As the poets would say: oh, f*ck.

This book was magnificent. "The Doctor" was my most anticipated book of the year, and it did not disappoint, not one bit. On the contrary, it's the best one yet in a series that I was already thoroughly obsessed with. 

We left our favourite, uber-powerful, prickly caster at the end of book two on a horrific cliffhanger: his real identity and his past have finally been discovered by the government. Gillian finds himself, at the start of this third book, in an even more horrific situation: he's been unjustly imprisoned, isolated and beaten, on the verge of giving up for good. But if we've learnt something about Gillian throughout this series, it's that he's a survivor, and he's also a tough son of b****: if there are villains that need to be brought to justice, he'll do anything to do just that, his health and life be damned. And yes, in this third book, there's a whole set of horrible villains, some well-known and some new, who need to be stopped at all costs, but thankfully Gillian isn't left alone for long. 

I can't even begin to count the many, MANY things I utterly adored of this book, but, and this comes as a surprise to literally no one, Gillian Hamilton (né Simon Fitzgerald, AKA "the one who needs to be protected at all costs because he deserves all the love and care in the world"), was my absolute favourite. He's such a complex protagonist: self-loathing and broken and clinically insecure, prickly and salty and a badass to boot, but also vulnerable and surprisingly sweet, protective and self-sacrificing and honourable. He's the literal best, and throughout the entire book, we get so many details and new information about his (horrific) past, I just wanted to hug him to death and shield him from everything: he made me cry, ugh. 
I adored Gunner before this third book, but I always thought he was a bit too mysterious and secretive for me to completely trust him with Gillian's heart. So let me tell you how damn pleased I was to discover so much about him this time: Constantine Gunner doesn't lie, but during the events of this book, he finally stops obfuscating too. His past was, I'm not going to lie, completely unexpected and I gasped out loud at some of the reveals. But everything about him is slowly making more sense, and my soul hurt for him so much by the end of the book. And, as usual, his gentleman-y attitude and his protective streak made him even more endearing. 
I also loved how much their relationship has grown and flourished: the love they have for one another was really palpable, and I cried and swooned and screamed many, many, MANY times. 

The side characters we've learnt to love in the second book make an even bigger appearence this time: Addison, as usual, was entertaining and lovable, but I loved witnessing his more humane and compassionate side so damn much; Moore was equally fantastic, honourable and fiercely protective of Gillian, and although I usually loathe any hint of a love triangle, I firmly believe Gillian Hamilton deserves all the love he can get in the world, and Moore's pining, and yes, okay, also Gunner's jealous streak, were VERY welcome additions to the story. Although Moore totally deserves his own HEA aswell. 

The story was riveting: I inhaled this book in an afternoon. My heart would not stop racing and I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole damn time. There was action (so much action!) and magic, last-minute saves and daring escapes, twist and turns and shocking reveals, romance and a tiny bit of steam. The protagonists were fantastic and the villains were utterly monstrous, and I cannot wait to see what C.S. Poe will concoct for the fourth book. 
That ending though? That was 100% the cruelest thing ever and I don't know if I should cry or scream or re-read the whole book right this minute. Or maybe all of the above.