Review: Shadow's Claim (The Dacians #1) by Kresley Cole

Title: Shadow's Claim
Series: The Dacians #1
Author: Kresley Cole
Release Date: November 27, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

HE WON’T BE DENIED

Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.

SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER

Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.

A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL

Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. . . .

Review

Oh how I missed the Lore and all of it's inhabitants. Still missing Nix, even though she was mentioned a bit in this one. When is she ever not involved? xD

Really enjoyed this book, it had the steamy sex scenes, the action, carnage, and it's funny and sweet moments. Specially liked seeing Lothaire again. I think his interactions with Elizabeth were the funniest parts in the book, just cause he is this bad ass vamp and she has him totally wrapped around her little finger. It was great seeing them again and I hope we'll be seeing more of them in the other books as well.

My only problem with this one was Bettina. She isn't like the other heroines in the sense that she wasn't really bad-ass. She even called herself a pushover, which she is. But she never did much of anything in my opinion. I mean I'm glad she finally started getting over her trauma, but all the other heroines had their issues as well and the way they solved it, they would go own up to it and kill whatever it was. Bettina never killed the Vrekeners, Trey did it for her, and I think that took a lot out of the story for me. She did start to get better by the end but let's just say she isn't my favorite heroine from the bunch.

I still thoroughly enjoyed this one and can't wait for the next one!

Review: [ARC] A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1) by Lisa M. Basso

Title: A Shimmer of Angels
Series: Angel Sight #1
Author: Lisa M. Basso
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

Review

I'm going to make this short, because if I don't it will be a rant and not a review. The book was well written but it was your typical YA novel. Love triangle, bad boy with dark girl, golden angel who is too good and just can't be with the heroine. Heroine who is a seer, but totally oblivious to everything to point of being totally absurd. Weird romance, it wasn't quite insta-love but close enough and she was acting like they had been together for ages, when they had only actually had like 3 conversations max. She was also all willing to be selfless and damn set in her thinking of dying for everyone she loves without even considering that there is another way and she actually fights to die, it was so exasperating. There will be lots of readers who will enjoy this but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

WWW Wednesday Nov. 28th

WWW Wednesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading. 

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

My answers...

What are you currently reading?

A Shimmer of Angels by Lisa M. Basso (GR). This is an ARC I got from NetGalley. I haven't exactly started reading it yet, but will start it sometime today.

What did you recently finish reading?

Prophecy of The Most Beautiful (Oracle of Delphi #1) by Diantha Jones (GR). Just finished this one on Monday. Really enjoyed the greek mythology aspect of it.

After Dark (19th Year #1) by Emi Gayle (GR). Picked this one up cause the concept was new to me. Had heard of changelings before but the spin the author gave to this new to me and it didn't dissapoint in that aspect. You can see my review here.

What do you think you'll read next?

Shadow's Claim (The Dacians #1) by Kresley Cole (GR). So excited to read this one! Love her IAD series and Poison Princess.

Review: After Dark (19th Year #1) by Emi Gayle

Title: After Dark
Series: 19th Year #1
Author: Emi Gayle
Release Date: October 20, 2012
Rating: 3 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn't know will probably kill her. 

In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she'll be for the rest of her life. 

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it's her birthright. To Mac, it's a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours. 

Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists—which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there's more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge. 

In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.

Review

The blurb for this one really intrigued me. There aren't that many books out there were the main supernatural creature is a changeling, usually they are just mentioned in passing. I really liked what the author did with this one, brought a whole new spin to it that I really liked, not to mention the politics, beliefs and traditions that came with it. 

If I were to rate the book solely based on the plot and concept it would have gotten 5 stars, because I sure as hell didn't see who the 'bad guys' were till they actually said so and afterwards it was an 'of course it was them! *facepalm*' reaction, but unfortunately I can't because I had a problem with the MC. 

Mac was very annoying, arrogant, and selfish at the start and made it really hard to like her. She kept calling all the humans names, like they were even worse than the piece of gum stuck to her shoe, yet she is a human half the time. Then there was the whole disinterest with like EVERYTHING except the book, which in my opinion still wasn't enough. The girl is an orphan, has to make the biggest decision of her life in eight months and she has asked absolutely no questions, not even about her mom or dad, really? 

The romance was just OK for the most part, a bit too insta-lust for me, but it got better and so did Mac, which is why it isn't getting a lower rating, cause she did grow. I also did like all the characters, they were well written, specially liked Winn's sister, Zoe. She had the same reaction I would if I found out all that was real, which should have been Mac's reaction and she did notice that it was kinda off.

All in all it was an interesting read and I'll be waiting for the next one.

