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The Premonition #5
Iniquity
I gasp as my body curls toward Brennus like a flower to the sun, for the pleasure of it. He holds me close to him. His nose grazes the length of my neck. He breathes me in. I feel the roar and rush of my heartbeat. I’m his toy; his energy streams into me. He winds the invisible key in my back and the euphoria ratchets and coils inside of me: tick…tick…tick…
Another wicked surge of energy flows from him into me. Pain. Pleasure. Bliss. My jaw unclenches as my lips part. I make a small, breathy sound as we dance. Brennus responds with something close to a growl. “Ye’re killing me, mo chroí,” he murmurs. His hand moves down my back infusing me with a golden glow of power. My wings punch violently from me, tearing a hole in my day dress. They spread wide, like a red stain beyond my pale skin. I’m dancing now for the thrill of it. I follow his lead.
As the song comes to an end, Brennus kisses my throat. He whispers in my ear, “When ye get back, come find me, mo chroí. I’ve healed ye…now wake up and banjax whoever banished ye here…”
Another wicked surge of energy flows from him into me. Pain. Pleasure. Bliss. My jaw unclenches as my lips part. I make a small, breathy sound as we dance. Brennus responds with something close to a growl. “Ye’re killing me, mo chroí,” he murmurs. His hand moves down my back infusing me with a golden glow of power. My wings punch violently from me, tearing a hole in my day dress. They spread wide, like a red stain beyond my pale skin. I’m dancing now for the thrill of it. I follow his lead.
As the song comes to an end, Brennus kisses my throat. He whispers in my ear, “When ye get back, come find me, mo chroí. I’ve healed ye…now wake up and banjax whoever banished ye here…”
Audiobook
First published December 8, 2015
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About the author
Amy A. Bartol
19 books6,703 followersAuthor of the Secondborn Series:
Secondborn (Book 1)
Traitor Born (Book 2)
Rebel Born (Book 3)
Author of the Premonition Series:
Inescapable (Book 1)
Intuition (Book 2)
Indebted (Book 3)
Incendiary (Book 4)
Iniquity (Book 5)
Author of the Kricket Series:
Under Different Stars (Book 1)
Sea of Stars (Book 2)
Darken the Stars (Book 3)
The Divided - A Science Fiction Romance short story, which is included in the Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology.
Amy A. Bartol is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Secondborn Series, The Premonition Series, The Kricket Series, and a short story entitled “The Divided.” She has won numerous awards for her writing and been nominated for several more. She's a graduate of Hillsdale College, which inspired the setting of her Premonition Series. Amy lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons, but she travels often, sparking her imagination to create more worlds like the ones with hidden angels, doorways to alien landscapes, and fantastical futuristic societies and technologies. To learn more, visit Amy's website at: https://www.amyabartol.com
Secondborn (Book 1)
Traitor Born (Book 2)
Rebel Born (Book 3)
Author of the Premonition Series:
Inescapable (Book 1)
Intuition (Book 2)
Indebted (Book 3)
Incendiary (Book 4)
Iniquity (Book 5)
Author of the Kricket Series:
Under Different Stars (Book 1)
Sea of Stars (Book 2)
Darken the Stars (Book 3)
The Divided - A Science Fiction Romance short story, which is included in the Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology.
Amy A. Bartol is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Secondborn Series, The Premonition Series, The Kricket Series, and a short story entitled “The Divided.” She has won numerous awards for her writing and been nominated for several more. She's a graduate of Hillsdale College, which inspired the setting of her Premonition Series. Amy lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons, but she travels often, sparking her imagination to create more worlds like the ones with hidden angels, doorways to alien landscapes, and fantastical futuristic societies and technologies. To learn more, visit Amy's website at: https://www.amyabartol.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 763 reviews
April 11, 2013
I liked Inescapable,
I fell in love with Intuition ,
With Indebted I got beyond obsession
And with Incendiary I felt the way the wans must feel when touched by The Fellas.
Iniquity will probably make me explode. Until I have it ,thought, I will probably go mental.
I fell in love with Intuition ,
With Indebted I got beyond obsession
And with Incendiary I felt the way the wans must feel when touched by The Fellas.
Iniquity will probably make me explode. Until I have it ,thought, I will probably go mental.
Want to read
February 10, 2013Amy Bartol please PLEASE let this be the last book!! I am begging you. I've loved your series but if you keep fragmenting the story and adding more subplot love triangles you are going to unravel it beyond repair. And if she doesn't end up with Reed because of one of these annoying afterthought plot adds to fill a sequel, you will have thoroughly wasted my time.
Want to read
November 22, 2014Please, please, PLEASE, Let Brennus Die. Pleeaaaase?
I'd kill him myself if I could.
Dont you think we've been through enough??? This roller coaster of a love affair has been a pretty emotional, and I mean that in a good way(for the most part), and wonderful ride but if that idiot causes more chaos and drama then I am so gonna go out of my mind
I'd kill him myself if I could.
Dont you think we've been through enough??? This roller coaster of a love affair has been a pretty emotional, and I mean that in a good way(for the most part), and wonderful ride but if that idiot causes more chaos and drama then I am so gonna go out of my mind
December 7, 2015
Epic, explosive and exciting. A worthy finale to a sweeping, one-of-a-kind series.
How do you read the end of a series you’ve loved so much? So many expectations. So many feels. So many hopes and fears for the characters that have become perhaps, embarrassingly real? Starting Iniquity, the final book in the Premonition series, was as thrilling as it was bittersweet. I wasn’t ready to let go, but at the same time, I was ready to see it all come to what I knew would be an epic climax. I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is this: Does the book deliver?
Yes, it does. In spades.
There is so much action, so many unforeseen twists, so many emotions that surged to the surface as Evie experiences more hardships, more losses and more heartache. Amy Bartol is able to capture that larger-than-life feeling she bottled beautifully in the other novels, but with an intensified urgency as the story naturally culminates in a bloody battle between Sheol and Heaven, between Evie and an enemy who is chillingly ruthless. Past and present collide, choice and fate duel, as Evie must make difficult choices that will affect her, and others, for the whole of eternity.
Much is explained, including Xavier’s, Reed’s and Brennus’ affinity with Evie. We better understand that invisible thread that has bound Reed and Evie in this lifetime, connected them when situations have been dire, given them strength when hope waned.
The above quote is one of my favorite in the series, and we really understand the depth and the reason for that tether between them. Throughout the series, Evie and Reed have been separated time and again, but despite what happened, and despite the feelings Evie felt for anyone else, it’s this unique connection, this love, that has given them both hope for happiness.
Brennus is also back in all his charming, arrogant glory, trying to banjax Evie’s future with Reed. His devotion to her is boundless and eternal, and he certainly proves that to Evie, and even to her friends. We also see just how much Evie has managed to humanize Brennus, softening his heart despite him remaining unyielding and fierce towards any adversary. And her heart, no doubt, also recognizes Brennus in a way that is singular and very much real.
I don’t want to divulge even the highest level of the plot line, but clearly we will learn some truths that shed light about everything that happens—past, present and future. Is there a happily ever after? Yes. The very end opens some interesting, unexpected possibilities worthy of discussion, but despite that, the novel delivers in every way that counts, with moments of passion and love, action and surprise, and of course, unbreakable friendships. The story moved me to tears more than once, and revel in believing that eternity is lived out in wild, unrestrained happiness between characters that will forever remain marked on my heart.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Follow Vilma's Book Blog: Website | Facebook | Twitter
How do you read the end of a series you’ve loved so much? So many expectations. So many feels. So many hopes and fears for the characters that have become perhaps, embarrassingly real? Starting Iniquity, the final book in the Premonition series, was as thrilling as it was bittersweet. I wasn’t ready to let go, but at the same time, I was ready to see it all come to what I knew would be an epic climax. I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind is this: Does the book deliver?
Yes, it does. In spades.
There is so much action, so many unforeseen twists, so many emotions that surged to the surface as Evie experiences more hardships, more losses and more heartache. Amy Bartol is able to capture that larger-than-life feeling she bottled beautifully in the other novels, but with an intensified urgency as the story naturally culminates in a bloody battle between Sheol and Heaven, between Evie and an enemy who is chillingly ruthless. Past and present collide, choice and fate duel, as Evie must make difficult choices that will affect her, and others, for the whole of eternity.
Much is explained, including Xavier’s, Reed’s and Brennus’ affinity with Evie. We better understand that invisible thread that has bound Reed and Evie in this lifetime, connected them when situations have been dire, given them strength when hope waned.
“Hold onto the string, love. Until the current shifts and we can be together again.”
The above quote is one of my favorite in the series, and we really understand the depth and the reason for that tether between them. Throughout the series, Evie and Reed have been separated time and again, but despite what happened, and despite the feelings Evie felt for anyone else, it’s this unique connection, this love, that has given them both hope for happiness.
“I’m clutching the invisible thread that binds me to her. I won’t let go, not for anything in this world.”
Brennus is also back in all his charming, arrogant glory, trying to banjax Evie’s future with Reed. His devotion to her is boundless and eternal, and he certainly proves that to Evie, and even to her friends. We also see just how much Evie has managed to humanize Brennus, softening his heart despite him remaining unyielding and fierce towards any adversary. And her heart, no doubt, also recognizes Brennus in a way that is singular and very much real.
“I’m the light to his darkness. There’s no escape; he’s a part of me.”
I don’t want to divulge even the highest level of the plot line, but clearly we will learn some truths that shed light about everything that happens—past, present and future. Is there a happily ever after? Yes. The very end opens some interesting, unexpected possibilities worthy of discussion, but despite that, the novel delivers in every way that counts, with moments of passion and love, action and surprise, and of course, unbreakable friendships. The story moved me to tears more than once, and revel in believing that eternity is lived out in wild, unrestrained happiness between characters that will forever remain marked on my heart.
