All This Twisted Glory (TWK #3) by Tahereh Mafi

alright 3.75 stars.

this review contains spoilerss

slightly better than the first book and marginally better than the second.

it starts with Alizeh stepping out of the shadows, Cyrus meeting with the devil and his father, and Kamran flying to tulan.

this one had some elements of fantasy, so it did feel like an okayish romantasy. through Cyrus, we get to know how magic really works. the best part of the book was obviously his pov and it's only his head that I like to be in. he's smart, sensible, and actually somewhat inspiring:

He either did or did not. He would not live by half measure.

or this:

In the general course of things, Cyrus was not one to steep in his sorrows.

this, especially, is even more admirable considering he gets brutally tortured by the devil twice a week, has horrific nightmares that physically hurt him, and is detested by his mother—to the point where she's plotting his murder.

and, while all these quotes may be called generic, they are immensely impactful in the context of the book. this is where Mafi's overtly descriptive writing plays as a strength. Cyrus's suffering is so elaborately laid out—that it will horrify the readers, and so, his strength of character comes off as extremely impressive too.

and look at this king being a polite and humble boy:

Cyrus had thanked his staff once more, promising answers before the end of the day

while I did like Kamran's hotheadedness, this is undeniably more attractive. it's almost too perfect. it's not that he's mild and gentle; we've seen him rage, we've seen him irritated, but never at his staff. almost as if the man knows something like emotional regulation?

unbelievable.

i needed a reminder of certain things, and his lessons during his time at the temple were exactly it.
it's extremely coincidental that I read this part exactly when I did. its almost as if Rostam were saying this directly to me:

You must not resist life when it becomes inconvenient to live

i, too, was trying to forsake the present to live in the future because this damned heat was too intolerable. the damned heat—among a few things, of course.

then, finally, the author didn't pull something like waking up Alizeh from a spinal injury in an hour. minor mercy.
but ye, then there was a time skip, and a lot of stuff that happened in the month was just /told/ and not shown. Alizeh, on the other hand, is kind and compassionate as always. but that kindness and compassion makes her a fool sometimes which is frustrating to read, but it also makes her a just queen. so, appropriate ig.

I liked the tension between Cyrus and Alizeh in this one. it's one of the few books that balances it with yearning? ye, i appreciate that.

Kamran is very well out of the picture. the narrative has shifted, and Alizeh is comparing him to Cyrus, and Cyrus is better than him in every aspect. anyways, I'll always like him for the way he comforted Alizeh. Cyrus hasn't done that yet. I doubt he even knows of her fears.