Teaser Tuesdays #1 - Prophecy of The Most Beautiful

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

~| So, here is the teaser for this week! |~

"My name is Chloe," She quickly stepped between them and said sweet as candy, leaving Strafford close to offing him. He was the only one that was going to be getting sweet looks around here…"

- p.177 Prophecy of The Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones

Movie: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

I love the Percy Jackson series. I actually saw the movie first before I read the book, which isn't how I usually do it. I liked the movie and a couple of months later I started reading the books. 

Wasn't surprising that the book was so much better than the movie, but what was surprising was how different it actually was. There were quite a few scenes that were pretty different. It almost felt like reading something that was completely unrelated to the movie. 

So I'm super glad and excited to share with you guys some pictures of the set of the second movie Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, which looks like it will stick much closer to the books this time around! :)

So without further ado, here it is!

*PS: Awesome music choice too :P

Releases of the Week #1

Hi guys! Here are the releases for the week of Nov. 26 - Dec. 2:

Monday, Nov. 26, 2012

The Black Box (Harry Bosch #18)

by Michael Connelly

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012

The Fractal Prince (The Quantum Thief Trilogy #2)

by Hannu Rajaniemi

A Private Duel with Agent Gunn (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #3)

by Jillian Stone

Bard's Oath (Dragonlord #3)

by Joanne Bertin

Wild About You (Love at Stake #13)

by Kerrelyn Sparks

Steel's Edge (The Edge #4)

by Ilona Andrews

Cold Days (The Dresden Files #14)

by Jim Butcher 

King of the Damned (League of Guardians #2)

by Juliana Stone

My Lord Eternity (Immortal Rogues #2)

by Alexandra Ivy

Trapped (Iron Druid Chronicles #5)

by Kevin Hearne

Lust for Life (WVMP Radio #4)

by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shadow's Claim (The Dacians #1)

by Kresley Cole

Spree (Chandler Series, #2)

by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson

Kept (Coveted #2)

by Shawntelle Madison 

Killer Librarian

by Mary Lou Kirwin

The Sum of Her Parts (Tipping Point #3)

by Alan Dean Foster

Midnight's Warrior (Dark Warriors #4)

by Donna Grant

Secret Sins (The Callahan's #3)

by Lora Leigh

Drive Me Wild (The Others #7)

by Christine Warren

Lullaby (Watersong #2)

by Amanda Hocking 

Finding Home

by Lois Greiman

Touched (Sense Thieves #1)

by Corrine Jackson

Undead to the World (The Bloodhound Files #6)

by D.D. Barant

Collateral Damage: A Dreamland Thriller

by Dale Brown, Jim DeFelice

Moonshifted (Edie Spence #2)

by Cassie Alexander

King of the Dead (Jeremiah Hunt, #2)

by Joseph Nassise

Sword of Caledor

by William King

The Lucky Ones (Bright Young Things #3)

by Anna Godbersen

Fragile Darkness (Midnight Dragonfly #3)

by Ellie James

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012

Vex (Celestra #5)

by Addison Moore

Friday, Nov. 30, 2012

Reached (Matched #3)

by Ally Condie

Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012

The Believing Game

by Eireann Corrigan

The Game (The Valley #1)

by Krystyna Kuhn

So many books I'm excited about! How about you? Buying any?

Review: The Shattered Dark (McKenzie Lewis #2) by Sandy Williams

Title: The Shattered Dark
Series: McKenzie Lewis #2
Author: Sandy Williams
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

McKenzie was a normal college student, save for one little twist: she’s a shadow reader, someone who can both see the fae and track their movements between our world and the Realm. It’s a gift for which she has been called insane, one for which she has risked family and friends—and one that has now plunged her into a brutal civil war among the fae.

With the reign of the king and his vicious general at an end, McKenzie hoped to live a more normal life while exploring her new relationship with Aren, the rebel fae who has captured her heart. But when her best friend, Paige, disappears McKenzie knows her wish is, for now, just a dream. McKenzie is the only one who can rescue her friend, but if she’s not careful, her decisions could cost the lives of everyone she’s tried so hard to save.

Review

I'm gonna try and review this as best as possible because all I want to do is rant. If you thought the first one was frustrating, this one is down right pull-your-hair-out worthy.

The book in it's entirety is just as good as the first one. Same lovable characters, more politic games, more killing, more action, but also more frustrating romance. 

McKenzie finally decides on Aren but there is so much fighting and killing going on that they are barely together for more than a day, which was one of the many things that was annoying about this. She wouldn't give in to her feelings because they barely had time for themselves, which is understandable but after halfway through the book with the same problem it started getting on my nerves. She was also holding back because of Kyol's feelings, which again understandable, but you can only take so much, and then that ending...OMG WHAT THE HECK!!

