced way in which she presents them...

[Afifah Liyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit: 4/9/2020
I honestly don’t know what made me give this book four stars the last time I read it. Because it deserves nothing less than 5/5 stars. I thought rereading this would be more relaxing than the first time. I was so wrong. Nothing about this is relaxing. It is fast-paced, harrowing, and it left my heart beating so erratically out of control. I wouldn’t put it down for breakfast even, which is the most important meal of the day. I was on edge the whole time I was reading it. And it’s nice how throughout the trilogy the story still centres around Nick and Alan but told from different characters’ views. (I have to admit though, I miss Nick’s pov.) The ending was so well-done; no loose ends, it makes the trilogy feel like a parcel well wrapped. I’ll be looking forward to rereading this trilogy again next year if I can’t find books good enough to hold my attention as this did.


First read (whenever that was): What appeals me so much about this trilogy is the family love..i love the connection between the demon and his brother..i think the author portrays this so well in a way that i so love that i can’t help but recommend it..the magic’s dark and all and it’s not a good world but the brothers’ relationship makes it a better place somehow..it has all the feels but the third installment didn’t wow me quite as much as the second, that’s why i’m giving it 4 stars..but it’s definitely worth a read..thank you sarah rees brennan..for drowning me in that world..i’ve read the first book maybe 3 to 4 times..and i simply love it..

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite book of the series, but not for any objectively good reasons. The plot is just so-so compared to the Demon's Lexicon and it kind of meanders for most of the book. I didn't enjoy the competition between Mae and Sin to be the leader of the Goblin Market because it would bring me into spasms of anger over Mae, a rich white girl who had only known about the Market a few months, could so easily take away the most important thing from Sin's life. Sin's life WAS the Market; she gave everything she had to the Market and it was basically a part of her. I don't know, it just annoyed me that Mae was able to beat her at everything so easily. I'm not completely sold on Mae and her uber specialness.

I DID really like the following things:

1. That it was from Sin's perspective. Having the book written from her POV adds so much depth to her character. I love how SRB shows how much more there is underneath the performance she puts on for the Market. She isn't just a pretty face - it's made clear that there are things that she is willing to fight for no matter what (her brother and sister, Alan) and that beneath her seductive exterior is an intelligent, practical girl. It was really touching when she tried to protect Nick because she knew that he was the person that Alan loved the most.

2. The Alan/Sin romance. I was really surprised this actually became canon; I had been shipping those two since a little before the second book and never in a million years thought it would come true, what with them hating each other's guts. But the fact that Sin was slowly falling in love with Alan meant there was a lot of time spent gazing at him, thinking about him, and enumerating the million ways that he is amazing and wonderful. And Alan is my favorite character in the series soooooo that was pretty awesome. :)

3. That Nick is finally able to acknowledge, and maybe even understand, his human emotions. There was a scene towards the end when he talks to Mae, and she gets him to realize that when he complains about other people's actions and feelings, he is actually projecting his own emotions onto them. I thought it was a nice way to make clear that Nick really ISN'T emotionless, and that his cold demon heart has started to thaw. I have to admit, the part when Alan came back and Nick said, "I missed you," had me tearing up!

So, overall, not a bad end to the series. If I weren't so attached to Alan and Sin, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a lot less, but luckily, I was. ;)

[ambyr · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been two months, and I still don't know what to say other than, "This book disappointed me." I keep wavering between two and one stars--if I'd come into it cold, it would be a solid two-star book, but I didn't. I came into it with the weight of expectations from The Demon's Lexicon, which I thought was fabulous, and under those it fell utterly, utterly flat.


A lot of the reasons why I hated this book have been covered. The PoV was wrong for the story; Sin spent far too much time eavesdropping on others' emotionally intimate conversations, not because she cared about them but because the reader did, and even when she was doing her Own Thing, her own thing was entirely reactive. The "battle" for leadership of the market between Sin and Mae was stupid--who holds a civil war when an external enemy is already attacking?--and authorially stacked in Mae's favor; Sin, despite having trained for the position from childhood, apparently knows nothing about it and is never allowed to show competency at anything except hand-to-hand fighting and dancing. To say this is problematic when Mae is a rich white outsider and Sin is a poor black insider is to state the obvious. The ending had far too little cost for anyone, given the forces that had been unleashed.