“You are my life. It begins and ends with you.”
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Follow Vilma's Book Blog: Website | Facebook | Twitter
December 8, 2015
Not enough stars!! I'm not even exaggerating. This is the most epic ending ever. My emotions were all over the place and my heart is happy.
But, now what am I supposed to do with my life??
How can I write a review for a book that has been in the back of my mind for the past three years? I've never felt like this over a series before, so this is very hard for me. It's over. Lives have been lost. Lives have been saved. Nothing more can be done. It's very bittersweet for me. I found, as I was reading, I would just burst into tears, for no reason at all. It was coming to a close, and I wasn't ready for it. We may have wanted this, but deep down we really don't want it to end.
The Premonition series has been a part of my life shortly after I became a reader and I don't know how to say goodbye. In fact, I suck at saying goodbye. I mean really, how do you say goodbye to characters that you love so much? And even though some of these characters I hated, deep down I really loved them. They were doing what they're made to do, even if I didn't agree. But saying goodbye is still going to suck, so here I go.
Goodbye, Russell. I fell in love with you the moment you opened your mouth and I was met with that amazing southern drawl. Your sweetness and protectiveness always made me so overwhelmed. You're Evie's soulmate. You're bound to her and you can't just walk away, even if your heart is being ripped to shreds. I loved how you loved Evie, even when she couldn't love you the same way. No matter what, you were there for Evie. Even if she made you mad and frustrated, you never stopped protecting. You did it full force. I will miss you.
Goodbye, Finn. I always thought you were something special. And reading reading Iniquity, I know I was right. Even though you made me a bit mad over Molly, I know your heart was in the right place. You were a fierce second. You always helped Brennus and your queen and I love you forever.
Goodbye, Buns and Brownie. You girls were the best friends Evie could ever have. I'm so glad she had you guys as part of her inner circle. She couldn't have done anything without you girls.
Goodbye, fellas. You crazy bunch of lunatics. I wanted to smack some of you many times, but I get it, you were only doing what you were made to do and what your king told you to do. You're loyal and very strong fighters. I'm glad Evie could count on you to protect her, even if she didn't think she needed it. And I still can't believe I found myself crying over you guys, in this book. I mean, whoa. The twists and turns you guys gave me, definitely kept me on my toes.
Goodbye, Zephyr. I must admit, you scared the crap out of me, when Evie stumbled upon you in Reed's house. I was sure you were going to kill her, but only because you've never seen anything like her. Once you figured it out, you were like her big brother. I love how you always had Reed's back, even if it meant you were getting a beating right along with him. You never left his side. You're the best, Z, and I will miss you.
Goodbye, Brennus. You crazy undead faerie. What can I say about you? Thank you for always having Evie's safety as your #1 priority. Although, you could've gone a little bit less stalkery to prove your point. You freaked her out, man. You need to learn to back off and let the girl come to you. But I am glad she could call on you and you would be there as soon as possible. Thank you for protecting her and loving her enough to let her make her own decisions.
Goodbye, Evie. Girl, you have lived a crazy life. Heck, all your lives are crazy! But I'm glad to see how much you've grown in these books. I'm sorry you had a such a hard time, in the beginning. I wish you all the best and hope you will be happy with the rest of this lifetime.
Goodbye, Reed. Let me start out by saying that you will always be one of my top book boyfriends ever. You loved Evie so much, that you'd die for her, kill for her and walk away, if that's what she wanted. I was always rooting for you. Team Reed all the way. I'm going to miss your sweet and romantic words, the way you and Russell would tease each other and how, no matter what, you put Evie first above all else. I will never forget you.
"You're my air, Evie. Without you, I drown in a breathless sky."
Thank you, Amy, for giving us these characters. They will always be loved and never forgotten.
But, now what am I supposed to do with my life??
How can I write a review for a book that has been in the back of my mind for the past three years? I've never felt like this over a series before, so this is very hard for me. It's over. Lives have been lost. Lives have been saved. Nothing more can be done. It's very bittersweet for me. I found, as I was reading, I would just burst into tears, for no reason at all. It was coming to a close, and I wasn't ready for it. We may have wanted this, but deep down we really don't want it to end.
The Premonition series has been a part of my life shortly after I became a reader and I don't know how to say goodbye. In fact, I suck at saying goodbye. I mean really, how do you say goodbye to characters that you love so much? And even though some of these characters I hated, deep down I really loved them. They were doing what they're made to do, even if I didn't agree. But saying goodbye is still going to suck, so here I go.
Goodbye, Russell. I fell in love with you the moment you opened your mouth and I was met with that amazing southern drawl. Your sweetness and protectiveness always made me so overwhelmed. You're Evie's soulmate. You're bound to her and you can't just walk away, even if your heart is being ripped to shreds. I loved how you loved Evie, even when she couldn't love you the same way. No matter what, you were there for Evie. Even if she made you mad and frustrated, you never stopped protecting. You did it full force. I will miss you.
Goodbye, Finn. I always thought you were something special. And reading reading Iniquity, I know I was right. Even though you made me a bit mad over Molly, I know your heart was in the right place. You were a fierce second. You always helped Brennus and your queen and I love you forever.
Goodbye, Buns and Brownie. You girls were the best friends Evie could ever have. I'm so glad she had you guys as part of her inner circle. She couldn't have done anything without you girls.
Goodbye, fellas. You crazy bunch of lunatics. I wanted to smack some of you many times, but I get it, you were only doing what you were made to do and what your king told you to do. You're loyal and very strong fighters. I'm glad Evie could count on you to protect her, even if she didn't think she needed it. And I still can't believe I found myself crying over you guys, in this book. I mean, whoa. The twists and turns you guys gave me, definitely kept me on my toes.
Goodbye, Zephyr. I must admit, you scared the crap out of me, when Evie stumbled upon you in Reed's house. I was sure you were going to kill her, but only because you've never seen anything like her. Once you figured it out, you were like her big brother. I love how you always had Reed's back, even if it meant you were getting a beating right along with him. You never left his side. You're the best, Z, and I will miss you.
Goodbye, Brennus. You crazy undead faerie. What can I say about you? Thank you for always having Evie's safety as your #1 priority. Although, you could've gone a little bit less stalkery to prove your point. You freaked her out, man. You need to learn to back off and let the girl come to you. But I am glad she could call on you and you would be there as soon as possible. Thank you for protecting her and loving her enough to let her make her own decisions.
Goodbye, Evie. Girl, you have lived a crazy life. Heck, all your lives are crazy! But I'm glad to see how much you've grown in these books. I'm sorry you had a such a hard time, in the beginning. I wish you all the best and hope you will be happy with the rest of this lifetime.
Goodbye, Reed. Let me start out by saying that you will always be one of my top book boyfriends ever. You loved Evie so much, that you'd die for her, kill for her and walk away, if that's what she wanted. I was always rooting for you. Team Reed all the way. I'm going to miss your sweet and romantic words, the way you and Russell would tease each other and how, no matter what, you put Evie first above all else. I will never forget you.
"You're my air, Evie. Without you, I drown in a breathless sky."
Thank you, Amy, for giving us these characters. They will always be loved and never forgotten.
June 19, 2013
can't wait for this booook! i was having trouble breathing when i read the teaser... Brennus is getting hot... Reed, you must win this! Xavier, be a good boy and stay out of this... and Russell, oh thank God you found Anya!
i'm on my knees just waiting for this book to be mine! mo chroi, Reed! pog mo thoin Brennus!
i'm on my knees just waiting for this book to be mine! mo chroi, Reed! pog mo thoin Brennus!
May 15, 2016
There's a 5th book!!!!! YIPPEE!!!! I'm so excited!!! This series has been one of the best I've read yet, lining up behind C.C Hinter's Shadowfalls , and Rick Riodan's Percy Jackson. I just hope it won't be dragging on and on like The House Of Night series...
UPDATE ON 22 Nov 2014
This is getting ridiculous... My previous review was 2012. 2.0.1.2. And now the release date is being pushed to 2015??!!! What?!
UPDATE 15/12/15
So, I have aged 3 years since my first review and have decided that... ok, the wait was somewhat worth it... Even though I had to reread all the previous books to jog my memory...
No spoilers for this review, I'll just say that the ending was REALLY REALLY not expected, mainly because there were many plot-twists in this book. My only complaint is that I wish the plot-twists weren't jam-packed in this one single book but more spread out among the other four.
UPDATE ON 22 Nov 2014
This is getting ridiculous... My previous review was 2012. 2.0.1.2. And now the release date is being pushed to 2015??!!! What?!
UPDATE 15/12/15
So, I have aged 3 years since my first review and have decided that... ok, the wait was somewhat worth it... Even though I had to reread all the previous books to jog my memory...
No spoilers for this review, I'll just say that the ending was REALLY REALLY not expected, mainly because there were many plot-twists in this book. My only complaint is that I wish the plot-twists weren't jam-packed in this one single book but more spread out among the other four.
Want to read
April 20, 2013Inescapable was intriguing,
Intuition was captivating
Indebted had you craving
And Incendiary has you hooked on to it...
The wait for the next book is making everyone anxious and on nerve! The nail biting suspense and action is something we have been drawn to.
The fascinating characters with whom we have fallen in love with, we can't seem to get enough of ;) and now the wait is literally killing us all!!
I know for sure that the wait would be worth it, but that still won't stop me from driving myself crazy with want for the next one!!!! ;)
Intuition was captivating
Indebted had you craving
And Incendiary has you hooked on to it...
