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A review by katyanaish
Rituals by Kelley Armstrong
5.0
The ending to the Cainsville series, which, as a whole, I could not put down. I am so happy the whole series was released so I could plow right through.
This is a series that, IMO, excels because of the individual book plots, and the character arcs. The overall series arc was a bit wishy-washy, with lots of holes. I don't want to dwell on those, because I really did enjoy the book, but just a brief list of the big ones, to be clear...
We got some hand-waving about her bringing life/power to whichever side she chose. But why? I mean, through all the iterations and multiple lifetimes, we never got any indication that she was imbued with some superpowers. The original Matilda didn't even seem to have powers at all. She was just a girl who was loved by two boys. There was no prophecy, no Gods that chose her, or ordained this. Where did this idea come from? And how does she bring them power, when she chooses? How does this work? Is it enough to just love the boy she does, or does she have to live there? Could she have chosen to love Gabriel and then empower the Cwn Annwn? I honestly cannot believe we didn't get any detail.
2. What did the sluagh hope to gain?
Was it really just chaos, or "I want that because other people want it"?? That is ... honestly, the dumbest motivation ever. I can't believe there wasn't some ACTUAL point. But I suppose that any concrete gain would have to explain what Matilda actually does. Refer to point 1, above.
3. Some things were overly convenient.
Seanna wasn't just a shit human being, she had her soul stolen. Pamela was seemingly just totally forgiven at the end. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame her for killing murderers to save her daughter. But killing James was pretty unforgivable. There was no good reason. I mean, really. Why, logically, would she kill the only non-fae to have a claim to Olivia's affections, when Pamela clearly wanted Olivia to have nothing to do with the fae?
4. We have some fairly major loose ends.
WALTER was betraying them? Walter? What? Why? How is it that we will never know that? Also, does Pamela get to know that she was TOTALLY played by the sluagh? We don't know if she was told or not told, but she damn well should be told, because she seems to feel like she's the only person who can see what's really going on... and she needs to know that she's just as fallible as everyone else, so she shouldn't go racing forward into something horrible just because she thinks she has shit all figured out. Like she did with the murders. Like she nearly did with Seanna. If she's getting out of jail, this needs to be handled. Which leads to: are her parents getting out of jail? That's a horrible loose end. Also, how did they know that an Arawn was being born but no Gwynn? And how can that even happen? But wouldn't it seem more likely that - given how the sluagh were literally manipulating every other event - that they just convinced the fae that they were needed, to get their foot in the door of Cainsville?
So those are overall plot problems. I'd like to also say, though, that I loved the shades of gray, and the twists and turns, throughout the series. Pamela doing bad things, but for good reasons. People making hard choices, that aren't really good or bad... they just are necessary. No character in this series has clean hands, and that makes it complicated and interesting.
Okay, so then we get to the the individual plot of each book, which I enjoyed very much. In this book, that's the Seanna / dryads story.
I also enjoyed that Gabriel and Olivia finally got past the ridiculous miscommunication and overreactions. They were great once they finally stopped that crap, and their overall character arcs were fantastic. Especially Gabriel.
So that's the series. I'm sad it's over. Here's my rating.
Overall character arcs: 5 stars
Individual book plots: 4.5 stars
Overall series plot: 3.5 stars
So I'm giving this book a 4.5.
This is a series that, IMO, excels because of the individual book plots, and the character arcs. The overall series arc was a bit wishy-washy, with lots of holes. I don't want to dwell on those, because I really did enjoy the book, but just a brief list of the big ones, to be clear...
Spoiler
1. We never got any indication of what, exactly, Matilda was supposed to do.We got some hand-waving about her bringing life/power to whichever side she chose. But why? I mean, through all the iterations and multiple lifetimes, we never got any indication that she was imbued with some superpowers. The original Matilda didn't even seem to have powers at all. She was just a girl who was loved by two boys. There was no prophecy, no Gods that chose her, or ordained this. Where did this idea come from? And how does she bring them power, when she chooses? How does this work? Is it enough to just love the boy she does, or does she have to live there? Could she have chosen to love Gabriel and then empower the Cwn Annwn? I honestly cannot believe we didn't get any detail.
2. What did the sluagh hope to gain?
Was it really just chaos, or "I want that because other people want it"?? That is ... honestly, the dumbest motivation ever. I can't believe there wasn't some ACTUAL point. But I suppose that any concrete gain would have to explain what Matilda actually does. Refer to point 1, above.
3. Some things were overly convenient.
Seanna wasn't just a shit human being, she had her soul stolen. Pamela was seemingly just totally forgiven at the end. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame her for killing murderers to save her daughter. But killing James was pretty unforgivable. There was no good reason. I mean, really. Why, logically, would she kill the only non-fae to have a claim to Olivia's affections, when Pamela clearly wanted Olivia to have nothing to do with the fae?
4. We have some fairly major loose ends.
WALTER was betraying them? Walter? What? Why? How is it that we will never know that? Also, does Pamela get to know that she was TOTALLY played by the sluagh? We don't know if she was told or not told, but she damn well should be told, because she seems to feel like she's the only person who can see what's really going on... and she needs to know that she's just as fallible as everyone else, so she shouldn't go racing forward into something horrible just because she thinks she has shit all figured out. Like she did with the murders. Like she nearly did with Seanna. If she's getting out of jail, this needs to be handled. Which leads to: are her parents getting out of jail? That's a horrible loose end. Also, how did they know that an Arawn was being born but no Gwynn? And how can that even happen? But wouldn't it seem more likely that - given how the sluagh were literally manipulating every other event - that they just convinced the fae that they were needed, to get their foot in the door of Cainsville?
So those are overall plot problems. I'd like to also say, though, that I loved the shades of gray, and the twists and turns, throughout the series. Pamela doing bad things, but for good reasons. People making hard choices, that aren't really good or bad... they just are necessary. No character in this series has clean hands, and that makes it complicated and interesting.
Spoiler
Also, have to give a nod to Patrick here. Finding out he didn't just have an affair with Seanna was good, but also heartbreaking. It gives a little justification for why he stayed so on the outside of Gabriel's life... I mean, who wants to have anything to do with their rapist?Okay, so then we get to the the individual plot of each book, which I enjoyed very much. In this book, that's the Seanna / dryads story.
Spoiler
Speaking of the dryads, I cried my eyeballs out at the end. Seriously, I think I'm still dehydrated.I also enjoyed that Gabriel and Olivia finally got past the ridiculous miscommunication and overreactions. They were great once they finally stopped that crap, and their overall character arcs were fantastic. Especially Gabriel.
Spoiler
When he finally became a leader at the end - making sure his people were as safe as he could make them, dragging Ricky to safety, etc - I was so happy that I was bursting.So that's the series. I'm sad it's over. Here's my rating.
Overall character arcs: 5 stars
Individual book plots: 4.5 stars
Overall series plot: 3.5 stars
So I'm giving this book a 4.5.