I think this is my favorite since the third book. I really liked it, but I was a bit disappointed with the Ethan/Merit drama. It seems this author is convinced that she needs to keep things uncertain between the main couple as long as possible, to maintain interest perhaps? But the constant bumbs in this relationships are beginning to be more and more far-fetched and make the characters look like a pair of drama queens.Last book it was "I can't be with you because Mallory is affecting my mood", which was really weak since Ethan has learned the hard way the lesson that he's stronger with Merit at his side. This book it was the RG "betrayal". As political as Ethan is, it seems completely unrealistic to me that he didn't immediately start thinking about the advantages of a connection to the RG. The jealousy about Jonah was also completely over the top, since he knows already Merit worked with him when he was dead and it didn't bother him before. Why did it bother him now? It was frankly tiring. There were plenty of interesting things happening in this book and we didn't to focus on this ludicrous and forced relationship drama.Also, there's an increasing problem of recapping the more we advance in the series. I didn't see it so much before because there was less material to recap, but now it's becoming more and more annoying. Now it's like a good part of the book goes like this:"Hi Sarah", I said.Sarah was my neighbor. I had liked her for a very long time, but since she had briefly considered moving out last month, things were a bit awkward."Hi", she replied. "Have you seen Jeff?"Jeff was our milkman. He'd had a thing for Sarah for a while, and I'd recently started to wonder if it was mutual."No" I smiled. "Not since the party."We'd had a party two days before. It had been quite eventful. A clown had shown up uninvited and had tried to abscond with the hostess. That would be me."That was quite the party", she said.And on and on it goes like this. Considering all the explanations are things we've read already, it's boring to read through it all again. I understand the need to recap things that happened in an earlier book or something that had previously been unimportant and under the radar, but everything? And explain who everyone is every time they're mentioned for the first time? It's way too much. I can only imagine that it's for people who haven't read previous books, but honestly who does that? If someone picks up a sereies from the 7th book, it's their fault for being confused. Most authors do a little bit of recapping, but not as much.Still, in terms of the plot and mystery, I really liked this book a lot. Enough to give it a solid 4 stars. I love the story and characters. I just things some of the desicions the author makes aren't the best to exploit the potential she's got her.
LaTavia says:
Well, this book was full of actions and new adventures for Meryt, once again. I really enjoyed reading this installment, more than the previous book at least. I found the story more interesting in this one, I'm glad we had a break from Mallory's drama because it wasn't really my thing... Instead of that, there was more political issues with the GP now that the Cadogan House isn't a member anymore. Other than that, Lacey was back and I can't say that I missed her. She wants Ethan for herself even if it means getting Meryt out of the way. Meryt and the "gang" are also trying to find a serial killer and I admit I was a little freaked out around the end when things were put together. Overall, this was a good read in the series.