I give this book 3.5 stars (good but not a keeper) because of the strongly mixed feelings about it.
Generally speaking for someone to pick up the 26th book in the series and figure out much of what is going on is not exactly easy book to write. Kudos to the author for being able to pull it off. Good back-story on Max and the Omegrion in general. Some dropped information on Savitar and some parts of ancient history. The storyline is about mates who've just been separated forever and working on a reconciliation due to some really idiotic notions the Dragonswan/She-Mate had about her Animal husband... There is some high level action after all the talking, and all the flashbacks (which were rather well pulled off). And obvious setup for future books, and some good higher-level drama. The attack on Olympus and the twist end.
(Spoiler: Older brother forgives Max and saves his life using the article he protects but is sworn not to use. And the youngest brother gets duped by Apolo (who is now a blood-bank stooge of the Galu) gets entranced by the promise of getting his dead mate back into fighting with the Galu to overthrow Zeus, so that the Amazon tribe can rule it.)
Generally speaking for someone to pick up the 26th book in the series and figure out much of what is going on is not exactly easy book to write. Kudos to the author for being able to pull it off. Good back-story on Max and the Omegrion in general. Some dropped information on Savitar and some parts of ancient history. The storyline is about mates who've just been separated forever and working on a reconciliation due to some really idiotic notions the Dragonswan/She-Mate had about her Animal husband... There is some high level action after all the talking, and all the flashbacks (which were rather well pulled off). And obvious setup for future books, and some good higher-level drama. The attack on Olympus and the twist end.
(Spoiler: Older brother forgives Max and saves his life using the article he protects but is sworn not to use. And the youngest brother gets duped by Apolo (who is now a blood-bank stooge of the Galu) gets entranced by the promise of getting his dead mate back into fighting with the Galu to overthrow Zeus, so that the Amazon tribe can rule it.)
I didn't even finish it. I can't say I've liked every one of her books, but I've always liked them enough to keep going and finishing each one. This one? No way.
Some action. A lot of flashbacks and storytelling. This is both good and bad.
What earned the extra 1.5 stars is that Kenyon fills in a LOT of the backstory to her Were Hunter series. In telling Max's history, we find out a major pillar of Kenyon's world building, and we're set for the next level (I hope).
What meritted the 2-stars was poor character development. Angst. Regret. Silent sufferring (for millennia!). The Avalon story line? The endless cameos of friends and allies (well, except for the Bears who are major players here).
***Some mild spoilers below***
Regardless of the fact the overall plot arch finally moves into the next phase, the actual book was too short to fully develop some of the major battles. I mean, Olympus was on about two pages long, and most of action was one or two sentences long. And another major battle never makes to these pages. Relationshipd just plop into place (Max and his kids) instead of one or two bumps and bruises as they get to know each other. At least Max's reaction was explainable. But Amazons as Arcadians when none of the earlier ones were?
Maybe Archeron and Styxx were too high to sustain.
I will keep reading her books. But I no longer hope for great writing.
--Kuzu
What earned the extra 1.5 stars is that Kenyon fills in a LOT of the backstory to her Were Hunter series. In telling Max's history, we find out a major pillar of Kenyon's world building, and we're set for the next level (I hope).
What meritted the 2-stars was poor character development. Angst. Regret. Silent sufferring (for millennia!). The Avalon story line? The endless cameos of friends and allies (well, except for the Bears who are major players here).
***Some mild spoilers below***
Regardless of the fact the overall plot arch finally moves into the next phase, the actual book was too short to fully develop some of the major battles. I mean, Olympus was on about two pages long, and most of action was one or two sentences long. And another major battle never makes to these pages. Relationshipd just plop into place (Max and his kids) instead of one or two bumps and bruises as they get to know each other. At least Max's reaction was explainable. But Amazons as Arcadians when none of the earlier ones were?
Maybe Archeron and Styxx were too high to sustain.
I will keep reading her books. But I no longer hope for great writing.
--Kuzu
