Crown of Crystal Flame - C. L. Wilson

A Song of Love won her heart.
A Song of Darkness haunted her soul.
A Song in the Dance would seal her fate.
Seers had long foreseen an extraordinary destiny for Ellysetta Baristani. Already she had won the heart of the Fey King--the magnificent Rain, ever her ally, eternally her love. She had saved the offspring of the magical tairen and fought beside her legendary mate against the armies of Eld. But the most powerful--and dangerous--Verse of her Song had yet to be sung. As the final battle draws nigh and evil tightens its grip upon her soul--will Ellysetta secure the world for Light or plunge it into Darkness for all eternity? As she and Rain fight for each other, side by side, will they find a way to complete their truemate bond and defeat the evil High Mage of Eld before it's too late, or must they make the ultimate sacrifice to save their world?

I was checking my notes and I realised I read the first book in this series back in 2008. It is a wonder I never needed to go back and reread before starting each new book. This is the final novel and we finally get to the big confrontation between Ellie and the High Mage of Eld. I wasn't sure what to expect as Ellie and Rain have faced so many challenges before. And I am quite happy to report that in term of story development I was quite happy with this one.

It is not and easy book to read as it has much violence and quite a few known characters die but I was happy with Ellie and Rain's development and how they deal with obstacles they find on their way to fighting the war. Their confrontation with the High Mage is also painful to read and Wilson manages to keeps us guessing about their fate for a while. Ok maybe not so much guessing (this is  romance after all) but I was reading sitting on the edge of the couch for a while. This is definitely a book filled with tense emotional scenes, some for the good and others for the bad. 

I had a few problems with the pacing of the story. I think at times it was a bit slow and I just wanted to move on and get to the interesting bits. I also think this book left almost as many threads open and closed ones so I'll definitely be reading her next book set in this world. I really want to know more about the girl that helped Ellie's parents - Melliandra, about all those Dahl'reisen and their families, about Ellie's sisters and about Gaelen.

Since the author has a new book coming out soon but of  different series and I can only urge her to write faster!! And I'll be getting that book too.