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elvenavari's review
4.0
That was certainly a whirlwind of a read. I like how it all came together in the end.
daffz's review
4.0
So much happened in this book that it was kind of hard to keep track of everything. I feel like there were a few missed chances to develop certain characters more (Jade, Riley and Drew) and I still don't really feel the chemistry between Braden and Trey but the ending was amazing and wrapped everything up. I loved Braden as a character so much, he's flawed and realistic and still really likable.
I have some mixed feelings about this book but because I loved the series overall and the ending was really satisfying, I'm still giving it 4 stars.
I have some mixed feelings about this book but because I loved the series overall and the ending was really satisfying, I'm still giving it 4 stars.
bookswithlukas's review
3.0
The end to a unique, yet overall confusing trilogy.
First off, I'd like to say that this is more of a review of the series as a whole.
The 'Witch Eyes' series is unique in the fact that it is one of the very few paranormal YA books that has a gay protagonist. The gay aspect of the book isn't the sole reason for it existing, and the author tries to weave a good amount of mythology to make this into an semi-epic tale of good vs. evil in a small town. Sadly though, I think too much mythology and ideas are placed into certain things, with not enough explanation.
I'll start off with the things I liked...
Braden - A lot of effort has happened here to help Braden not be a boring main protagonist. He is constantly involved in almost every plot line of the novel, has a snarky sense of humour and is generally a 'good guy'. He may not be one of the greatest YA characters ever invented, but he is easy to root for, and generally stands above the novels cast of other (admittedly lacklustre) side characters.
The feud and history of Belle Dam - This is where the majority of the mythology comes into play. There is a very large focus on the back story and creation of the town that really helps bring the feud between the two founding families alight. The power struggles and politics are interesting, and I liked that both heads of these families are considered the 'bad guys' here, as it would have been very easy to make Braden's father the 'good guy', and the novel works when there is awkwardness and differences between these two characters.
The romance - This is kind of a mixture of like and dislike. I really liked the character of Trey, and enjoyed that he wasn't your typical YA romance material, yes he's stupidly good looking, but he's also a bit of an loveable idiot, which I'll take over tortured and brooding any day of the week. The bad side of the romance though is that I felt the author kept keeping their relationship up in the air when it wasn't necessary. I kind of just wanted them to get together and be done with it, instead of focusing on a little more 'I want you, but I can't have you' drama.
Onto the things I didn't quite like...
Braden's Powers - After three books, I am still unsure as to the exact power and limitations of the main character's (Braden) witch eyes. It seems they can simply do whatever is needed for that point of the story, until they can't or aren't needed anymore. I feel like the idea of Braden's powers either needed to be simplified, or needed more explanation, as I often found myself wondering how he could suddenly do the things he was doing or wondering why he couldn't do something else, since his powers seemed oddly limitless.
The side characters - I don't know if I'm the only one, but I found Braden's little scooby gang to be rather annoying, and a little under developed. I think they could have dropped Riley specifically all together and just focused on the little romantic 'are they, will they?' drama between Jade and Drew.
Overall though, I can say that I liked this series, and that if you're looking for a gay paranormal YA series this will no doubt be one of the best ones out there. Although I'm not sure if that is the case because the series is that good, or just because there are so few gay paranormal options out there.
First off, I'd like to say that this is more of a review of the series as a whole.
The 'Witch Eyes' series is unique in the fact that it is one of the very few paranormal YA books that has a gay protagonist. The gay aspect of the book isn't the sole reason for it existing, and the author tries to weave a good amount of mythology to make this into an semi-epic tale of good vs. evil in a small town. Sadly though, I think too much mythology and ideas are placed into certain things, with not enough explanation.
I'll start off with the things I liked...
Braden - A lot of effort has happened here to help Braden not be a boring main protagonist. He is constantly involved in almost every plot line of the novel, has a snarky sense of humour and is generally a 'good guy'. He may not be one of the greatest YA characters ever invented, but he is easy to root for, and generally stands above the novels cast of other (admittedly lacklustre) side characters.
The feud and history of Belle Dam - This is where the majority of the mythology comes into play. There is a very large focus on the back story and creation of the town that really helps bring the feud between the two founding families alight. The power struggles and politics are interesting, and I liked that both heads of these families are considered the 'bad guys' here, as it would have been very easy to make Braden's father the 'good guy', and the novel works when there is awkwardness and differences between these two characters.
The romance - This is kind of a mixture of like and dislike. I really liked the character of Trey, and enjoyed that he wasn't your typical YA romance material, yes he's stupidly good looking, but he's also a bit of an loveable idiot, which I'll take over tortured and brooding any day of the week. The bad side of the romance though is that I felt the author kept keeping their relationship up in the air when it wasn't necessary. I kind of just wanted them to get together and be done with it, instead of focusing on a little more 'I want you, but I can't have you' drama.
Onto the things I didn't quite like...
Braden's Powers - After three books, I am still unsure as to the exact power and limitations of the main character's (Braden) witch eyes. It seems they can simply do whatever is needed for that point of the story, until they can't or aren't needed anymore. I feel like the idea of Braden's powers either needed to be simplified, or needed more explanation, as I often found myself wondering how he could suddenly do the things he was doing or wondering why he couldn't do something else, since his powers seemed oddly limitless.
The side characters - I don't know if I'm the only one, but I found Braden's little scooby gang to be rather annoying, and a little under developed. I think they could have dropped Riley specifically all together and just focused on the little romantic 'are they, will they?' drama between Jade and Drew.
