★★☆☆☆ — Cool Characters Buried Under Mountains of Filler
The Ascension Rising series had real potential, but whatever plot exists is buried so deeply under endless filler that it’s almost impossible to enjoy. Each book is overloaded with side characters, irrelevant subplots, and constant repetition that seems designed only to stretch the page count. Longer books don’t automatically mean better storytelling, and here it genuinely felt like pulling teeth just to reach the point of even the simplest events.
The pacing is all over the place - constant back-and-forth, rehashed scenes, and vague references to past events that never get properly clarified. By book two, it became exhausting. I honestly couldn’t tell whether I was supposed to care about the side characters’ stories or the main storyline anymore. I’m grateful the series came with a glossary, because you definitely need it just to keep up.
The MMCs are genuinely cool - great concepts and intriguing backgrounds - but the execution falls completely flat. These are meant to be ancient vampires, yet their portrayal gets increasingly butchered as the series goes on. It’s such a waste of strong character ideas that deserved a much better story. Getting through this series became so draining that by book three I had to read four other books just to build up the energy to continue. The only reason I stuck it out was because I felt bad for the MMCs being trapped in this endless slog.
And the FMC… wow. Painfully childish, unbelievably naïve, and frustrating to the point where I repeatedly wanted to shake some sense into her. Her dialogue and choices pulled me out of the story every time. Also - does every ghost who looks her way get revived? She’s supposed to be this powerful creature of death, yet she reads more like a glorified virgin with a full-blown damsel complex.
As for the spice… it tried to exist, briefly, then vanished like it got bored and walked out. Three books in, and for a cast of ancient vampires, everything is shockingly vanilla. How slow can a slow burn possibly be?
Overall - This series felt overly wordy without adding much substance, and the pacing left me struggling to stay engaged. There’s simply too much thrown at the reader, and almost none of it actually lands. By book three, I was on the verge of DNFing.
I truly enjoy the MMC characters, which is why I hope future books benefit from tighter editing to keep the story focused and dynamic. As at this point, I’m only here to see how many fellas' she ends up collecting and to learn more about the MMCs - because everything else is just a chaotic mess.