A (mostly) satisfying end to the series. The final battle was secretly not the final battle, as in the villain escaped during the showdown, and our protagonists defeated the villain later (not spoilers), which…is not my favorite decision. It was still nice to see how the characters grew and played off each other’s strengths during the battle, when they were pitted against each other in the first book. Loved the aliens—duh. Half point off for the ending; as it sort of left you with this “eh?” feeling—and because my second favorite character died. I just can’t win with this series.