Overall though, I can say that I liked this series, and that if you're looking for a gay paranormal YA series this will no doubt be one of the best ones out there. Although I'm not sure if that is the case because the series is that good, or just because there are so few gay paranormal options out there.
hpstrangelove's review
5.0
Lots going on in this final book of the series; I like when an author can take me by surprise, and I certainly wasn't expecting what happened in the end during the final confrontation.
aliensupersoldier's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, it's the last one in the series. Or is it?
I'm not really sure what happened with Phantom Eyes, but here is where this series lost me. Or maybe I just got lost within this book's many spells, rules and in-universe logic. Where the first book managed to set up a strong world and tell the beginning of a very captivating story, it's the second book that really lived up to this series' potential; it explored the characters and the many complicated rules and traditions of this world. The story sizzled. It burned bright.
Perhaps it burned a little too bright, because when time came to finish this most epic of tales, there wasn't much fire left to keep the story going. Sure, part of that can be explained by how short my attention span really is, and that after a couple of books, I just got tired of reading about the same characters, doing the same old thing.
For the most part, though, I think the culprits are the characters themselves. And the plot. And the story. The whole shebang. I get that it's difficult to live up to the expectations set by the previous book, especially if that book was awesome, and the bar was set pretty high. Not only does Phantom Eyes fail to live up to the sizzle of Demon Eyes, but it also fails to generate its own sizzle, and keep me invested in the story.
I mean, there is so much at stake, and at the same time there's no sense of urgency, no tension. At some point in the book, the story gets so entangled in this world's rules and history that it has trouble moving forward, and actually going somewhere.
The story starts out promising, and then slowly but surely fizzles out. That includes the romance between Braden and Trey. When they first met these two in Witch Eyes, sparks were flying. It was the forbidden romance between two teenage boys from two feuding families. "Oh, Trey Lansing, Trey Lansing! Wherefore art thou Trey Lansing?". In Demon Eyes, their relationship became more infuriating as Braden was chasing Trey who was being cold and distant (for reasons I now cannot recall), but the tension was still there. In this book, it's Braden who's being cold and distant and Trey is doing all the chasing, although now the tension is gone, and it feels like the two of them are just going through the motions.
Phantom Eyes is by no means a bad book, but it is a disappointing one, both as a sequel and as its own work of fiction. It's the final book in the series, but not the last one as there is a prequel, titled Homecoming. Maybe I'll get around to it someday. But for now, I feel like I'm done with this series.
I'm not really sure what happened with Phantom Eyes, but here is where this series lost me. Or maybe I just got lost within this book's many spells, rules and in-universe logic. Where the first book managed to set up a strong world and tell the beginning of a very captivating story, it's the second book that really lived up to this series' potential; it explored the characters and the many complicated rules and traditions of this world. The story sizzled. It burned bright.
Perhaps it burned a little too bright, because when time came to finish this most epic of tales, there wasn't much fire left to keep the story going. Sure, part of that can be explained by how short my attention span really is, and that after a couple of books, I just got tired of reading about the same characters, doing the same old thing.
For the most part, though, I think the culprits are the characters themselves. And the plot. And the story. The whole shebang. I get that it's difficult to live up to the expectations set by the previous book, especially if that book was awesome, and the bar was set pretty high. Not only does Phantom Eyes fail to live up to the sizzle of Demon Eyes, but it also fails to generate its own sizzle, and keep me invested in the story.
I mean, there is so much at stake, and at the same time there's no sense of urgency, no tension. At some point in the book, the story gets so entangled in this world's rules and history that it has trouble moving forward, and actually going somewhere.
The story starts out promising, and then slowly but surely fizzles out. That includes the romance between Braden and Trey. When they first met these two in Witch Eyes, sparks were flying. It was the forbidden romance between two teenage boys from two feuding families. "Oh, Trey Lansing, Trey Lansing! Wherefore art thou Trey Lansing?". In Demon Eyes, their relationship became more infuriating as Braden was chasing Trey who was being cold and distant (for reasons I now cannot recall), but the tension was still there. In this book, it's Braden who's being cold and distant and Trey is doing all the chasing, although now the tension is gone, and it feels like the two of them are just going through the motions.
Phantom Eyes is by no means a bad book, but it is a disappointing one, both as a sequel and as its own work of fiction. It's the final book in the series, but not the last one as there is a prequel, titled Homecoming. Maybe I'll get around to it someday. But for now, I feel like I'm done with this series.
logank's review against another edition
4.0
Durante tutta la trilogia ci sono state parti che non mi hanno molto convinto - nello specifico, la caratterizzazione di Trey, uno dei protagonisti principali e il fatto che, fin troppo spesso, non si capiva dove il protagonista volesse andare a parare con i suoi pensieri. Non che fossero confusi - arrivava a determinate conclusioni, e a noi lettori non era dato conoscere per alcuni capitoli. Come ricorso narrativo può funzionare, ma non se se ne abusa come ritengo abbia fatto l'autore.
Nonostante questo, però, la storia scorre, è avvincente e poco prevedibile e la maggioranza dei personaggi sono ben scritti e non 'macchiette'.
E l'happy ending finale è proprio happy and i'm weak for happy queer characters.
Nonostante questo, però, la storia scorre, è avvincente e poco prevedibile e la maggioranza dei personaggi sono ben scritti e non 'macchiette'.
E l'happy ending finale è proprio happy and i'm weak for happy queer characters.
elvenavari's review against another edition
4.0
That was certainly a whirlwind of a read. I like how it all came together in the end.
ktracey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0