Morning Star by Pierce Brown
Read: April 24, 2026 - May 09, 2026
This book was incredible. I loved every moment of it, and I think it might be my favourite one in the series so far. So so much happened, I still can't comprehend everything. My best friend gave me an annotated copy of this one, so her annotations and comments on everything definitely added to my experience and just amplified my own emotions.
To start, this book is so found family (which is my favourite), and it made me feel so giddy. I love that they chose each other and trust each other enough to be family. The scene of Mustang sitting in the Tavern with Darrow's family, bonding with them, was so wholesome, and I loved it. It let Mustang see a side of Darrow she hadn't been able to see yet, because she had never known him as a Red. And then when Darrow finally kissed her? Perfection. Absolute perfection. I squealed, because about time, man.
The relationship between Sevro and Darrow in this book was absolutely incredible. I don't think you fully understand quite how upset I was when Ragnar died. I was SOBBING. I had to take a break from it for a couple of hours because I was so upset. Did Mr. Pierce Brown really need to kill him? Like, yes, I know that it was needed to have Darrow and Sevro grow as characters, but c'mon, dude, they were BLOOD BROTHERS.
There was so much death in this book, holy moly. I used to love Roque, but the moment he turned on Darrow, I couldn't forgive him. I know Darrow technically betrayed him and kept secrets from him, but just the fact that Darrow is a Red made Roque rat him out to the Jackal so fast, and that is so ridiculous. But, when he killed himself when Darrow took his ship, I did feel a tad bad because they used to be best friends. I was more sad just because of the nostalgia and how sad it made Darrow, to know that someone who used to be his best friend preferred to kill himself instead of joining him and being brothers again.
I think my favourite quote is "If you're watching Eo, it's time to close your eyes. The Reaper had come. And he's brought hell with him" (363).
Sevro's demonstration to Sefi (him flinging Cassius and himself over the rail to hang) had me absolutely speechless. Like, yes, I knew that wasn't how Pierce Brown was going to kill our precious angel, and it was just to prove a point, but still. My heart stopped.
The absolute second Sevro and Victra got married, I knew something bad was going to happen because they were just too happy. And boy was I right. Because, right in the very next chapter, was the whole plot to trick Antonia. The one where Cassius "killed" Sevro and kidnapped Mustang and Darrow. I SOBBED like a baby when I thought Sevro had died, because I didn't want my precious princess to leave Darrow.
The whole plan was genius. Pinning down The Jackal, killing the Sovereign, chopping Darrow's hand off, all of it. I was nervous about Cassius for a minute there, I'm not going to lie, but it's okay because he got his redemption!!
The end. Oh my goodness. I love that Mustang was so protective of her son and had to make sure she could trust Darrow again before she told him. I loved how she told him, too. OH MY GOODNESS HIS NAME IS PAX!! It's perfection.
I'm interested to see how the series will continue because at the moment, everything is okay.
5 stars.
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