Well, the pacing of the first one was already borderline intolerable but this one is even worse.
I think the main problem is that in the first one there was just so much new stuff. I was busy digesting all the details of this new and intriguing world, learning names, and picking up on subtle relationship details.
This one has the same pacing but none of the new information so to me, it seems a whole lot slower. Too slow to endure in fact.

PWSK was a rip-roaring sequel that put a smile on my face even in the face of a terribly recent death in my life.
My grandfather died. And Innocente dying at the end spoke volumes to me.

The characters we all know and love return, and though at times it was a bit hard to keep track of them all when they were all together, it in no way diminished my love for them or the brilliance with which the action, wit, and (squee!) magic took place.

I have to say I LOVE that Amaliya is a vamp that has control of the dead. Are you kidding me? That's the best of both worlds. Adds a touch to the vampire genre that is greatly needed.

Most of the characters now are changed, if not physically, then emotionally. No one is the same as they were in the first book and that only breeds well in a series. I, personally, love characters that have emotion, deal with heavy stuff, and have if actively affect them rather than them going back to 'how they were' in book 1. We get none of that here. Rhiannon Frater pulls all the punches and then some in PWSK, and sets up a heart-pounding stage for Book 3 with higher stakes (heh), and a promise of immense destruction. ( )

It seemed as though Amaliya Vezorak's happy ending was just beginning when she harnessed her necromantic powers, killed her creator the Summoner, and started her life with Cian, her lover and the vampire master of Austin. Their happiness comes crashing down when the master of San Antonio decides his area is just too small and he needs to branch out into Austin. The threat of this supernatural war makes the pair wish they had more supernatural allies than they do. Meanwhile, Samantha, Cian's ex, is seeing ghosts and a mysterious man is trying to convince Amaliya's family that he can make her human again. On top of all this, Rachon, the Summoner's favorite creation, is out for revenge. Can Amaliya, Cian, and their untested vampire hunter friends survive this onslaught?

Pretty When She Kills is the second book in the Rhiannon Frater's vampire series. I greatly enjoyed the first and its predecessor is not quite as good, but still formidable. Amaliya is back, a little more weathered, but also more mature and powerful. Her old self is so used to running away when things get tough and that version of her is still in there, screaming at her sometimes. There's still room for her to continue to grow. She's still figuring out her powers that seem to include a lot more than she initially realized and doesn't really have any guidance in this area. Her relationship with Cian is as sweet as ever and I love reading about them. It just warms my heart to see their relationship with caring, heat, trust, and a true partnership. Cian isn't controlling or gross even though he is a supernatural creature. This trope is seen way too much in supernatural works and it doesn't excuse abusive behavior.

My biggest grievance of the last book was the horrible character Samantha, Cian's ex. After being ousted by Amaliya, Samantha would just spew obscenities at Amaliya and didn't really have too much else going for her. I felt it was pretty bad writing honestly because she felt so one dimensional, grating, and incredibly childish. She starts out that way here, equally insufferable. Then she finds that she received residual power from Amaliya's life saving blood from the last book and now she can see ghosts. at first, she reacts in typical Samantha fashion, whining and blaming "that whore" Amaliya for all of her problems. Then, when they actually sit down and talk about it, Samantha completely changes. She realizes that being completely insufferable to both Cian and Amaliya isn't productive and they don't deserve it. Sam sees and accepts the reality of her situation instead of how she wishes it would be and starts being an actual person. Suddenly she isn't so bad. I understand her and I see her as a person instead of a cartoonish shade of one. Amaliya and Samantha actually have a friendship now and can relate to each other. I'm looking forward to more development with her in the next book of the series.

Pretty When She Kills is a fun, exciting read, but it has some flaws. Shortening the basic plot points to the above paragraph was kind of difficult because so many things are happening all at once. During my read, it wasn't hard to keep track of, but afterwards it's a lot to look back on. I think the many plot lines detract from character development and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Usually, I don't have much of a problem with this, but if they aren't very present or there isn't something to set them apart from each other, they start to blend together. In this case, it's with the vampire hunters and some of the new characters. My other problem was that Amaliya's family wanted to turn her back to human without even asking her if she wanted to be human again. It's a pretty big violation of trust and shows that they think they know what's best for her. It turns out getting them in big trouble, which is satisfying. The novel has a lot going for it, but it suffers as many second books in trilogies do. I will definitely finish the series and I plan to pick up Frater's Vampire Bride series as well. ( )

Courtesy of Smash Attack Reads

Interest in Book: After the ending in Pretty When She Dies, I definitely needed to know where the story would take Amaliya and Cian. The book ended on a good note, but there was a lot left up in the air. And, in true Frater form, she doesn't make it easy on her characters or readers!