The wait for the next book is making everyone anxious and on nerve! The nail biting suspense and action is something we have been drawn to.
The fascinating characters with whom we have fallen in love with, we can't seem to get enough of ;) and now the wait is literally killing us all!!
I know for sure that the wait would be worth it, but that still won't stop me from driving myself crazy with want for the next one!!!! ;)
December 16, 2015
Here is a little teaser!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
“What are you talking about, Brennus?” I whisper.
“Do ye remember when I told ye dat I saw me soul, Genevieve? Just tafter ye changed me?”
“I do, it was when I tried to kill you.”
He grins. “Och, had ye tried ta kill me, I’d be gone. Ye wanted me ta change, and change I did,” Brennus says ruefully, and then he sobers. “I saw him again--me soul--after yer fire tore tru me.”
“How?”
“Me soul was ripped away from Sheol. He tried ta reunite wi’ me--become one once more, but I am still mostly undead, ye see?” I nod my head in understanding, and Brennus continues, “He gave me a message ta give ta ye.”
“He did?” I ask, my eyes wide with surprise
My hand stills. I panic. Time could change us, like it had with Xavier and me. I feel like my heart unravels, but I don’t let him see it. “One day, Reed,” I begin dabbing at his cheek again, “you and I will get in the car and just drive. We’ll wander from silver cities to golden coasts.” I use an alcohol swab to clean the blood from his cheek. “And we’ll sleep when we’re tired and when we wake, I’ll find a way to make you laugh and I’ll live in the sound of it.” My throat gets tight because I long for that day to be now. “We’ll find somewhere you’ve never been and we’ll make it ours—fill it with memories of us. That’s what I want.” I finish with the alcohol swab. Leaning close, I gently blow on his healing wound to ease the sting.
Reed takes my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. “And when we get that sleep, there will never be a your side or a my side of the bed—we’ll always meet in the middle. And when I hold you there, in our bed, you’ll let me rest my lips here.” Reed lets go of my hand to move his thumb to caress the sensitive skin of my neck just beneath my ear. I get swept up in him: my body his with one touch. I turn and rub my cheek gently against his palm.
“And we won’t rush...ever,” I murmur, forgetting to be scared for a moment as I kiss him. I want that future with him.
“The world can spin around us but we’ll take our time, savor every moment.”
My head rests on his shoulder. “Just you and me.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I doubt Buns or Brownie will allow that.”
“You’re a fighter; it’s woven in every fiber of your being, Evie.” Xavier’s soft tone does something to me. I want to hide beneath it, wrap myself in it like a blanket and rest.
“Maybe I’m a fighter because that’s what you’ve made me—lifetimes of fighting for you. Was that the price we paid for being together? Did we have to agree to mission after mission just to see each other?”
It’s in his eyes. I’m right.
I put both my hands to my face and cover my weary eyes for a moment. When I pull them away, I ask, “Did it get to be too much for me? Was the price too high to pay? Maybe I can’t remember us because I wanted it that way. Did I decide to cut my heart out rather than to have it die slowly?” I feel like sobbing.
“No. You’d always fight for us,” Xavier replies without a hint of doubt. “The answer lies in Simone—in her memories.”
“You want me to go back there! Back to Lille with Emil!” I begin to pace again, biting my thumbnail anxiously.
“I want you to find out what happened,” Xavier says in an even tone.
I point my finger at him. “No. You’re asking me to relive what happened!”
“If it means defeating Emil in this lifetime then, yes, that’s what I’m asking. I need to know the debt owed to iniquity.”
“The debt to iniquity—to wickedness?” I murmur aloud.
“Emil’s power is a concession—that’s plain to me. I want to know why.”
I look out the back window, seeing Xavier’s car regain the road from the shoulder and pursue our car. The fogged windshield of his Aston Martin cracks and shatters violently as Xavier's booted foot kicks it away. When it bows out in pieces, he drops his leg and uses his arm to begin clearing away the glass.
“What’s he doing?” My eyes go to Reed who’s watching the rearview mirror.
Reed frowns grimly, “Evie, get to that ring as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything. When you have it, find a safe place to hide and call me. I’ll find you.” He opens the sunroof with a touch of a button. “Here, take the wheel.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I ask with a squeak, my eyes widening.
“We have to stop Xavier from getting there first.” He grasps my limp hand and puts it on the steering wheel.
My eyes stray to the rear window again in time to see Xavier break the windshield out completely. He lunges through the opening onto the hood of his car, taking two running steps with his red wings spread wide. Leaping forward from the hood, he glides through the air and lands on the back of our car as his vehicle spins off into a ditch. The Lamborghini bounces hard upon impact, and then it decelerates rapidly. Xavier’s powerful wings beat the air, lifting the back tires off the ground. I have no time to protest as Reed climbs out through the sunroof. His dark, ashen wings open wide as he emerges from the car and lofts into the air. He catches Xavier around the throat with his forearm and yanks him off our car.
The tires swerve over the road when the back ones thump onto the ground again. I manage to hold onto the wheel, scrambling into the driver’s seat. I touch the brake, coming to a stop. Shifting the car into neutral and engaging the safety brake, I turn to look out the rear window. Snow drifts in anaconda patterns over the barren pavement. With both of my hands gripping the seatback, I breathe heavily, watching Reed’s wings thrash. He locks arms with Xavier whose wings serrate to red dagger points, and it’s clear that both angels are trying to rip the other’s arms off.
Like a revolving door, Reed spins free from Xavier’s strong fists. He runs at our car, hitting the back end; it slides forward on the road despite the brake. “GO!” Reed shouts at me. Then he turns back, catching Xavier around his waist before he can move to my door. Reed throws him back and he tumbles across the ground; he skids to a stop, growls, and rises to his feet. In the next moment, he’s running at Reed with weapons in his hands.
I jump out of the car as Xavier uses his spade-shaped blades to slash at Reed. He misses with the one in his right hand, but not with the other in his left. The razor-edge connects with Reed’s cheek, cutting it from his lips to his ear. My wings eject from me as I scream. Reed rears back from Xavier. I lift my hand, making Xavier’s car rise into the air from the ditch; it comes down on the pavement directly behind him. Before Xavier can hurt Reed again, his feet leave the ground as he’s thrust back through the empty windscreen of his car. He lands hard in the driver’s seat, staring at me with a murderous expression. The shattered glass on the pavement collects and finds its way to the front of the car, settling into place and smoothing to transparency.
Xavier pounds his fist against it trying to break it out again, but the glass holds. “Evie!” His muffled voice is barely discernible above the sounds of his thrashing. When it still doesn’t break, he slams his shoulder against the door. It doesn’t open either. He beats the window, leaving smears of blood on it from his fists.
I walk to Reed who holds his hand to his face to stem his blood. “Are you okay?” I ask worriedly, as I touch his other cheek.
“It’s not bad,” he says, reaching out and wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me to him. He hugs me in an attempt to comfort me. “We need to go.”
“Okay, just a second.” I pull away from Reed and go to the driver’s side of Xavier’s car. When I near his window, I bend toward it, steaming it with my breath. Using my finger, I write: UOY ETAH I.
Pain shows in Xavier’s mismatched eyes. He leans to the glass and fogs it with his breath. He pulls back, and with his finger, he writes: COME BACK TO ME. He rests his palm against the window. My heart squeezes tight, leaving no room for my blood to breathe. I feel hopeless as my eyes meet his again. I hate this. My hand twitches with the urge to meet his on the glass.
Reed backs our car next to me. I back away from Xavier’s window and bump up against the door, blindly searching for the handle. When the door slides open, I retract my wings and scramble into my seat, refusing to look at Xavier again.
“Is a ghost whispering in your ear?” Emil asks me now. He touches my cheek softly. “You’ve gone quite pale.”
“I was just on my way to Olympia to see if they have any more of the jam you like. We’ve run completely out, and I thought you might want it for the journey,” I lie.
He has a faraway look. “You’re just as you were on the morning I found you--so pale--so beautiful. Has it really been more than two years ago?”
“Almost two and a half,” I murmur.
“The needle in the hay, that’s what you were, Simone, and I found you.”
“I hardly remember that day,” I lie. It’s etched in my brain; I have nightmares of it often.
Emil smiles at me now in admiration as he had then. “Nothing breaks your heart. You’re bulletproof. You’re like me--we both keep so many secrets.”
“If I don’t go now, it will be closed.”
My excuse to meet Xavier slips away from me the moment I see his scowl. “I don’t want your French jam. It will taste like the bitterest defeat now. I’ll never eat it again.” He watches me for a moment. His thumb comes up to trace my lips. I drop my chin. He lifts the silver wolf head of his cane beneath my chin, raising it so that he can see my eyes. “Do you know what I want?” he asks.
“No.”
“I’d like a kiss.”
I show no emotion as I lift my lips to his cheek and press them lightly against his skin. As I pull away, my eyes meet his.”
“You belong to me, Simone. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
He touches the lace of my collar, admiring the fine detail of the day dress he chose for me. “Good. Come, I want to hear you play while the staff packs.” He takes my hand and leads me back toward the grandeur of the main house. I don’t resist. Entering through the kitchen, I nearly stumble to a halt as I see the blood-spattered wall and lifeless body of Tomas, the head chef, near the cast iron stove. Emil’s hand gestures toward the blood pooling on the floor. “Tomas cannot come with us to our next location. I will miss him; I enjoyed his soufflé.”
I avert my eyes at once. Death is a regular occurrence here. I had thought Tomas had a better chance than most of surviving the German occupation. I was wrong.
