I was very reluctant to start Lord of the Abyss, to be perfectly honest. I was simply tired of the disappointment, frustration, and rage that I felt during the whole experience of reading the Royal House of Shadows series. I absolutely hated the first book, and disliked the second one. And after skimming the first ten pages of the third book, I got bored out of my wits and shelved it. I was at the point of giving up on the series altogether when I remembered my friend Erika's praise for this book, and because her suggestions have never failed me before, I decided to give it a shot. 
 And boy, was I glad to have given this a try. 
 I absolutely loved it 
 . This was my first Nalini Singh, and her writing suits me perfectly--succinct without being overly simple, impactful without overdoing things. I am definitely going to read more of her works because she is absolutely fantastic! 
 Granted, there wasn't really much in the way of character development, but it suited me fine; I loved Prince Micah and Lily the way they were. Okay, so Prince Micah was spoiled and a tad selfish, but he was also very sweet. He was more of a child, really, than a selfish asshole. The difference here is that whereas a child may act selfishly at times, it's normally because he doesn't know any better--there are no ill intentions. On the other hand, an asshole acts selfishly despite being aware of his actions. You see, Micah was only five when he was cursed, and he remained a child inside. He was actually very adorable. 
 Plus, he prioritised Lily's welfare above everything else. 
 He wouldn't hurt Lily. Even when he was very angry with her, he wouldn't hurt her. Maybe he'd growl at her a little, but she seemed not to mind that very much. 
 He also loved her despite her ugly appearance, seeing her true beauty within. Sure, he was over-confident, but if you analyse their relationship closely, you'd understand that he was confident for the both of them. Lily needed him to be like that. If it were up to her, they would never have gotten together. She was too insecure--which was understandable, given the circumstances-- to have let their relationship progress further. Thinking herself unworthy of happiness, she would never have had the courage to reach for the love she so clearly deserved. 
 There's no doubt in my mind that Micah and Lily deserved each other. 
 Overall, this was amazing. It was definitely worth the pain I had to go through reading about Nicolai and Breena.