Those are problems with the book, problems I would have had even if this had been the first volume I'd read. But then there's the problem with my expectations. And that's this: the reason why I loved The Demon's Lexicon was that it took the dark, brooding hero and said, look. This guy does not have a heart of gold. This guy is not waiting for your healing touch. This guy is broken, irrevocably, and you can pour all yourself into fixing him and you may, in the end, help him, but in the process you will be devoured. (Look what happened to Alan.) The only right choice is to step away. And that is a story that I think needs to be told, and oh-so-seldom is.

So that's the story I heard. But that isn't, clearly, the story that Brennan wanted to be telling. That was made obvious in The Demon's Covenant; I was just willing to ignore the signs. And here, well . . . the girl gets the dark and brooding hero, and they're on the road to redemption.

This is the sound of my book hitting the far wall.

(For what it's worth, if you're curious about whom I wanted to see paired off with whom, the answer is, "No one with anyone." Which is a pretty clear sign that I was reading the wrong damn book.)

[Victoria Schwab]

Loved this series.

[Devann · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You're right," Nick said, his voice utterly emotionless. “This isn't like fighting Alan. He's human and weak and broken, all the things you said. And Alan would have cheated by now. He would have won.”

actual rating: 3.5

This was a pretty satisfying conclusion to the series, but I think that the whole series overall probably would have been better if she had done multiple POVs for each book. The first two books were more straightforward, but with this one especially everyone seemed to be constantly changing alliances and I felt like I was getting whiplash trying to keep up with who is plotting with who at what point. Of course at the end it's all explained and is way simpler than it first appeared, but I still would have liked to get some insight into how other characters were feeling at certain points.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the endgame romantic pairings. This series has always been mildly ridiculous in that department because it seems like every character has had a crush on every other character at SOME point in the series, but I'm still not really buying the whole Alan and Sin thing. Mae and Nick makes sense on some level, but Sin literally spent her whole life hating Alan because he has a disability and then suddenly she's like oh yeah I wanna tap that? And Alan is super okay with that? I guess she just wanted to pair off the four main characters - and what about poor Jamie, huh? - but I was still not that into it.

Still, it was overall an interesting series and I liked the author's take on demons as well as magic. There was a bit too much romance drama for me, but it basically got the point where it was so ridiculous that it became entertaining instead of annoying so it all worked out in the end. Not sure if I would read more from this author since I was mostly in it for the brotherly angst and also because Nick is entirely My Type, but I enjoyed this series once I let myself relax a bit.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as she has in the months leading up to the waging war between the Goblin Market and the magicians, Sin will not falter. Even as everyone congregates in London, the home of the Aventurine Circle, and Nick Ryves enters her school; even if she’s the only one left to raise her siblings, she will not fall. After all as the only heir by default, Sin has the Market - or so she thought. Mae, with her quick wit and passable dancing, is now a competitor, and soon-to-be-former Market leader Merris Cromwell has set a dangerous contest before them to determine who will inherit the Market. Complicating matters further, Alan remains mysterious as ever, Jamie has to remarkable power joined the Aventurine Circle, and deceptive loyalties among both the Ryves brothers and the Crawford siblings abound. How will usually unruffled Sin make headway in a battle so wrapped up in the confusing yet loyal relationship between brothers Nick and Alan and the increasingly deeper involvement of Mae and Jamie? It will take all her cool cunning, lithe maneuvering, and help from friends in unexpected places to unravel that mystery and save the Market and those she loves from the magician’s clutches.

