Stygian

by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Series: Dark-Hunter (#29)

Published by: Tor Books

August 28th, 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Format: eARC

Source: Publisher (via NetGalley)

Rating: 4 Stars

Disclaimer:

     The first 3/4's of the story was so amazing. We get to see Urian grow up and get into mischief but at the same time grow up fast and have to take responsibility for his older siblings. Every moment of that first part (until the 2000's) his life is one tragedy after another but at the same time, he has found happiness throughout it all.

     There where a couple of things that had me confuzzled and others that annoyed the hell out of me but it wasn't that bad as to take away from my enjoyment. From about the moment where the series timeline starts (somewhere in the year 2000's) you start getting to see situations that happened in previous books. So I'm sorry to say that if you've not read this series I recommend you do. Although many say you just need to read the book previous to this one only I think you will be lost if you don't read at least from Acheron's book on as many of the fights of previous books are glossed over. You have all these people going to fight and then it jumps on to after the fighting has ended.

     Now the last 25% of the book was kind of a copy paste of many of the direr situations that Urian participated on with a few sentences added in Urian's POV. Now many people might hate that but I'm always a little bit lost on this books so I was grateful for them.

     And lastly, I found the ending cute and anti-climatic. I was hoping for so much more. Now with all this, you're asking yourself "why then did she rated this book 4 stars?" Well, it was more like 3.5 stars and like I mention the first 75% of the book was so good. And although I was a bit disappointed in the book I still loved it and it made me tear up.

     I want to read the next one if it's the heroine I'm hoping. If not I'll still read it to see if some of the questions I have get answered.

Son of No One

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Dark-Hunters (#25)

Published by: St. Martin's Press

September 2nd, 2014

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Purchased

Rating: 5 Stars

     It’s not easy being life’s own personal joke, but Josette Landry has made an unstable peace with the beast. Life will continue to throw every bad thing it has at her, and she will continue to not put her head in an oven. But that’s okay. That which doesn’t kill her will just require a few hours of mental insanity. Completely down on her luck, Josette takes a job with a local paranormal group trying to get their own cable show as a photographer and camerawoman. Yeah, they’re even crazier than she is. The only paranormal thing she believes in is the miracle that keeps her rusted out hoopty running. But when her group accidentally releases something truly evil into the world, they are forced to call in  reinforcement.

     From the moment Josette meets Cadegan, she knows something about him isn’t quite right. And it’s not just because she can’t even begin to pronounce his last name: Maboddimun. Mysterious and armed with lethal sarcasm, he seems a lot older than his apparent age…

     Centuries ago, Cadegan sold his soul for vengeance against the betrayer who cursed him. Forced against his will to do good, he hates everything in life. All he wants is a way out. But for the damned there is only eternal suffering. And yet there is something about Josette that intrigues him as much as it irritates and frustrates him. Something he can’t seem to fight, and the last time he felt this way about a woman, it cost him his soul.

     He knows he has to stay away from her, but the evil her friends unleashed is hellbent on consuming her soul. Something he cannot allow. If one more innocent is taken, he will be sent back to an unimaginable prison that makes his current hell look like paradise. But how can he keep her safe when his being with her is the greatest threat of all?

     Like every Sherrilyn Kenyon's DH book this one was a great read. We have Cadegan, an immortal warrior who has been punished for something that someone else thought was something someone evil could only do or someone on the path to evil (hope you understood that, lol). He was left to fend for himself for centuries and then in comes rescue in the form of Jossette.

     Jossette is cousin to the crazy Devereaux family. She, like Amanda before her, didn't believe in all the things her family believes in. Then she was in another dimension and even when everything felt like a dream she got a very rude awakening to the reality of her world.

     Cadegan is one of the few entities, like the Malakai and Ash, who has the power to end the world or save it.

     Also, the Thorn revelation was an OMG moment, both who his son is (which I didn't know he had) and who his daddy is. I mean can this series can get any more f'ed up? I hope so cause I'm loving it.

     This series gets more interesting book by book and I don't see myself getting bored by it any time soon. Yes, like everything, there are some things that I like more than others so there are some books I like more than others, but the stories are still good and I can't wait to see a complete immersion of the CoN and DH series.

Intensity

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Chronicles of Nick (#8)

Published by: Tantor Media Inc.

February 20th, 2018

Genre: Young Adult

Format: Audiobook

Source: Loan from Library

Rating: 4 Stars

     It’s a demon-eat-demon world for Nick Gautier. Just when he thinks he’s finally gotten a handle on how not to take over the world and destroy it, Death returns with an all-star cast that is determined to end the Malachai reign and lineage forever. Worse? Death and War have found the one, true enemy Nick can’t find, and even if he did, it’s one he could never bring himself to banish or kill.

     Now framed for murders he hasn’t committed, and surrounded by new friends who might be turncoats, Nick is learning fast how his father went down in flames.

     The heat in New Orleans is rising fast, and Nick’s threat-level has gone into a whole new level of intensity. He’s learning fast that when War and Death decide to battle, they don’t take prisoners. The don’t negotiate. And they’re both immune to his biting sarcasm and Cajun charm. To win this, he will have to embrace a new set of powers, but one wrong step, and he will belong to the side of Darkness, forever.

     After two days of deliberating what to write I still don't know what to say other than wow, I did not see that coming.

     After years following Nick Gautier's life, I was always asking myself how this series was going to tie up with the DH timeline. Like always I am lost as to who is who's dad, mom, uncle, grandma, sister, cousin, etc. but it was still an enjoyable read since I learned to ignore the characters connections with one another early on.

     This is the last book of the CoN series and Nick is looking for a way to stop Cyprian and change once and for all the destiny that he'll bring about with his legacy. And as with the previous books, the kid is lost as to what went wrong and how to go about fixing it.

     We get a lot less interaction with other "main" characters like Kody and Caleb but I think that's why it all worked in the end to start the transition from CoN to DH. That being said Kenyon has now transition this series into the next spinoff which is a series of books telling Cyprian's story.

     I am looking forward to reading more of this world and can't wait to read the next installment in the DH series.