Review: Bittersweet... More sweet than bitter
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 23, 2012
Is there nothing sweeter than completing a series and witnessing the characters you've grown attached to fulfill their destinies?  And, oh, the bitterness! Knowing you have closed that book (or hit the home button on your kindle) and won't be returning to that world again!  (Or, will we??)If you haven't read the first 3 books of this series, I highly encourage you to read them prior to this.I was given book 4 in exchange for my honest review.  Blooms of Consequence is when choices are finalized and lives change forever.  Over the course of 3 books, Quinn, our heroine, has managed to take our introverted and, dare I say, unlikeable hero and draw out of him a young man who makes that vampire guy look small and pathetic.  Ah, yes!  Finally!  A young man our daughters should use as a model for their perfect guy, one is is flawed yet not weak!  And now she, just a girl, has to make grown up choices that will change her life forever... choices that will affect an entire world!Like another reviewer, I hesitate to say too much.  Those of you who are invested in this series might not appreciate the spoiler!  I will say this:  you will not be disappointed.  I think that the final climatic moment (because there were a couple of peaks in this book) was somewhat lackluster.  I really thought there would be a larger showdown... on the other hand, there was no shortage of excitement in this book.  Note that I said there is more than one climatic moment, and that makes up for the last one which seemed over too quickly.  You will find a satisfying conclusion here, with just enough of a crack in the window that you know this world isn't closed off forever.  You are given a mini epilogue so you aren't left wondering what happened to the secondary characters you've grown so fond of and you are even enlightened further to the circumstances of Quinn's father's death.This is a clean book with realistic dialogue and language.  The romance is powerful without crossing any lines.  She wrote of kisses passionately without making it the focal point of the scene-- which was, in fact, the love and respect that was foundational.  It is a book that teaches young women that they are strong and worthy of respect and that, sometimes, the right decision is often the most difficult.  It brushes on the relationship between mother and daughter and the difficulties from each perspective during that tenuous coming of age time (much like in the movie Brave, only I liked this much better!).I whole heartily recommend this book to readers from middle school through adulthood.  I have enjoyed sharing this series with my middle schooler and discussing our favorite parts.  I would say that this 4th book will require a little more maturity from your younger readers as some more "grown up" situations are implied.