Emil leads me to the music room. He opens the enormous doors, spreads them wide, and allows me to enter before him. The room is arranged with opulent furniture: centuries old carved mahogany chairs, gold-silk covered sofas, and a light-blue silk tufted settee among others. Most of the artwork that had adorned this space has been removed, shipped to the Fatherland to be hoarded by relatives of the officers who reside here. Large, discolored patches of plaster remain as a testament to where they had been.
We cross the immaculate blue and gold carpet to the black bench placed in front of the piano of the same hue. All of the silver frames near the piano have images of the family who had once lived here. I don’t know what happened to them, but they’re richer by far for not having to remain.
As I settle on the bench, I lift my eyes to Emil’s blue ones. The strawberry-blond highlights in his hair shine in the waning sun from the window as he doffs his Fliegertruppe cap. “What would you like to hear?” I ask.
“Play Johann Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D,’” Emil smiles. He drops his cap on the chair near us.
I remove my white gloves and take my hat from my hair, placing the gloves inside of it. Emil takes them from me and puts them on the chair beside his. As I rest my fingertips on the smooth ivory keys, gunshots explode from the floors above. My eyes rise to look at the ceiling, hearing the violent, high-pitched screams of women’s voices and the heavy pounding of running feet. “It’s just a bit of housekeeping, Simone. The staff cannot come with us; we have to be sure they won’t see something that they shouldn’t. I’ve given orders that they be...retired.” His hand rests heavily on my shoulder.
“You’ll kill them all?” I choke on the words.
“All but you, Simone. I have spared you.” He caresses my cheek before he urges, “Now play for me.” I hesitate for a moment, trying to think of a way to convince him to spare the lives of the staff. Emil leans close to my ear and growls, “Play!”
The first staggering notes of ‘Canon in D’ are hardly discernable above the chaos and clamor. The pistol reports shatter the very air. Agnes, one of the chambermaids, pleads for her life, but her terrified cry is cut short. I concentrate on the keys so that my fingers won’t shake and I fade away into the music. I hide in the notes, momentarily free from the terror of the Lille chateau. It’s only when the song ends that I begin to pray.
I cannot stay here a moment longer...I can’t stay...Xavier, please come, Xavier, please...
Emil whispers in my ear, “Again, Simone.”
He holds me close in his arms and we begin to dance. One of his hands moves slowly from my hip to travel up my side, infusing his energy into me as it goes. I gasp as the current flows under my skin. I bite down on my lip as pleasure-pain makes me breathe deep, like I might drown.
Brennus murmurs in my ear, “Bite down hard, it feels better.”
He’s right. I clench my teeth. He guides me around the room; we skip ahead at supernatural speed for a few moments. His energy spreads through me, first from my heart, through the roadmap of my veins, to places I never wanted Brennus to go. I gasp as my body involuntarily curls toward him like a flower to the sun, for the pleasure of it. He holds me close, his nose grazes the length of my neck; he breathes me in. I feel the roar and rush of my heartbeat. I’m his toy; his energy streams into me. He winds the invisible key in my back and the euphoria ratchets and coils inside of me: tick...tick...tick...
We slow to a human pace. He bends me in a dip; my back arches and I feel him above me as his hand holds my back while the other one traces lightly over my side. I respond to his light touch; my skin becomes a magnet drawn to his. He straightens me again with a snap, pulling me close. His hand travels from the side of my breast to my back. Another wicked surge of energy flows from him into me. Pain. Pleasure. Bliss. My jaw unclenches as my lips part. I make a small, breathy sound as we dance.
Brennus responds with something close to a growl. “Ye’re killing me, mo chroí,” he murmurs. His hand moves down my back infusing me with a golden glow of power. My wings punch violently from me, tearing a hole in my day dress. My wings spread wide, a red stain beyond my pale skin. I’m dancing now for the thrill of it; I follow his lead.
As the song comes to an end, Brennus kisses my throat tenderly. He whispers in my ear, “When ye get back, come find me, mo chroi. I’ve healed ye...now wake up and banjax whoever banished ye here...”
Stay wi’ me, Genevieve... I hear Brennus’ deep voice whisper in my mind before it fades away and is gone.
The darkness between my heart and my soul swells, pushing them further apart, making room for Brennus. I’m the light to his darkness. There’s no escape; he’s a part of me. I close my eyes. Pick a side, demon, I inwardly scold, speaking silently to my own black heart. His kiss was sweet like cinnamon...
My lips move over Reed’s now, and as I grow more awake, so too does the desire for the one who has me in his arms, my aspire. Light and smooth he teases; it increases the tension that coils within me for him. It warms me, teaching my skin by touch about love. I breathe him in.
The fire inside stirs, stokes, and then burns me. I open my eyes to see perfect green ones above me. Pleasure spreads; it finds new places I hadn’t known existed. Gravity begins to win; it pulls me to Reed with magnetic stirrings of yearning. I want to fade into him, fit myself under his skin.
My fingertips reach up behind his ear, entangling in his dark brown hair, tussling it as I draw him closer to me. Our lips part to taste each other. I groan softly. Reed reacts; his wings unfold violently from him with a snap. The darkest gray feathers splay out thrillingly behind him. His arm goes behind me, pulling me nearer as my legs wrap around him. He lifts his lips from mine, causing our cheeks to brush against each other. The sensation of it pulses through me, reaching that dark place in my heart. I feel the darkness retreat for a moment before it fights back, surging forward with the blackest desire.
My fingernails tense on Reed’s scalp. The white sheet wrapped around me is suddenly unbearably constricting. My bare leg slips from beneath it to rub against the soft fabric of Reed’s loose-fitting pajama bottoms. They’re slung low on his hips, making me want to rip them from him...and there's an equal urge to tear him, too. All of a sudden, I feel a desperate ache to consume him. I want to make Reed bleed. I want to make him bleed for me—only for me. My fingers shift in his hair, sliding to the back of his neck. The sharpest points of my teeth follow the column of his throat downward, grazing the smooth perfection of his skin. His grasp tightens on my hips.
I feel the beat of his arterial pulse beneath my tongue. His hand threads under the mass of my hair at the base of my neck while his thumb caresses my throat in gentle circles. The greedy desire recedes for a moment as my love for him swells. I sigh against Reed’s skin in relief, freed from the strange impulse.
Something grows in me, a malicious wave of anger flows out of the dark place in my heart, like poison, it winds it’s way through my veins. I lose my breath. My skin begins to chill as coldness seeps outward from my core. The poison races on, weaving through me. My lips slacken and rest on Reed’s shoulder. This dark elixir travels up my throat and into my eyes. My irises recede to blackness while I take a shallow breath and exhale wisps of frozen air.
Reed must feel the change in me because he tenses in my arms. A deep point stabs me where I join the darkness, like two lines meeting. I lift my lips from Reed and a smile spreads them thin. Then my mouth opens wide right before I clamp down hard on Reed’s shoulder. My teeth puncture his skin, sinking in. The iron taste of his blood fills my mouth, the shock of which registers in my mind, but my jaw remains rigidly clenched.
Reed grunts and flinches as he exhales a breath. His fingers tighten on the back of my neck in an attempt to pull me back from him. “Evie?” Reed says my name through clenched teeth. He breathes in and it catches in his chest before he exhales. He growls out one word: “Brennus.”
A rumble of laughter rolls up from my chest. My jaw eases and my teeth slide out of Reed’s shoulder. Blood collects at the corners of my mouth, sliding down my chin to drip onto the white sheet pressed between us. I feel something inside of me stir; it makes me pull back from Reed. When I catch sight of his face, his expression is grim.
My eyebrows pull together as my eyes narrow. “Whah part of ‘moin’ do ye na understand, aingeal?” I hear myself say.
“What are you talking about, Brennus?” I whisper.
“Do ye remember when I told ye dat I saw me soul, Genevieve? Just tafter ye changed me?”
“I do, it was when I tried to kill you.”
He grins. “Och, had ye tried ta kill me, I’d be gone. Ye wanted me ta change, and change I did,” Brennus says ruefully, and then he sobers. “I saw him again--me soul--after yer fire tore tru me.”
“How?”
“Me soul was ripped away from Sheol. He tried ta reunite wi’ me--become one once more, but I am still mostly undead, ye see?” I nod my head in understanding, and Brennus continues, “He gave me a message ta give ta ye.”
“He did?” I ask, my eyes wide with surprise
My hand stills. I panic. Time could change us, like it had with Xavier and me. I feel like my heart unravels, but I don’t let him see it. “One day, Reed,” I begin dabbing at his cheek again, “you and I will get in the car and just drive. We’ll wander from silver cities to golden coasts.” I use an alcohol swab to clean the blood from his cheek. “And we’ll sleep when we’re tired and when we wake, I’ll find a way to make you laugh and I’ll live in the sound of it.” My throat gets tight because I long for that day to be now. “We’ll find somewhere you’ve never been and we’ll make it ours—fill it with memories of us. That’s what I want.” I finish with the alcohol swab. Leaning close, I gently blow on his healing wound to ease the sting.
Reed takes my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. “And when we get that sleep, there will never be a your side or a my side of the bed—we’ll always meet in the middle. And when I hold you there, in our bed, you’ll let me rest my lips here.” Reed lets go of my hand to move his thumb to caress the sensitive skin of my neck just beneath my ear. I get swept up in him: my body his with one touch. I turn and rub my cheek gently against his palm.
“And we won’t rush...ever,” I murmur, forgetting to be scared for a moment as I kiss him. I want that future with him.
“The world can spin around us but we’ll take our time, savor every moment.”
My head rests on his shoulder. “Just you and me.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I doubt Buns or Brownie will allow that.”
