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trgrze20's review
3.0
2.75.
A very meh read. For being a booked based off of “Buffy the VAMPIRE slayer”. Buddy had maybe one line, no vampires except for the mention of them being killed, no one even knew or acknowledged who Oz was. I saw Artemiss corruption from a mile away and I felt zero closure between cillian and his mom and Nina and Leo. It was a forced happy ending. Book could have definitely used another 200 pages to create more in depth characters, connections, and thicken the plot and stakes.
A very meh read. For being a booked based off of “Buffy the VAMPIRE slayer”. Buddy had maybe one line, no vampires except for the mention of them being killed, no one even knew or acknowledged who Oz was. I saw Artemiss corruption from a mile away and I felt zero closure between cillian and his mom and Nina and Leo. It was a forced happy ending. Book could have definitely used another 200 pages to create more in depth characters, connections, and thicken the plot and stakes.
immortal_desi_reads's review
5.0
I can never get enough of the Buffyverse! Nina is a badass slayer forced to make hard decisions. Safe the world or save her lover?
crochetchrisie's review
4.0
Took me a little while to get into it. I'm not a fan of first-person present tense (or switching between first and third), but I got used to it after a while. The action was good, very well-described. And the few cameos from Buffy characters were neat.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This review and a giveaway can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book once again took me back to my days of true Buffy fandom and reminded me why these stories resonate so well with people—sure, there’s supernatural adventure and a big bad, but it always comes back to heart. It always comes back to relationships. Buffy wasn’t just Buffy; she was the whole Scooby gang, and then that expanded even more. Well, the same goes for these books. Sure, the series centers on Nina and Artemis, but there’s a whole group of friends (and frenemies) backing them up who add so much to the story. For instance, Doug, the demon who feeds off of emotion (and can give you a high from it), plays a prominent role in this book, and I loved every minute of his presence. There are tensions between the friends—who’ve gone through a whole lot together but don’t always agree on the direction the future should take—and huge tensions between the sisters now that Artemis has left. Then there’s also Nina’s complicated feelings about Leo’s death (and his lies while he was still alive). Basically, all those complicated relationships are what kept me reading long into the night.
Don’t get me wrong, this book wasn’t light on plot—Nina’s bound and determined to protect her friends, including the demons, and there’s a dangerous new player in the game who threatens all of them. They have to figure out who that is (first of all) and then how best to fight him. There are some glorious twists and turns along the way!!
As with the first book, Kiersten White captures the snarky tone of the Buffyverse wonderfully. And, in this book, we get cameos by several familiar characters from the original series—those were a true treat (I loved one in particular, but I don’t want to spoil who it was).
I hadn’t realized this was a duology, but by the end of the book everything felt wrapped up pretty perfectly, so I wasn’t surprised when a little research revealed that fact. (Who knows, though—it’s always possible White could revisit these new friends. I certainly wouldn’t complain if that was the case.)
Basically, if you’re a fan of the Buffyverse, Kiersten White or paranormal books in general, you should definitely pick this series up. You will not be disappointed!!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This book once again took me back to my days of true Buffy fandom and reminded me why these stories resonate so well with people—sure, there’s supernatural adventure and a big bad, but it always comes back to heart. It always comes back to relationships. Buffy wasn’t just Buffy; she was the whole Scooby gang, and then that expanded even more. Well, the same goes for these books. Sure, the series centers on Nina and Artemis, but there’s a whole group of friends (and frenemies) backing them up who add so much to the story. For instance, Doug, the demon who feeds off of emotion (and can give you a high from it), plays a prominent role in this book, and I loved every minute of his presence. There are tensions between the friends—who’ve gone through a whole lot together but don’t always agree on the direction the future should take—and huge tensions between the sisters now that Artemis has left. Then there’s also Nina’s complicated feelings about Leo’s death (and his lies while he was still alive). Basically, all those complicated relationships are what kept me reading long into the night.
Don’t get me wrong, this book wasn’t light on plot—Nina’s bound and determined to protect her friends, including the demons, and there’s a dangerous new player in the game who threatens all of them. They have to figure out who that is (first of all) and then how best to fight him. There are some glorious twists and turns along the way!!