The third and final installment in the Demon’s Lexicon series was both happily more and different than I expected. As should come as no surprise, Sin, who has always disliked Alan and now loathes Nick actually has a sympathetic and nuanced point-of-view that made me love her, Alan dislike aside. She’s confident in her ability to dazzle and seduce to a fault yet she remains brashly unapologetic through situations that would bring most people down or at least provoke the beginnings of self-doubt or embarrassment. No, Sin stands boldly and fiercely against anyone or anything thing between her and her goals and for that she’s earned my ardent admiration. Of course those witty, charming, and unexpected scenes between her and love-of-my-book-life Alan don’t hurt her cause either. How Sarah Rees Brennan does it, I don’t know. Complex, messy, and true-to-life, Nick and May’s exchanges are just as golden. I’m still fondly going over my favorite, giddy-inducing scenes. The character I really missed was Jamie. I wanted more of the funny, lighthearted Jamie I fell in love with and it’s completely understandable why he’s not his old self. The sacrifices he made by joining the magicians are very high. I wouldn’t be honest in my admittance of missing Jamie if I didn’t mention how much I missed the absence of one of the Ryves’ brothers in the last half. It is for these subjective reasons why The Demon’s Surrender will not be my favorite book of the trilogy. Beyond those lamented characters I was also left wondering if the uneasy compromise for the demon’s surrender was worth the steep price. Quibbles aside The Demon’s Surrender is thrilling, suspenseful, witty, and full of that shining chemistry between the characters I’ve come to expect. I wait with bated breath for whatever comes next from Sarah Rees Brennan.

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

One-word summary? WOW.

THE DEMON'S SURRENDER was everything I expected and more (and trust me, I had pretty high expectations after The Demon's Covenant).

Sarah Rees Brennan is not afraid of taking her characters to very dark places, which just makes it all the more satisfying when they triumph – a heart-wrenchingly wonderful sort of book. And I was hooked from the very first chapter - my heart was in my mouth so many times and the twisty fast-moving plot (my internal commentary was along the lines of "Could it be? Nah! It is! Nooooo!") kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning.

If I could have had anything more in SURRENDER, it would be more POVs (and more Jamie!), but that's really a reflection of the fact I fell in love with the story and the world and just wanted to know EVERYTHING and more. Alan and Nick and Mae and Jamie were as fantastic as they have been in previous books. As for Sin - I admit I had doubts about her as the main narrator initially - I'm not sure why I ever doubted now, she was the perfect narrator and I was cheering her on throughout.

SURRENDER is, well, it's action-packed, full of feeling - you laugh and weep with the characters - and I closed the book feeling thoroughly satisfied. And as a bonus, it's set in London. What could be better?

[Janina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to a series I've grown to love. Despite my earlier doubts about reading from Sin's point of view, this last installment even turned out to be my favourite.
A series with refreshingly different, diverse and ambivalent characters, full of twist and turns and an ending that is not sugar-coated and sweet, but shows that there is always a price to pay. I love that this series does not only feature romance, but also love between siblings and friends - it is so much more a tale about family ties - in the most unconventional sense - than all the other paranormal/urban fantasy YA books out there.

[Christine (AR) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final book in the trilogy. Still love how Brennan writes, still love the wry dialogue -- but the plot was all over the place. Confining the POV to Sin meant that in order to wrap up the other storylines -- including Nick's, who is the demon in the title -- Sin had to spend a lot of time in hallways or outside of doors listening in on other people's conversations. Also, the way Brennan so very carefully tried to address all current fandom hot-buttons started to get funny by the end, even though I like the fact that she tried. The scenes between Alan and Sin were bliss, though.

[Charty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing end to a promising start. I enjoyed the writing, but I felt like there were about 5 too many plot lines that tried to be resolved in too short a space. Switching view points proved to be a risky gamble that didn't pay off - Brennan is no Megan Whelan Turner. I was also, surprisingly disappointed with the nicely tied up ending. Normally I enjoy a good happy ending, but for some reason this felt unearned and too neat. Too bad, but I will look forward to her next project.

[C.E. Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddler got a longer-than-usual afternoon nap because I was trying desperately to finish reading this before he woke up, and was unwilling to go wake him up and spoil my reading time. Take this as you wish. :)

[Kaitlynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seriously cannot wait for this book to come out!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the head of the Goblin Market rapidly losing the ability to lead, they are more at risk than ever from the magicians. The Market has always been home to Sin Davies. As their best and most alluring dancer, she couldn’t imagine walking away.

But when the magicians attack, nearly burning her home to the ground, she is asked to make a choice. Give up someone she loves and stay, or walk away from her home, her life, her future.

Now, with only one chance left to go back home and to become the new leader of the Market, Sin is willing to risk her life and fight anyone who is standing in her way to get what she wants most. But when her heart pulls her in a new direction, Sin has to decide whether taking up the reins as leader is worth giving up everything.

