Emily McKay

First, I have to note that I never would have read this book if I hadn't bought the trilogy all at once--the first book was just horrendous, and although the second book was a bit better, it didn't make suffering through the first book worthwhile. That said... continuing the trend, book 3 was better than book 2 or book 1, in large part because the whiny protagonist of book 1 wasn't so front-and-center. That said, I'm still largely unimpressed with this author. The story, characters, and pacing desperately needed more serious editing and revision--with overdramatic characters, obvious plot issues, and tons of plot threads which were never tied up, this book made it clearer than ever that the writer was interested in pursuing teenage drama and romance on a backdrop of vampirism, vs. telling a complete and finished story. With all of the overblown drama, overwriting, and repetition, I can honestly say this book would have been a hundred times better if it were about a hundred pages shorter, which again points to either a lack of editing or, at least, a lack of willingness on the author's part when it came to doing the hard work of revision.

I think, at heart, there was a great concept to set up this series, and great characters, as well. Unfortunately, the execution of the trilogy and the lack of editing failed both story and characters pretty completely. There is, I'm afraid, zero chance that I'll pick up another book by this author or ever find cause to recommend this series. It sounds great, and I thought I'd love it, but I have to say: Do yourself a favor and bypass it.… (mehr)