“You’re a fighter; it’s woven in every fiber of your being, Evie.” Xavier’s soft tone does something to me. I want to hide beneath it, wrap myself in it like a blanket and rest.
“Maybe I’m a fighter because that’s what you’ve made me—lifetimes of fighting for you. Was that the price we paid for being together? Did we have to agree to mission after mission just to see each other?”
It’s in his eyes. I’m right.
I put both my hands to my face and cover my weary eyes for a moment. When I pull them away, I ask, “Did it get to be too much for me? Was the price too high to pay? Maybe I can’t remember us because I wanted it that way. Did I decide to cut my heart out rather than to have it die slowly?” I feel like sobbing.
“No. You’d always fight for us,” Xavier replies without a hint of doubt. “The answer lies in Simone—in her memories.”
“You want me to go back there! Back to Lille with Emil!” I begin to pace again, biting my thumbnail anxiously.
“I want you to find out what happened,” Xavier says in an even tone.
I point my finger at him. “No. You’re asking me to relive what happened!”
“If it means defeating Emil in this lifetime then, yes, that’s what I’m asking. I need to know the debt owed to iniquity.”
“The debt to iniquity—to wickedness?” I murmur aloud.
“Emil’s power is a concession—that’s plain to me. I want to know why.”
I look out the back window, seeing Xavier’s car regain the road from the shoulder and pursue our car. The fogged windshield of his Aston Martin cracks and shatters violently as Xavier's booted foot kicks it away. When it bows out in pieces, he drops his leg and uses his arm to begin clearing away the glass.
“What’s he doing?” My eyes go to Reed who’s watching the rearview mirror.
Reed frowns grimly, “Evie, get to that ring as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything. When you have it, find a safe place to hide and call me. I’ll find you.” He opens the sunroof with a touch of a button. “Here, take the wheel.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I ask with a squeak, my eyes widening.
“We have to stop Xavier from getting there first.” He grasps my limp hand and puts it on the steering wheel.
My eyes stray to the rear window again in time to see Xavier break the windshield out completely. He lunges through the opening onto the hood of his car, taking two running steps with his red wings spread wide. Leaping forward from the hood, he glides through the air and lands on the back of our car as his vehicle spins off into a ditch. The Lamborghini bounces hard upon impact, and then it decelerates rapidly. Xavier’s powerful wings beat the air, lifting the back tires off the ground. I have no time to protest as Reed climbs out through the sunroof. His dark, ashen wings open wide as he emerges from the car and lofts into the air. He catches Xavier around the throat with his forearm and yanks him off our car.
The tires swerve over the road when the back ones thump onto the ground again. I manage to hold onto the wheel, scrambling into the driver’s seat. I touch the brake, coming to a stop. Shifting the car into neutral and engaging the safety brake, I turn to look out the rear window. Snow drifts in anaconda patterns over the barren pavement. With both of my hands gripping the seatback, I breathe heavily, watching Reed’s wings thrash. He locks arms with Xavier whose wings serrate to red dagger points, and it’s clear that both angels are trying to rip the other’s arms off.
Like a revolving door, Reed spins free from Xavier’s strong fists. He runs at our car, hitting the back end; it slides forward on the road despite the brake. “GO!” Reed shouts at me. Then he turns back, catching Xavier around his waist before he can move to my door. Reed throws him back and he tumbles across the ground; he skids to a stop, growls, and rises to his feet. In the next moment, he’s running at Reed with weapons in his hands.
I jump out of the car as Xavier uses his spade-shaped blades to slash at Reed. He misses with the one in his right hand, but not with the other in his left. The razor-edge connects with Reed’s cheek, cutting it from his lips to his ear. My wings eject from me as I scream. Reed rears back from Xavier. I lift my hand, making Xavier’s car rise into the air from the ditch; it comes down on the pavement directly behind him. Before Xavier can hurt Reed again, his feet leave the ground as he’s thrust back through the empty windscreen of his car. He lands hard in the driver’s seat, staring at me with a murderous expression. The shattered glass on the pavement collects and finds its way to the front of the car, settling into place and smoothing to transparency.
Xavier pounds his fist against it trying to break it out again, but the glass holds. “Evie!” His muffled voice is barely discernible above the sounds of his thrashing. When it still doesn’t break, he slams his shoulder against the door. It doesn’t open either. He beats the window, leaving smears of blood on it from his fists.
I walk to Reed who holds his hand to his face to stem his blood. “Are you okay?” I ask worriedly, as I touch his other cheek.
“It’s not bad,” he says, reaching out and wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me to him. He hugs me in an attempt to comfort me. “We need to go.”
“Okay, just a second.” I pull away from Reed and go to the driver’s side of Xavier’s car. When I near his window, I bend toward it, steaming it with my breath. Using my finger, I write: UOY ETAH I.
Pain shows in Xavier’s mismatched eyes. He leans to the glass and fogs it with his breath. He pulls back, and with his finger, he writes: COME BACK TO ME. He rests his palm against the window. My heart squeezes tight, leaving no room for my blood to breathe. I feel hopeless as my eyes meet his again. I hate this. My hand twitches with the urge to meet his on the glass.
Reed backs our car next to me. I back away from Xavier’s window and bump up against the door, blindly searching for the handle. When the door slides open, I retract my wings and scramble into my seat, refusing to look at Xavier again.
“Is a ghost whispering in your ear?” Emil asks me now. He touches my cheek softly. “You’ve gone quite pale.”
“I was just on my way to Olympia to see if they have any more of the jam you like. We’ve run completely out, and I thought you might want it for the journey,” I lie.
He has a faraway look. “You’re just as you were on the morning I found you--so pale--so beautiful. Has it really been more than two years ago?”
“Almost two and a half,” I murmur.
“The needle in the hay, that’s what you were, Simone, and I found you.”
“I hardly remember that day,” I lie. It’s etched in my brain; I have nightmares of it often.
Emil smiles at me now in admiration as he had then. “Nothing breaks your heart. You’re bulletproof. You’re like me--we both keep so many secrets.”
“If I don’t go now, it will be closed.”
My excuse to meet Xavier slips away from me the moment I see his scowl. “I don’t want your French jam. It will taste like the bitterest defeat now. I’ll never eat it again.” He watches me for a moment. His thumb comes up to trace my lips. I drop my chin. He lifts the silver wolf head of his cane beneath my chin, raising it so that he can see my eyes. “Do you know what I want?” he asks.
“No.”
“I’d like a kiss.”
I show no emotion as I lift my lips to his cheek and press them lightly against his skin. As I pull away, my eyes meet his.”
“You belong to me, Simone. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
He touches the lace of my collar, admiring the fine detail of the day dress he chose for me. “Good. Come, I want to hear you play while the staff packs.” He takes my hand and leads me back toward the grandeur of the main house. I don’t resist. Entering through the kitchen, I nearly stumble to a halt as I see the blood-spattered wall and lifeless body of Tomas, the head chef, near the cast iron stove. Emil’s hand gestures toward the blood pooling on the floor. “Tomas cannot come with us to our next location. I will miss him; I enjoyed his soufflé.”
I avert my eyes at once. Death is a regular occurrence here. I had thought Tomas had a better chance than most of surviving the German occupation. I was wrong.
Emil leads me to the music room. He opens the enormous doors, spreads them wide, and allows me to enter before him. The room is arranged with opulent furniture: centuries old carved mahogany chairs, gold-silk covered sofas, and a light-blue silk tufted settee among others. Most of the artwork that had adorned this space has been removed, shipped to the Fatherland to be hoarded by relatives of the officers who reside here. Large, discolored patches of plaster remain as a testament to where they had been.
We cross the immaculate blue and gold carpet to the black bench placed in front of the piano of the same hue. All of the silver frames near the piano have images of the family who had once lived here. I don’t know what happened to them, but they’re richer by far for not having to remain.
As I settle on the bench, I lift my eyes to Emil’s blue ones. The strawberry-blond highlights in his hair shine in the waning sun from the window as he doffs his Fliegertruppe cap. “What would you like to hear?” I ask.
“Play Johann Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D,’” Emil smiles. He drops his cap on the chair near us.
I remove my white gloves and take my hat from my hair, placing the gloves inside of it. Emil takes them from me and puts them on the chair beside his. As I rest my fingertips on the smooth ivory keys, gunshots explode from the floors above. My eyes rise to look at the ceiling, hearing the violent, high-pitched screams of women’s voices and the heavy pounding of running feet. “It’s just a bit of housekeeping, Simone. The staff cannot come with us; we have to be sure they won’t see something that they shouldn’t. I’ve given orders that they be...retired.” His hand rests heavily on my shoulder.
“You’ll kill them all?” I choke on the words.
“All but you, Simone. I have spared you.” He caresses my cheek before he urges, “Now play for me.” I hesitate for a moment, trying to think of a way to convince him to spare the lives of the staff. Emil leans close to my ear and growls, “Play!”
The first staggering notes of ‘Canon in D’ are hardly discernable above the chaos and clamor. The pistol reports shatter the very air. Agnes, one of the chambermaids, pleads for her life, but her terrified cry is cut short. I concentrate on the keys so that my fingers won’t shake and I fade away into the music. I hide in the notes, momentarily free from the terror of the Lille chateau. It’s only when the song ends that I begin to pray.
I cannot stay here a moment longer...I can’t stay...Xavier, please come, Xavier, please...
Emil whispers in my ear, “Again, Simone.”
He holds me close in his arms and we begin to dance. One of his hands moves slowly from my hip to travel up my side, infusing his energy into me as it goes. I gasp as the current flows under my skin. I bite down on my lip as pleasure-pain makes me breathe deep, like I might drown.