***

The Demon’s Surrender is the electrifying conclusion to the Demon’s Lexicon trilogy. Everything that was left up in the air in the last book will be answered as the story rushes to its exhilarating finish.

In this installment, the story is told from the perspective of Cynthia “Sin” Davies, a dancer for the Goblin Market and one of their best lures and featured attractions. She is beguiling and conniving and knows exactly how to entice.

But Sin’s first priority is to her family and when she is asked to choose between her family and her home the decision is easy.

Even though she had to walk away from the Market she is determined to find her way back, but to do that she must take possession of something that the magicians have. Something that is nearly impossible to get and could cost her not only control of the market, but her life.

The Demon’s Surrender is gripping, fast-paced and tension-filled. The action starts off almost immediately and continues to build, leading up to the explosive showdown at the end. Alliances will be questioned, friendships will be put on the line, and someone very close to Sin may not come out of the battle unscathed.

Sarah Rees Brennan has written a dramatic conclusion to the series. With a number of ways the events could have played out, she did an incredible job of wrapping things up at the end in a way that will satisfy many fans of this series.

Readers will get more insight info a few of the characters they had only met briefly in the earlier books and get pulled into this story filled with secrets, plotting and scheming, and even a love story.

This book and series is a must read for fans who enjoy stories of deadly demons, dark magic, twisty-turny action-packed plots and some seriously kick-a** characters.

On a personal note:

I died a little inside when I found out that this was going to be the last book in the series. I was completely heartbroken. I don’t think I could ever get enough of Nick’s story, or for that matter, Nick himself.

I loved getting a chance to finish the series from Sin’s perspective. She was one of the more exciting characters and I was happy that the author chose her for this final book. Seeing the story through her eyes gives her a lot more dimension than she had in the other books.

I was really surprised to find that Sin was such a likable character, too. I did not expect to like her as much as I did, after having met her in the earlier books. She went from being just the cold-hearted bad girl to a real person who loved her family and who had very real feelings.

And seeing things from Sin’s perspective made me realize just how much I do like her and just how much I really dislike Mae. Mae annoyed me a bit all through the series with how pushy she was, but I did grow to like her because of Nick. But I’m back to disliking her again. She is selfish and doesn’t consider anyone else when she does what she does, although that is what probably makes her perfect for Nick.

My favorite part of this book was how the love story developed – I’m always a sucker for a love story. I was really hoping for something like this to happen, and I’m so glad it did. Especially because Sin had to work to gain someone’s attention, which was probably a first for her, but it made her realize just how in love she really was.

Once again those magicians kept things exciting. After what they did in the last story I couldn’t stand them, and after what they did in this story I would not have been as forgiving of them – any of them – as the characters were. They are just bad news and boy do I wish that the author unleashed the demon’s wrath on them all.

I was absolutely heartbroken when they did that really bad thing and I ended up speed reading the rest of the story just to see how things would turn out. It was one of those times where I couldn’t help but scream, “Nooooo!!” And I was on the edge of my seat for the rest of the book, completely worried about the repercussions. There was just no easy way out of that situation.

This is one of those books that I will have to re-read so that I can absorb some of the finer points, because once that devastating thing happened I couldn’t focus on anything else. And, yes, I’m being cryptic so as not to spoil it, but it was a terrible thing they did and it nearly broke my heart.

I love the way the story ended and there were definitely some tears of happiness and sadness when I turned the last page. But I still think the characters have a lot more story to tell and as a huge fan I am not ready to leave them behind.

I want to talk about the ending, I really, really, really, do, but there’s no way I can without giving it away and that just wouldn’t be fair. But the author wasn’t evil and so I didn’t cry my eyes out when I was done, though I think “glum” and maybe a little “despondent” adequately describe how I feel knowing there won’t be another book.

I really would have loved there to be a fourth book in this series. There are still just so many questions I have about Nick and Alan’s future. And, I think an entire book from Alan’s perspective would have been so awesome. I really want to know how his mind works. Sin may be a liar, but she doesn’t hold a candle to Alan. He’s the master.

Oh, and I really want to know more about Anzu. I don’t want to spoil the book, but there were some definitely interesting developments to his character that make me want to find out more.

