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Serenity House #3
Rory, the Sleeper
Who will awaken the sleeper…?
Ella wants the sleeper to stay undisturbed. Especially since it's Millicent deMage, the first Duchess of Leithfield and a supposed witch who died over three hundred years ago. As Ella learns about the history of Serenity House, she begins to realise the long dead duchess could be the key to understanding the pandemic of vermin.
For the final battle Ella needs a new ally, one forged from an old adversary—Charlotte, her step-sister. Ever since Ella shattered her world and destroyed her family, the young woman has been trying to figure out how to survive. Now, Charlotte is the one woman who can anchor Ella in this world as she does battle in another.
Sometimes the fiercest battles are the ones we fight in our minds. But this might be one fight Ella can't win, and she will be the one put to sleep forever…
Ella wants the sleeper to stay undisturbed. Especially since it's Millicent deMage, the first Duchess of Leithfield and a supposed witch who died over three hundred years ago. As Ella learns about the history of Serenity House, she begins to realise the long dead duchess could be the key to understanding the pandemic of vermin.
For the final battle Ella needs a new ally, one forged from an old adversary—Charlotte, her step-sister. Ever since Ella shattered her world and destroyed her family, the young woman has been trying to figure out how to survive. Now, Charlotte is the one woman who can anchor Ella in this world as she does battle in another.
Sometimes the fiercest battles are the ones we fight in our minds. But this might be one fight Ella can't win, and she will be the one put to sleep forever…
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2017
22 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 25, 2019
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"Some people choose an evil path, not realising that standing on others will never lift you up."
I have to admit, Rory the Sleeper was a fitting end to the Serenity House trilogy. It was not the kind that I had hoped it would be, but it was great nonetheless.
In the third book, we find out more about Charlotte, all the while exploring Ella and Seth's relationship a little more. It was fun going through the book and reading more about them as well as about Charlotte, the one character that has been in the sidelines since the beginning of the story in book 1. To be honest, up until now, I had figured that there wouldn't BE anything about Charlotte to tell, especially when Louise clearly called her a "taint" in the last book.
However, despite that, the book continued, showed Charlotte and created a huge number of questions in my mind.
It bothered me that the book ended without giving a hint of a happily ever after, or of a "rise above the ashes" or of a "what's going to happen next". For a trilogy like this, it would have been really beneficial to have something like that going on for closure. And let's not forget that we readers quite literally do need closure, don't we?
Then the action was once again a problem. For the first half of the book, there was barely any action. This bored me a little. It also felt like Exley was dilly-dallying the story in order to increase the length of the book. There were so many paragraphs, lines and scenes that could have simply been cut from the story and it would have still worked out great.
Lastly, my favourite thing about this book was that it continued with the series of strong females. Alice gets what she wants, Charlotte (surprisingly) brought down the main villain, and Ella—well, Ella has been doing the final acts since so long, this was a nice change. So let's just say that I'm quite happy with the ending, giving it the "feminist" fiction feel.
"Some people choose an evil path, not realising that standing on others will never lift you up."
I have to admit, Rory the Sleeper was a fitting end to the Serenity House trilogy. It was not the kind that I had hoped it would be, but it was great nonetheless.
In the third book, we find out more about Charlotte, all the while exploring Ella and Seth's relationship a little more. It was fun going through the book and reading more about them as well as about Charlotte, the one character that has been in the sidelines since the beginning of the story in book 1. To be honest, up until now, I had figured that there wouldn't BE anything about Charlotte to tell, especially when Louise clearly called her a "taint" in the last book.
However, despite that, the book continued, showed Charlotte and created a huge number of questions in my mind.
It bothered me that the book ended without giving a hint of a happily ever after, or of a "rise above the ashes" or of a "what's going to happen next". For a trilogy like this, it would have been really beneficial to have something like that going on for closure. And let's not forget that we readers quite literally do need closure, don't we?
Then the action was once again a problem. For the first half of the book, there was barely any action. This bored me a little. It also felt like Exley was dilly-dallying the story in order to increase the length of the book. There were so many paragraphs, lines and scenes that could have simply been cut from the story and it would have still worked out great.
Lastly, my favourite thing about this book was that it continued with the series of strong females. Alice gets what she wants, Charlotte (surprisingly) brought down the main villain, and Ella—well, Ella has been doing the final acts since so long, this was a nice change. So let's just say that I'm quite happy with the ending, giving it the "feminist" fiction feel.
July 18, 2017
Great but still less than satisfying.
