By far my least favorite book of the series to date.
Good grief I had so many problems with this book, I don't even know where to begin. *deep breath*
****SPOILER WARNINGS****
Add me to the list of people who found themselves wondering if S.K. actually wrote a good portion of this book. Everything from the dialogue to the new character development felt completely flat and emotionless to me. It was almost as if Kenyon wrote a few scenes here and there, and left the majority of the story up to someone else. A prime example: the book's one and only love scene takes place in the front seat of a tiny car while the H/h are being attacked by a plague of wasps. WTF???!!!
While in the end I wound up somewhat liking the character of Jess, I definitely could not drum up an ounce of sympathy for Abigail. Yes, she was lied to and used by the 'family' that raised her. I get that. BUT...that does not change the fact that she went about killing every Dark Hunter that she could get her hands on. And the fact that she was basically forgiven so easily for everything she did? Makes. No. Sense. Especially in the context of the DH world that i knew up to this point. And how about the fact that one minute she is hell bent on killing Jess and hating him with everything she has....and the next she decides she cares deeply about him, and wants to die to protect him and save the world?! Again...WTF?!?
The trademark snarky dialogue that i have come to love and expect in this series was definitely lacking here. But it wasn't for a lack of trying. The problem was that much of the dialogue (snarky or otherwise) came off as forced and at times down-right ridiculous.
As for that hot mess of a train wreck that was the ending? Talk about confusing and convoluted.
Even a cameo (blink and you miss it) by one of my all time fave DH characters Zarek couldn't make me enjoy this story.
While I understand the need to introduce new characters into the Dark Hunter world, I was not impressed with many of the new faces. I will say that i am curious for Ren's story coming up in Time Untime. I just pray that the story line is handled far better than it was here.
The only reason I am giving this 2 instead of 1 star is because of the 'bonus scene' with Ash. This chapter reminded me why i love the series so much, and felt very much like something happening in the DH world (unlike everything else that had occurred throughout the book). I loved the glimpse of remorse that we saw from Artie, and any kind of action involving Ash is always wonderful in my eyes.