Right then, sorry about the ranting, just couldn't hold it in any longer xD. But even with all that, I still very much enjoyed this book and I will keep going with the series because it is totally worth it and I know there are some major twists coming up next.

DNF: [ARC] Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter by Richard Parks

Title: Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter
Author: Richard Parks
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Rating: DNF

Book Blurb

In an ancient Japan where the incursions of gods, ghosts, and demons into the living world is an everyday event, an impoverished nobleman named Yamada no Goji makes his living as a demon hunter for hire. 

With the occasional assistance of the reprobate exorcist Kenji, whatever the difficulty — ogres, demons, fox-spirits — for a price Yamada will do what needs to be done, even and especially if the solution to the problem isn’t as simple as the edge of a sword. 

Yet, no matter how many monsters he has to face, or how powerful and terrible they may be, the demons Yamada fears the most are his own!

Review

I am sorry to say I could not finish this book. I really wanted to like it since I love reading about Japanese culture, but it just wasn't doing it for me. The chapters each seemed like a separate short story, which really took out from the whole story. The characters were believable and relateable enough, and the mini plots on each chapter were interesting, but taking it as a whole (which it should be since it is a book, not an anthology or anything) it just wasn't enough. I don't know in which direction the story is supposed to go and everything just seems very unconnected. I didn't see much cohesion between chapters at all. Also on my digital copy of the ARC there were a lot of grammatical errors, which after a while took it's toll as well. I'm not sure if it's because of the formatting or it was how the book was done so far. This novel has a lot of potential and some people might find it to their liking, but it just wasn't for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley for a copy!

Review: The Prince with Amnesia by Emily Evans

Title: The Prince with Amnesia
Author: Emily Evans
Release Date: November 9, 2012
Rating: 2 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

Violet’s sure of three things:
• Its senior year and its time to date
• She’ll have to lie to do it
• She wants to date the hot new guy – Kai
Kai’s sure of three things: 
• He has amnesia 
• He’s recuperating in secret in America
• He wants to date Violet
Ever dated a hot guy with amnesia who turns out to be a prince in disguise? 
- Welcome to Violet’s senior year.

Review

This was supposed to be a cute, fun read, and it kinda was, but I had a big problem with this one and it was that I felt disconnected from the characters and what they were feeling. I hadn't realized that it was the same author of The Accidental Movie Star, which it turns out I had the same problem that I did with this one.

This had a good solid plot and I did like the characters, but it was all show instead of feel. I just couldn't really get into it.

So for me this book was ok, and after 2 misses with this author I don't think I'll bother with another one.

Review: The Shadow Reader (McKenzie Lewis #1) by Sandy Williams

Title: The Shadow Reader
Series: McKenzie Lewis #1
Author: Sandy Williams
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Rating: 4 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

There can only be one allegiance.
It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Review

I hadn't read an Adult UF in a while and I'm glad I started up again with this one. It has great characters in intricate worlds with their politics and wars and their own beliefs. 

The romance was believable and well done, even though it did get incredibly frustrating at times. I really dislike when the MC can't make up her mind, but it was written in such a way that I could understand why she was so undecided. Didn't mean I still wasn't frustrated though.

I think my favorite thing about this book was the MC, she may not know how to actually fight but man is she resourceful and damn determined and almost loyal to a fault. 

I really admired  how she never once stopped trying to escape. She knew in her mind who the bad guys were and where her loyalties lay and she never once gave up no matter how many times she failed. And she wasn't completely naive either. She was suspicious and cautious when they started trying to change her mind. 

This was a fast paced, action filled ride with enough sexual tension to keep you reading the whole way through.

Review: Bitter Blood (The Morganville Vampires #13) by Rachel Caine

Title: Bitter Blood
Series: The Morganville Vampires #13
Author: Rachel Caine
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires.  

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

Review

Even though I did like this book, I still can't bring myself to give it the 4 stars. 

Caine started introducing different POVs in her recent Morganville books and I actually enjoyed reading the different ones, especially in this one, where we get to read Myrnin's POV (I love Myrnin! xD). 

My problem was that all the POVs were in first person except Claire's. And that just basically ruined it for me, cause I felt detached the whole time I was reading it. Almost like it wasn't the Claire that we all love. 

In the previous books there has always been so much action, pain, betrayal, but ultimately the love that all 4 of them shared after everything they went through was what really did it for me. But by the end of this one there wasn't much of that left. 