As with the first book, Kiersten White captures the snarky tone of the Buffyverse wonderfully. And, in this book, we get cameos by several familiar characters from the original series—those were a true treat (I loved one in particular, but I don’t want to spoil who it was).
I hadn’t realized this was a duology, but by the end of the book everything felt wrapped up pretty perfectly, so I wasn’t surprised when a little research revealed that fact. (Who knows, though—it’s always possible White could revisit these new friends. I certainly wouldn’t complain if that was the case.)
Basically, if you’re a fan of the Buffyverse, Kiersten White or paranormal books in general, you should definitely pick this series up. You will not be disappointed!!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
alongreader's review
3.0
Nina is still struggling with her Slayer abilities as the stakes continue to rise.
Nina's planned Utopia isn't quite working out as she hoped, and her Slayer instincts are urging her towards violence all the time. Meanwhile Artemis, who fled the castle with her girlfriend, is hunting down the most dangerous foe either of them have ever faced, if she can remember which side she's on...
(So basically, don't read this one first. Start with Slayer.)
I'm torn on this one. (I know, it happens a lot with me.) Kiersten knows how to write action scenes. They're very good. And the character stuff is great, too. Just, as an Irish person, I wish someone had fact checked. In the last book, Nina's mother gave her pounds, in a country that hadn't used pounds as currency for almost a decade. In this one, a villain in England says he can't go near the coast, for villainous reasons. So his minion decides the best thing to do is take him to Dublin. A city built on the coast.
I'm a little confused about the timing, too. It reads like it's not very long after the last book, maybe only a couple of months. Characters who were very little children in the last book are still very little children. But Nina says it took her years to get over Leo. I will make two points in fairness; it's possible, though I think unlikely, that she's referring to something from their childhood that I've forgotten since reading the last book. The other point is that I'm reading an ARC and it's possible things will be made more clear or altered before publication. I'll do my best to check a physical copy and update this review.
It's not a bad book. As an adventure story, it's fine - although I thought Oz was far out of character, but to be fair again I haven't read any comics, so maybe this version of him is based on those rather than on the show. It's definitely worth reading.
(Do the Wyndham-Pryces really not know *anything* about what's been happening to Wesley in LA?)
Nina's planned Utopia isn't quite working out as she hoped, and her Slayer instincts are urging her towards violence all the time. Meanwhile Artemis, who fled the castle with her girlfriend, is hunting down the most dangerous foe either of them have ever faced, if she can remember which side she's on...
(So basically, don't read this one first. Start with Slayer.)
I'm torn on this one. (I know, it happens a lot with me.) Kiersten knows how to write action scenes. They're very good. And the character stuff is great, too. Just, as an Irish person, I wish someone had fact checked. In the last book, Nina's mother gave her pounds, in a country that hadn't used pounds as currency for almost a decade. In this one, a villain in England says he can't go near the coast, for villainous reasons. So his minion decides the best thing to do is take him to Dublin. A city built on the coast.
I'm a little confused about the timing, too. It reads like it's not very long after the last book, maybe only a couple of months. Characters who were very little children in the last book are still very little children. But Nina says it took her years to get over Leo. I will make two points in fairness; it's possible, though I think unlikely, that she's referring to something from their childhood that I've forgotten since reading the last book. The other point is that I'm reading an ARC and it's possible things will be made more clear or altered before publication. I'll do my best to check a physical copy and update this review.
It's not a bad book. As an adventure story, it's fine - although I thought Oz was far out of character, but to be fair again I haven't read any comics, so maybe this version of him is based on those rather than on the show. It's definitely worth reading.
(Do the Wyndham-Pryces really not know *anything* about what's been happening to Wesley in LA?)
pawspagesandpurrs's review
4.0
** ARC provided by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review **
4*
I love, love, love anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer and since I've loved Slayer, the first novel, I definitely had to request this one to read. When I got approved, I dropped everything else for this. I have to say that going from audio for the first book to reading an ebook for the second was a little bit weird but that's a me thing and nothing against my opinion of the book at all.
It's been a while and this review should have been up a long while ago so I apologize if I am all over the place with it.
I loved this book just as much as the first one. It wasn't perfect because I thought there were lengths that did nothing for story telling but overall it was really good. Overall, the best parts of the book were the characters. Some were really funny and others annoying. There was one for everyone, basically and I loved it. I also love that it gave us characters from Buffy and not just in Nina's dreams but actual interactions.
