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#1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own--and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage... Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld... The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't--or won't--reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon--and risk the ultimate sacrifice...
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This series has always been a bit of a hit and miss with me. I've always enjoyed the books overall. I like the general concept of Eugenie being half human and half gentry, able to easily cross from our world to the Otherworld. I liked the pacing, the action and suspense. I like the different elemental magics and the plot twists and turns we have experienced along the way.
What I haven't always been totally sold on is the characters. I'm all for flawed characters—they are so much more interesting to read about—but there's a huge difference between reading a flawed character that you admire despite their faults, and reading a character or characters plural as in this case, who are just....idiots (that wouldn't be my first choice of words but I'm trying to be nice).
And I'm not even talking about TSTL (Too stupid to live) because a lot of female urban fantasy characters are that. I'm talking more about being selfish, hypocritical, fickle, disloyal and any other number of attributes you could apply to Ms. Markham. I just don't like her, and never really have.
The two men in her life that she flitted mercilessly between for the first three books aren't perfect by any means either. Both have a lot of faults. But as the series has gone on I've come to realise that I actually like one of the secondary characters the most out of the whole cast and feel he deserves someone better than Eugenie. that character is King Dorian. Now I need Richelle Mead to write a spin-off so we can pair him up with someone who isn't a selfish cow.
The decision that was made at the end of this book....I don't even have words really. As a mother I have opinions on it. As a woman I have opinions on it. And as a reader I have opinions on it. But whichever way I look at it, it sucked. This is now a series that, despite my enjoyment mentioned above, I now would not recommend to any of my fellow readers simply because I would never encourage anyone to start on a journey that is going to end with such a bitter after taste.
Three unenthusiastic stars (stars that are ALL awarded to King Dorian) )
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