I waited a little while before adding a review of this series because it left me feeling so conflicted.. On one hand I was totally engrossed with this series. All five books had me captivated by the world that was built and the characters that were attempting to survive/destroy it. On the other hand, there were parts of the writing that I found really annoying. So basically for me it is somewhat of a love hate relationship. The things I DIDN'T like:- Mac asked herself SO many questions throughout the book. Sometimes paragraphs of questions at a time. This is an example from Darkfever but trust me you can find countless examples in any of the books:
"What if the Fae was lying and was actually an Unseelie, working to free more of his brethren to prey upon my world? And if it was telling the truth, why did the Seelie Queen want the book containing "the deadliest of all magic"? What did Aoibheal plan to do with it, and how had this highly sought-after book gotten lost in the first place? Who could I trust? Where could I turn? Had Alina known any of what I was learning? Had she been to McCabe's and Malluce's? What had happened to her when she'd first arrived in Dublin all those months ago?"
and believe it or not it keeps going from there...
- Second, some of the writing style just didn't work for me. For example, what 22 year old in this decade says NOT? Also, switching the narrator towards the end didn't bother me as much as the interruption with these "Daily Dani" flyers. I see what the author was trying to do but it just didn't work for me. It felt awkward.
- Finally, the ending. I took issue with the way the series ended. Particularly that Mac suddenly has an epiphany that the old hunter could kill the child (deus ex machina?). Where did this come from? What made her feel like the hunter had the power to kill him when nothing else could? When Darroc was killed earlier you were given the impression it was the book, not the hunter, who killed him. Also I'm pretty sure that Barrons, who was always figuring things out WAY ahead of Mac, would have figured that out as a possibility before she did? After all he had been searching for a way to kill his son for how many years? And to be honest I thought the ending would have been much better if Barron's child had been left alive. Then we would have found out if Barrons truly would have loved Mac even though he didn't get what he wanted. It was a little too convenient for me after all the turmoil of whether his motives were selfish or not. And last but not least, it ends with Barrons grilling steaks on the BBQ like a suburban husband? BARRONS. Really? I just couldn't picture Barrons taking that role for anyone. Overall the ending was adequate but it could have been so much better.
Anyway, I know I went into more detail about what I didn't like but somehow that is always easier for me to articulate. However despite all the little annoyances I had with the book, I had to give it four stars. Mainly because any book that can pull me in, leave me thinking about it and feeling a little sad when it was over, deserves a higher rating. It was certainly an entertaining and thrilling ride.