Plus, I just missed Nick when I was reading this book. Actually, I missed Nick since the first book in the series. Reading another book from his perspective would have been amazing, especially after what he learned about himself in the first book. I don’t think any fan of this series wouldn’t want more Nick. Okay, so yes, instead of a four book series I’d much rather have this one go for five books. I’m greedy, what can I say.

This is definitely a thrilling, riveting and at times shocking series and one that I plan on keeping on my favorites list. And I will definitely miss Nick, Alan, Mae, Jamie and Sin – and even Anzu.

Favorite passage – it just tells so much about Nick and Alan:

“Can I go to the nurse’s office too?”

Ms. Popplewell looked at him. It obviously took her only one look to decide. “no.”

“I’m traumatized too,” Nick claimed, his voice completely flat.

“He’s a delicate flower,” Alan said under his breath.

[Carla]

This book was possibly my most anticipated book of the year. Why's that you ask? Well, let me tell you a story.....one day, oh, two years ago, a book landed on my doorstep promising me sword weilding demon slayers, promising me magic and intrigue and you know what I did? I tore through it in one sitting and that book was The Demons Lexicon. I was blown away by how amazingly intricate the plot line was and how distractingly dashingly handsome the two brothers were. Equal in their hotness, but different in every sense of the word. Fast forward a year and The Demons Covenant finds its way into my arms. It's a different narrator than I was used to, but no matter, I get sucked in all the same and I swear my undying love to this author and add her to my list of All Time Favourites. Everything is different....are the boys that I have come to love so sincerely flawed? had the narrator of the first book REALLY been that unreliable? did prince harry really get it on with pippa? NO WAIT, thats a question for another time. Fast forward another year and here we are, and I am no less in love with these characters than I was two years ago, which is pretty fucking amazing.

I know what people are thinking.....does Sarah give the characters the ending they deserve? will the book meet my extremely high expectations? does the series end at a point that is natural and not forced? I mean, I asked myself the same questions. Except maybe I added ones like, "will Sarah finally give me some hot Alan action?" "will Alan take off his shirt?" " will Alan take off his PANTS?". Well, i'm not going to give any of that away now am I silly? you have to actually READ the book to find out and let me tell you something really special....it's UNBELIVEABLE.

So after the whole hoopla at the end of The Demons Covenant, you know, with all the Magicians getting all power CRAY CRAY and wanting to *insert voice of doom right here* CONQUER THE WORLD, using demons and then Alan getting all marked up by a demon and the fact that Jamie went traitor and went off to be a magician (GASP), well you have yourself set up for a rather interesting story right there dont'cha. Also the fact that Nick and Mae are together but not together because they have that little thing off HIM having marked HER standing between them, because who wants sexytimes with a guy/demon that could possibly be controlling you and you would never know? Then there's the little thing of Mae and Sin being pitted against each other to become the next leader of the Goblin Market, which is only the best market in the whole world. Also, the fact that Sin is a little annoyed that a newcomer who isn't even a part of the market is trying to steal what is hers, not to mention the fact that she has pink hair and has a thing going on with Nick, who Sin happens to hate just a little bit. Then throw in the tension between Alan and Sin, who she also happens to hate a little and well, you get the jist of the story so far.

Now, I realise that this review is veering towards dissertation lengths, but stick with me, for I have a list. That's right a list. No one can resist a list not even YOU. YES YOU, I SEE YOU. Okay, that sounds creepy. I don't actually see you, but you know what I mean. And here is the list of reasons why I think this book is one of the best ends to a trilogy I have EVER read.

1. Even though this book is told from the perspective of Sin, who up to now has not played a major role in any of the big plot developments, and who as a character, we do not understand, nor do we know what motivates her, it still rings as true to the story as the previous books. I should really have known better than to think that having Sin as a narrator was a little left field, because OH MY GOSH I love her so. Seeing through an outsiders eyes, seeing the world through a girls eyes who maybe doesn't understand the Ryve's brothers all that well was fascinating. Seeing how much she loves to dance and how fiercely protective she is of her family. It made me smile, because maybe this independant gorgeous girl has more in common with the Ryve's boys than she realises herself. And maybe just maybe, the mask that she wears is not unlike the mask of another. MAYBE. LE SIGH.

