Ashleigh Paige

See more of my reviews on Birth of a New Witch! My copy was an ARC I received via Amazon Vine.I'm got a heart like stone when it comes to books, but Rogue had me laughing at some parts and sobbing at others, running the whole gamut of emotions. Even as I type this, I'm still crying and sniffling and feeling for these characters when their stories are finished. There's just... There are so few words when a book wrecks your heart like this and you weren't prepared or even that invested in the series. Croak and Scorch were fun, but Rogue is memorable, great, and one of the best series-enders I've ever read.From the very first page, Rogue takes off at a sprint and doesn't slow down until the very last page has been turned and we're done with the book. Lex, now the leader of her little band of rebels, is forced to drop the attitude that bothered me in the first two books and take charge because the stakes are so much higher. After all, there's little room for screwing around when the Afterlife is falling apart (though when time IS made and nothing productive can be done, Driggs and Lex do screw around some; these provide most of the laughs in the book because it's the sweet sort of awkward). Yet even in the midst of this dramatic war, there's plenty of genuine comedy and it works. It's rare such gut-wrenching sadness and gut-busting comedy fit so well together.This isn't the kind of book where all your favorite characters make it out alive and no one dear to readers gets hurt. Oh, absolutely not. We lose a lot of characters both "safe" in that readers may not care that much about them to characters near and dear to us. They--and Damico--understand that when war happens, not everyone is going to make it out alive and unscarred. Some of them have to make massive sacrifices to fix what has been wrought upon the world. Damico doesn't hold back one little bit and two or three deaths in particular are why I'm typing this through tears.And Uncle Mort. Oh, wow. He's been a favorite for a while because he's oe of the funniest and most intelligent of the cast, but Rogue reveals a whole other side to him and makes him the shining star because he's... Think along the lines of Dumbledore. Mort's careful planning and how much we learn about him in this installment put him in that league in the very best way. (Oh God, I'm getting teary and happy and fangirly again.)I need more from Damico. I NEED MORE. Thank goodness she has another book coming out next year about the Devil because this kind of talent is something to never let go of if one doesn't have to. Anyone who hasn't started this series? They need to. Creative, genuine, fun, and occasionally painful in how good it is, this is a series not to be missed.If you have Kindle the first book Croak is $1.99 through the end of the month. GO BUY IT.