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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
A mixed bag
Too long in the telling, too little of the villains, and too much to plough through as one extended saga, I probably should have read these individually. But then I might not have finished with it, which I did, which would suggest that it wasn't without worth. The protagonists were interesting enough but the real pleasure lay in meeting the large extended vampire family and the coterie of witches. The settings were fun too. A little more actual dramatic events and a tighter exposition, would have pushed it from "worth a look" to "recommended".
Too long in the telling, too little of the villains, and too much to plough through as one extended saga, I probably should have read these individually. But then I might not have finished with it, which I did, which would suggest that it wasn't without worth. The protagonists were interesting enough but the real pleasure lay in meeting the large extended vampire family and the coterie of witches. The settings were fun too. A little more actual dramatic events and a tighter exposition, would have pushed it from "worth a look" to "recommended".
Remarkable blend of modern, renaissance, magic, witches, wizards, and vampires. Audible narration ads an incredible sense of all.
I wanted to like this book - I was excited to read it...but it disappointed. What started out as a promising mystery about witches, vampires, and demons ended up being a cross between Twilight and Romeo & Juliet, with a hint of 50 Shades of Grey. I am still not sure how an independent woman like Diana (main character) ends up utterly dependent on someone she just met (by the end of the book they know each other 40 days) - letting him and others decide, without her (because she is sent out of the room), how to fight who/what is coming for her. In this is just the beginning of the issues for me...That said, I hope others enjoy the book more than I did.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book for free from a Goodreads Giveaways.
I had finished reading this series over a year ago but my reading of the books was separated because I read books one and two close together and had a long wait before book three was released. I was excited to win this collection so that I had a reason to read them one after the other to see how my opinions might change when read as one. Here are some rough thoughts after flying through the series in one week.
I love this series. Alright, now into details. Up until finding this series, I had mainly read teen and young adult books to get my fantasy/romance fix. These books by Deborah Harkness were some of the first ones I read that had all the mystery, fantasy, and romance that I love wrapped up in a more mature setting. I enjoyed reading a book that dealt with more serious themes and worldly adventures without any teenage angst. In re-reading the series, I also saw a lot of similarities to two of my favorite authors – Diana Gabaldon and Dan Brown. If you like any books by Diana Gabaldon or Dan Brown, I would highly suggest checking out this series.
There is some beautiful world building that makes you feel that you are there with the characters. There is mystery, humor, science, love, (tons of) adventure and a hit of spookiness. The adventure gets deeper and becomes richer with each subsequent book. Don’t get me started on the amazing plot twists.
The only negative I saw in the series was more of a personal issue. I’m not very good with remembering names and book two is full of new characters. In one conversation a character could be referred to as their first name, last name and a nickname. I found out later that my paperback had a nice cheat sheet of names and who they were in the back. Oh well, now I know.
One of my favorite parts of the series was actually a somewhat minor character. Christopher Roberts doesn’t truly join the gang until the third book but I loved what he added in terms of progressing the story, sneaky bits of humor and making things more relatable by throwing humans into the mix.
The trilogy was beautifully done even though I felt a bit emotionally exhausted after reading it all. I enjoyed how the last book ended but I’m pretty attached to a few characters so if Deborah Harkness decides to write any more with these characters from either the further or the past, I will definitely be picking those books up too.
I had finished reading this series over a year ago but my reading of the books was separated because I read books one and two close together and had a long wait before book three was released. I was excited to win this collection so that I had a reason to read them one after the other to see how my opinions might change when read as one. Here are some rough thoughts after flying through the series in one week.
I love this series. Alright, now into details. Up until finding this series, I had mainly read teen and young adult books to get my fantasy/romance fix. These books by Deborah Harkness were some of the first ones I read that had all the mystery, fantasy, and romance that I love wrapped up in a more mature setting. I enjoyed reading a book that dealt with more serious themes and worldly adventures without any teenage angst. In re-reading the series, I also saw a lot of similarities to two of my favorite authors – Diana Gabaldon and Dan Brown. If you like any books by Diana Gabaldon or Dan Brown, I would highly suggest checking out this series.
There is some beautiful world building that makes you feel that you are there with the characters. There is mystery, humor, science, love, (tons of) adventure and a hit of spookiness. The adventure gets deeper and becomes richer with each subsequent book. Don’t get me started on the amazing plot twists.
The only negative I saw in the series was more of a personal issue. I’m not very good with remembering names and book two is full of new characters. In one conversation a character could be referred to as their first name, last name and a nickname. I found out later that my paperback had a nice cheat sheet of names and who they were in the back. Oh well, now I know.
One of my favorite parts of the series was actually a somewhat minor character. Christopher Roberts doesn’t truly join the gang until the third book but I loved what he added in terms of progressing the story, sneaky bits of humor and making things more relatable by throwing humans into the mix.
The trilogy was beautifully done even though I felt a bit emotionally exhausted after reading it all. I enjoyed how the last book ended but I’m pretty attached to a few characters so if Deborah Harkness decides to write any more with these characters from either the further or the past, I will definitely be picking those books up too.