I can point out so many flaws but at the end of the day I read this 561 page book very fast and I did, I enjoyed myself. My rational brain is going, “Stop! She’s too powerful! This villain is made of cardboard! This is wish-fulfillment! He’s so possessive, and how convenient it’s coded into his genes!!! This is CHEESY AS HELL. They are CODEPENDENT.” Meanwhile, the part of my brain that just makes noises and wants to grab things that are soft is making lots of noise, and if we could translate it it would say, “Babies!!! I love all these people. Found family!!! Hug him! Furry! Academia as a fantasy! I want to be in a coven!! Powerful kickass characters, give me everything I secretly want!”
So you might say I’m conflicted. And also that the book was a mess. There was just SO MUCH stuffed in here.
There really is too much to talk about in here. But I did want to mention that overall this was a good ending to this series, there were some things left open, and I’m hoping at least one of them is addressed in the book she released in 2018 that most people say is basically just an extended epilogue to the trilogy. I know it follows Marcus and Phoebe’s journeys into becoming vampires, but I really want some closure on lonely lil Gallowglass, who is nothing but great in this series and who has a fantastic accent, but who is sad and lonely.
I did also want to mention the two things that really set this series apart, which is her focus on history and academia, and her use of hard science combined with fantastic concepts. Every time the vampire scientists were in the room, I was riveted (and I loved all the nicknames Chris came up for his lab assistants in place of their actual names; Harkness is apparently an X-Files fan).
[3.5 stars]
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