Initial Impressions 1/31/16: 4.5 - 5 stars... maybe 4.75 
 HOLY COWWWW. This was definitely a huge step up from the first two books in the Wax and Wayne era. I mean, I loved the other two but this delved much further into the exploration of this world and how much there is STILL left to learn about it. I love that there's always something new to discover and it also dawned on me how cool that is and how true to life. Right now, we're still learning more things about our world and our universe and as our technology grows, we will be able to gain so much more knowledge about our own world. I think that's incredibly awesome and really impressive to see concepts like this in Brandon Sanderson's fictional worlds and watch the characters AND the world grow as they explore. 
 I also really got even more invested in each character! Having spent more time with them, I've been getting to know them more and I feel like this book showed their emotional sides much more as well. It's not always in an obvious way but you can really see how they care for each other and how much of a team they've become. I adore their relationships and how each one is unique. 
 The world-building, as always, is incredible. I was just floored by how much we learn and there is still more to come. 
 THAT EPILOGUE THOUGH. 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 2/29/16: It always seems impossible to find a place to start when reviewing and discussing Brandon Sanderson's books. I quickly became addicted to the Mistborn series in 2014 and it also opened the door for me to explore other fantasy books and also not limit myself to young adult. I do have to say thank GOODNESS that SHADOWS OF SELF and THE BANDS OF MOURNING were released so close together because the wait is always excruciating. (Seriously. I'm already dying for more.) I suppose the good news it that now I'm caught up on the Mistborn books and I can dive into another one of his series (I'm thinking THE WAY OF KINGS will be my next Sanderson read)! 
 THE BANDS OF MOURNING really had it all! One thing I kept saying about this new Wax & Wayne trilogy was that I just didn't feel as connected to the characters as I had with the original Mistborn crew and things really clicked and solidified for me in this book! I had always enjoyed the characters but I felt like THE BANDS OF MOURNING really dug deeper into each character's back story, emotions, and created strong bonds between each character as well. There were some sweet romantic moments, amazing bromances, and fantastic friendships that I grew to love even more and I loved how well these characters ended up working together. I love books with sort of a zany crew and Wax, Wayne, Steris, and Marasi certainly were an odd group to put together but they blend together so well to form this perfect unit! Wayne never ceases to crack me up and I love the way he plays off of the other characters. 
 Another thing I loved was how much this really tied into the original trilogy and even things that had happened prior to MISTBORN. There are some deeply-rooted secrets that get revealed and some incredibly world-building moments that always have me wondering how much Brandon Sanderson planned ahead of time and held back. The layers of this world keep on peeling back to reveal more and more and it's simply stunning to see how much more there is to learn about Scadriel and the Cosmere. It's also really fun to think about in terms of our world and reality -- scientists, scholars, archaeologists, etc are always discovering new things about our history and the unknowns out there in space. It's amazing to see those same concepts applied to a series! I feel like authors don't normally go that far into developing a world (or in this case, universe) and I'm so floored with the things that Brandon Sanderson has crafted for the Cosmere. 
 As usual, Sanderson is the master of huge twists and shocking moments. Obviously I won't go into detail so as not to spoil anything but the ending of THE BANDS OF MOURNING is packed full of action, answers to questions, and moments that had me gasping and/or crying. The ending was phenomenal and wait, did this book set it up for a fourth Wax & Wayne book? Needless to say, it kept me on the edge of my seat and cemented my love for this series even more!