“I'll admit, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the 1st book. Right up front I'll let 1st time readers of the series know that they should read "Shadows' Edge" before this one. The book starts right off where book 1 ended and there is no recapping. So if you haven't read the 1st book you might be a little confused at first. The story starts with Morgan being held in a dark dungy prison and she's about to be executed. She's accused of high treason. However, the new Queen (Jenna) hatches a plan. The plan is to send Morgan to Rome to find the Expurgari (the bad guys from book 1) and she has two weeks to complete this mission. If it all pans out, she'll be pardoned. However, she will travel to Rome with the assassin, Xander (who we briefly met in the 1st book). Xander is there to kill her if she fails her mission. Xander is a very complex character. He is caught off guard by Morgan's beauty, composure, pride and strength. And thus the romance starts.
So once in Rome, the story gets more complex. We are introduced to an unknown fury Ikati colony. An evil alpha male by the name of Dominus, is their leader. We follow their storyline as well. At times, there was so much going on that I found it a bit distracting. I really would have preferred more book time for Morgan and Xander. However, i kept reading. We are introduced to the presumptive hero and heroine for the next book and they come from this fury colony. I'm not quite feeling them yet. I'm already having doubts and dislikes with the heroine for book 3. She's a bit too naive for my taste. She (Eliana) is the daughter of the evil alpha. Her father tries to hide his dark side from her. In the meantime we know that Eliana doesn't really like him. She knows he keeps secretes and she knows he is a ruthless man. It's a bit confusing cause she knows he is evil but yet towards the end of the book she still chooses to remain loyal. There's actually way more to why she choose to remain loyal (however, it's not really loyalty but more confusion that guides her to the decision she made in the end). I don't want to spoil it for you. You'll have to read to find out what I mean.
So as I kept reading and getting closer to the end, I was a bit worried that Morgan and Xander might not get a HEA. However, it all wraps up. I was a bit disappointed with how quickly it all wrapped up. The end moved so fast then seemed to abruptly end. While we learn just a little more about the Ikati, there were no new positive changes or developments for the Ikati society. I had hopes that the Queen (Jenna) would make some progress with making some changes to the Assembly. Possibly implementing new laws that will allow more freedom for the female Ikati. However, we only read of Jenna and Leander in the beginning of the book and by the end of the book, we are still left with the same oppressive society that the Ikati women have to live in. I was also disappointed that there was no Daria or Christian in this book (characters from book 1). Bummers.
This book was still enjoyable and there's still much more that I haven't included in my review. Did I mention, the love scenes between Morgan and Xander are HOT! I very much enjoyed the hero and heroine of this book. Morgan stayed true to her character from book one and Xander is the perfect strong male to handle her. In all, I am still very excited and hopeful about the future of the Ikati society. I am anxiously awaiting positive changes and developments for them. I will definitely continue reading the series. I still very much enjoyed J.T. Geissinger's writing style. She continues to brilliantly create very vivid, colorful and breathtaking memories of the Ikati world.
A favorite excerpt from the book: "With his hands, his lips, the poetry of his words, and the glowing dark burn of his eyes, he had grown hope inside her until she could barely breathe with possibility."”
Kainani wrote this review Thursday, October 4, 2012.
(
reply |
permalink )
