The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Demon's Surrender is the final installment in Sarah Rees Brennan's Demon's Lexicon trilogy.  It was a satisfying conclusion to the series and an enjoyable read, but much different from what I expected.

Each book in the series is told from a different point of view.  In The Demon's Surrender, the narrator was Sin, a character who I would not have considered to be a main character in the series until this book.  But the solutions to the problems that have built over the course of three books were inevitable, yet not predictable to me as reader, and could only have been told from Sin's point of view.

Honestly, this book could absolutely stand on it's own, so I will try to give a summary without spoiling the (amazing) first two books.  Sin grew up in the Goblin Market, where she earned money raising demon's with her dancing.  Now she is competing with an outsider, Mae, to take over leadership of the Goblin Market even as magicians threaten to destroy it completely.

One of my favorite things about the series has been the Ryves brothers.  They are hilarious and sexy and dangerous and each represents one of my favorite kinds of male characters.  One is basically evil (**SPOILER** he's a demon  **SPOILER**), but he is reformed by love and striving to live contrary to his nature.  The other is smart, charming, tough, sweet and a total liar.  The Ryves brothers are hilarious and endearing with each other and with Mae and Jaime.  In the first two books, their banter was almost non-stop, even as the plot rocketed forward.

Sin grew up fast and now, after the death of her mother, she is responsible for both a 7 year old and a toddler.  She has a complicated relationship with the Ryves brothers, Mae has become her rival, and she barely knows Jaime at all.  So there was a whole lot less giggling in this book as Sin made her choices and tried to solve her problems.

But even though I missed some of the fun (God, I missed Jaime!), I gained a lot more as a reader as well.  Sin introduced a serious perspective that suited the end of the series.  As I said, she was the perfect character to experience the story with and I can't imagine the series ending any other way.  I enjoyed the baggage she brought with her and loved watching her grow up and fall in love.

I'm definitely excited for the new projects Sarah Rees Brennan has coming out, although I already miss those Ryves brothers.  The Demon's Surrender counts toward the following challenges:  387 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge, Finish the Series, Fantasy for the Eclectic Reader, and Support Your Local Library.  Track my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.