Mina Grimm has had a rough few years since finding out about the curse on her family - the same curse that killed her uncle, father and temporarily managed to kill her best friend, Nan and her brother Charlie. In between fairy tale quests, she's had to deal with remembering events everyone else has forgotten due to the meddling of the Story, the confusing friendship with her Grimmoire protector, Jared and her lovesick feelings for Brody Carmichael. But this final book in the series, Forever, wraps up all these storylines and provides a satisfying conclusion to Mina's quest.

This was full on. It went from one extreme to the other with lots of sudden reveals and intense action. It was ridiculously over the top, with every trope and cliche thrown at it but having suspended my disbelief and ignoring my outrage at some of the plot twists, it was great. On the other hand my head exploded from the information overload.

Okay so the good. There was a satisfying conclusion to the romance this series promised. The bad, it was completely ridiculous how they got there. Mina's a half-Fae siren?! Okay, I can deal. She's unconsciously been influencing Brody this entire time, negating the need for the last four bloody books? Less okay.

I mean seriously? Wtf?! I haven't liked Brody from the start. I didn't agree with the moping and the ups and downs but I seriously don't agree with this plot twist. I mean come on. If she was actually in love with Jared/Teague/whoever, she shouldn't have been influencing Brody. It just doesn't make sense. As far as Brody/Nan I could get onboard with that. It was dumb, but whatever. The thing I don't get is - why not just leave it after Mina was the villain in Fairest. Brody woke Nan with true love's kiss, they get together. Great. Why make it more complicated? Mina could've gotten over her feelings in the whole year after that. Nan and Brody could be happy. And Mina could proceed to have a actual relationship with Jared. The entire up and down relationship was so ridiculously unnecessary and it just drove me mental. It's such a cop out to say this whole time she was influencing Brody. Why write three whole books and say that?

As far as Teague/Jared goes. It wrapped up the plot sufficiently. Was I particularly happy about how it got there? No. Did it work? More or less. I would've enjoyed it more without the continuous interruptions by Mina's supposed feelings for Brody. If nothing else I was happy about Nix and Ever getting together. They seemed like they'd be happy and I rated that.

I really hated all the manipulation there was in this series. The Fairy Godmother's were just compelling people into forgetting left, right and center and I hated it. The idea that they influenced Sara (Mina's mum) into little more than a puppet was horrific. She was compelled to forget her son, compelled to be scared and fearful of the Story and compelled to supress her true personality. The idea of anyone doing that is just terrible. And no one seemed to be outraged about it? Mina voices a few concerns but no one seems particularly angry and it drove me mad. I felt conflicted about the revelation that Sara was a Fae siren who gave everything up for Mina's father - who hated Fae and never knew she was a siren. The Fae bit was fine, it explained a lot about Mina and her powers. Although I was less thrilled about the conclusion that she's been compelling Brody.

I was a bit lost with the whole death omen thing that happened. That just kind of took a random turn but I really hated that Sara gives her life. Wtf. Like seriously, all this way, all this time and she had to be killed off? I didn't like it. I hated that her replacement are two Fae grandparents that randomly appear. But okay fine.

What really made it ridiculous was that Sara's death finally makes Mina give up her feelings for Brody and then they all attend a carnival. No one goes to a carnival after the death of your mother. Come on.

I didn't remotely understand what went through Mina's head when she planned her deal with Teague. Why on earth would she give Charlie to Nan and Brody? Like yeah okay, Nan is his big sister and loves him. But she's also an eighteen year old girl with parents who can't just disappear? Why wouldn't she give Charlie to Ever and Nix? The two Fae who can help guide his powers, keep him under the radar - look after him like they've been looking after themselves the entire time she's known them because they're like thousands of years old? It just didn't make sense. I didn't follow her logic at all. But I did love what happened next. The inclusion of the whole Beauty and the Beast was fantastic. And I loved the Fae light that dims with sadness and lights up with happiness. I loved Mina and Teague getting a chance to talk and build a connection. I thought wow, this book is really going in the direction I want. Then it went to hell again.

I got kind of lost after that. There was so much happening and it was just full on. The reveal of the Fae world to the human one was weird. And then closing the gates. I mean isn't that literally the whole reason Mina's been doing these quests and then they just close it. Because they ran out of magic. I mean I know it gets reopened or whatever the hell happens but it was just odd.

But I did like the ending. I loved that Mina and Teague get their happy ending. The whole Persephone/Hades elements were good, even if a bit cliche. And I loved the idea that Ever becomes the next "Grimm" with Nix as her Fairy Godfather. It was pretty funny. So it was an interesting series. There were some frustrating parts but overall it was an enjoyable and fun read with relatable and likable characters and a decent action packed plot. 4 stars. ( )

Like any good hero, Mina sacrifices herself to save her family and friends. But when she finds herself locked in a tower with the beast, can she not only learn to see past his beastly nature but convince him that he is more than the curse has made him?

There are sirens in this book. And they are scary, although as they explain it, they only kill people who are stupid enough to go places they have no right to be, so that's okay. We also finally get an explanation of how the grim reaper works and a few blasts from the past reappear. A lot has to happen to reach an ending and Mina spends most of the book convinced that it won't be happy for her. I love that Ever and Mina finally become friends. I think it sneaks up on both of them, although it's both shocking and inevitable considering their history. It also felt like so much more happened in this book than the previous ones, but as always, we are kept guessing and the happily ever after (due us at the end of any good fairy tale) was not what I was expecting or what I remembered. But it was satisfying. I also desperately want a spin-off series with the adventures of Ever, but I suppose I shall have to get used to disappointment. ( )

I liked how this series ended. ( )