Brennus murmurs in my ear, “Bite down hard, it feels better.”
He’s right. I clench my teeth. He guides me around the room; we skip ahead at supernatural speed for a few moments. His energy spreads through me, first from my heart, through the roadmap of my veins, to places I never wanted Brennus to go. I gasp as my body involuntarily curls toward him like a flower to the sun, for the pleasure of it. He holds me close, his nose grazes the length of my neck; he breathes me in. I feel the roar and rush of my heartbeat. I’m his toy; his energy streams into me. He winds the invisible key in my back and the euphoria ratchets and coils inside of me: tick...tick...tick...
We slow to a human pace. He bends me in a dip; my back arches and I feel him above me as his hand holds my back while the other one traces lightly over my side. I respond to his light touch; my skin becomes a magnet drawn to his. He straightens me again with a snap, pulling me close. His hand travels from the side of my breast to my back. Another wicked surge of energy flows from him into me. Pain. Pleasure. Bliss. My jaw unclenches as my lips part. I make a small, breathy sound as we dance.
Brennus responds with something close to a growl. “Ye’re killing me, mo chroí,” he murmurs. His hand moves down my back infusing me with a golden glow of power. My wings punch violently from me, tearing a hole in my day dress. My wings spread wide, a red stain beyond my pale skin. I’m dancing now for the thrill of it; I follow his lead.
As the song comes to an end, Brennus kisses my throat tenderly. He whispers in my ear, “When ye get back, come find me, mo chroi. I’ve healed ye...now wake up and banjax whoever banished ye here...”
Stay wi’ me, Genevieve... I hear Brennus’ deep voice whisper in my mind before it fades away and is gone.
The darkness between my heart and my soul swells, pushing them further apart, making room for Brennus. I’m the light to his darkness. There’s no escape; he’s a part of me. I close my eyes. Pick a side, demon, I inwardly scold, speaking silently to my own black heart. His kiss was sweet like cinnamon...
My lips move over Reed’s now, and as I grow more awake, so too does the desire for the one who has me in his arms, my aspire. Light and smooth he teases; it increases the tension that coils within me for him. It warms me, teaching my skin by touch about love. I breathe him in.
The fire inside stirs, stokes, and then burns me. I open my eyes to see perfect green ones above me. Pleasure spreads; it finds new places I hadn’t known existed. Gravity begins to win; it pulls me to Reed with magnetic stirrings of yearning. I want to fade into him, fit myself under his skin.
My fingertips reach up behind his ear, entangling in his dark brown hair, tussling it as I draw him closer to me. Our lips part to taste each other. I groan softly. Reed reacts; his wings unfold violently from him with a snap. The darkest gray feathers splay out thrillingly behind him. His arm goes behind me, pulling me nearer as my legs wrap around him. He lifts his lips from mine, causing our cheeks to brush against each other. The sensation of it pulses through me, reaching that dark place in my heart. I feel the darkness retreat for a moment before it fights back, surging forward with the blackest desire.
My fingernails tense on Reed’s scalp. The white sheet wrapped around me is suddenly unbearably constricting. My bare leg slips from beneath it to rub against the soft fabric of Reed’s loose-fitting pajama bottoms. They’re slung low on his hips, making me want to rip them from him...and there's an equal urge to tear him, too. All of a sudden, I feel a desperate ache to consume him. I want to make Reed bleed. I want to make him bleed for me—only for me. My fingers shift in his hair, sliding to the back of his neck. The sharpest points of my teeth follow the column of his throat downward, grazing the smooth perfection of his skin. His grasp tightens on my hips.
I feel the beat of his arterial pulse beneath my tongue. His hand threads under the mass of my hair at the base of my neck while his thumb caresses my throat in gentle circles. The greedy desire recedes for a moment as my love for him swells. I sigh against Reed’s skin in relief, freed from the strange impulse.
Something grows in me, a malicious wave of anger flows out of the dark place in my heart, like poison, it winds it’s way through my veins. I lose my breath. My skin begins to chill as coldness seeps outward from my core. The poison races on, weaving through me. My lips slacken and rest on Reed’s shoulder. This dark elixir travels up my throat and into my eyes. My irises recede to blackness while I take a shallow breath and exhale wisps of frozen air.
Reed must feel the change in me because he tenses in my arms. A deep point stabs me where I join the darkness, like two lines meeting. I lift my lips from Reed and a smile spreads them thin. Then my mouth opens wide right before I clamp down hard on Reed’s shoulder. My teeth puncture his skin, sinking in. The iron taste of his blood fills my mouth, the shock of which registers in my mind, but my jaw remains rigidly clenched.
Reed grunts and flinches as he exhales a breath. His fingers tighten on the back of my neck in an attempt to pull me back from him. “Evie?” Reed says my name through clenched teeth. He breathes in and it catches in his chest before he exhales. He growls out one word: “Brennus.”
A rumble of laughter rolls up from my chest. My jaw eases and my teeth slide out of Reed’s shoulder. Blood collects at the corners of my mouth, sliding down my chin to drip onto the white sheet pressed between us. I feel something inside of me stir; it makes me pull back from Reed. When I catch sight of his face, his expression is grim.
My eyebrows pull together as my eyes narrow. “Whah part of ‘moin’ do ye na understand, aingeal?” I hear myself say.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2023
4th time reading, 5th time for the entire series. This is such a comfort series for me and I love revisiting it.
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Reading for the 2nd time. I'm picking up a ton of stuff I missed the first time!
*************
Oh my, it’s actually over. The debt to Iniquity has been paid.
Bartol has some series girl power going on in this book. She is totally my Champion! The gang is back and it just jumps right into the action. Brennus and Xavier and Reed, Oh my.
Evie is still trying to figure out her mission here on earth in this lifetime. She is also faced with the task of choosing her destiny with one of the men mentioned above. I feel like Russell was a strong contender for most of the series, but now I think he is more out of the picture as far as a love interest.
For me, Amy’s writing style really showed in the last installment. As she always says she is a “pantser” meaning she writes by the seat of her pants, meaning the story just kind of plays out – she was no idea of an ending when she begins. I found myself knowing that she had to go back through the story and make up something to explain why something else happened, instead of just setting it up that way. If I hadn’t read that about her writing style numerous times, I don’t know that I would have noticed as much. With that being said, everything fit so well together. She did a great job of interweaving the story taking things from all of the books and telling you why this happened or what was going on.
I am so sad this series is over. I heard a rumor on the Premonition Series group that a couple novellas might be on the table in the future and I will welcome them with open arms. After waiting for the conclusion for so long, it doesn’t seem real. I love an epilogue and I hope she does one for the fans!
****Spoilers are below!****
Spoiler review of Reed: I love Reed, I will forever be on his team.
Spoiler review of Brennus:
The first time I read the series, I really liked Brennus, I thought he was misunderstood and I got mad at Evie for denying him so much. I think I have a soft spot for the bad boys in books. But the second time around I had no idea what I was thinking, Brennus is obviously sadistic and troubled. I really didn’t think there would be any redemption for him,
Spoiler review of Xavier:
_____________________________________________________________________
12/7/15: I just can't wait until midnight!
12/4/15: Rereading the series in preparation! I am so excited. This is probably my most anticipated book ever!!
12/2/15: Only 6 more days!!! I am so ready!
UPDATE 10/8/15: The cover is beautiful and fits perfectly with the rest of the series! It looks so bright and bold! I just can't wait to read it. I quite literally requested off work for Dec. 8th.
UPDATE 8/9/15: WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE!!! 12/8/15 -- THIS WILL BE THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!
UPDATE 7/17/15: Read on the Premonition Series group on FB that it will most likely be released in OCTOBER!!! PLEASE LET THAT BE REAL!!!
UPDATE 1/27/15: Sitting here listening to Spotify playlists for the premonition characters and having some FEELS! They are perfect and I just can't wait for Iniquity to make it's appearance! Please hurry Amy!!
-------------------------
Reading for the 2nd time. I'm picking up a ton of stuff I missed the first time!
*************
Oh my, it’s actually over. The debt to Iniquity has been paid.
Bartol has some series girl power going on in this book. She is totally my Champion! The gang is back and it just jumps right into the action. Brennus and Xavier and Reed, Oh my.
Evie is still trying to figure out her mission here on earth in this lifetime. She is also faced with the task of choosing her destiny with one of the men mentioned above. I feel like Russell was a strong contender for most of the series, but now I think he is more out of the picture as far as a love interest.
For me, Amy’s writing style really showed in the last installment. As she always says she is a “pantser” meaning she writes by the seat of her pants, meaning the story just kind of plays out – she was no idea of an ending when she begins. I found myself knowing that she had to go back through the story and make up something to explain why something else happened, instead of just setting it up that way. If I hadn’t read that about her writing style numerous times, I don’t know that I would have noticed as much. With that being said, everything fit so well together. She did a great job of interweaving the story taking things from all of the books and telling you why this happened or what was going on.
I am so sad this series is over. I heard a rumor on the Premonition Series group that a couple novellas might be on the table in the future and I will welcome them with open arms. After waiting for the conclusion for so long, it doesn’t seem real. I love an epilogue and I hope she does one for the fans!
****Spoilers are below!****
Spoiler review of Reed: I love Reed, I will forever be on his team.
Spoiler review of Brennus:
The first time I read the series, I really liked Brennus, I thought he was misunderstood and I got mad at Evie for denying him so much. I think I have a soft spot for the bad boys in books. But the second time around I had no idea what I was thinking, Brennus is obviously sadistic and troubled. I really didn’t think there would be any redemption for him,
Spoiler review of Xavier:
_____________________________________________________________________
12/7/15: I just can't wait until midnight!
