The Last Fallen Realm by Graci Kim

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The Last Fallen Realm by Graci Kim
Gifted Clans #3
Published by Rick Riordan Presents on June 6, 2023
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology
Representation: Korean-American adoptee protagonist
Format: eBook
Source: Library

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the thrilling conclusion to Graci Kim's best-selling Gifted Clans trilogy.

Riley Oh wasn’t born into her family. Instead, as she recently discovered, she tumbled down to the earth many years ago as the last fallen star. Riley Oh also wasn’t born to be a witch. Like, at all—even her status as a divine celestial being comes with zilch in the magical powers department. And Riley Oh definitely wasn’t born to be a leader. But now the entire magical community thinks she and her soul-twin, Dahl, are meant to lead the world into the Age of the Final Eclipse (or whatever it is that the Haetae keeps saying they’re “destined” to do). Greeeat.

But ever since Riley killed the Cave Bear Goddess, she’s been a bit pre-occupied with one thing: waiting for the goddess’s sisters to get their revenge. And it looks like her wait is finally over—because as witches from around the world prepare for war, it seems as though the goddesses are preparing for something much worse. Something that will lure Riley and her friends deep into the realm of the gods. Into a world of humongous, talking moon bunnies; life-or-death mini-golf competitions; and…magical gummy candies?

And in order to save the world, Riley must do the one thing she was born to do: believe in herself.

If there’s one word I would use to describe The Last Fallen Realm, it would be bittersweet. This is the last book in the Gifted Clans trilogy, and I was definitely looking forward to the conclusion of Riley’s story and seeing how it would wrap up.

The Last Fallen Realm takes place a few months after The Last Fallen Moon. Dahl has joined the Mortalrealm with Riley and her friends, adopted by Riley’s family. He’s making a place for himself, and he’s still the super excited kid we meet in the second novel with his bucket list of things to do in the Mortalrealm. The magic community is preparing themselves in Las Vegas while waiting for the remaining goddesses to make their move, but overall, it’s been quiet.

Much like the predecessors in the trilogy, Riley’s still trying to find herself and where she belongs. Everyone expects her and her soul-twin Dahl to lead them into the Age of the Final Eclipse the haetae mentions, but Riley feels nothing like the leader she feels she’s supposed to be. When compared to Dahl and Hattie, she feels inadequate. Dahl’s enthusiasm is infectious and carries to everyone else and Hattie seems much braver and stronger than Riley will ever be.

A large part of the narration is her trying to find her confidence and believing in herself as Riley and her friends find themselves in the Godrealm to stop the goddesses from putting their plan into motion. The pacing definitely feels slower compared to previous books because of this, but it was still highly entertaining to read. I loved seeing how Kim continues to incorporate parts of the modern world with Korean mythology, though I can also see that it might feel a little offputting for some. Personally, I felt it fit with the chaotic nature of the book as the three realms are merging together and time is quickly ticking.

Despite the slower pacing, it was worth it to see how Riley’s story ends. Riley develops as a character the most in this one, but I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the series from when we first meet her in The Last Fallen Star. Her relationship with her friends and family, and especially her sister, continues to play a big part. They’re so supportive of Riley and showering her with all the love she deserves; I just love them.

It’s been an absolute delight reading the Gifted Clans trilogy, and I’m really glad I crossed paths with this series. I’m honestly sad Riley’s story is ending with The Last Fallen Realm, but I’m excited to see what Graci Kim writes next!