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4.75*

It is crazy to me that Sanderson has managed to continuously expand the world he has created in this trilogy. Usually by book 3 in a series there is little new knowledge to learn - not so with these books! 🤯
We learn so much more about the societial structures, what happens in the vacuum of a previous steady influence, the ripple effect of its dissolution and the systems that rise up in its place in the fringe cities outside the direct influence of the overthrowers. However the most fascinating aspect to me was what we learn about the 2 Ks; (view spoiler)[the Kandra and Koloss (hide spoiler)]. Who we got a taste of in the second book but boy oh boy does Sanderson double, nay, triple down on the intel we receive about them in this book. The way he weaves the information he has given us about his magic system into the expansion of his characters and their world is downright impressive. I CANNOT get enough of this level of imagination.
I am in awe 🤩

I really liked the three types/strands of magic invented by Sanderson for this world: Allomancy, Feruchemy & Hemalurgy. I was fascinated by how they work, complement one another & how there are checks and balances at every level. The way they work together yet separately and how the differing powers that be harness the different elements to their advantage boggles my teeny tiny mind. It is equal parts amazing and terrifying that someone thought all this up for our entertainment and boy was I entertained 👍

The character development and friendships between new and old characters alike is truly the backbone of this series. For as much as all the abovementioned shiny bells and whistles keep the pages turning, without the compelling characters and their interactions we'd be a lot worse off. Yes the events of the previous two books have taken their toll on our faves and they are far from the carefree upbeat bandits we met in book 1 but at the same time they are so much more! The darkness that creeps into some of their storylines was all the more heartbreaking because of everything we've been through with them thus far. We get new PoV from characters we loved but didn't get to hear from in the earlier books and the knowledge they bring alongside the potential for the spin off series is staggering in its foresight.

I was not overjoyed with how (view spoiler)[Elend's participation in this series kind of overshadows Vin's...but I think that has more to do with the fact that I am biased and such a Vin stan 😍 (hide spoiler)]
I did however love how their relationship is so solid and how they both use their brains to puzzle things out rather than racing heart first blindly into situations as some characters in love can be wont to do.

A little tongue in cheek, but what has Sanderson got against horses?! Did one harm him in his youth?
Horses are such roadkill in this allomantic world, the poor little metal shoe wearing cinnamon rolls...ok I admit I am biased when it comes to horses and while I did adore (view spoiler)[Straff's (hide spoiler)] comeuppance in book 2 - dayum do the ponies fates in this series hurt 😭

What I didn't like and what stole the 0.25 from making this a 5* read was that I found it quite heavy handed at times and like I was wading through philosophical and religious musings which while interesting in how they have been folded into this world and how all the tidbits came full circle...they still lost me at times as I'd find my mind wandering and/or eyes rolling slightly - guess I'm more cynical/atheist leaning than I realised.

Overall though I loved this series and will highly recommend to absolutely anyone who will listen. While neither the second nor third book quite lived up to the first for me it was still an amazingly fun ride with these characters and stories. I am super curious to see what's to come in the next instalments as a new generation takes up a couple centuries on from where this leaves off.
If you're on the fence about picking up this series...hop off, grab it & read!
As an aside you probably shouldn't be reading a review for the final book - but what the hey - I think I've actually managed to be relatively good about avoiding giving away any spoilers and hopefully you'll consider giving Sanderson a go if you haven't already. This is the 4th book of his I've read this year and I am deffo not sorry I picked any of them up! The magic, characters and worlds he has created are so clever and imaginative - do yourself a favour & give them a whirl 👍

PS - please don't let the fact it took me 3 months to read this book colour your desire to pick it up...if anything the fact I took so long is a ringing endorsement of my enjoyment - I just couldn't bring myself to finish it as I did not want this gangs story to end!