12/4/15: Rereading the series in preparation! I am so excited. This is probably my most anticipated book ever!!
12/2/15: Only 6 more days!!! I am so ready!
UPDATE 10/8/15: The cover is beautiful and fits perfectly with the rest of the series! It looks so bright and bold! I just can't wait to read it. I quite literally requested off work for Dec. 8th.
UPDATE 8/9/15: WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE!!! 12/8/15 -- THIS WILL BE THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!
UPDATE 7/17/15: Read on the Premonition Series group on FB that it will most likely be released in OCTOBER!!! PLEASE LET THAT BE REAL!!!
UPDATE 1/27/15: Sitting here listening to Spotify playlists for the premonition characters and having some FEELS! They are perfect and I just can't wait for Iniquity to make it's appearance! Please hurry Amy!!
May 17, 2016
This is such a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT I've ever had. Ever.
The first four books in this series WERE pretty addictive to me but now I doubt myself. Basically the stories as well as the characters are the same in every single installment and there aren't exciting twists that amaze me. None. As for this one, I just can't bring myself to READ, let alone enjoy it.
I'm sorry, Amy, but this one makes me so disappointed and the frustration exceeds my love for the previous books.
Overall, I don't recommend this series AT ALL.
The first four books in this series WERE pretty addictive to me but now I doubt myself. Basically the stories as well as the characters are the same in every single installment and there aren't exciting twists that amaze me. None. As for this one, I just can't bring myself to READ, let alone enjoy it.
I'm sorry, Amy, but this one makes me so disappointed and the frustration exceeds my love for the previous books.
Overall, I don't recommend this series AT ALL.
December 30, 2015
This book took fkn ages to come out, and TBH, I don't know why I bothered reading it since the third and fourth books in this series were basically the same, and I LOATHE Bartol's Kricket series, in which another girl with an obviously magical vagina has multiple suitors starting wars over her because WHY?! Alas, this was more of the same. 3 years of waiting for more of the same.
Sorry Amy. I'm done with you.
Sorry Amy. I'm done with you.
August 5, 2016
08/04/16 - I have waited so long for this book since I LOVED the previous 4 books. What a disappointed. I did not even finish this one. Sub-plot after sub-plot. This is a love square or maybe even a...what do you call when you may have 4 guys in love with the same girl??? DUMB!!! I want my money back for the audible. After starting this ridiculous book, the series should have ended at book 4.
12/04/15 - Will this be on audio? Usually Audibles has a pre-order.
10/25/15 - I miss Brennus...
I always fall in love with Amy Bartol's dark villains.
09/22/15 - I just saw this:
Iniquity (Book 5) *Release Date: 12/8/15
and all I have to say it FINALLY!!!!! But I have waited over 2 years for book 5 so it better be epic!!!!
12/03/2013 - This is going to be close to 2 years we have to wait between books!!! It better be epic.
12/04/15 - Will this be on audio? Usually Audibles has a pre-order.
10/25/15 - I miss Brennus...
I always fall in love with Amy Bartol's dark villains.
09/22/15 - I just saw this:
Iniquity (Book 5) *Release Date: 12/8/15
and all I have to say it FINALLY!!!!! But I have waited over 2 years for book 5 so it better be epic!!!!
12/03/2013 - This is going to be close to 2 years we have to wait between books!!! It better be epic.
Read
December 14, 2016I am unbelievably relieved there is another book. This has probably been one of the most suspense filled, heart wrenching, and imaginative stories i have ever read. I think i cried through the entire first book. This is an amazing series and i would recommend it to everyone!
Want to read
May 27, 2013I'm feeling the same way as a lot of these readers. Reed better be the winner in this war of hearts and emotions or I will be so depressed and feel as if I have wasted hours reading these wonderful stories that will have ended badly. Please please let it be Reed!
December 16, 2015
I was terrified to crack open the first page of Iniquity, knowing this would be the last time to experience Evie's life. I've waited years for this moment, and it's a bittersweet agony. Braving the storm of inevitable emotions, I soaked in every word as if it were my last breath.
There were moments of joy as I smiled wide. People gawked at my facial expressions as I reacted to the dialogue between my friends residing within the pages. I was grateful for the time span in which I was alone as I fought against the tears of sorrow and elation, failing miserably.
Now that I've turned the last page, I'm content in knowing what the future holds for my friends and their enemies. I can rest easy and smile. Evie's story may be finished being shared, but no story is ever truly finished, is it? Rest assure that I will come back to the beginning to experience it again and again.
There were moments of joy as I smiled wide. People gawked at my facial expressions as I reacted to the dialogue between my friends residing within the pages. I was grateful for the time span in which I was alone as I fought against the tears of sorrow and elation, failing miserably.
Now that I've turned the last page, I'm content in knowing what the future holds for my friends and their enemies. I can rest easy and smile. Evie's story may be finished being shared, but no story is ever truly finished, is it? Rest assure that I will come back to the beginning to experience it again and again.
December 13, 2015
It was good, but not as amazing as I expected and definitely not the best of the series. Some parts felt rushed, the characters did not feel as developed as in previous books and the whole novel revolved around a new character that came out of nowhere. The ending was disappointing as it did not conclude anything at all. Nevertheless, it was still captivating and the series remains one of my favourites.
December 10, 2015
I know I am kind of alone in thinking this, but did anyone else think that Bartol kind of did a deus ex machina thing, but in reverse. When Bartol tried to progress the plot, she really did not have much to work with because the entire book series has kind of been about how great Evie is and how all of these guys wanted her. So in order to squeeze one more book out of it she pulled a kind of villain ex machina with almost no build up other than the tenuous excuse that Evie had no memories (which I also have a problem with but more on that later). The villain, Enil, was so bland it was kind of hard for me to feel anything for him. a) he was not even introduced until about a quarter of the way through the last story. b) I did not understand what he had to do with anything until suddenly all of the previous plot drama of keeping Evie away from the Gancanagh and the seraphim changed to WE MUST KILL ENIL OR ELSE THE WORLD EXPLODES AND APPARENTLY (literally announced in the last 100 pages of the book) HE WANTS TO INVADE HEAVEN TOO! He was a placeholder for all evil in the book, which, while satisfying to read of him being defeated, was anticlimactic and made me feel almost nothing in regards to his character. With that aside, I still could have enjoyed the book (because hey I'm a teenage girl and it does not really take much to amuse us [thus explaining the entire industry created around it, but I digress]), except the other characters which I was hoping she would develop just kind of remained as stick figures around the perfection that was Evie (apparently this is called a Mary sue [look at me using my vocabulary]). Yah Evie is great, but Bartol could have focused on the other characters a bit more, as well as the holes in the subplot (because the plot is now about Enil? I don't know). Questions like who is Evie's mom? What is Cole's purpose and why were he and Evie friends? were not answered. Development of the Anya, Brownie, Xavier (though some would dispute this, but honestly his two redeeming qualities were that he was hot and that Evie loved him (but I'm pretty sure she would love Satan if he had a six pack [not literally] so this does not mean much), and Reed (no other purpose other than worshiping evie ). I know that most of these can be explained by Evie's sudden regaining of memory, but seriously what did she remember, Bartol never actually says. And riddle me this: how can she suddenly speak angel and know that she is the deadliest creature on the planet? Did she remember being a terminator in her past lifetime? I don't get it. The two characters I really loved were Brennus and Finn because they were at the very least not the usual entirely flat characters with only one personality trait to highlight some aspect of Evie, but creatures who had their own purpose and added depth to the books. Now that I think about it, Bartol’s tie ins back to Evie’s days with the Gancanagh are also pretty ingenious, so it is not like this book had no redeeming qualities. Overall the book could have been better if she had focused on the characters and problems that were already in place, instead of trying to turn the basic paranormal love story (albeit instead of a love triangle she had more of the love tetrahedral thing going) into one of THE WORLD WILL END IF US TEENAGERS DON'T DO SOMETHING that the mortal instruments had. And yes I know that the angel's just have the body of teenagers, but are actually much older thus impowering my generation to think: see mother/father figure, I am important! Which seems to be the goal of every YA book. Anyway, I apologize for the horrendous grammar and extreme length of this review to any still bothering to read it.
December 8, 2015
Rating 4.5 stars
Before I started reading Iniquity, I re-read all four books and I'm not always faithful to re-reading. *gasp* I might skim the last book in a series as a quick refresher. But this is the series that really got me hooked in Fantasty. I became lost once again in the beauty that is The Premonition Series and I was reminded how much I love every book.
Each installment outdid the other and the story just kept getting better and better. I fell in love with each character and eventually, even Russell. *wink* However, Brennus will continue to be my favorite. *dreamy sigh*
“I’m the light to his darkness. There’s no escape; he’s a part of me.”
Iniquity is an epic conclusion. It's filled with so many plot twists that I had emotional whiplash. If you think you know what's coming...you're wrong. Trust me. It's completely unpredictable.
So many questions are answered and truths are finally revealed. There's nothing more I will say because the less you know the better off everyone will be. All I can say is that I absolutely love this book and it could possibly be my favorite. ♥
Before I started reading Iniquity, I re-read all four books and I'm not always faithful to re-reading. *gasp* I might skim the last book in a series as a quick refresher. But this is the series that really got me hooked in Fantasty. I became lost once again in the beauty that is The Premonition Series and I was reminded how much I love every book.
Each installment outdid the other and the story just kept getting better and better. I fell in love with each character and eventually, even Russell. *wink* However, Brennus will continue to be my favorite. *dreamy sigh*
“I’m the light to his darkness. There’s no escape; he’s a part of me.”