I loved this entire series. It's literally got everything. And this did tie it all up in a nice pretty bow. But... I don't know. The little epilogue was barely there. I'm left with questions. What does the gang have planned now? Is there more planned?
I loved this entire series. It's literally got everything. And this did tie it all up in a nice pretty bow. But... I don't know. The little epilogue was barely there. I'm left with questions. What does the gang have planned now? Is there more planned?
August 18, 2021
I thought this wrapped up the series quite nicely. I enjoyed seeing Charlotte find love and get her redemption.
July 14, 2020
This is the final book in the 'Serenity House' series which is set post WWII England where we have soldiers returning home from war to find that there is a new zombie like enemy to deal with.
Book #1 saw a retelling of Cinderella (our warrior who cleaned the fireplace by day and dispatched zombies by night), Book #2 was a retelling of Alice in Wonderland with the story continuing as Ella and her best Friend Alice head underground to try and find the Zombie nest. This (book #3) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty where we have Charlotte Aurora (Ella's step-sister) who is finally waking up to her potential and her new life as a witch who just might be the one to end the Zombie apocalypse.
While book #1 started out as highly entertaining (and I loved the Ella-Seth story line), I think these books just got sillier and sillier and the plot just got more convoluted and just confusing into the how and why....An okay read, but I was glad the series was over by the time I got to the end even if it felt unfinished in terms of Alice's and Charlotte's endings.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Reader's 2020 July "Freedom at Last" Reading Challenge: Read books that author's spell out the thing you missed most in social isolation - for me that is seeing me bEstie to talk about books, gaming and all things geek :-P
Book #1 saw a retelling of Cinderella (our warrior who cleaned the fireplace by day and dispatched zombies by night), Book #2 was a retelling of Alice in Wonderland with the story continuing as Ella and her best Friend Alice head underground to try and find the Zombie nest. This (book #3) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty where we have Charlotte Aurora (Ella's step-sister) who is finally waking up to her potential and her new life as a witch who just might be the one to end the Zombie apocalypse.
While book #1 started out as highly entertaining (and I loved the Ella-Seth story line), I think these books just got sillier and sillier and the plot just got more convoluted and just confusing into the how and why....An okay read, but I was glad the series was over by the time I got to the end even if it felt unfinished in terms of Alice's and Charlotte's endings.
Reading Challenge
Aussie Reader's 2020 July "Freedom at Last" Reading Challenge: Read books that author's spell out the thing you missed most in social isolation - for me that is seeing me bEstie to talk about books, gaming and all things geek :-P
September 15, 2021
This was a dreadfully trite conclusion to the series. Again, the tale is trying to be to many things at once and so fails in general. There is no suspense, and the heroes happen to luck into their victory, how very convenient.
At least Ella finally slept with Seth and the obnoxious incongruity of "I'm a damned soul for killing zombies, but I can't possibly have sex because then I'd really be damned" goes away.
At least Ella finally slept with Seth and the obnoxious incongruity of "I'm a damned soul for killing zombies, but I can't possibly have sex because then I'd really be damned" goes away.
August 22, 2019
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
Man, I went into this series really enjoying it, but this was such an anti-climatic ending. It was honestly one of the most anti-climatic endings I've ever read. I was expecting there to be some sort of sequel hook, that's how underwhelming it felt.
Oh well. At least, Charlotte and Bain were cute together.
Man, I went into this series really enjoying it, but this was such an anti-climatic ending. It was honestly one of the most anti-climatic endings I've ever read. I was expecting there to be some sort of sequel hook, that's how underwhelming it felt.
Oh well. At least, Charlotte and Bain were cute together.
February 19, 2018
Perfectly lovely finale to the series. We get closure to all the budding relationships, (romantic and friendly) as well as a nice ending to the overarching plot. The only thing is that things felt a little abrupt to me for the last couple of chapters. I think I would have liked one chapter just to breathe and see what everyone is up to. Besides that, there were a few hiccups along the way for me that kept it from being five stars. (Ignore the extended time it took me to read it. It was good, but I didn't feel good for a week plus and this book took the back burner for awhile.)
June 11, 2019
I think this is a satisfying enough end to the book series. I liked it but I didn't love it like the other, that doesn't mean it's a bad book it just didn't have as much action as the others. I'm glad Charlotte got a redemption arc in this one, I think she deserved to be fleshed out a little more. I feel as if her story was left unfinished. I could have also used more Alice and would have liked to see her story tied up in the end as well. Ella I'm left with closure and that's enough. As I said with the other books I love the blend of fairy tales and zombies, this series has been fun light reading for me.