I'm still a bit confused as to why they were a sanctuary for demons but it's water under the bridge, I guess.
I didn't like Artemis. At all. I don't see her reasoning as good for whatever she was doing. Most of all, Artemis' girlfriend. Ugh!! Doug is amazing and, somehow, reminded me of Clem from season 7.
As for the writing, I loved everything about it. It was really fun, really well done, fast and easy even through the lengths I said I found through the book. Total enjoyment and definitely feels like one of the writers of the Buffy novels back in the day. When I heard there would only be 2 books in this series, I was disappointed. I totally thought it would be a trilogy. I would so devoure that book too if it was ever made.
I do plan on buying Slayer and Chosen at some point. Because I'm a Buffy collector/fan and because these were really amazing books overall. I want everyone to read these books. No matter if people are Buffy fans or not. They are so worth it...
4*
I love, love, love anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer and since I've loved Slayer, the first novel, I definitely had to request this one to read. When I got approved, I dropped everything else for this. I have to say that going from audio for the first book to reading an ebook for the second was a little bit weird but that's a me thing and nothing against my opinion of the book at all.
It's been a while and this review should have been up a long while ago so I apologize if I am all over the place with it.
I loved this book just as much as the first one. It wasn't perfect because I thought there were lengths that did nothing for story telling but overall it was really good. Overall, the best parts of the book were the characters. Some were really funny and others annoying. There was one for everyone, basically and I loved it. I also love that it gave us characters from Buffy and not just in Nina's dreams but actual interactions.
I'm still a bit confused as to why they were a sanctuary for demons but it's water under the bridge, I guess.
I didn't like Artemis. At all. I don't see her reasoning as good for whatever she was doing. Most of all, Artemis' girlfriend. Ugh!! Doug is amazing and, somehow, reminded me of Clem from season 7.
As for the writing, I loved everything about it. It was really fun, really well done, fast and easy even through the lengths I said I found through the book. Total enjoyment and definitely feels like one of the writers of the Buffy novels back in the day. When I heard there would only be 2 books in this series, I was disappointed. I totally thought it would be a trilogy. I would so devoure that book too if it was ever made.
I do plan on buying Slayer and Chosen at some point. Because I'm a Buffy collector/fan and because these were really amazing books overall. I want everyone to read these books. No matter if people are Buffy fans or not. They are so worth it...
darkandsteamylit's review
4.0
Yes for the love of gods it took me forever to read this...NOT because it was bad or boring. I really enjoyed it. Life gets in the way of my reading time.
So...immediate thoughts Kiersten’s writing is hit or miss for me. With this series I’ve enjoyed it. Granted it’s in a world I already loved growing up. I was worried it would be ruined, but surprisingly I really enjoyed the nostalgia and seeing old characters come back into play.
I felt the timing flowed pretty well for the whole book until the end...why do endings always feel rushed? Not just with this book or author just in general.
For me yes I’d recommend this series to anyone who likes the slayerverse. If you don’t know anything about it some references will be lost on you. But over all it’s a pretty good series.
So...immediate thoughts Kiersten’s writing is hit or miss for me. With this series I’ve enjoyed it. Granted it’s in a world I already loved growing up. I was worried it would be ruined, but surprisingly I really enjoyed the nostalgia and seeing old characters come back into play.
I felt the timing flowed pretty well for the whole book until the end...why do endings always feel rushed? Not just with this book or author just in general.
For me yes I’d recommend this series to anyone who likes the slayerverse. If you don’t know anything about it some references will be lost on you. But over all it’s a pretty good series.
idgetfay's review
3.0
This was okay. It had a lot of the Buffy charm and humor that I love, and some beloved characters made a cameo or two. That being said, this one referenced the comics a lot more than the first book did, so I was a little confused. I’ve reached the same point with Buffy that I have with Harry Potter… as much as I want more, I don’t think I ACTUALLY want more. I just want to be able to revisit the old stuff as if it were the first time. So while it was a good book that had the spirit of Buffy throughout, I just kind of feel like I don’t NEED any more Buffy. I’m not steeped in that world anymore and reading this book was a lot of mental energy trying to figure out things I either missed or forgot. I don’t think I would read another one.