Iniquity is an epic conclusion. It's filled with so many plot twists that I had emotional whiplash. If you think you know what's coming...you're wrong. Trust me. It's completely unpredictable.
So many questions are answered and truths are finally revealed. There's nothing more I will say because the less you know the better off everyone will be. All I can say is that I absolutely love this book and it could possibly be my favorite. ♥
Want to read
September 29, 2013 I want this NOW!!
Read
August 9, 2015How long has it been now waiting for this book. 2 years? 3 years? 10 fucking years????
Meanwhile the autor is posting everyday in Facebook about her new series.
Fuck this, I'm not reading anything from someone who can't even finish her shit. ..
Meanwhile the autor is posting everyday in Facebook about her new series.
Fuck this, I'm not reading anything from someone who can't even finish her shit. ..
December 9, 2015
Good lord, I read the first chapter since it was at the end of Incendiary... I CAN'T WAITTTTT argh! putting the 1st chapter to the next book is torture!
February 21, 2016
Fabulous! This was all worth the wait. I love all these characters and this story.
May 16, 2016
3.5 ‘OMG, it’s finally over’ stars
This book has been a long time coming, and I must admit that as excited as I was to get the final instalment, the series has lost a bit of momentum for me. This book is straight back into the action, which is all well and good, but I’d forgotten some of the details so it probably wasn’t as exciting as it should have been. There’s not a lot of catch up provided, so for the first few chapters I was floundering a bit, only to have big 'aha' moments as things started to come back to me.
Evie is still in danger and running for her life (situation: normal). She has Reed and their posse at her side, but with Brennus and Xavier still close by and still determined to have Evie as their own, the drama is intense as the boys continue their battle to protect her from what is coming.
But wait…. there’s a whole NEW bad guy introduced, and guess what? He wants Evie too!!! But his introduction comes with the long-awaited backstory that we’ve been waiting for! We learn Evie’s history and see how all of the characters link together and exactly how the whole story came to be. It’s complex, and takes most of the book for the whole story to come to light, but I was so happy to finally get some answers!
And it all ties in to these final events, and the excitement is pretty much non-stop as the tension builds towards the inevitable and action-packed battle between good and evil. And as the choices of Evie’s past all come to their epic conclusion, everything will change for our much-loved characters.
I liked this book. It had all of the action, adventure, drama and romance that I have come to expect from the series, and I was beyond excited to finally get some story progression! When I started this series I was immediately captivated, but honestly I think it’s been stretched our too far. The last couple of books were incredibly repetitive only for this book to be an information overload! And throughout the series too many twists have been added in just for the sake of adding more drama, and it didn’t really feel like the story flowed. And, of course, the non-stop love triangle/square/pentagon and subsequent kidnappings became all too much.
But having said that, I liked the direction this story took. I’m happy we finally got some decent backstory that ties everything together, and of course I loved the romance which was both achingly sad and achingly beautiful, and so freaking swoony!
This book finished off the series well, and though the five books have been a bit up and down for me, I’m glad I read them.
3.5 stars.
This book has been a long time coming, and I must admit that as excited as I was to get the final instalment, the series has lost a bit of momentum for me. This book is straight back into the action, which is all well and good, but I’d forgotten some of the details so it probably wasn’t as exciting as it should have been. There’s not a lot of catch up provided, so for the first few chapters I was floundering a bit, only to have big 'aha' moments as things started to come back to me.
Evie is still in danger and running for her life (situation: normal). She has Reed and their posse at her side, but with Brennus and Xavier still close by and still determined to have Evie as their own, the drama is intense as the boys continue their battle to protect her from what is coming.
But wait…. there’s a whole NEW bad guy introduced, and guess what? He wants Evie too!!! But his introduction comes with the long-awaited backstory that we’ve been waiting for! We learn Evie’s history and see how all of the characters link together and exactly how the whole story came to be. It’s complex, and takes most of the book for the whole story to come to light, but I was so happy to finally get some answers!
And it all ties in to these final events, and the excitement is pretty much non-stop as the tension builds towards the inevitable and action-packed battle between good and evil. And as the choices of Evie’s past all come to their epic conclusion, everything will change for our much-loved characters.
I liked this book. It had all of the action, adventure, drama and romance that I have come to expect from the series, and I was beyond excited to finally get some story progression! When I started this series I was immediately captivated, but honestly I think it’s been stretched our too far. The last couple of books were incredibly repetitive only for this book to be an information overload! And throughout the series too many twists have been added in just for the sake of adding more drama, and it didn’t really feel like the story flowed. And, of course, the non-stop love triangle/square/pentagon and subsequent kidnappings became all too much.
But having said that, I liked the direction this story took. I’m happy we finally got some decent backstory that ties everything together, and of course I loved the romance which was both achingly sad and achingly beautiful, and so freaking swoony!
“I could no more leave you than the earth could leave the sun. You’ll always draw me back to you,”
“You’re my air, Evie. Without you, I drown in breathless sky.”
This book finished off the series well, and though the five books have been a bit up and down for me, I’m glad I read them.
3.5 stars.
Want to read
February 21, 2014going on 2 years in between books is a little much. JR Ward doesn't even take this long.
December 1, 2017
Great ending to an amazing series. Though I didn't exactly get the ending I wanted, I felt like it could possibly happen if there were another book or two. But there isn't. It's over. I'm sad for that.
Fantastic storytelling, Amy Bartol.
Team Brennus!
Fantastic storytelling, Amy Bartol.
Team Brennus!
December 13, 2021
I can't wait till Iniquity!! I just finish reading the series for the 3rd time! And every time is just like the first one. I love it so much!!! Hope the the 5th one comes out soon! Until then I will be missing Reed and Evie ❤
Edit: 2021
So this is the second time I read this book, I read all the other ones at least 3 times, I forgot a lot of things about this book, I liked it, maybe not like the first time I read it. But I have to say the end left me hanging, there were so many things that I feel she rush to get over this series, I hate the way Reed and Evie ended. I am glad that they all got back from paradise to be with her, but the whole secrets she has with Reed are weird. But anyway, I still give it a 5 star
Edit: 2021
So this is the second time I read this book, I read all the other ones at least 3 times, I forgot a lot of things about this book, I liked it, maybe not like the first time I read it. But I have to say the end left me hanging, there were so many things that I feel she rush to get over this series, I hate the way Reed and Evie ended. I am glad that they all got back from paradise to be with her, but the whole secrets she has with Reed are weird. But anyway, I still give it a 5 star
Want to read
March 17, 2015Already Waiting:)
Update: I CANT WAIT ANYMORE I WROTE THAT ^ LIKE TWO YEARS AGO AND I ALREADY FORGOT HALF OF WHAT THIS BOOK IS EVEN ABOUT. WHY DID THE DATE GET MOVED OMGGVGGGGDGSJSJSKCNSISNZMKSNSMWKZJXMXJXhi
update (March 2015): ummmm.. are we still waiting for this??? It still doesnt even have a cover yet. What is she doing? Did she decide to stop writing this series or is she just being lazy? Like, its been at least 2/3 years since i finished her last book...
Update: I CANT WAIT ANYMORE I WROTE THAT ^ LIKE TWO YEARS AGO AND I ALREADY FORGOT HALF OF WHAT THIS BOOK IS EVEN ABOUT. WHY DID THE DATE GET MOVED OMGGVGGGGDGSJSJSKCNSISNZMKSNSMWKZJXMXJXhi
update (March 2015): ummmm.. are we still waiting for this??? It still doesnt even have a cover yet. What is she doing? Did she decide to stop writing this series or is she just being lazy? Like, its been at least 2/3 years since i finished her last book...
November 20, 2016
I would have preferred a different ending, a little more definitive ...
But it is worth reading the entire series. very well written
But it is worth reading the entire series. very well written
March 31, 2017
I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for happy endings. You know, when everything gets wrapped up neatly with a big, pretty bow. And, in this, Amy Bartol did not disappoint.
She had me nervous about that for a while, though. And when Evie's "inescapable" was introduced, I was seriously tempted to throw in the towel. I could NOT accept that yet another person was obsessed with her. If it was written in a way that the various obsessions were due to ONLY (a) desiring her gifts (or her soul as was the case with Freddy); or (b) wanting to use her as a weapon; or (c) simply being obsessed with destroying her, it would have been easier to swallow. The fact that everyone who met Evie had to say how special and amazing she was became tedious. But, seriously, that's my only complaint. And, in spite of it, I'll say it again... I love these books!
So, with the end of this 5-book series, I cry into my wine glass, knowing that I will miss these characters (Brennis--mo chroí) and this story. However... "MAYBE the tale that Brennis told Reed at the end means **fingers crossed** that Ms. Bartol will decide to expound upon the faerie's backstories and legends someday," she said hopefully.
She had me nervous about that for a while, though. And when Evie's "inescapable" was introduced, I was seriously tempted to throw in the towel. I could NOT accept that yet another person was obsessed with her. If it was written in a way that the various obsessions were due to ONLY (a) desiring her gifts (or her soul as was the case with Freddy); or (b) wanting to use her as a weapon; or (c) simply being obsessed with destroying her, it would have been easier to swallow. The fact that everyone who met Evie had to say how special and amazing she was became tedious. But, seriously, that's my only complaint. And, in spite of it, I'll say it again... I love these books!
So, with the end of this 5-book series, I cry into my wine glass, knowing that I will miss these characters (Brennis--mo chroí) and this story. However... "MAYBE the tale that Brennis told Reed at the end means **fingers crossed** that Ms. Bartol will decide to expound upon the faerie's backstories and legends someday," she said hopefully.
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