2. Brother LOVIN. Oh my gosh. And again, OH MY GOSH. The glue that holds the stories together is the sibling love. Not the swoonage between certain characters, not the pulse pounding plotline and not the ever present uncertain future, NO, it's the fact that all of the characters are united in one way....they would do ANYTHING to protect the people they love (not to be mistaken for people they are IN love with). They would stain their hands with anothers blood, they would lie and cheat and do things I can't even fathom just so the world that they live is the world their sibilings also live in. This thing, this all consuming desire to do anything to keep the other safe is both dangerous and selfish, yet I always understood the reasons and motivation for doing the crazy things they did.

3, Tension. Oh lord the tension. I LOVED IT SO HARD. And the constant feeling that maybe what you think is going to happen is so far from the mark and you have to turn the pages at break neck speed because you just need to find out RIGHT NOW whats going to happen because the tension is just going to kill you and or make you vomit onto your book, which is not a good thing. So I would suggest when you read the book, make sure you are alone and without disruptions, because let's say you read this book on a long haul flight to Chicago. And let's say the person next to you won't shut up. Let's also say that when you point out rather sternly that you are reading your most anticipated book of the year and they need to BACK THE HELL OFF. Well, that only leads to an uncomfortable flight. Especially when you are sat in the window seat and need to use the bathroom.

4, ALAN RYVE'S. That is all.

5, The ending. I won't spoil I promise, but I will say this. I never saw it coming, and maybe I did have to suspend all the outcomes that I had built up in my mind and just ride the story out not trying to figure out what things mean, or if a simple gesture could change the course of the characters lives which could possibly result in rather bad things happening. But maybe that was a good thing, no a GREAT thing, because when I reached the last page, my eyes were swimming with tears, because even though the ending wasn't what I had thought it would be (believe me thats a GOOD thing), it was the right ending to this story and I couldn't ever conceive it ending a diffrent way.

SO, in conclusion, Sarah Rees Brennan you clever little sod, I think I love you now more than I already did. I may be even reaching fanatic levels of fandom. And you know what I love the most? that even in the most dire of situations, even when the world seems to be crumbling to pieces of crap around the characters, they never EVER loose their dry sense of humor, nor do the quick one liners cease to make an appearance. I completely and utterly loved it. NOW WHEN DOES THE NEXT SRB BOOK COME OUT.

[Clare Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruh finishing this trilogy has taken a small lifetime and I get why; it’s not nearly as good as the other two in my opinion (which are two of my favorite books ever). It wasn’t bad by any stretch but it just wasn’t nearly as good as the other two.

I also just didn’t understand why this was from Sin’s POV?? Like there were all these awkward scenes where Sin just stood to the side and heard conversations we had to hear but didn’t involve her and it was weird?? This book just should have been from someone else’s head. There was also a lot of icky language about Alan and his limp that I hateddddd. Anyway, still good and I LOVE Nick to death but I think in the future I’ll just reread book 1 over and over again ahahaha. But I’m very happy I finally finished this trilogy!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 out 5 Stars

I was super excited to read the final installment in the Demon’s Lexicon series. I couldn’t have been more satisfied with the ending of the series.

Initially, I was very worried about this book. Like the previous two books in the series, this book is told from the point of view of another character. The first book was told by Nick’s point of view and the second from Mae’s point of view. The final book is told from Sin’s point of view, and this worried me a bit. Sin was more of a secondary character in the first two books so I was a bit worried about how the narration of the central story line would play out. However, I ended up really liking Sin as a narrator and the story played out perfectly. I really liked learning more about Sin and I loved her personality. She was probably one of the best people to tell the conclusion of this story and I really loved learning her back story.

I have to say, most of my fears about Sin as the narrator stemmed from the fact that I really wanted Nick and Mae together. I worried that because Sin was the narrator we would get none of the private scenes between those Nick and Mae, but Sarah Rees Brennan handled it well. We still got many private scenes between other characters as well.

The plot picked up from where we left after the Demon’s Covenant. I was really happy with were Sarah Rees Brennan took the story. I think the twist in this book could really rival the twist from the first book, and that was a huge twist. I knew things were going too well for it too remain so happy, and boy did she deliver a shocking twist. Sarah Rees Brennan was probably the evilest in this book to her characters, but it made the story so great and was done to the benefit of the story, so I can forgive her for her evilness.