World-Building: The world-building just gets me all giddy and excited in this series! I think Rhiannon is pretty masterful at this process, but I just love the little twist she throws into a seemingly normal, gritty vampire tale. Cian rehashes his vampiric history and I truly loved the lore expansion. We are introduced to a were coyote, a dhampir and a witch, and Samantha gets more than she bargained for when she decided to hang out on the wild side. The world expands nicely, but it doesn't make your head spin. And we get a taste of Amaliya's new life and powers right along with her. What an experience!

Characters: Rhiannon introduced more POVs during this installment, with many interconnecting story lines. Some of the characters are very tricky and treacherous. The bad guys are seriously bad, yet some might surprise you. Some characters make you laugh out loud, some make you sob, and others make your heart soar with love. Rhiannon has incredible characterization skills. She can build relationships up, break them down, smack them around and reel them back in. There is a lot of grey area with her characters, which keeps both the characters and the readers on their toes.

There was some growth with all of the main characters. Amaliya is learning more about what she is and controlling the power she possesses. Cian is opening up to the idea of expanding his family. Samantha's life becomes overwhelming and unbearable but with the help of her friends, she's able to gain control. I think this leads to some soul-searching and compassion-feeling, and Samantha's characters becomes a little less annoying. She does, however, have quite the mouth on her and she made me laugh numerous times. As did Eduardo, a new addition to the story who has eyes all over Amaliya. Amaliya plays it up, which makes Cian squirm. Fun times.

Lasting Impressions:The ending was an epic WTF and I just loved how it all played out. I truly love this series! It's gritty and entertaining. There is a lot of action, great lore and great smexy time! There is heart-break, revelations, soul-searching, romance and ass-kicking! It's got a little bit of everything that makes a book fun to read.

It’s no secret that I love Rhiannon’s books. The As the World Dies trilogy is by far one of my favorite series ever. I think this series is quickly becoming my second favorite.

I read Pretty When She Dies a couple of weeks ago and immediately fell in love with Amaliya. She’s the typical strong, feisty, no BS kind of heroine Rhiannon creates so perfectly. What I like best about Rhiannon’s stories are her characters. She really gets into their heads and makes us feel for them. At the same time, none of her characters feel the same. Each of her leads are their own person which can be difficult for some authors.

Warning: Don’t read further if you’ve not read the first book. There are spoilers ahead.

In the last book, Amaliya and Cian defeated the Summoner (the vampire/necromancer) and moved in together back in Austin. Samantha broke up with Cian and there was a hint of something cooking between her and Jeff (the vampire hunter). Everything seemed to be well in Amaliya’s world (or at least as well as it could be), but in true Rhiannon fashion, things are far from well. The vampire king of San Antonio wants Amaliya to join him. He saw her necromancer powers at work in the first book, and he wants her power for his own evil use. There’s a new villain, and they are just as frightening, if not more so, than the Summoner from the first book. I honestly wasn’t sure this was even possible.

I won’t say any more about the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything. This book definitely elevated the series to a whole new level for me. It was scarier than the first, and I really grew attached to a lot of the characters. In the first book, Samantha kind of got on my nerves. Maybe it was because she was engaged to Cian and I wanted him to be with Amaliya, but she annoyed me. I’m happy to say that she redeemed herself in this book. In fact, she really grew on me and totally cracked me up. I’m also happy that we got to see more of Jeff. He was important to book one, but I didn’t feel close to him. I’m glad he got more to do in this installment.

As always, the writing is brisk and fluid and the action rarely stops. Every scene has a purpose here and there’s no wasted space on the pages. Also of note are the sex scenes. I mentioned they were hot in the first book, and they have not cooled off. Keep a spray bottle handy to cool yourselves down while reading.

I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you are a fan of vampires, or if you used to be, but have grown tired of the over-saturated market, you need to give these books a try. Rhiannon has restored my faith in bloodsuckers! ( )