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shmadsie 's review for:
Empire of the Damned
by Jay Kristoff
Holy hell, just intense as all crap from start to finish. God, I love series where every book matters and actually moves things along; I've read too many trilogies lately where the second book contributes almost nothing to the story - that can definitely not be said for this but, man, did it put me through the wringer.
At one point, I actually had the thought: it would've been kinder if he'd killed Aaron and Baptiste. And I love them, I cannot adequately express in words how much I love them and I still was like: gah, maybe stop hurting them though??? But then when we finally got them BACK? The joy was all-consuming.
I continue to adore the fuck out of Dior, she is unstoppable and kind and devious and I want only the best things in the world for her. Including Reyne, who seems amazing. I already love her (and Joaquin) for just naturally telling no one and betraying nothing about no longer being thralled and continuing to play along until they figured out what the fuck was going on. It's not everyone who could've put that together or acted it so well if they had. (Super sad that almost all their named co-conspirators died though - FUCK NIKITA, MAN.)
Celene sucks. Amazing amounts of suck but I also find her so damn interesting??? She let Gabe fall though so we're never going to be friends. Reluctant allies ONLY. I just don't trust anything she says and she doesn't care about the same people I care about soooo...
I even liked the villains a ton here, too? Kiara, Nikita, Lilidh, truly awful non-humans that were terrifying and that you couldn't look away from.
I'm so sad for Phoebe, she should've gotten Connor. Because while I think she and Gabe are good for each other, it's in the sense not of who they are but what they are - people with similar scars - and their connection isn't built on anything more than that. So, yeah, Phoebe deserved Connor and it was so cruel to bring him back just to immediately snatch him away.
Lachlan is a great addition! Really glad he got his head out of his ass, also he saved Aaron and Baptiste so points forever for him. I've noticed this series has one of my favorite qualities from all my best reads - it has a core group who's always ready to add to itself. It picks people up and I love books that do that, especially in high stakes scenarios like this where the person you pick up can easily be your doom (Isla) or your salvation (Joaquin) but you get a chance. You get a chance to be a part of this famille, and that's freaking lovely!
Oh, I am with Celene on one thing though: Jean-Francois and Gabriel should just kiss already... and use that as an excuse to get close to each other so one of them can try to kill the other. Because, lbr, that is so their dynamic.
At one point, I actually had the thought: it would've been kinder if he'd killed Aaron and Baptiste. And I love them, I cannot adequately express in words how much I love them and I still was like: gah, maybe stop hurting them though??? But then when we finally got them BACK? The joy was all-consuming.
I continue to adore the fuck out of Dior, she is unstoppable and kind and devious and I want only the best things in the world for her. Including Reyne, who seems amazing. I already love her (and Joaquin) for just naturally telling no one and betraying nothing about no longer being thralled and continuing to play along until they figured out what the fuck was going on. It's not everyone who could've put that together or acted it so well if they had. (Super sad that almost all their named co-conspirators died though - FUCK NIKITA, MAN.)
Celene sucks. Amazing amounts of suck but I also find her so damn interesting??? She let Gabe fall though so we're never going to be friends. Reluctant allies ONLY. I just don't trust anything she says and she doesn't care about the same people I care about soooo...
I even liked the villains a ton here, too? Kiara, Nikita, Lilidh, truly awful non-humans that were terrifying and that you couldn't look away from.
I'm so sad for Phoebe, she should've gotten Connor. Because while I think she and Gabe are good for each other, it's in the sense not of who they are but what they are - people with similar scars - and their connection isn't built on anything more than that. So, yeah, Phoebe deserved Connor and it was so cruel to bring him back just to immediately snatch him away.
Lachlan is a great addition! Really glad he got his head out of his ass, also he saved Aaron and Baptiste so points forever for him. I've noticed this series has one of my favorite qualities from all my best reads - it has a core group who's always ready to add to itself. It picks people up and I love books that do that, especially in high stakes scenarios like this where the person you pick up can easily be your doom (Isla) or your salvation (Joaquin) but you get a chance. You get a chance to be a part of this famille, and that's freaking lovely!
Oh, I am with Celene on one thing though: Jean-Francois and Gabriel should just kiss already... and use that as an excuse to get close to each other so one of them can try to kill the other. Because, lbr, that is so their dynamic.