Actually, most of the book was damn depressing, and that ending, ugh. So sad, not in a bad way, but not exactly good either. The whole thing just felt broken.

And what's going to happen now after that ending?

Review: Gravity (The Taking #1) by Melissa West

Title: Gravity
Series: The Taking #1
Author: Melissa West
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Rating: 2 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads

Book Blurb

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Review

I had high expectations for this one, probably cause I have been wanting to read it for a while now, and that cover is just so beautiful! Unfortunately it was just ok. 

The concept of the book is great. The Ancients, who are trying to coexist because their planet is dying out, help rebuild ours with the hopes of living here as well. The way the Ancients had to adapt to our atmosphere, the politics involved between all the regions and then the Ancients themselves and how the world works now after having it reconstructed...You can tell she put some serious thought into it and I'm sure in the next books there will be some incredible twists going on, but I don't know if I'll manage to get there. 

To me characters can either make it or break it, and in this case it was the latter. Even though I liked that Ari could kick-ass, I just couldn't really relate to her for some reason. Actually I couldn't relate to any of them. 

Gretchen was the only one semi ok. Lawrence was ugh, I didn't get him, he was like a wall-flower character for most of the book till the end when he actually did something and even then it was just for like a couple of pages. 

Then there is Jackson, who I was willing to like at first, but then he would keep telling Ari to trust him and all he did was keep lying to her! I don't care if he actually cares for her, you do not keep asking for trust and not even try to return it, sorry. It just didn't do it for me, but as ratings show quite a few people still enjoyed, since it does have a solid concept. So if you don't mind too much the characters, it's worth a read at least.

Review: Iced (Fever #6) by Karen M. Moning

Title: Iced
Series: Fever #6
Author: Karen M. Moning
Release Date: October 30, 2012 
Rating: 5 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads 

Book Blurb  

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. 

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.

Review

I absolutely adored reading this one from Dani's POV. She is a mix of innocence and gritty reality, it was great. There was so no romance from Dani's side, she being 14 and all, and just not quite thinking like that yet, but she has potential suitors. 

I know some readers out there didn't take that very well because she is 14 and the men thinking about her curves and what not and getting into a pissing contest over her a few times. But these are Alpha males people, and they are both immortal. 

Waiting a few years for her to catch up in emotional maturity isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. They know she is a great gal and will become an amazing woman. So they have no problem securing their future 'mate' or w/e now instead of later when they are living in such an unstable world. 

I really like how Dani was starting to grow during this book. She is starting to understand that her actions have consequences and most often than not bad ones at that. 

I really love her arrogant, happy attitude. After everything she is being through and the world coming down on her, she can still find joy and happiness everyday. Even people now can't do that, it takes a certain kind of strength to be able to accomplish that. 

Plot-wise it was pretty intriguing what with the super iced spots popping up everywhere and them investigating it, and I mean truly investigating, none of that random stumbling around and then getting the big clue out of no where by sheer dumb luck. No, this was systematic and well thought out. I appreciated that. 

I would gush about it some more about I think you guys get the idea and should just find out for yourself :P

Review: [ARC] Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic
Series: Healer #2
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
Amazon
Goodreads 

Book Blurb

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avery of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avery is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avery will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avery is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

Review

I'm not exactly sure how to write this review, but I'll give it my best try. As my rating of 4 stars indicates I reallly liked this book, just not as much as the first one. 

When I finished reading it, it left me with an overall hallow feeling, which doesn't make sense with that kind of ending. At first I just couldn't put my finger on why I felt like that, but after reading a friend's review I finally figured it out. 

She pointed out how the interactions between the group wasn't prominent at all. It's still there every now and then but just not enough in my opinion. 

She also pointed out how she didn't like the switching of POVs. And I agree with her, my main problem lies with the switching of the POVs for a couple of reasons. 

1) It really interrupted the flow of the story with the whole going back and forth, especially because of the way how each one ended. I understand the importance of how what happened to Kerrick is gonna play a big part in the final fight but still,I think it could have been handled differently. 

2) This book could have made me feel so much more than it did, if it weren't for the fact that the reader knew that Kerrick was still alive and *well* for the most part. So whenever the 'big news' would come to Avry or Ryne, it just fell flat, because it just wasn't shocking at all. So instead of wallowing in grief with Avry for Kerrick's death, I would just fell detached from the whole thing.

With all that said, that's the reason this was a 4 star and not a 5. The writing was still splendid, the plot was great and there was always something going on, there were a few surprises and Avry was still kickass, after all she has gone through, the girl deserves a medal! 

Will be waiting * patiently* (yeah, right!) for the final installment in this trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!