I was very happy with how all the characters story lines were settled. I really enjoyed seeing whom everyone kind of ended up with and seeing the amazing growth of nearly every character in this book. The characters were put through very difficult times in this books, I really liked watching them growing and becoming stronger because of these difficulties. And I have to say, I was very happy with who ended up with who in the end. It was perfect.

The emotions were running high in this final installment of the Demon’s Lexicon series. It was another emotional roller coaster. I was happy, I was angry, and I was sad. At parts I was crying. And then there were those scenes that just made me so giddy and happy. They were perfect and I could not have wanted anything else. And my favorite scene was one of the most emotional for me. That scene that Sin overhears between Nick and Mae. My favorite, even if it was very emotional. Trust me you will understand when you read it.

I was really happy with how this series concluded. The ending wrapped up the main story line, but did not leave everything wrapped in a perfect package. Instead, things in the ending were still a bit shaking with the characters. The characters and their world still had always to go before everything to be settled perfectly and the ending demonstrates that. I was really happy with where the characters were all heading in the future, even though we do not know if everything they plan for will occur. The ending was very bittersweet for me because it was the last time I’d hear these characters stories. I really liked that the ending did wrap up every little detail and solve every problem, because that is not real. The ending felt real and I loved that.

It’s really hard to say goodbye to this series because it really is one of my favorites. I will never forget reading the ending of Demon’s Lexicon and my awe at the twist at the end. I will never forget all the incredible twists and turns that Sarah Rees Brennan has taken me on. I love this series and I want everyone to read. I am deeply sadden that this GREAT series has ended and that I will never read more about Nick, Mae, Jamie, Alan, Sin and everyone else, but thankfully I can always reread this series and there are always more books to come from Sarah Rees Brennan.

If you have never read this series, I highly suggest that you read it. It is one of the best series I have ever read and I DO force it onto people. It is a must read for everyone!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

*This is a review I wrote for Bookbabblers, which can also be seen here.

The Demon’s Surrender was an exciting conclusion to one of my favourite series, and whilst I did love it, I have to say, it was probably my least favourite book in the trilogy (to be fair, the previous two books were absolutely amazing). I was wary about the point of view switch before I started - the main character this time around was Sin, and while I enjoyed getting to know more about the Goblin Market and its people, I didn’t feel as connected to her as I had with previous main characters, Nick and Mae, because we had only caught a few glimpses of her before, so she seemed more distanced and detached. Things were a bit harder to understand because of this as Sin wasn’t privy to the kind of information the rest of the characters were, and so the reader could sometimes be left a little confused. Also, I felt because Sin was from such a different world to the other characters (from the mysterious Goblin Market), she didn’t interact with them as much as I expected, so we lost quite a lot of the playful conversations and funny banter that was in the previous two books. I found this happened especially with Alan and Nick, and Nick and Jamie’s friendship – there were hardly any of their usual witty conversations, and I felt Jamie didn’t have to chance to show his brilliant sense of humour.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this book. The plot was more twisted than ever, and the Ryves brothers were back and badder than before. I really liked Alan in this book (though Nick will forever be my favourite Ryves brother – he’s so hilarious) and think we got to see a little more of how his mind worked, and why he was so secretive all the time. I also liked the build-up of his relationship with Sin, and I thought they worked very well together (though he seemed to get over Mae rather quickly). It also meant that Nick and Mae could finally work on their relationship, which I was ecstatic about seeing as they were my favourite pairing in the series (though the amount explored was limited due to the fact they were no longer the focussing characters, which was a shame). I also liked reading about Sin’s opinions on everyone, especially her rival Mae, because it helped give a completely different viewpoint on the characters, which I found very interesting. But, by far, the best part of this book (apart from the wonderful characters) was the dialogue. Sarah Rees Brennan has an amazing way with words, and some of the conversations between the characters have just stuck in my head, especially ones between the two brothers, and Nick and Mae. These books have always been about the bonds between brothers, and between friends, and I think Brennan does a remarkable job of presenting these bonds in the books, along with the incredible lengths people will go to protect those they care about (even semi-emotionless characters like Nick, whose fiercely loyalty to his brother made him determined never to give up).