February 26, 2020
One, I thought this was a fitting end to the series, though I think the actually ending was a bit short for how long the book was. I just felt there was a lot of extra scenes added in for length, where as the actual story arc was shorter than it should have been.
Two, I'm a bit... What's the best word, annoyed? That the title comes from one little thought that Charlotte had during the middle of the book that seemed to have just been made up on the spot for the specific purpose of making the title to this book.
Otherwise it was a decent read and if you're interested in retellings and zombies and looking for a quick read this is the series for you!
Two, I'm a bit... What's the best word, annoyed? That the title comes from one little thought that Charlotte had during the middle of the book that seemed to have just been made up on the spot for the specific purpose of making the title to this book.
Otherwise it was a decent read and if you're interested in retellings and zombies and looking for a quick read this is the series for you!
May 7, 2017
Yeah anything Ms. Exley writes will probably get at least 3 Stars from me.
(except for Loki's story. I will pretend that never happened)
I loved this series and am super sad to see it end. If anyone can do fairytales and zombies, it's Ms. Exley. I flew through Rory, the Sleeper. I wish there were more to follow.
(except for Loki's story. I will pretend that never happened)
I loved this series and am super sad to see it end. If anyone can do fairytales and zombies, it's Ms. Exley. I flew through Rory, the Sleeper. I wish there were more to follow.
July 19, 2021
Held my interest the whole series
I read the entire series and it held my interest through all. It combined a loose fairy tale connection with history, with a zombie large scale invasion, witchcraft, and characters you could care about and root for to win their true loves. I was just sorry when it came to an end.
I read the entire series and it held my interest through all. It combined a loose fairy tale connection with history, with a zombie large scale invasion, witchcraft, and characters you could care about and root for to win their true loves. I was just sorry when it came to an end.
May 5, 2017
The last in a very good series where the girls saved the day every time and the guys tagged along to blow stuff up. We have to assume that the four couples lived happily ever after, the series is loosely based on fairy tales after all, but given where the story stopped it's easy to do so.
July 26, 2018
good book
this is a good book. it could have used a lot more fleshing out. sometimes, authors are so busy getting to the point, they forget to fill out the surroundings and give details they know and i wish they would tell to us.
this is a good book. it could have used a lot more fleshing out. sometimes, authors are so busy getting to the point, they forget to fill out the surroundings and give details they know and i wish they would tell to us.
August 9, 2018
Final story
Excellent series where fairy tales meet the walking dead. Cinderella, sleeping beauty, rapunzel and Alice in Wonderland populate the story where the damsels are not in distress but rather save the day
Excellent series where fairy tales meet the walking dead. Cinderella, sleeping beauty, rapunzel and Alice in Wonderland populate the story where the damsels are not in distress but rather save the day
October 27, 2018
2.5
Overall as an ending it was a bit anticlimactic. I loved Charlotte and Bain. Their characters kept the plot moving. I wished there was more of them. Ella and Seth were a little boring and predictable and their growth was stunted.
Overall as an ending it was a bit anticlimactic. I loved Charlotte and Bain. Their characters kept the plot moving. I wished there was more of them. Ella and Seth were a little boring and predictable and their growth was stunted.
April 10, 2018
Last book in the series, finishes it all off nicely. Would have loved a bigger ending though.
January 16, 2019
These books got more ridiculous as they went. From Cinderella and zombies then throw in some magic it was absolutely trashy but fun for such a quick read.
May 2, 2019
I'm sorry, what?? Seriously? What an anti-climax.
February 2, 2020
3.5 magical little stars
May 24, 2017
Overall, a great finale to an entertaining series despite some grammar and word choice errors. The ending felt rushed but will check out other books by this author.
March 21, 2018
The overall bulid up of this series came to an engaging finish. The final reveal of the villian and the backstory finally coming to conclusion was very fun. I flew through this final book. I look forward to more of A.W. Exley's wonderfully crafted books.
November 10, 2017
Actually 3.5. I enjoyed the book but felt the end was disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2017
a very satisfying ending to a fun series!
April 9, 2017
Great end to a series
I usually do not read the undead genre, but this series hooked me with the first book. I loved the character development and story line. Well worth the read. Thanks you so much for your expression!
I usually do not read the undead genre, but this series hooked me with the first book. I loved the character development and story line. Well worth the read. Thanks you so much for your expression!
April 24, 2017
Book nerd observation!: anyone else's physical paperback edition say "Henry the Sleeper" up in the page headers inside the book? XD
Other than that, I can't believe it's over!
Other than that, I can't believe it's over!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews