Read #2 (nearly back-to-back, so that should tell you something) - liked it even more this time around. Maybe because I knew where it was headed and the frustrations didn’t hit me as hard. On to Caretaker, and I can’t wait! And maybe I should have said medium burn. Because it definitely isn't slow burn :) Oh, and it's going on my All-Time Faves list.
4.5 stars (the frustration still docks a half star, but the book in general really is 5 stars)
That was one hell of a dark, twisted, crazy, gut-wrenching, insane, roller coaster of a ride.
It was a strange combination of slow burn (because hell, it is hard to even see how this harem might be happening and who exactly might be in it), and explicit (because there were a number of hot, sick, twisted, and sexy scenes). Umm... did I mention dark? And twisted? Such as the first sex scene that took place covered in blood and wounds on top of piles of freshly killed vampires.
The main character, Trinity, is incredibly irritating for the first third of the book. One of those whiny, reluctant heroines who refuses to take two seconds to think rationally about anything, is full of knee-jerk rage, bounces aimlessly around reacting to everything, makes utterly idiotic decisions, doesn't care to figure out why anything is happening, never bothers to train, and other equally annoying character traits. There are some plot-related reasons given for some of that, but that doesn't make them any less annoying.
Fortunately, she gets over the majority of that by about halfway through the book, and I suspect there will be little of it in book 2. So a reasonably fast character-growth arc. Yay!
The potential harem is one of the strangest I can recall. In fact, other than a nebulous reference near the end of the book to a "connection" between the characters we spent the most time with, it is darn hard to tell who is RH love interest material. We have:
- AMIAS: Trinity's vampire master that betrayed her and murdered her entire family
- ANGUS: a rage-prone bull shifter who has tons of exes/girlfriends/lovers and dozens of children
- CLAYTON: a risen golem (former hunter) in thrall to a crazy arse necromancer b*tch who controls him utterly, hates him, and tortures him by not letting anyone touch him
- SHANE: an even crazier hunter who hates Trinity and is the brother-in-law of the necro
- MIRIAM: said necro b*tch who is undeniably broken, tortures Clayton incessantly, and is quite clearly female
- RHYS: a supernatural real estate agent whose supernatural race is completely hidden, we only see intimations that he is quite dark and dangerous
Interestingly, we are given few descriptions of the characters themselves. At least, not the usual litany of hair, eyes, body, height sorts of things. I'm not even sure we ever learn what color Trinity's hair is, do we? And there are very few true physical descriptions of Amias or Angus, though you get a real sense of their presence and personality. Despite that, they don't feel lacking in terms of character development. Well, maybe Rhys is, but that is because he is being deliberately kept a mystery, so I suspect that is coming.
And all of these characters are flawed. Very flawed. Nearly all of them so much that I disliked them at certain points - and a few that I am still not certain I like or think are redeemable. However, by the end of the book a lot of those perceptions changed. I started becoming quite attached to nearly all of the characters. Which says a lot, given where I started with them!
Despite all of this, and the darkness of the world Laken Cane has created, the story is incredibly compelling. And trust me, this world is dark. The prejudice of humans for supernats (as they call the supernaturals) is pervasive and utterly cruel. And the results are all too often heartbreaking.
All in all, I highly recommend this read - but be warned that it contains many many disturbing and violent scenes, some of it less than wholly consensual.
UPDATE PROGRESS NOTES:
81.0% "God this scene with Angus is heart wrenching. Nearly impossible to read. Very very dark book :("
63.0% "What is Trinity's harem going to be? Weird choices:
- vampire master that murdered her entire family
- bull shifter who has tons of exes/girlfriends/lovers and dozens of children
- risen golem (former hunter) in thrall to a crazy ass necromancer bitch
- even crazier hunter who hates her/is brother-in-law of necro bitch
- said necro bitch
- supernatural real estate agent I have no idea about - other than he is dark"
60.0% "Wow... I can find redeeming qualities in all the men Trinity has been interacting with so far. Except for Shane. He really is a royal jerk in every interaction."
58.0% "Wow, this is fairly dark. Lots and lots of morally ambiguous stuff happening. And plenty of characters that are a mix of good and bad. Lots of grey in this one!"
34.0% "Better hope you've finally learned the lesson, you idiot."
30.0% "I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU SHANE! Quote: “She’s not a hunter,” he told Miriam. “She’s a liability. Find someone else to protect her.”
25.0% "OMFG you idiot! This MC may be irredeemably TSTL."
23.0% "Stupid woman. You don't have to, nor want to, live in the dangerous city with all the vamps you hunt. You can live safely and go out hunting. Doh! And you need help and training if you wanna stay alive. God her stupidity is pissing me off."
21.0% "Should have stuck with a singular pronoun here. Silverlight shouldn't be both an "it" and a "she" - pick one."
18.0% "Just tell her the truth already! Stop all the delaying and letting her rage. Stop going on and on about being her master. Just tell her already!"
17.0% "Darn it, just LISTEN Trinity!
Did I ever mention how much I hate MC's that run around willy-nilly and just knee-jerk react to everything? Don't bother to think things through or try to figure out what is happening and why? ARGH!"
14.0% "Sigh...yet another MC who doesn't listen to anyone. Who doesn't seem to really care to get answers to things. Nothing but reactions and rage and confusing thoughts. Why the heck is this a THING?"
13.0% "I thought Amias said he attacked Carrie Alden? Or was she attacked by a sick vamp and Amias put her out of her misery?"
10.0% "Foolish, foolish woman."
4.0% "Wow, I hope this is not indicative of Trinity being a total doormat. Because she sure was clueless and timid here."