4.5 
 Gullveig's return will signal the beginning of Ragnarok, that is, unless the nine clans can figure out a way to keep this from coming to fruition - i.e. figure out a way to kill the seemingly unkillable Gullveig. They believe they've found a viable plan which would involve sending someone into the Nine Worlds to retrieve Surtr the fire giant's sword. The problem being that humans are no longer allowed in the Nine Worlds so it would basically be a suicide mission to whomever could actually be strong enough to breach the roots of the World Tree and cunning enough to get around Nidhogg, the dragon, who guards the sword. Luckily for everyone, the clans have the perfect candidate: Erin Amsel. 
 Besides being a certifiably crazy / insane Crow, Erin also wields the power of fire. Fire cannot harm her. The fact that she'd have no compunction about risking her life in such a way just puts her even more into the plus column. Now, it's just figuring out the how's and why's of the plan to ensure Erin actually comes back alive. 
 Stieg Engstrom comes from a long line of Vikings and has made a perfectly comfortable living as a Raven. Despite having some not so fun run-ins with the Crow's unabashedly craziest member, Stieg can't help but feel the need to protect Erin from all her brashness. As they continue to tangle up with one another, and as Erin's task quickly approaches, they'll both have to set aside their hang-ups to get the job done and save the world. 
 Erin has been a stand-out character from the very first book The Unleashing. It took that whole first book for me to be able to get her personality, but Shelly Laurenston has definitely written such a great and unique character. I was really happy when I learned that she would be the next Crow to get a featured story and the Stieg would be her romance. 
 I loved the way things developed between Erin and Stieg. It wasn't some huge momentous event, just a natural progression from the beginning to the end of the book. I liked that things between them didn't suddenly turn mushy with them each staring longingly into each other's eyes or some such. I think that would have been against the norm for their already established characters. 
 Also, I liked that Erin is just Erin. There's not really any tragic or traumatic event in her life (besides the way in which she initially became a Crow that is) that made her into this in-your-face no-holds-barred character. She just is that way. It makes her feel very genuine and, honestly, just makes the words that come out of her mouth so much more funny. I like her unpredictability. Even though I'm used to the way her character acts, I still don't know what to expect next from her. But Erin definitely doesn't hold anything back. 
 So instead of having this book focus on who Erin is, or who she used to be, the main conflict is of course preventing Ragnarok, and therefore seeded within Erin's quest to find the sword. That is where all the challenges lay. I liked that, despite all their varying differences and grudges, we finally get to see the clans comes together as a unit, for a common purpose. They pretty much have to, they can go back to fighting amongst themselves afterwards, but I like that the focus is on preventing the end of the world. 
 In that regard I think The Unyielding is my favorite of the series thus far. I thought everything was perfectly paced, the romance was spot on, the humor was fantastic, and the balance in keeping up with the other main characters all while still keeping the focus on Erin and Stieg was good. 
 I felt like The Unyielding is definitely the end of one story arc and, if decided, could possibly be the end of the trilogy in general, but the ending leaves things open for more adventures to continue. There are many many Crows that I'd love to see take center stage so I'm hoping we'll keep getting more books in this series. It's become one of my favorite / most anticipated series releases. 
 *ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.