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redhairedashreads's review
3.0
3 stars - I liked it
This book jumps back in time and takes place during the events in Etched in Bone. This book is about the events in the town of Bennett that the Others are trying to build a blended community in after the Elders killed everyone who previously lived there. Like the previous book, this one jumps between multiple characters to give you a better sense of what is happening all over the community.
The main heroine in this one is Jana Paniccia, who we met briefly in Etched in Bone. She is the female officer who went to Bennett since no other department will hire a female. I really liked Jana. She was tough, smart, and wasn’t afraid to stand up to the Others, even when she should have. Virgil Wolfguard is the sheriff and is a grumpy wolf who hates humans for what they did to his pack. He is very standoffish and aggressive to everyone at first, but by the end we see him accept some of the humans, especially Jana. I really love the unique pack/family that is being built in Bennett. Toyla Sanguinati is the vampire who is in control of the town. He was a very interesting character and I liked getting to know him.
The main conflict in this book is about a group of outlaws coming in to take over the town. The Blackstone Clan was interesting and filled with dangerous men. They may have done some damage to the town and its people, but they also taught the Others and the Elders how to figure out if someone is dangerous and should be killed. While I don’t love that people died in this conflict, it made sense with the story. This is a town being reclaimed and there will always be greedy people out there who want more and need to be put in their place. And good people die when that happens.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable story and I liked seeing how this new community is being built. I really look forward to reading the next book to see what else is happening in this world.
Trigger warnings: animal deaths; child abuse and death mentioned; death of family, including children briefly discussed; gore; self-harm; rape and torture; death of side characters;
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Child death, Child abuse, Rape, and Torture
greymalkin's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Enjoyed this more than Lake Silence but still found it frustrating. The hetero-normative gender roles feel so outdated that it undercut a lot of the more overt moments of gender equity.
Virgil was a racist sexist asshole and the book did little to show that his low opinion of "whiny weak yappy females" was not warranted. Even the "terrifying" Harvester didn't do anything of note without a man explaining it to her or telling her what to do, and the only Sanguinati that gets hurt is a female one who was apparently (according to the other Sanguinati) too dumb to understand how guns worked.
Ugh Barb. I don't understand how someone who was training to be a vet would be so freaked out by Joshua's acting more terra indigene than human.
I loved the arc for Jesse up until the very end. But then her very satisfying set up for a slow burn romance or even just a lovely friends with benefits story was crushed in a bizarrely unearned way at the end. Tolya was upset at his mistakes but lashing out at Jesse was out of character petty and reactionary.
This book has the same pattern as the other books in the series where the plot and outcome are pretty much explained at the start of the book, so there's no tension in not knowing what will happen or how it will end. it's just a matter of how badly will the protagonists screw things up despite multiple warnings, and finding out how many people will die unnecessarily.
Ugh Barb. I don't understand how someone who was training to be a vet would be so freaked out by Joshua's acting more terra indigene than human.
I loved the arc for Jesse up until the very end. But then her very satisfying set up for a slow burn romance or even just a lovely friends with benefits story was crushed in a bizarrely unearned way at the end. Tolya was upset at his mistakes but lashing out at Jesse was out of character petty and reactionary.
This book has the same pattern as the other books in the series where the plot and outcome are pretty much explained at the start of the book, so there's no tension in not knowing what will happen or how it will end. it's just a matter of how badly will the protagonists screw things up despite multiple warnings, and finding out how many people will die unnecessarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Minor: Racism and Child abuse
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