The End of the Line

Arcadia Series

by Jesi Lea Ryan

Cane Matthews has found his dream girl. Unfortunately, she is his girlfriend’s twin sister.

* The End of the Line is a prequel story to the novel Arcadia’s Gift.

Genres: Urban Fantasy

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2014

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Jesi Lea Ryan grew up in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, IA. She holds bachelor degrees in creative writing and literature and a masters degree in business. She considers herself a well-rounded nerd who can spend hours on the internet researching things like British history, anthropology of ancient people, geography of random parts of the world, bad tattoos and the paranormal. She currently lives in Madison, WI with her husband and sassy kitty.

Reviews

[DelSheree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with the Arcadia Series from Jesi Lea Ryan, so when I saw she had written a prequel from Cane's point of view (Arcadia's sister's ex-boyfriend), I had to get a copy. In the two full length books, Cane doesn't get a lot of face time, but he's the kind of character who doesn't need to be on every page for readers to remember him. You get glimpses of more depth than Cane is willing to show in those books, and in this one you truly get to know who Cane is and why he has made the choices he has.

I really enjoyed getting inside Cane's head. Even though I already knew the story and what would ultimately happen, I read each page eagerly. It was fascinating to see what made Cane who he is. His early interactions with Arcadia were laced with emotion that lingers with the reader. It was heartbreaking to watch him struggle, give up, and think he has to settle for someone who doesn't make him happy.

This is a novella, but every page has meaning. It's labelled as a prequel, but I enjoyed reading it after I'd already read the first book, Arcadia's Gift, because you then I got to go back and learn more about a somewhat enigmatic character. That's just my personal preference however. Whenever you choose to read this novella, you'll be happy you did!

[Arlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 1st I wasn't sure if I like Cane or not, but now that I read his story, I felt so sad for him and so happy to had read his POV...I am a big fan of Jesi Lea Ryan and her wonderful series the Arcadia series..."The end of the line", left me more or less where this wonderful story start in "Arcadia gift"...I absolutely love this series..I highly recommend it..(1) Arcadia gift and (2) Arcadia curse..

[Kristy Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I found out there was a prequel short story, I downloaded and proceeded to devour it! I'd love for the author to write more short stories about some of the other minor characters as well. Amazing series!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the series that this story is a prequel to, so I'm sure there is a lot I'm not appreciating from a character perspective. That being said, I really enjoyed this short story! These characters were amazing and the world building was obviously complex. This story did what I think short stories should do - made me want to immediately read the rest of the books by this author.

Cane is a jock with a complex past. He's the cool kid right now, but his home life is anything but perfect. His girlfriend, Lony, is the perfect compliment to his jock persona but he's tired of hiding who he really is and who he really wants. The person that he's actually in love with? That's Lony's twin sister. Pretty screwed up, right? Well, if it was sold to the reader that quickly, sure, it sounds horrible. This story, however, gives us the insight into exactly how Cane ends up with Lony and when he fell in love with her sister. It's sweet, awkward, and has a jarring ending that I'm sure is discussed further in the series.

[Spinster Witch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very familiar with the Arcadia Day series by Jesi Lea Ryan, and so I jumped at the chance to read this short story from that same world. This story iss essentially a prequel to Arcadia's Gift as told from Cane's point of view. He's a difficult man to understand in that first book, but this story certainly clears a few things up. I will forever be Team Cady, but now I can see both the good and bad sides of Cain and Bryan, and Cane's behavior makes a whole lot more sense. I recommend this to anyone who has read the series, as well as anyone who is looking for a new YA urban fantasy to start! There are absolutely no spoilers here for the other books.

Also, love the cover. It goes very well with the other two. :)

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a late comer to the Arcadia Series, so I started with the prequel The End of the Line. It just seemed to make sense to start at the beginning.

This installment is Avalon and Cane's story. Cane met Arcadia years before Cady's story began. Even then he recognized Cady's gifts. This story gives the reader a depth of understanding about the inner workings of Cane. The depth of teenage angst he's going through trying to get close to Cady, the only way he can see how- through her sister, Lony.

I'm glad I read this first. It did give insights into the story before the story. The consistency in voice makes it a joy to read.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable if you're already a fan

I have a feeling this would be much more enjoyable if I was a fan already. As a stand a lone, I didn't feel there was enjoy to this. The characters seem okay but this is so short you don't really get to know them, aside from what they tell you.

[cEe beE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prequel to Arcadia's Gift and told from the POV of one of the male MCs, Cane.