Reviews

Rituals by Kelley Armstrong

arimcewan's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nickystrickland's review against another edition

4.0

Looking forward to what comes next from the author. However, I can see why the comments and reviews of the way this series was wrapped up, especially for the love triangle. Found it a little unplausible given the stakes at hand for the respective sides (especially with the attempted inclusion of a 3rd side/party). If the stakes are that high (survival of a group) then would either of those groups actually concede to what they are eventually given?

In saying this, absolutely loved this series and the fact it was ended. One of Armstrong's strengths is she will close a series when it is time (rather than keep it going regardless of how stretched narratives or characters become). Writing style, still kept me up at night reading and wanting to see what next.

flajol's review against another edition

3.0

Oh I have mixed feelings about this book. I've been waiting ages to read it after devouring the first four books, and it feels like the series ended with a whimper rather than a bang.

There's a fair bit of action and adventure which keeps you turning the pages, and there's lots of character development with Gabriel who rivals only the dryads for top spot in my affections in 'Rituals'.

The love triangle is finally resolved - thank goodness. I hate love triangles, especially when I like all the involved parties. The inevitable angst resulting from this one was only slightly eased by the reveal about one of our heroes late in the book.

Spoiler

Unfortunately there's a new big bad introduced at the eleventh hour who, it turns out, has been orchestrating events from the beginning. *sigh*

I'm glad I read it, but it feels like a drab ending to a strong beginning.

khaleesiwest's review

4.0

So very happy with how this series ended. This last book got back on track, answered many questions and ended on a high note.

haileyannereads's review

4.0

This was an excellent way to end the series! While there were a couple of things that disappointed me (even though I kind of saw them coming), I was very happy with it.

whimsicallymeghan's review

3.5

Just when Olivia has thought she’s finally started to understand her linage, Gabriel’s mother, who everyone thought to be dead, shows up to shake things up one last time. Now, a third supernatural force is at work threatening to destroy Olivia and the paranormal influences that keep Olivia bound to Cainsville and to Gabriel and Ricky. With the help of the town, she must find out the truth once and for all to take out those forces and help set her parents free. The final novel in the Cainsville series and it was good, but not great. This series could have been so much more; it started with so much potential, then got very lacklustre and boring in the middle and then it tried to come back in the final book and it did so clumsily. There was so much happening in this one in terms of plot and character development that left the reader feeling very overwhelmed at times. If Armstrong would have balanced this out more, we wouldn’t have felt like we were learning all this information in the last book to tie everything up; if she had spent less time building up a love triangle in the last two books, and started creating a cohesive arc that would lead to everything in this one, it wouldn’t have made this last novel feel rushed and like we were sprinting a marathon. As for the actual plot itself, it was definitely fast-paced, a little too fast at times because the reader felt they needed to go back and read things over due to the sheer volume of folklore and backstory we were getting. Everything felt so loaded and there was a lot to unpack, but Armstrong didn’t really give enough time to let everything sit. Once we learned about one thing or another, it was straight onto the next, there was never any time to breathe or take in the information. The reader enjoyed reading about the Welsh and Celtic folklore, but they didn’t really feel like they learned about it, more like everything was shoved in our faces for us to know and take at face value. What was enjoyable was the fact that we got a resolution on Olivia’s parents because that has been a looming question since the start, and one that seemed to get forgotten in the past books. It was good to see that it came to an ending the reader could believe. The reader wasn’t sure why Gabriel’s mother needed to be brought into the fold, it honestly felt like adding extra, unnecessary drama to an already over packed book. As for the whole Olivia, Gabriel, Ricky mess; we’re happy to see the love triangle end, but when we learn of Olivia’s “choice” it felt underwhelming, unimaginative and boring, all those stakes that were supposed to be building up, really felt like they were for nothing. In the end, this wasn’t a bad book because it did keep the reader’s attention and captivated them to find out all the answers, but it could have been done so much better.

necrabelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

caszriel's review against another edition

5.0

Initial thoughts: What a brilliant conclusion to the series! I don't want to spoil anything for anyone and I fear I'll be super obvious, so all I'm gonna say is: FINALLY. (If you understand/suspect what I mean even with that, then I apologise, I had to say something, that's the subtlest I could be.) There are more cultures introduced in this book. DrYaDs!! I love the evil characters, they're a menace but the way our faves insult them is hilarious. I spent all day reading this book, reminded of the power of Kelley Armstrong and how much I love her books.
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RTC

hgranger's review

3.0

This book did not deliver as I had hoped it would. It wraps up the series in a fairly satisfactory way, but it was slow-moving and never managed to make me care that much about any of the characters.

canadianbookaddict's review

5.0

I have read all previous books as soon as they came out and yes I read this one as soon as I received my copy.

I love this series and this book so much but I am sad that this is the last book.
This series is one of my favourites and will be one I will read again in the future.