The ending surprised me; it wasn’t necessarily a twist but I didn’t expect what the whole plan with the magicians entailed. I was quite shocked, but I think it was a fitting end and I loved the final chapter because it wrapped everything up so well (though the whole thing with Seb - !). In conclusion, The Demon’s Surrender was a great novel, and whilst not my favourite of The Demon’s Lexicon series, it was a thrilling final instalment, and I would definitely recommend the series to any young adult readers looking for an electrifying read.

[FreakChiq · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

If someone would ask me which my favorite book series is, I would have a really tough time choosing between The Mortal Instruments and The Demon’s Lexicon. But after much thoughtful consideration I would choose the later. The love between the brothers is so unique and special it immediately captivated my heart. And while I enjoyed Sin’s POV (at least most of the time), I still think it wasn’t the best idea to center the third and final book on a previously secondary character.

When I focused only on Sin, her voice and the story she’s telling, then seeing everything through her eyes wasn’t bad at all. I liked it. Sin is a strong, interesting and likable character, a mix between Mae and Nick. But as soon as she slipped out of my focus, I remembered Nick’s and Mae’s authentic voices in the 1st and 2nd book, and it became all too clear that she just cannot deliver the raw feelings and emotions I was used to from the first two novels, and was also hoping to find in the last installment. She doesn’t know Nick and Alan like Mae or Jamie do. She doesn’t know Mae or Jamie like Nick and Alan do. She had to spy on private, intimate conversations so I could hear (or rather read) them too. And whenever she didn’t feel like prying and therefore left the room, she dragged me with her even though all I desperately wanted was to stay in that room, to stay with Nick, Mae and/or Alan.

However, I do also know that if Sarah Rees Brennan would have chosen to write the last novel from Jamie’s or Alan’s POV, I still wouldn’t be 100% pleased. Why? Because the Goblin Market leadership war between Sin and Mae wouldn’t be told properly. Plus, Alan’s or Jamie’s spying on Mae and Nick’s private conversations would have been even creepier than Sin’s. Yeah, my Mae + Nick shipper heart would still be making a sad face.

I really wished the last chapter would have been told from Mae’s POV again, but as the Germans tend to say: “Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof.” You just can’t have it all.

The Demon’s Surrender is a good, action packed and fast-paced read that does give the trilogy a solid ending, but sadly, and you probably have no idea how much it pains me to say this, it’s not as fantastic, witty and emotion-filled as the previous two books.

Oh, and FYI, despite everything I would still choose The Demon’s Lexicon Trilogy if someone would want to know which my favorite book series is. Can’t. Resist. The brothers. [image error]

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"Love always costs more than you can afford to pay," he said. "And it's always worth the price."

First off, this was a book that I had far too much time to think about in the year between Covenant and this one. I had too many things that I expected and hoped to see. I had anticipated far more emotional payoff for the four main characters. I wanted recognition of their connection to each other. Most of all, I had hoped for just a bit more Nick and Alan. But that was not what we ended up with and I think I was just too disappointed by that.

"Alan lied more easily than he told the truth, but she was a performer: she knew there was always a choice between lies and truth, that it was a balancing act. Alan might not know what was too important to lie about. She did." - Sin's pov

Thus, in many ways I really did not enjoy it. It was not what I had expected from the story - so far removed from the main characters and their sphere that we don't really see what is going on with them. We get very little insight into Nick, Jaimie, and Mae. Obviously, some for Alan, but pretty much exclusively in relation to Sin. Who I like for the most part. Just not as the main character here. She has some very excellent and admirable qualities, but the book was too focused on her, showing everything from her biased views and limited to what she sees and what knowledge that she has. She lacks the opportunity to see so much of what is going on. The behind-the-scenes plotting from the friends. She lacks an understanding of Nick and Alan - their history with one another and what Nick means to Alan and what Alan means to Nick. And while you do see Sin begin to see that there is more to Nick, it is too little to give you the whole picture.

Alan is either doing the lovey-dovey, woe-is-me with Sin or possessed, so we really see very little of him.

Mae is treated so much as the rival here. And Jaimie? Poor Jaimie is practically non-existant here and addicted to magic. (Which we also never really learn if he can ever get that under control.)

The ending is very bittersweet. But I will always be happy to have read these and thankful to Sarah for sharing them. And when I reread it, I may also see new things, so until then....